Greetings from a new member and what a great site for all of us!

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Comment by Phil Shannon on November 4, 2014 at 12:35pm

Wow what a great story, thanks for sharing. Our daughter also went to college for 1.5 years and then decided to join the Navy out of patriotism. We are hoping she finishes school too. She has been in for almost 2.5 years and was so busy, but is finally getting to the point where she is going to take some classes again. Bravo Zulu to your son! I also want to make a shout out to those Navy Dads who are veterans (I'm not). Your in depth knowledge is very helpful for those of us on a crash course of all things Navy! thanks again.

Comment by Irv Gelbart on October 19, 2014 at 10:39am

Thank you very much for your kind words and gratitude. I feel the same way about any parent of a service member. Certainly, without our sons and daughters in uniform, our freedoms would be in peril. Yes, we had "the talk"; besides the one when he became an adolescent.

As he approached the end of his second enlistment, he did consider leaving for the private sector. In talking with him, we talked about the lack of job security today, the lack of pensions and rising cost of health insurance, but most of all, the importance of enjoying what you do. That is paramount! The bottom line, he loves the Navy, he loves what he has done and the prospect for maximizing his potential, while at the same time, enjoy a nice salary, benefits and someday, a pension. I myself retired from our police department at 52 years young with 30 years of service. In the meantime, my friends who are professionals like CPAs, doctors, lawyers and from other fields are still working; probably into their 70's. Yes, they have a lot more money than I, but you can't put a price on quality of life and not having to have the structure of going to work every day. My freedom enables me to do the things I enjoy, with my family. I think this point weighed heavily with my son; amongst the others, and he decided to stay in the Navy as a career. We are attending his OCS graduation in December (If the Marine DI's let him live!), but he is doing well physically, mentally and is in the second phase, as an Officer Candidate, prior to the Applied Leadership Phase, before they graduate. having the freedom to see my son graduate means the world to me and my wife and  our  other adult  kids.
Coincidentally, upon his graduation he will be an Ensign with a single "butter bar" on each collar. I retired as a police Lieutenant and wore the exact same collar insignia as he will.         I have mine still, from 1991 when I was promoted. I just finished polishing them up to Navy standards because they were a little tarnished, and I intend to give him mine as they should shine on him, and reflect his new found leadership of a Naval Officer.                                 
Again, thank you for your kind words. God bless you and your family for raising a "warrior", that is so needed to protect our freedoms.
Warm Regards,

Irv

Comment by E.G. - ND's Creator/Admin on October 19, 2014 at 9:46am

Irv, sounds like you may have a career Sailor on your hands. Bravo Zulu! I wish him the best and thank him for his service.