The second week of training is much like the first:  lots of weapons firing and walking in around with body armour in 90+ degree weather. But it’s also the week when you get to shoot the big guns and go full auto. > more <

When I initially learned I would be trained for Iraq duty by Army drill instructors at an Army base, I expected it to be like the Army’s Advanced Infantry Training given to graduates of boot camp. However, the training is less generalized and is geared towards the type of work Navy personnel may encounter in theater. > more <

So, I finally got my next set of orders and it turns out that I’m going to Iraq. I don’t have all the details yet and I’m not sure what I could post even if I did. But I know that I will be doing IT work, most likely in/near Baghdad. > more <

Ever since I arrived in Hawaii, I’ve noticed something about the way the Navy Exchange (NEX) operates. Normally, a military exchange checks the ID cards of all patrons to ensure that only military members shop there. This is in addition to having to show your ID to actually get on base. The commissary (military grocery store) is supposed to do this also. But guess what? The NEX doesn’t do that in Hawaii, at least not consistently. > more <

First off, don’t take the title the wrong way. This is strictly a personal event and (hopefully) not related to other military installations.

Last night we bought our daughters a small pack of fireworks so they could light them off in celebration of America’s “birthday”. It’s the same thing that happens in nearly every country and something I’ve been doing every year since I was old enough to be trusted with fire (about 2 years ago ). Seriously though, I’ve been lighting fireworks since I was in grade school, maybe about 6 years old or so. > more <

Well, I figure it’s about time to harvest the power of the Internet and see what happens.

I plan on getting out of the Navy next June and so I’m starting to get my resume in order and see where to send it. Naturally I’m looking at Monster, et al. but for many large Internet job sites, it’s like looking for a job in the classified ads: you’re just one of several thousand resumes mass mailed to prospective employers. It’s even worse now in the digital age; it takes nothing to email a resume so a lot of people essentially spam employers in the hopes of “shotgunning a job”. > more <