(I graduated from Navy boot camp on August 18, 1995. I wrote this on behalf of all the young women in my division to honor our leading Recruit Division Commander. Chief LeVault was what we were told to call him because he had just been selected for chief. The photo shows him as a 1st Class Petty Officer. He has since gone on to become a Master Chief. He taught me many things, including how to run and breathe properly. He also has a daughter named Audrey.)
"To Chief LeVault, for all of your dedication to the success and integrity of the recruits of Division 321. With your knowledge and wisdom you have transformed each of us into someone we can all be proud of. From our hearts we applaud you and thank you for starting our careers off on the right foot. We salute you!
We knew not what we had set ourselves up for as we stepped from the safety of the bus. We had clung to each other through the last mile anxiously awaiting our first encounter with our futures. That night there was little or no sleep and many tears of anger, fear, and frustration. We knew so very little about our new way of life and all the information flooding our minds. It was like taking a drink of water from fire hose. There was no turning back, or so we thought, and though most of us stayed, a select few chose the path home. In spite of their absence they live with us still.
We grew, beginning with our first group shower, from meek and timid girls into independent, responsible, and headstrong women. Through the meticulous standards and grooming of our division commanders we learned attention to details, dedication to teamwork, and an unyielding devotion to each other and all our other shipmates which we will carry with us to the fleet.
Chief LeVault said early in our training that he would not send any recruit into the fleet unprepared. Hopefully, we have proved to him as well as Petty Officers Knapp and Collier that we have what it takes to be successful, career-minded, and able sailors. We all hope we have become what they knew we could be from the start. Their eyes have held looks of frustration and anger at times, but those looks have faded to pride and encouragement more often than not.
Looking back on our beginnings can truly humble us when our white belts start going to our heads. It wasn't long ago that we were less than all we could be. How could we possibly have come this far without the support of our shipmates and our division commanders? Not only have we grown together, but we've also grown up. We can now appreciate more the fruits of our labor because we know we all put forth one-hundred ten percent. United we stand, divided we shall never be because there is no "I" in team. We are there!"
(The "white belts" is a reference to the belt worn by recruits in the weeks just before they graduate. Among recruits it signals one's higher standing within the ranks, noting that one is coming to the end of surviving two months of training. For some it's hell, for others it's transforming. For me, it strengthened my weaknesses, making me more confident in myself and my future. It was a very formative period of my life that I would undertake again in a heartbeat!
The following week at the graduation ceremony I received the Military Excellence Award, which is given to only one recruit per graduation. I think our week saw 671 sailors graduate. To receive that award I had gone through a review board about two weeks before graduation and was quizzed on military knowledge in addition to having my uniform picked over for every fine detail. My shipmates were really pulling for me and it looked good for my recruit commanders to have someone from their division selected for this award. I recall polishing my boots as never before, but it wasn't just me. When my hands would get tired of pressing that frayed, polish-covered tampon against my boot, a shipmate would take over. That's how it was...shipmates looking out for each other and pushing each other to greatness. I appreciate every person who sat next to me and helped me polish those boots. In the end it wasn't just me who received that award, but every person in my division who quizzed me on military knowledge and helped me polish my uniform. All of this pushed me to want more and I began to think in terms of being a "lifer". Though I stumbled along the way, I made the rank of E-4 and was determined to switch uniforms and become a "khaki", a leader.
Eventually, I met Arie. We were stationed in Pensacola, Florida, at the same time and went on to receive orders to the same follow-on command, NSGA Winter Harbor, Maine. Years later, after developing a strong friendship, we were married. Initially, we were planning to take orders together. When we left for our honeymoon we were expecting to return to Maine to find orders waiting for us. We were supposed to be on our way to Puerto Rico. Shortly after returning from our honeymoon in Holland we learned two things: our orders had been canceled (we would be instead moving to Hawaii), and we were pregnant.
Once our pregnancy came into the picture we were certain of one thing. Dual military careers and kids don't mix well and the kids are the ones who suffer most. We made a decision for one of us to leave the Navy and since I was only four months from the end of my enlistment, it should be me. Arie still had two years left before he could have discharged and in the meantime, our son would have been raised for two years by the military child care system. Neither of us wanted that for our son, so here I am...
It was hard to leave the active duty Navy. The days I gave back my ID card and security badge, I cried. It felt at the time like the death of a goal, a dream. Since then, I've realized that the goal I traded-in my ID card for was much more important. I've loved being a stay-at-home-mom. Sometimes I tell Arie I'm living my Navy career vicariously through him and at times I still miss it - but every morning when I awake I'm met with three warm smiles that remind me why I'm not walking out the door with my uniform on.
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