In the Navy

Frequently I hear that being a Navy wife is the hardest job in the Navy, so how about combining being a Navy wife and being a sailor? That’s gotta be twice, if not three times as hard as just being married to a sailor.  Not only do you have his deployments that separate you, you have yours as well.  You’re always worried about his safety, in port, underway, or even in training, not because you know its a dangerous job, but because you actually know the dangers of the job.

My husband and I met just out of boot camp during the beginning phase of training for our rate (or job in the Navy).  We dated three months, and during that time, he asked me to marry him. While on Christmas leave, we had a small wedding ceremony on the beach in California.

Upon returning to base, we went back to the way life was prior to our wedding, living in  the barracks (in separate rooms of course), seeing one another as much as possible, yet not nearly enough, going to school, and using the weekends to spend as much time together as possible. Hardly the way a married couple’s life together should be.

After several months, he completed his training in Illinois, and received orders to San Diego. He left mid-April, and reported to his ship, the USS Nimitz.  We spent as much time as possible texting and taking on the phone, and if he could, on the internet chatting.

In May, he went underway for the first time. It was a real test for both of us because we couldn’t talk as much. We spent hours on the phone the day the left port, until reception was lost. I cried myself to sleep that night, know something would happen to keep me from talking to him. The next day I received a message on my phone from him, and from then on, when possible we ‘texted’ back and forth through his shipboard email address. Occasionally he would have the chance to get on Facebook and we’d IM one another through the IM client on the site.

Once I got a call from him from the shipboard phones, another time, I was in school and missed a call from him. When I got the voicemail I almost cried.  His ship came in close enough for his cell phone to get signal one day during the middle of the month they spent underway, and once again we talked until they lost reception.  This continued until they came back.

Luckily in the time he was underway, I had finished my training. While waiting to detach, I took leave the day his ship returned for a week and flew to San Diego to see him.  I was so happy to see him it was unreal.  We spent the majority of my leave in our hotel room, just enjoying each other’s company.

Soon it was time for me to leave, and say goodbye once again. I returned to Illinois, and detached shortly after I got back.  My order’s sent me to San Diego, so my husband picked me up from the airport, another amazing reunion.  We spent as much time as possible together between his ship and my school, but the time together ended quickly.

His orders had him in Florida for 3 months starting in July.  He left the day after my birthday, I dropped him off at the airport and wished him a tearful goodbye.  Once again, we’re back to text messaging, calling when possible, and using the internet to chat from time to time.

He is due to return early October, but his ship is on deployment, so instead of spending time together, he will have a short time here before getting flown out to his ship.  Our time together, and apart, has taught me to cherish every moment we have together, because each is precious, and we don’t always know when the next one will be.