We hope to be wheels hot no later than 0800, 01APR2014, en route to Groton, CT.
We also hope to still be on speaking terms with each other, well rested, well fed, and excited to start the drive from one side of this great nation to the other.
And by we I am referring to my wife, my kids, and me.
I will be going to school for a little more than year in Groton in order to become a Submarine IDC. An IDC is an Independent Duty Corpsman. A Corpsman is a beastly creature composed of the essential elements of power, strength, and intelligence with a side helping of awesome and gliding with a swagger which cannot be duplicated and inhabiting the nightmares of those who would do harm to the Marines and Sailors entrusted to their care. We are a proud breed… maybe I should do a post dedicated simply to that…
Anyway, a Corpsman is a medical “jack of all trades” for the Navy and Marine Corps, most commonly filling the role of a combat medic or hospital nursing staff. After I graduate from the school in Groton (If I graduate), I will be the sole medical provider for the crew of a Submarine.
Pumped… Yes
Intimidated… Absolutely
I am not sure if I am really mature enough to accept the responsibility of the health, the lives of so many men and women in such an austere environment. Talk about a heavy burden of responsibility.
Sooo… between now and a little less than 2 months from now we have a lot to do and a very little amount of time to do it. We need to get our household goods packed up, our house cleaned enough to pass a military cleanliness inspection, close up all the business like things we have going, resolve whatever local tasks are still outstanding, load up our cars, and then punch out.
We plan on Visiting family and friends in Portland, Salt Lake City, Colorado Springs, Altus (Oklahoma), Dallas, Lake Charles (Louisiana), Knoxville, Jacksonville (North Carolina), Washington DC, a little town in Maryland, and then stopping in Groton.
I will try to put up a post and some pictures every couple days during the trip.
Until then…