Bienvenue
Perhaps it is boredom, or perhaps it is a lack of information, or it is quite possibly the floating around of too many opinions that I disagree with that has inspired me to write this blog. In rebuttal to these, I have found that there are numerous ways of managing life within the military, and it is often the stressful and burdensome tasks that get people down and focus on the negative, but I aspire to uplift and encourage people into seeing that there is little to fear about the military life.
As I go along in the blog we will look at the daily things that make the military no different than the average 9-5 job out there, and then we will get into the nitty-gritty about the hardships. No one can say that life in the military is all rainbows and unicorns with a leprechaun waiting for you at the end of the day, but it has its charm and allure, and I cannot understate how good it has been to me and mine thus far.
In introduction to me and my wife, as I hope we will both find ourselves learning things and wanting to share them, we are relatively new to the military. I am a sailor in the Navy. I joined the Navy for the hopes to stay near our home town of Ventura, CA, there are a few Naval Stations near there and a lot that are definitely within liberty range. I was lucky enough to get stationed for my initial training school at the Presidio of Monterey as a student at the Defense Language Institute. I will write a little on DLI in the future, since in my preparation for the school there was little information out there.
I also joined the Navy because my initial perception of the branches went a little like this, Marines were bullet fodder, Army was long deployments and PTSD, Air Force did nothing a stationed in the Midwestern US, and I completely forgot Coast Guard would have the same benefits as the Navy. Aside from the deployments in the Navy it was the most alluring, safest, and could be turned into our favor the best out of the options, however, this wasn't all.
In all openness, I joined out of instinct.
I'm not one to sit on the see saw of life and think to long and hard about a decision, the pros and cons typically are black and white to me in life. When I know what I want I go and get it, but when it bears little importance on me it takes a little more motivation to get it done. I'm task oriented, but I am not a multi-tasker. I can work my way through a checklist with ease, but if I am asked to get everything done at the same time I feel a little Bilbo Baggins-y, like butter spread over too much bread. I had a nice job, I was teaching French, and my student was a government agent who had previously been a Ranger, and as we chatted about life and what he has done, what I have done, and where we were both heading he recommended the military for me.
Prior to this I had thought about the military only as an option to pursue my passion of religion. I had imagined joining as a chaplain, but when the Masters in Theology was a requisite I stopped my perusal of that avenue. When he mentioned the military as being a linguist, my ears perked up a little. I hadn't thought about that. I had only thought of working at summer camps, as an au pair, as an interpreter, or as a translator for some posh LA business that would probably still leave me paycheck to paycheck but I'd be using a skill I enjoyed about myself. I began my research.
I will include the process in my story about DLI, but I began research in late November, and I shipped out to boot camp at the end of February.
I still am not sure how exactly my wife felt about all of this, but I know that she loves me, she supports me, and she never doubted in me. She is usually a little more rational about decision making than I am, so along the way she would voice a concern, we would discuss it, and whether we came to a mutual decision or I just continued with my gut feeling to join, we overcame and got to where we are today. I didn't plunge into the military by necessity, or by heritage, or by pride, but I definitely plunged and am happy I did so. The ride has been thrilling for all its ups and downs.
As I go along in the blog we will look at the daily things that make the military no different than the average 9-5 job out there, and then we will get into the nitty-gritty about the hardships. No one can say that life in the military is all rainbows and unicorns with a leprechaun waiting for you at the end of the day, but it has its charm and allure, and I cannot understate how good it has been to me and mine thus far.
In introduction to me and my wife, as I hope we will both find ourselves learning things and wanting to share them, we are relatively new to the military. I am a sailor in the Navy. I joined the Navy for the hopes to stay near our home town of Ventura, CA, there are a few Naval Stations near there and a lot that are definitely within liberty range. I was lucky enough to get stationed for my initial training school at the Presidio of Monterey as a student at the Defense Language Institute. I will write a little on DLI in the future, since in my preparation for the school there was little information out there.
I also joined the Navy because my initial perception of the branches went a little like this, Marines were bullet fodder, Army was long deployments and PTSD, Air Force did nothing a stationed in the Midwestern US, and I completely forgot Coast Guard would have the same benefits as the Navy. Aside from the deployments in the Navy it was the most alluring, safest, and could be turned into our favor the best out of the options, however, this wasn't all.
In all openness, I joined out of instinct.
I'm not one to sit on the see saw of life and think to long and hard about a decision, the pros and cons typically are black and white to me in life. When I know what I want I go and get it, but when it bears little importance on me it takes a little more motivation to get it done. I'm task oriented, but I am not a multi-tasker. I can work my way through a checklist with ease, but if I am asked to get everything done at the same time I feel a little Bilbo Baggins-y, like butter spread over too much bread. I had a nice job, I was teaching French, and my student was a government agent who had previously been a Ranger, and as we chatted about life and what he has done, what I have done, and where we were both heading he recommended the military for me.
Prior to this I had thought about the military only as an option to pursue my passion of religion. I had imagined joining as a chaplain, but when the Masters in Theology was a requisite I stopped my perusal of that avenue. When he mentioned the military as being a linguist, my ears perked up a little. I hadn't thought about that. I had only thought of working at summer camps, as an au pair, as an interpreter, or as a translator for some posh LA business that would probably still leave me paycheck to paycheck but I'd be using a skill I enjoyed about myself. I began my research.
I will include the process in my story about DLI, but I began research in late November, and I shipped out to boot camp at the end of February.
I still am not sure how exactly my wife felt about all of this, but I know that she loves me, she supports me, and she never doubted in me. She is usually a little more rational about decision making than I am, so along the way she would voice a concern, we would discuss it, and whether we came to a mutual decision or I just continued with my gut feeling to join, we overcame and got to where we are today. I didn't plunge into the military by necessity, or by heritage, or by pride, but I definitely plunged and am happy I did so. The ride has been thrilling for all its ups and downs.
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