A Veteran's Journey

I am a veteran… a United States Navy veteran to be more specific. I enlisted (“volunteered”) in July 1973 for four years. I almost made four years. It was exactly three years, eleven months, and 29 days (but who’s counting). I joke about that—and, I actually wrote a book with that title. But, those four years were some of the best. Lots of memories, both good and bad, but you tend to remember the good more than the bad. Isn’t that how you successfully get through life?

It’s only fitting that I start this new blog today: Veteran’s Day 2019. I’m at that age where I can look back at my life & career(s) and wonder, “How did I get here?” Older people often call that “philosophizing.” I call it a journey. I have learned over the years that “life is a journey and you take one step at a time.” Hence, the tagline of my blog.

I grew up in Gainesville, Florida in the 60s & 70s, graduating from Gainesville High School in 1972. To this day, I continue to stay in touch with many of my high school classmates, primarily through Facebook, since we’re scattered about. There were more than 1,000 of us who graduated in ’72. And, there are still several of us in Gainesville.

After high school, I “tried” college (Florida State University), but only lasted a year. I’m not sure why–I was 17 years old when I started in the Fall of ’72. After my first year, FSU asked me to leave. I believe the term on my report card was “Dismissed for academic reasons.” I was maintaining a 0.7 GPA. Why would they want me to leave?

Then I joined the Navy.

We were still fighting the Vietnam War, though the draft officially ended in January 1973 (a few months before I enlisted). But, since I didn’t know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, I thought I’d give the military a try.

My father served in the U.S. Army, 80th Infantry Division, and fought the Germans during WWII (I wrote a book about that, too). I initially gave that a “quick” thought. But at the time, I was into scuba diving. One of my dive buddies had served in the Navy and had good things to say. My thought process was simple: there were probably more scuba diving opportunities in the Navy than the Army. There, I made a decision.

Since I was 18, I was able to legally sign documents. I rode my bike downtown to the Tallahassee Navy Recruiter’s office and signed up for a four-year enlistment.

From my Navy book: A few days later, I was working at the dive shop when my mom and dad called. My dad said, “Son, we just got your report card and wanted to talk with you about your grades.” “Yeah, I know. I didn’t do as well as I should have.” Before my dad or mom could say another thing I blurted out, “I joined the Navy.” There was a silence—a long, deafening silence. I think I heard a collective gasp from the other end of the phone. My mom said, “What?” I told them again.

I forgot whatever else was said during that phone call, but my mom told me years later that she and my dad were very proud of me at that moment. They said that I had made one of the most important decisions in my life. More important, I stuck with it, all three years, eleven months, and 29 days_.

I had an outstanding, albeit short, Navy “career.” After boot camp in Orlando, I went to Lakehurst, NJ to attend ABH (Aviation Boatswain’s Mate-Handler) school. That was my specialty: aircraft crash & rescue firefighter and aircraft director. My first duty station was NAS (Naval Air Station) Agana, Guam. That’s on the other side of the world, by the way. But, lots of great scuba diving. After 15 months in Guam, I was transferred to an aircraft carrier, USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63). I spent two and a half years aboard Kitty Hawk. We made one six-month Westpac (Western Pacific) cruise in 1975, then headed up to Bremerton, WA for a year in the shipyards.

All-in-all, I figure I had three “tours of duty” in four years. One step follows another.

After the Navy, I came back home to Gainesville and landed another great job as a firefighter with the City of Gainesville. In 1977, I was making $9,600 a year. To me, that was a lot of money back then.

I’ll spare you the details, but I went back to school (University of Florida this time), received a couple of degrees in Electronics Engineering, held several electronics engineering jobs in different locations throughout the country, and eventually started my own business as an independent legal technology consultant in 1989.

Long story short, it’s been quite a journey, one step followed by another.

Now, I’m in my third retirement phase, or whatever you call it, and I’m writing again. I’ve written several books, both business (legal technology) and military non-fiction (WWII and Navy). As a consultant, I wrote and published more than 300 articles. Part of that was for marketing but, I found out that I like to write. It’s become addictive.

And, I just completed writing my first novel. While I’m waiting for the right literary agent and the right publisher (the “Query Trenches”), I’m beginning my next journey… to work on my next novel. I mean, why wait.

So, that’s my backstory.

Until we meet again,
Andy

Andy Adkins is a US Navy veteran (’73-77) and the author of several books. His newest novel, NEVER FORGET, is the story of A Vietnam Veteran’s Journey for Redemption & Forgiveness. NEVER FORGET is FREE (eBook, PDF) for all veterans. Download your FREE copy HERE.