A happy post for once
So, for months now, we haven't been sure what the hell my Naval furture looked like, what with the base here in Ingleside on the chopping block (they're saying it will close sometime in 2008-9) and the entire MHC class of ships, like the one I work on, going away even before that. Since I got back from Bahrain, the dates I've been hearing were that I'd be sent somewhere else in either March of next year, or, barring that, October. Which is good, because I hate Ingleside and want to go somewhere else. Of course, that part wasn't really guaranteed -- there are still a dozen or so ships around here that are staying until the base closes and then just moving to other ports, and it would be a lot cheaper and easier for the Navy to just stick me on one of those than it would to move me somewhere else.
And today, out of fucking nowhere, they gather the entire crew together and inform us of three things:
First, we'll only be attached to the USS Shrike (the third MHC I've served on in the last six months) until September, at which point we'll be moving to the USS Pelican. Not sure I see the point of that, but seeing as how the Shrike is the worst ship so far (and that's saying something, considering the condition the Cardinal was in), I'm not about to complain. From what I hear the Pelican is in pretty decent shape.
Second, my crew goes away entirely sometime in January. Which is a full two months sooner that the earliest estimate I'd heard up to now. And it's already official, not a "most likely this will happen" sort of a thing. It would take something huge, like the outbreak of a full-scale, real live war to change this schedule at this point.
Third, I won't be sent to some other command at Ingleside unless I specifically ask for it or there are literally no other openings for my job and rank anywhere else in the Navy. Both of those are very, very remote possibilites. And because of the special situation as far as new orders go, I actually get preferential treatment when it comes to who gets offered any orders that are available. Which means spending my last sixteen months in the Navy in a place I'd actually want to live, say San Diego or Washington state, is a very real possibility (calm down, Luke -- that part's not final yet).
Of course, it's not entirely good news. Being that I'm leaving less than six months from now, finding an apartment out here to move the family into is going to be an even bigger pain that it was already since almost nobody rents apartments on a month-to-month basis any more and most want a 6- or 12-month lease. Hopefully, I can find something acceptable and get Sara and the girls out here quick, but it's going to limit my options. Still, I'm not going to let it ruin my day, because the main point here is that I get to pick new orders in the next month or so and leave here a lot earlier than I ever thought I would. Oh, and with any luck, I'll never have to go back to Bahrain, either.
And today, out of fucking nowhere, they gather the entire crew together and inform us of three things:
First, we'll only be attached to the USS Shrike (the third MHC I've served on in the last six months) until September, at which point we'll be moving to the USS Pelican. Not sure I see the point of that, but seeing as how the Shrike is the worst ship so far (and that's saying something, considering the condition the Cardinal was in), I'm not about to complain. From what I hear the Pelican is in pretty decent shape.
Second, my crew goes away entirely sometime in January. Which is a full two months sooner that the earliest estimate I'd heard up to now. And it's already official, not a "most likely this will happen" sort of a thing. It would take something huge, like the outbreak of a full-scale, real live war to change this schedule at this point.
Third, I won't be sent to some other command at Ingleside unless I specifically ask for it or there are literally no other openings for my job and rank anywhere else in the Navy. Both of those are very, very remote possibilites. And because of the special situation as far as new orders go, I actually get preferential treatment when it comes to who gets offered any orders that are available. Which means spending my last sixteen months in the Navy in a place I'd actually want to live, say San Diego or Washington state, is a very real possibility (calm down, Luke -- that part's not final yet).
Of course, it's not entirely good news. Being that I'm leaving less than six months from now, finding an apartment out here to move the family into is going to be an even bigger pain that it was already since almost nobody rents apartments on a month-to-month basis any more and most want a 6- or 12-month lease. Hopefully, I can find something acceptable and get Sara and the girls out here quick, but it's going to limit my options. Still, I'm not going to let it ruin my day, because the main point here is that I get to pick new orders in the next month or so and leave here a lot earlier than I ever thought I would. Oh, and with any luck, I'll never have to go back to Bahrain, either.