My Life in Ink

Flag Flying on the Pearl Harbor Memorial

There’s nothing like your name scrawled in ink to make a defining moment in your life.

So, the contract is signed.  My life takes on a new chapter.

Everyone has been asking what this means, and what is going to happen next.  I am officially a part of the U.S. Navy Reserves.  I will be going in as an IT3, meaning I will be working with intel communications as I did during my prior enlistment.  There are other cryptologist jobs that I’m interested in, but due to the large amount of individuals going back into the military right now, these positions won’t be open for a few months.

I was formerly a Petty Officer Second Class, however, I was never paid for that rank before I was discharged.  This basically means that I’m now being demoted.  Luckily, I can retest for advancement in August.  I’m already studying and am confident that I can reacquire my rank and get back in the game.

I will be requesting Full-Time Support (FTS) status to work within the Navy as if I was a regular active duty sailor.  As such, I will receive the same benefits and active duty time applied toward retirement.  Once I’m processed in as full-time, I will likely be assigned to a ship out of San Diego.  However, I am seriously considering volunteering to deploy to the Horn of Africa (HOA) or Afghanistan for a year.

So I’m just taking this one step at a time.  I’m going to let everything fall where it may.  I just have to keep an open mind.