Newbie Here - and just starting the journey

[GennyMac]

I've spent my life deliberately keeping a very healthy distance between myself and the military.  I was recruited by a couple of the intelligence groups, Army and Navy, and chose a business route for my career instead.  My daughter was recruited by the same intelligence groups, as well as a couple military branches, and the State Department.  She chose the State Department and loves her life moving from place to place, overseas or here in the US, and likely won't settle down for many years to come. 

None of the nieces or nephews even came close to choosing a military career, they are all much more grounded in the sciences and obtained multiple degrees and are off working on things I have to have explained every time we talk.  I thought I had made it..................then I fell in love with a Navy Chief a couple of years before his retirement.

While we were dating he decided to take me along for one of his reserve weekends.  He thought I could lay in the sun while he worked.  We planned to have dinner and see a movie on Fri night, I could read and sun on Saturday, then we could go swimming when he got off work, dinner, and then Sunday we could sail after he finished working.  He made reservations for us at the base Inn, I made arrangements to fly into Norfolk in time for him to pick me up, we'd head to our rooms,  then eat an early dinner and relax.  My flight out of Newark was delayed, then delayed again, and I didn't arrive until after 10 pm.  By the time my luggage appear edand he picked me up, it was almost 11 pm when we hit the main gate at Little Creek.  The very young man at the gate (remember, I had never been on a base before in my life) took our id's then informed my big strong Chief that I would have to wait on the side of the road while the Chief went to the Inn and got a receipt with my name on it.  Now, I had been in meetings all day in NJ with clients, my day had begun at 4:30 am, and I had been left cooling my high heels at the Newark Airport for over 6 hours, I'd had to fire an employee,  begin searching for a replacement, and I had three proposals which needed to go out to my partners for their review the next morning.  After dealing with my world for what was just another hectic day, I was not prepared for anyone to tell me I had to stand on the side of a dark road, dressed to the nines in spike heels and good jewelry.  Needless to say  - I was not going to stand on the side of any road (not then or ever).  My response reflected my attitude, and my reply  of "I refuse to stand on the side of a dark road at this hour, dressed as I am." His reply of "You are not allowed access to the base without a reservation in your name.  You will have to wait here"  To which I responded "You and whose army ............." at that moment my wonderful Chief interrupted saying that he would take me to a coffee shop and return to resolve the reservation problem.  I suggested he take me back to the airport but he assured me this was just a slight glitch and that the reservation was made in both names, they just hadn't listed my name on the receipt.  I think by the time Sunday came, he was completely sorry he hadn't taken me up on the offer.

We settled into our rooms and it didn't take long to realize we were in a facility which at one time was likely barracks.  But, it was an adventure and I love an adventure.  The air conditioning hadn't been turned on yet, and it was quite warm.  The windows didn't open, and leaving the doors open.......well, not optimal for our purposes. But turning on the cold water full blast and turning on the shower did lower the temp just enough to make it bearable.  It was entirely too late for dinner, I had not eaten, he had grabbed a bite on the drive up to Norfolk, so we dug into the snacks we picked up and called it a night. I had several hours of work ahead of me if I was going to enjoy any time off this weekend.  I slept in the next morning for the first time in months.

The next day was absolutely perfect for laying on the beach, reading, napping, and just enjoying some down time. The weather forecast called for sunny skies all day with scattered thunder storms late in the afternoon, early evening.  It was perfect, I had picked up a book I had been anxious to read for months, had a brand new bottle of sun tan lotion, with a little sun screen, a new bathing suit, towel and several bottles of water.  What I didn't have were shoes.  Though I am usually very thorough in packing and planning ahead, I had totally forgotten my shoes.  The only pair were the spike (and I mean a full 3.5" heel) heels I had worn all day.  It wasn't a problem for today,  but I would need to pick up some flip flops at lunch when my handsome Chief came to pick me up to take me to the beach for my afternoon of fun in the sun.  

He was about an hour early picking me up - evidently something had arisen with his 'team' and he was going to be tied up all afternoon.  He had just enough time to run to our rooms, grab a sandwich at McDonald's, and drop me off at the O beach, which he had confirmed was clear all day long.  He said I probably wouldn't see a soul all afternoon.  News I was thrilled to hear.  I'd had enough of 'people' and just needed a solitary day of relaxation to become human  again.

I walked out to the sand, spread out my great big beach towel, set my water out, rubbed myself down with sun tan lotion, pulled my book out, and stretched out on my stomach, untied my top at my neck and back, and inhaled deeply of the glorious scents of sun, sand, and lotion.  Closed my eyes and slowly relaxed and began to drift off.  At some point I vaguely heard vehicles nearby, but ignored them  as the O beach is at the end of a road, so some traffic noise was to be expected.  I dozed back off and just relaxed and let all the stress of the past several months melt away.  I had been working so hard to build a company of my own, traveling non stop, trying to build a relationship with what appeared, so far, to be a really nice man. The day was just fantastic. Granted, it wasn't a resort, but I had the makings of a good weekend at hand and if I was going to build this relationship, well, this was part of it.

