My parents were out of town when I enlisted and they had no clue that I was even considering it. If I recall, I told them about it on the phone while they were traveling. I don't think my mom was too happy, but having been a Navy wife for a few years, she at least had some insight into the life. My dad was an Navy Aviation Mechanic in the early 60's, stationed in Florida.
In July of 1988 I boarded a Greyhound bus wearing shorts, t-shirt, shoes and carrying a small toiletries bag with my address book, shaving stuff and that was all. I was told that I wouldn't need much, so I didn't bother to bring anything.
I went to boot camp in San Diego and 2 months later attended Operations Specialist A-School in Dam Neck Virginia. After school, I chose my orders back to Alameda and reported to the USS Enterprise (CVN-65). During my 2 years on the Enterprise, I did multiple short cruises and a full World Cruise leaving Alameda and arriving in Virginia 6 months later (taking the long way around). I grew up a great deal on this cruise and learned a lot about life while visiting some beautiful countries.
After arriving back in Virginia, I changed ships and went back to Alameda for the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). We did a ton of underway trainings and then a full West-Pac and participated in Desert Storm.
I made some really good friends during these years, some of which I still talk with today. One of which, my friend Joe, is my closest friend and we still do things together despite living 2 hours away. I'll add more about him when we get to the chapter on sailing.
I finished out my tour and got out of the Navy in 1992 (a few months early for budget cuts) and went home. I was ready for land at this point and knew that college was the way to go. So I changed course and headed down the path that made sense. I didn't realize at this point that I was abandoning something that was core, the water. It was years later that I realized what I was missing..
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