Ceremony Day

I got so excited about Thanksgiving that I neglected to share with you some exciting news—something that we were all thankful for…  We were able to hold a little ceremony the day before Thanksgiving to frock (promote) one of our team members and to re-enlist another.  This is good stuff.  And, the re-enlister happened to be a new chief—so, we were able to sneak in a little gift to commemorate that happy occasion also!
The flag pole comes in handy for the pomp and circumstance—something that I dearly love…
Anyway, here is the re-enlistment, a simple ceremony where the sailor is unceremoniously discharged (honorably) only to be sworn back in for an extended sentence, I mean, period…




In this case I am administering the oath.  Note that I put some effort into memorizing the oath so that I could administer it without reading a little cue card.  The memorization actually went well—had the thing down!  Then HMC decides to repeat the words back to me slightly differently than I am saying them—this throws me off for a minute—I paused, mostly for dramatic effect.  But, I think every else assumed I had forgotten what the heck I was supposed to say—patently false, I assure you.  But, the whole episode was a bit unnerving—hope I don’t look nervous in the picture!






So, here is the gift to HMC—this is very cool.  GI Joe has finally put out a tribute to Navy Chiefs action figure set—he comes with three uniforms:  dress whites (chokers), working khakis, and dress blues.  Very sexy!!!  Thanks to Rod for organizing that bit of happiness.






Lastly, we made a new HM2.  Another fine moment in another fine Navy career—I am a lucky guy to be able to be a part of these goings on and am very proud of this crazy bunch of nutballs we call a team!