I was trying to remember a name of a man I worked with at Litton today. All I could remember was his first name was Fred. The name that came to mind was not his, but another Fred I worked with in the navy for a very brief time, perhaps a month in 1966. I was new to the outfit and Fred Comps was at the time working on Communications and navigation systems there. We worked well together and he decided to sign off on my military qualifications for second class aviation electronics technician. At the time I was a third class and thinking I would get out of the navy after my initial four hitch in September of 1967.
I made my first cruise in 66-67 and came back feeling pretty good about it. All of a sudden I had a baby (well Joyce and I did) and I had gotten myself into debt, my fault. The guys I worked with on the cruise in 66-67 were ready to take the test for second class. I had shepherded them and did not want to end up working for them, so I took the test for second class when they did. I passed it with flying colors, but there was a problem, in order to accept the rating I had to extend my enlistment for eight months to accept the promotion. I did and went on my second cruise 67-68. Once making second class it was a world of difference. I was no longer sent on working parties loading bombs, sanding corrosion off airplanes and handling groceries at sea and that sort of thing. Being second class was the best thing in the navy. It got me out of the shit jobs and not into running a maintenance shop, which I ended up doing 5 years later as a first class.
My eight month extension was nearly up on that second cruise and I was finally making enough money to support the three of us and then I got to thinking. I didn't know how well I could do back in civilian life, trying to get a job in aviation and I didn't know how we would live while I took additional licensing training courses and waited to get hired on at TWA or one of the other airlines. I made the decision to sign up for another six years, partly because at the time the navy was offering a fat bonus for men in my rating and I thought the bonus would make for a nice nest egg, which it certainly did. I also got to go to further technical training and by then was eligible for shore duty which would have consumed most of that time period. It seemed like a no brainer.
If you don't yet get the drift of this story, here it is. We never know when someone comes into our life, even for a short time how much they can affect your life. They are there for a reason, one we don't know sometimes for many years later.
Copyright Bill Weber 2018 and beyond.
My eight month extension was nearly up on that second cruise and I was finally making enough money to support the three of us and then I got to thinking. I didn't know how well I could do back in civilian life, trying to get a job in aviation and I didn't know how we would live while I took additional licensing training courses and waited to get hired on at TWA or one of the other airlines. I made the decision to sign up for another six years, partly because at the time the navy was offering a fat bonus for men in my rating and I thought the bonus would make for a nice nest egg, which it certainly did. I also got to go to further technical training and by then was eligible for shore duty which would have consumed most of that time period. It seemed like a no brainer.
If you don't yet get the drift of this story, here it is. We never know when someone comes into our life, even for a short time how much they can affect your life. They are there for a reason, one we don't know sometimes for many years later.
Copyright Bill Weber 2018 and beyond.
No comments:
Post a Comment