I was jolted awake by the distinct sound of a male voice saying "Excuse me ma'am.  Ma'am, excuse me.  Ma'am........."  I opened my eyes and was immediately presented with the biggest set of black boots I had ever seen.  My eyes adjusted to the sunlight, and I raised them up a set of strong legs, and suddenly realized my top was untied and lowered my head.  I answered and said, "Yes, how can I help you?"  The male voice said again, "Excuse me ma'am, but you need to  clear the beach area."  I was stunned and didn't quite know what to say at first.  I finally said "Seriously - you want me to move to another location?  Which way, north or south?"  He seemed a bit surprised by that and told me that I needed to clear the entire beach area as they were doing live fire drills.  There are days when you should just say in bed............this turned out to be one of those.  I realized he was serious, so reached back and tied the neck and back of my top, hopped up on my knees, and fully realized I was in a bikini swimsuit, without a long coverup, only a long sleeved shirt, and no shoes, and would have to walk across the base and through the enlisted barracks to get back to the Inn.  I looked at the young man and said, "I need to advise you I have no intention of walking anywhere dressed like this, and will sit at the picnic tables until my ride can get here.  I have no shoes for walking and I doubt seriously you would recommend me hotfooting it across the base looking like this".  He had some other things to say, but in all honesty I chose to ignore him completely.

I gathered my stuff and took a seat on the picnic tables, and became aware of how many soldiers were around. I used my cell to call my Chief, and when he answered I explained that I was half naked, surrounded by soldiers who were instructing me to walk back to the Inn dressed the way I was, and barefoot.  Unless he wanted a 'situation' it might be a good idea to come get me.  

He did.

Back at the Inn, the weather was still beautiful, sun still shining.  I walked around the Inn and found a big concrete slab at the back door just perfectly aligned to the sun for a great sun spot.  I spread out my towel, rubbed sun tan lotion on all the important parts, stretched out on my rock (feeling much like a lizard), and untied my top again, and closed my eyes.  Cars would  pull up in the parking area, doors would slam, and then it would be quiet again.  I dozed for awhile, heard a car in the distance pull up, stop, car door open, slam closed..........but instead of silence I heard the distinct sound of heavy boots on concrete coming closer.  I figured the boots were headed in the back door, but no such luck.  I heard them coming closer and closer and finally the dreaded "Ma'am, Excuse me, ma'am".  I opened my eyes to another large set of black boots right at eye level with me and heard the words no woman ever wants to hear "Ma'am, You're going to need to put your clothes back on.  You can't sunbathe next to the barracks".  I looked up  and said............"I have never had a man ask me to put my clothes back on"........he didn't even twitch.  Not a single ounce of humor in this man's body.  Not one.

Needless to say, I retied my top, gathered my belongings, and slowly made my way back to the room.  I then called my handsome chief and let him know I had been chased off my rock by a big, mean pair of black boots and my day was .............well, getting to be a little tense.  He had a really swell idea.  The Pool opened after lunch, and he would take a quick break and run me over if I could meet him out in front of the Inn.  I agreed, grabbed my bag, and was standing outside when he pulled up, barely stopping for me to hop in, and rolling right off to take me to the Pool.  Where, by the way, he had to get out and sign me in only to be told I could not leave without his signing me back out.  I felt like an errant child.

The Pool was nice.  Lots of Moms with Lots of Kids..........I am a mom, and an Aunt who helped raise 5 nieces/nephews.  This weekend I was a single lady, desperately looking for peace and quiet.  A commodity in very short supply on a Naval Base I was finding out.  I found a spot close to the fence, away from the kids area, and spread out my towel, laid out my book on a little table, rubbed more sun tan lotion on the necessary spots, and sat down, leaned back, pulled a bottle of water out of my bag and drank deeply,  wishing it was my Gentleman Jack instead.  I began to relax in the sunshine and after a bit, decided to slip into the water and cool off.  As I walked poolside, I realized there were sounds of explosions in the distance.  Not loud or distinct explosions, almost like thunder, but not quite.  Suddenly a shrill whistle sounded, and the teenage lifeguard yelled "Everybody out !  Thunder - Everybody out ! "   Oh give me a break - not thunder you little idiot it was the live fire drills at the beach !  But since he'd already called it, everybody had to get out of the water, and go into the dressing rooms.  I had no idea how long we'd have to stay, but along with all the crying kids, and frustrated Moms, I made my way into the hot, humid, dressing room and found a place to sit and finally begin reading that wonderful book.  With the screaming, crying, loud echoing voices bouncing off the walls of the dressing rooms..........right.

45 minutes later the all clear is sounded and we burst forth from the fetid air of the dressing rooms.  I went the opposite direction of the main body of  babes and babes, found another spot, close to the fence surrounding the pool, spread towel, rub on lotion, sit down, open book, begin reading.  Ah........finally reading, relaxing and surely, nothing else could go wrong............right?  

