...The first thing i'd like to address is the common feeling that i left a void in the ship. This is not so, i will explain. I was drafted last minute orders to this ship and in fact on the 19th of november when i checked in many from my chain of command did not even know i was comming. The qualification process for doing most of my duties is over 6 months (the length of the deployment)and so i would of mainly been training and geting qualified, which in some ways is more of a burden than assistance. It is also likely that my early out chit would have been approved after the deployment, given that my rate is extremely overmanned. That means the navy and my peers would of wasted time and money getting me up to speed on a boat that i'd be leaving just after completing the process of qualifying to do my job. All that considered i don't believe i left a major hole in the workforce but will concede that there definately would have been some benefit to my division to have an extra guy to pull some weight off the group they already had...