No Facebook access this time out. They have done away with their Facebook Lite, so we can’t access it at sea because their regular site takes too much bandwidth. So don’t try to contact me through Facebook while I’m away. Once we get to Hawaii I should be able to get on there, but most of our time will be at sea, not in port.

So I knock on the door to his state-room and walk in. I notice the CO is there, the XO and the Command Senior Chief. Uh, oh, this isn’t about an overhaul of my air compressor. The first thing the CO says to me is: “Chief, your out of uniform!” So of course I look down at my coveralls: belt, check; sewn on patches, check; boots, check; cover in my hand and not on my head, check. I was a little confused. I looked up at him again and he says: “Congratulations Senior Chief Kennedy!”

Ok, now I was really confused. Why was he calling me Senior Chief? Then light started to slowly creep in, but it took a while. He had to show me my name on the list of people who were selected for advancement: last name, check; first name, check; social security number, check… “Holy Cow!” Though my actually words were a little stronger than that.

I stood there stunned. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I had a chance of making Senior Chief, not ever, much less my first time eligible for it! Finally the CO told me I’d better sit down before I fell over. Congratulations all around, but I was still rather stunned. It took me a few minutes to come around and the first thing I had to do was go call Caroline! Sorry about waking you up Sweety, but I couldn’t help it!

So now it’s a day later and I’m still rather amazed. It’s hard for me to believe that it’s happened. Even after I went online to see my advancement page on the Navy’s website and bought $100 worth of rank insignias for my uniforms this morning it’s still surreal.

At the moment my orders are up in the air. I could still go to Tucson, but more than likely I will be going somewhere else. At this level, you really have very little say in where you go. I should find out by Thursday or Friday where I’ll be going.

Now it’s time to get ready for a new adventure.

Home is the Sailor, home from the sea:

Her far-borne canvas furled

The ship pours shining on the quay

The plunder of the world.

Home is the hunter, home from the hills:

Fast in the boundless snare

All flesh lies taken at his will

And every fowl of air.

‘Tis evening on the moorland free,

The starlit wave is still:

Home is the Sailor from the sea,

The hunter from the hill.

                                                                                                                           A.E. Housman

Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me and be my love.

The shepherds’ swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.

-Christopher Marloe

I won the third raffle. So I will be allowed to be one of the first Sailors to leave the ship when we get back from deployment!

There are still a few details that are being worked out, there is a disagreement between 3rd Fleet and everyone else as to when we will be pulling in. 3rd Fleet says 1600, our Task Force Commander, our Squadron Commander, and us say 1000. The argument is still going on while we’re only 3 days away. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail and I’ll be having lunch with my family on Monday.

I’m keeping my guys busy cleaning the Auxiliary spaces. It’s tedious work, but necessary. And they’re looking a little grungy from 6 months of constant operation. I am staying busy by getting caught up on some paperwork that slipped by me the last couple of days, and getting all of the ship’s Customs paperwork in order to present upon our arrival in San Diego. Talk about a nerve wracking job, if I screw this up the crew could be stuck onboard for hours after we pull in. but I have my manual to guide me, so everything should be fine.

I’m looking forward to seeing the family very much, but I’m especially looking forward to seeing my Sweetheart. The worst part of these deployments is being away from her for so long. I love you Sweety, just 3 more days.

We’re down to single digits!

I wore a mask that the Doc gave me and carried hand sanitizer with me and wiped stuff down with alcohol wipes that I had to use. Hopefully I didn’t spread my disease around too much, but it is definitely spreading through the ship (I wasn’t the only one who came down with it initially). Hopefully it will all clear out by the time we get home.