Six Years Ago Today

Six years ago today, Vic graduated from Officer Development School and a whole new chapter began in his Navy career.  I'll back up a little bit to give you some background...

Vic joined the Navy in 1994.  At 26, he was the third oldest recruit in his class.  We had both been working for the cable television company on Saipan and they were running into financial difficulties so when we explored our options, Vic ran into the Navy recruiter, and that's how the story began.

Vic was an Electrician's Mate and rose to the rank of Chief (E-7 to those of you who are familiar with military ranks).  He was an early candidate, making Chief after only 8 years and then he was stuck.  It's one of those instances where the senior ranks are top-heavy and with no-one retiring or moving on, chances for advancement were slim.  He decided to pursue another avenue, got his Master's degree in Occupational Safety and Health, and applied for a commission.  It all seemed to happen so fast and it seems like yesterday when I think about it.  Vic was commissioned in January 2012 but was pulling double duty in his new position and in his old one during a major inspection on the ship he had been assigned to since 2010.  Finally, the inspection was over, he left the ship, and came back to Rhode Island where Sophia and I had been living so that he could attend Officer Development School.  You may have heard of Officer Candidate School, but Officer Development School is for the Staff Corps - doctors, dentists, nurses, chaplains, civil engineers, and industrial hygiene officers (that's Vic).

Six weeks of learning how to be an officer culminated in a graduation ceremony with all the pomp and circumstance that the military does so well and here he is above, our graduate.  Next up, orders to his first command as an Industrial Hygiene Officer and a new way of life for all of us.

Happy 23rd Navy Anniversary!

Last night we celebrated Vic's 23rd Navy Anniversary.  23 years ago, Vic reported to Navy Recruit Training to begin what has been an amazing career that has taken us up and down the East Coast, over to the Midwest, and to the Pacific Northwest.  He has visited five out of the seven continents during seven deployments and has a chestful of medals to commemorate outstanding service.  I am so proud of him!

I decided to start a series of themed dinners to celebrate the remaining anniversaries.  They will be in the form of country themes, a retrospective of the liberty port countries he visited during his career.  First up was Spain (England was actually his very first liberty port country but I wanted to do an afternoon tea for that one so we'll have to wait until July 11th falls on a weekend - 2021 I think!).

I was fortunate to have a spouse in our group who is from Spain and she pointed me in the right direction for some of the ingredients.  The appetizer and main course were from a Spanish-themed luncheon put on by the local international spouses' group that I attended last time we were here in Virginia.

The menu

Table centerpiece in the colors of the Spanish flag

I sourced the dinnerware and place mats locally - I thought they looked quite Spanish - and found the green-tinged glassware at the Dollar Tree - red napkins completed the place settings

Trio of Spanish cheeses and olives for a starter

Pollo al Chilindron, a delicious tomato and chicken dish, with rice and steamed green beans

Tarta de Santiago, a Spanish almond cake, with the traditional decoration of the Cross of St. James

Cava - a perfect wine for a summer's evening

Has it really been 23 years that we've been living this Navy life?

Happy 21st Navy Anniversary!

Happy 21st Navy Anniversary, darling! Six deployments, five continents, four ships, three shore commands, two sides of the fence, and one very proud family!