New Beginnings

The whole becoming a Chaplain idea didn't really take hold until this week as I actually put on my uniform with the Ensign bars. This was a shock after seeing myself in photos as a Lieutenant Commander just slightly more than a year ago. Now I am starting it all over again at the bottom and learning a new specialty in the Navy. I know the submarine training will serve me well, but that warfare training will bring some frustration as well. I expect the Navy to operate in a certain way, the way I was trained, and it seems to not be that way in the Chaplain corps. The most frustrating aspect is the lack of any urgency in getting things accomplished, especially crucial paperwork for getting me ready for school. I got a call the day I left to come up here requesting certain things they discovered I needed to submit (again I might add) that day. Hard to do when you are on the road and frustrating knowing they have had a year to get the information. The second frustration comes from something I did once as a leader in the Navy, add time buffers to requirements. We have to report at 0715 tomorrow and the school is essentially across the street from where we are all staying. Simple enough, leave right at 0700 to get there on early and turn in the mound of paperwork they need before 0715. Well, I get a phone message today that we have to meet at 0630 to make the 2 minute walk together and make sure no one is late. Treat people with a lack of trust and that is what you tend to get, hence why I attempted time buffers only once in my career. Others tend to do that and there is never any need to take away personal responsibility from people. Enough of that rant. Regardless, I am excited about the next 7 weeks.