That's right, a full-fledged, eagle wearing, four
stripe carrying, O-6 type Captain.
For
the last 16 months I was a Captain (select). Captains (select) are known
throughout the Fleet as,
"Commanders."
Which is pretty much what
we were known as before we were Captains
(select).
But now it's official! Which
must mean that I am very, very old.
It
seems like only yesterday that I was a fresh-faced midshipman, one who could
maybe go a day or so without shaving and no one would notice. My company officer
(the first commissioned officer that any of us would know), was a superannuated
lieutenant of perhaps 30 summers. A nuke submariner, in fact. He had strands of
gray hair in his otherwise black hair, and lines around his eyes that didn't go
away when he stopped smiling.
He seemed
as old as salt.
A captain was a man
who, by definition, had one foot in the grave. They were inestimably desiccated
and sere, mere husks of men.
Good thing
they're selecting us younger, these
days!
But the ensigns these days! You
have to wonder if they have a permission slip from their moms to be
here...
Posted @
06:39 PM
|
Posted in
""
|
Sendit
|
Credo
"Sign on, young man, and sail with me. The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves. Our job is to keep her free. Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all. To this solemn purpose we call on the young, the brave, the strong, and the free. Heed my call, Come to the sea. Come Sail with me." - John Paul Jones
"Pardon him, Theodotus; he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature" --George Bernard Shaw, "Ceasar and Cleopatra"
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."--Friederich Nietzsche
