"It was a clear black night. A clear white moon."
"Warren G was on the streets trying to consume."
"Some Skirts for the 'eve, so I can get some funk…"
Regulators, probably the 8th time I have hear this song in the 9 hours I have been sitting here waiting for a MAC flight. What use was it for us to get back 2 weeks early if I am going to spend the whole damn thing waiting her for a flight home? I mean really? You can't tell me that there hasn't been a flight heading to San Francisco in the last 9 hours that wasn't full. Not THAT many people live in central California, especially not on my boat, the only one back right now.
I guess I am getting ahead of myself, you have no clue who I am, so let me fix that. Chief Petty Officer Puckerman. Yes, Chief, like Halo but without the badass armor, guns, and aliens to fight. Anyway, I am 20, did the "Join the Military Right Out of School" thing. Most people think I did it for the money, and they would be right. 50K for school isn't bad at all, but mostly I did it because I have a family to take care of. For someone fresh out of high school that marries early, against the wishes of his family, and has a son before he is 20, there aren't many other options.
It hasn't been all bad, or hell even that hard. I joined up at 18, had some college credits so I went in with a rank. For those that don't know, that can be a huge thing. Rank means that you have authority. Now in basic this doesn't mean as much as it does later. But it did mean I was squad commander after the first week. I was already in charge of 30 other people and I hadn't even been there a month. Talk about ego boost. By the time basic was over, I was already E3. Tech and A schools were a breeze, both in terms of rank, profitable. By the time I actually went on my first tour, I was Petty Officer 2nd class. Before my second ship out, my previous CO (Commanding Officer for non-military people) had retired, and I was promoted to Petty Officer 1st class and put in charge of my station and its personnel.
As for what I actually do. Well to put it in laymen's terms, I listen to the ocean and make sure we don't hit anything and nothing hits us. I am a Sonar Technician. I run a series of machines that guide us through the water safely as well as analyze any sounds that the sonar picks up to determine if it's a whale, dolphin, surface ship or another sub trying to kill us.
Tours for submariners are not that hard, did I mention that I am in the sub fleet? Well, I guess I have now, so, yeah, I am in the sub fleet. Nuclear Missile Sub, Boomers as we call them, the USS Ohio. Now, as you have probably guessed, not a whole lot of people wanna go underwater for months at a time, with no sunshine, fresh air or contact. The best part about this situation is that we are only gone for about 3 months at a time. This is very handy if you have a family, you can see them a lot more.
So, right now that's what I am waiting to do, I am sitting here, listening to the same damn songs over and over again on my Ipod while I wait for a flight home. Home to my wife and son.