Life Is An Adventure, Not A Guided Tour

Having served thirty years in the military is a true accomplishment. Unless you have served in the Navy and its special circumstances, you do not truly understand the highs and lows of Navy life. From manning watch stations for eight to twelve hours a day around the clock plus the other normal shipboard maintenance and training that must be accomplished to maintaining war-fighting readiness leaves little downtime for solace and self-reflection. Long periods at sea grind on your psyche, and you so look forward to mail, email, or even a phone call when in port to renew your sense of purpose and drive. This is my story of my childhood escapades, enlisting in the US Navy in 1980 as an E-1 seaman recruit and ultimately rising to the highest enlisted rank of E-9 master chief petty officer, with some of the trials, tribulations, and situations that could only leave you wondering why or that must have been terrifying and exciting at the same time. Sit back as I take you down memory lane of my thirty years of fun, excitement, sorrow, and utter amazement of being in the Navy.