Wow the last year has gone by fast. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I wrote this post. Thanks to the military pay scales, there are longevity pay raises every two years of service, so there is a nice pay-raise for me this year.
My career certainly has had its ups and downs, but looking back I feel tremedously blessed in the rich variety of experiences I have had. I have said before, and I still believe, that both the good and the bad periods and events of my career have provided me with valuable learning experiences. Although I would never wish the bad experiences on anyone and would not want to relive them, I am glad to have them under my belt and hope the wisdom I gained through them will help me to be a better naval officer, leader, husband, and father (not necessarily in that order).
I've had the priviledge to serve with many very smart and talented shipmates in the last sixteen years, and many have had long-lasting impacts on me. They will pop into my mind whenever someone mentions a key word or place or a song I hear. For all of you who have served with me, I am thankful for our time together and for what you have taught me along the way.
BLUNOZ
From September 2007 to September 2008, this blog started out as a journal of my family's adventures around Hawaii. Then from 2008 to 2011, we lived in the Northern Virginia (NoVA) suburbs of Washington, DC. From the spring of 2011 to 2013, we called the Pacific Northwest "home." In June 2013, we moved back to the DC suburbs again. I like finding cool things for us to do that get us out of the house, so I will continue to blog about our adventures around the DC area, as well as periodic musings about whatever else strikes me as funny or odd.
Note: These are my frank and honest opinions. Nobody is paying me to write anything in my blog.
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About Me
- blunoz
- My name is Kevin. I'm 40-something. I have a lovely wife (LW) and two great little boys, Eldest Son = ES and Younger Brother = YB (in older posts, I previously referred to him as Youngest Son or YS). I'm a submarine officer, and I've been in the Navy for 21+ years. I started this blog to document our family adventures around Hawaii for family and friends. After that we moved to DC and then to Bremerton, WA. We have since moved back to the DC suburbs and I continue blogging about my random observations of life.
Geocaching!
What I'm Reading...
Where'd I get the name "blunoz" from?
On my first deployment as a junior officer on USS PROVIDENCE (SSN 719), I had the awesome experience of going north of the Arctic Circle. The Navy has many customs and traditions, and when you cross a significant invisible line in the ocean like the Arctic Circle or the Equator, you have to go through an initiation ceremony. When I returned from that first deployment, I got a new license plate on my car, but had to fit it into 6-letters, so I condensed blue nose into "blunoz."
6 comments:
Hey Kevin,
Your record's in the tank this week right? Well congratulations on 16 years and Good Luck with the board!!
Best,
Sluf
Kevin, thanks for the congrats and good luck wishes. Actually, my record is not in the tank this week because I already screened last year. It's a tremendous honor and very humbling to be selected. I start the training pipeline in September. Not sure where the Navy will send me yet.
Kevin,
Well congratulations then! Sorry I missed that. So there's been light at the end of the DC tunnel for you for a while now.
Have fun on your training track, and enjoy every day in command. It really does fly by.
Best,
Sluf
Stopping by to say thanks for visiting my blog.
"Although I would never wish the bad experiences on anyone and would not want to relive them, I am glad to have them under my belt and hope the wisdom I gained through them will help me to be a better naval officer, leader, husband, and father." This is the mantra I live by and have tried to instill in my children. How refreshing to find that others feel the same way.
Wonderful post.
Long time follower here, just wanted to extend my congratulations, and gratitude for your service.
Wow, 16! Very impressive! Congrats! It's posts like this - glimpses of the true leaders and the mature, good people in the Navy that make us sorry to leave it behind. Of all the things we'll miss about being in the service, we'll miss being in the company of such great people the most. Thanks for all you do!
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