Every now and then I get a reminder that this “$&it’s real!”
This weekend I’m back in Virginia Beach, hanging with my grandson Liam, but the real reason for my visit is my son Doug has re-enlisted in the Navy for six more years. It’s hard to believe he’s already been in for ten! This is not the first time I’ve been here for a re-enlistment but every time I see it, the word’s really resonate with me.
“I, (name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
The part that really stands out to me is, “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies.” And “I will obey the orders of the President of the United States.” Damn! Let’s just say I pay more attention to press conferences now.
I have a whole new respect for anyone who serves or has served. I know that my own three sailors do some pretty serious work. My son, Doug, will be overseeing the CAG (Combat Applications Group) when the USS George H.W. Bush deploys this summer. My son-in-law, Steven, is on the same ship. He is an air traffic controller who is actually responsible for getting every jet back on the ship safely after their missions. I’m still totally in awe of how they land those things on a moving flight deck in the middle of the ocean where the weather conditions can change by the minute. And my daughter-in-law, Marla, recently completed a long deployment where she loaded bombs on jets. She will soon be teaching others how to do it as an instructor while switching to shore duty.
To say I’m a proud papa is an understatement. I’m proud of all of my children whether they are at sea or at home. They all make a contribution to this world in one way or another. Recently Priscilla was going to move the kids senior pictures that we have on the wall and I asked her not to. My reason? That’s the four greatest things I ever did in this life, I want it displayed for all to see.
Do we worry about the sailors in the family? Of course, even though I worry about all my children. I figure that’s part of my job. However, for those at sea, I have to trust in their training, their supervisors and crew mates. There might be a few additional prayers at times.
Interestingly I asked my son what the scuttlebutt was about Ukraine. Without missing a beat he said he and his buddies just want to go and end it. They hate seeing the children and civilians being killed. Hospitals and civilians are supposed to be off limits. Plus they seriously question the preparedness of the Russian military. When I mentioned the threat of nuclear war his answer was that they just trust our missile defense systems plus there’s plenty that goes on behind the scenes that even THEY don’t know about. Someone else (in the Navy) wonders if it’s all a trap to draw us into action. A good point that I hadn’t considered.
So for now we celebrate! The party is called “Cheers to 6 More Years!”
I want to thank everyone on my Facebook post who said, “Thank Doug for his service!” That’s actually something they say they don’t know how to respond to. You’re saying “Thank you” so they really can’t say “Thank you.” “You’re welcome?” Doug says he occasionally says, “Glad to do it.” I guess that works.
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