Testimony, Part 10 - Anchors Aweigh

F-14 Tomcat from VF-11 poised on the catapult ready for takeoff aboard the USS Forrestal, CV-59. Late 1980s.

Anchors Aweigh, my boys, Anchors Aweigh!

Farewell to foreign Shores, we sail at break of day-ay-ay-ay;

Through our last night ashore, drink to the foam,

Until we meet once more, here's wishing you a happy voyage home!

I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. - Philippians 4:11-12 CSB (Emphasis, mine.)

I fully dedicated my life to God's purposes soon after joining the Navy and was discipled by a number of believers from various churches during my time in the service. However, I would be remiss if I didn't mention those in the Navy who were used by God to bring me up in maturity as well. Yet, most of those people were not believers.

As I've said a few times, when I joined the Navy, I lacked initiative. I was content to do only the bare minimum and was always looking for ways to cut corners or see what I could get away with. Of course, this attitude put me at odds with many of my superiors. One of the first ones I encountered was a grouchy Senior Chief at my A School. I showed little to no work ethic and after a bit too much daydreaming and general lack of military bearing, I was standing in front of him again. Despite promises of being written up, I was expecting just another chewing out for such a minor offense. Instead, that Senior Chief wordlessly delivered on his promise. I knew a report chit could derail my time at Millington. This was just one of those close calls I alluded to earlier. To this day, I doubt that Senior Chief cared what happened to me. All he was concerned about was he had another snot nosed kid with a punk attitude in front of him. He was either going to wade into me and pull out some kinks or he was going to drum me out of the service. Fortunately, this report chit did not go far but it was enough to shake my world. Needless to say, I did whatever I had to to avoid standing in front of him again.

Once in Pensacola, I rubbed up against some shipmates who were not exactly godly folks but they helped knock some rough edges off my personality.  After about a year there, I decided maybe I should show some initiative and learn different jobs and even volunteer for other duties in addition to my normal assignments. Upon doing so, my evaluations immediately began showing drastic improvement. Toward the end of my time in Pensacola, A division officer (who happened to be a believer) pulled me aside and said he had noticed my change of attitude over the past several months and that it was glorifying to the Lord. He told me to keep it up as it would serve me well. 

In late 1985, it was time to change duty stations. By this time I wanted to be assigned to a fighter squadron and go out on deployment. I ended up with VF-11, an F-14 squadron based out of NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach. We deployed with the airwing aboard the USS Forrestal in 1986. Even with my new found work ethic, life aboard ship was an adjustment. While underway, shifts were 12 hours on, 12 hours off, seven days a week. Seriously, what else is there to do on a ship? Ok... I got used to the work routine fast enough but one thing was missing: Christian fellowship. In particular, Christians who thought like I did. While there were a few, they worked in different shops, different divisions, different hours. There was a fellow believer in my shop but he was "different". While I tried to put aside our differences, I was too caught up in making sure my "I's" were dotted and my "T's" were crossed correctly. This gave way to some contentious bickering between the two of us. Oh, how I longed to always be in fellowship with like-minded believers. Every time the ship was in port, I was always seeking out servicemen's centers like the ones in Pensacola or Norfolk. I did find good centers in Jacksonville FL and Naples Italy but more often than not, I had to make do with what I had.

Then there was the shop I spent the majority of my time in. While I did spend time on the flight deck during flight ops, I demonstrated my aptitude in being able to work on gear after it was pulled from the aircraft, so that is where I ended up. That was all well and good but my shop supervisor was a grumpy first class petty officer we called "Charlie". Think "Chah-lie" with a New York accent. Charlie was a former Marine who was injured in Vietnam and was processed out of the Marines because of his injuries. He later found the Navy would take him, so he reluctantly joined in order to finish out his 20 years. He was not happy to be where he was and everyone around him was made aware of that fact. However, he was by the book. He knew how to run a shop. The Navy doesn't care if a supervisor is a people person; if someone is otherwise capable, they will be put in charge. As you can imagine, me with my personality, and Charlie with his, we clashed. A LOT. Oh the blowouts we had... several times, Charlie could have, SHOULD have written me up for policy violations or outright insubordination. Yet, he never did. Charlie also had his little catch phrases: "Yo! Shipwreck!" and "Child, please..." It drove me nuts! Now I look back on it and, really, it was hilarious. I loathed him at the time but now I can point to him as one of the better supervisors I've had. Certainly, not because he was easy to work with.  I had some rough edges that needed to be knocked off and Charlie was just the person to do it. I don't think Charlie cared whether I lived or died other than to make sure I was on hand to accomplish my assignments. I can't say what Charlie's heart was really like but I can say he was God's man for the job in my life at the time. I've come to realize God is not constrained to using mature believers with gentle spirits to influence His children.

If I had to summarize this period of my life, I would say I needed to learn the secret of contentment. Was my life aboard ship as bad as I thought it was? Not nearly. Whether working for a grouchy supervisor or fellowshiping with believers who didn't think the way I did, a little personal contentment would have added much joy to my life. I had a GREAT time on deployment. In my seemingly menial tasks at my test bench, I played a vital role in the success of the entire airwing. I also got to see part of Europe! Who can honestly say they've stood atop of the Leaning Tower and overlooked Pisa? I can.

So far, my testimony has taken ten chapters to recount only the first 22 years of my life. However, these were formative years and the lessons learned have shaped me into what I am today. I believe I will make just one more entry in my Testimony series as it covers a very foundational lesson and continues to illustrate God's sovereign and guiding hand in my life.

Until next time, Blessings.