As I was beginning to get into my story, the rays of the sun began to do that hi-lo thing they do when clouds are moving across the sun.  The sound of aircraft could be heard off in the distance, and I glanced up to see a plane going over but noticed small things dropping out of it.  Then the small things starting trailing colored smoke, and parachutes opened.  Ah - air show right?  No.  Much later I found out what was going on - the SEALs were running maneuvers for their Reunion weekend.  Hence, the live fire on the beach.  Ok, I got it now.  More sounds of distance booms, and then more clouds.  A lot more clouds.  Then a drop of water hit my book.  At that moment my cell phone rang and I had to stand up to reach my bag and dig it out.  My Chief was calling to see how my wonderful day of relaxing was progressing.  At the same second I answered the phone, a flash of light and a very loud explosion hit just above my head at the top of the fence.  I squealed like the girl I am, the shrill whistle went off, and a burst of rain fell. I told my dear Chief to get the hell off the phone and come get my ass now.  click.

I grabbed my towel, book, sun tan lotion, water, phone, bag and myself, headed for the dressing rooms and stood waiting for my Chief to rescue me from my day of relaxation at Little Creek.   No such luck.  The rain  poured, thunder boomed, lightening raged, and the kids screamed at every clap of thunder.  After another 45 minutes, we were again released onto the very cold and wet concrete pad surrounding the pool.  This time I headed for an umbrella as the rain was still drizzling, my towel was soaking wet and cold, and I still hadn't even put a toe in the water.  I sat in a chair, pulled out my book, and returned to my story.  The rain picked up, I scooted my chair closer to the table and further under the umbrella. A bang of thunder hit, and I picked up my phone, called my Chief and when he answered explained that he needed find a way to get my fanny back to the Inn and without delay.  I would be waiting for him at the Pool entrance, signed out or not.  I walked into the dressing room, wrung my towel out, threw it over my shoulder, repacked my bag, made sure the top on my sun tan lotion was on tight, and walked out to the front of the Pool entrance, with the lady at the gate yelling at me to go back into the Pool area and exit through the EXIT.  Ignoring the yelling, I picked my way barefooted to the end of the sidewalk and stood in the downpour waiting for my handsome Chief to rescue me.  Within moments I heard a car screech around the corner and my Chief drove up to the walkway.  My handsome Chief leaned over and opened the passenger door and said "Did you have much rain here?  We haven't had any on the other side of the base."   I think the look  on my face might have given him a clue as to my mood, but when I didn't jump into the car to get out of the down pour of rain, he realized he'd parked beside a small pond which had developed at the end of the walkway.  He pulled further up, I got in, shut the door, and stared ahead of me as he began apologizing profusely.  He very sweetly drove me back to the Inn, let me out at the back door, promising a wonderful dinner when he got off.  He screeched out of the parking lot as I walked through the door and found our rooms, showered, rinsed out the unused swim suit, wet towel, and hung it all up to drip dry in the bathroom.  I put on my jammies, pulled out my Gentleman Jack and diet coke, poured a nice tall cold adult beverage,and proceeded to curl up on the bed with my book.  

It was dusk when I was gently awakened by my sweet Chief.  He asked if I wanted to go out to dinner or stay in - I opted for staying in - he went out and got a really nice dinner for us to share.  I continued to enjoy Jack's company, and the next morning we awoke to rain and clouds.  I opted for sleeping in, he did what he needed to do.  I read for awhile, then packed and waited.  When Chief got back, we took off to grab a sunfish and do a quick sail.  The closer we got to the marina, the darker the  clouds got, and as we turned onto the Marina parking area, the sky opened up and the wipers were of little to no use at all. We sat and waited, then pulled out and began our trip back to Raleigh.

My first visit to a military base was not pleasant by any stretch of the imagination.  For me, it was a much needed weekend off, wasted entirely by weather and explosive materials.  It would not be my last visit to Little Creek, but it would be, to date, the worst experience on any military base.

The Chief retired, we married, and his son has chosen to join the Navy.  I have quite a few more visits to military bases in my future.

[lemonelephant]

Welcome, I see from your page that you have a future Sailor. When will he ship to the RTC?

[GennyMac]

His ship date for  RTC is October 1st right now, but my gut tells me that will change. 

[lemonelephant]

You are right that ship dates can and do change. Even if his ship date remains the same, the recruiter will take him to the hotel on 30 September.

You may wish to join the group, Leavin' for bootcamp in October or October Boot Camp Family. You will meet others with loved ones leaving that day/week who may be in the same TG and have PIR together. Be sure to check out the discussion, Things to Do in the Last Month Before Your Future Sailor Leaves for.... I also suggest you join Boot Camp Moms (and loved ones) and New Members Stop Here and check out the Pages (found under the pictures of the Members) and Discussions there.

Your future Sailor may want to join http://www.navydep.com to learn the ins and outs from the DEP point of view. Craig runs that and will steer him to some good links on there.

(Group names and the link within this reply are clickable links. To join a group, click on the group name and when the group page opens, click on "+ Join..." in the upper right.)

[GennyMac]

lemonelephant - I had seen some of those, but not the October groups.  Thank you so much for the information and for the other links as well.  I am just getting used to the site and searching for things applicable to us.  My sailor to be and I greatly appreciate all of the help and information.  As my first blog posts indicates, I haven't got a clue about anything military, and all help is so very greatly appreciated.

[lemonelephant]

You are very welcome.