{"id":7809,"date":"2025-08-05T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/?p=7809"},"modified":"2025-08-05T07:37:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T11:37:12","slug":"197-what-the-hell-did-i-get-myself-into","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/197-what-the-hell-did-i-get-myself-into\/","title":{"rendered":"#197\u2014What the Hell Did I Get Myself Into?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Trivia Questions (Answers @ end)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Who said, \u201cEvery successful person you admire survived a season you didn\u2019t see.\u201d<\/em>?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. In what movie (and who said it) did we hear, \u201cDo, or do not. There is no \u2018try\u2019.\u201d<\/em>?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. In what song (and who sang it) did we hear the following?
    There is none so blind as he who will not see<\/em>
    We must not close our minds we must let our thoughts be free<\/em>
    For every hour that passes by you know the world gets a little bit older<\/em>
    It\u2019s time to realize that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n
    <\/div>
    Blog #197 (audio)<\/div><\/div>
    <\/div>
    <\/div>
    Published: <\/span>August 4, 2025<\/span><\/div>
    <\/div>Audio by Andy Adkins<\/a><\/div><\/form><\/span>4<\/span> Downloads<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>
    <\/div>\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    \u201cI don\u2019t know what I\u2019ve been told \u2026<\/em>
    163 got a \u2018hole lotta soul.<\/em>
    Sound off \u2026 1, 2.<\/em>
    Sound off \u2026 3, 4.<\/em>
    Bring it on down now.<\/em>
    1,2,3,4, 1,2<\/em>
    Let\u2019s go!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ahh, the cadence of Company #163 marching from the barracks to the chow hall at Orlando RTC<\/a><\/strong> in the hot July summer of 1973.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Of course, that was a much better sound than the galvanized 50-gallon garbage can \u201calarm clock\u201d being kicked down the middle of the barracks at \u201co-dark-thirty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"Military<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    For those of you not familiar with the military term \u201czero-dark-thirty\u201d \u2026 think of it as freaking dark time \u2026 when you\u2019re in the middle of a good dream \u2026 sleeping in a nice, quiet, meat locker \u2026 with 80 of your closest friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Yeah, you remember, don\u2019t you? I was 18 years old; how old were you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I know I\u2019m not the only one who thought, \u201cWhat in the hell did I get myself into<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My first letter home\u2014after the standard Navy-issue<\/em> postcard announcing I arrived safely at Navy boot camp and WILL write home regularly\u2014basically stated, \u201cThis place is a hellhole.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    My first letter home to my parents from boot camp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Funny thing was, after the second or third week of boot camp, I no longer asked what I was getting into. It became a routine. Six weeks later, I graduated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Same for ABH \u201cA\u201d School<\/a><\/strong> at Lakehurst, New Jersey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My first duty station was NAS Agana, Guam<\/a><\/strong>. Like many others, I \u201clearned\u201d my rating on the job. As an Aviation Boatswain\u2019s Mate Handler<\/strong>, my job in Guam, as well as aboard USS Kitty Hawk<\/em><\/strong>, was an aircraft Crash <\/strong>firefighter<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I can honestly say that during my three years, eleven months, & 29 days (but who\u2019s counting?),<\/strong> there was only one other time I asked the pertinent question, \u201cWhat the hell did I get myself into<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I won\u2019t go into details, primarily because the only thing I remember was that particular night involved a lot of alcohol\u2014San Miguel<\/strong> beer, I might add.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"PI
    Olongapo City, Philippines. Westpac ’75.
    I’m the one drinking the beer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    At three pisos a bottle (at that time, one US dollar was equivalent to about six Philippine pisos), and <\/em>the first time back after a five-week at sea period (meaning several <\/em>paydays), what could go wrong?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Fortunately for me, PI (Philippine Islands<\/a>, our overseas home port) had a midnight curfew, and I was out with some good flight deck buddies who \u201chelped\u201d me stumble my way back to the ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Transition to Civilian Life<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    When I left the Navy in July 1977, I knew what I wanted to do. I would return to school and get a degree in electronics engineering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That idea actually came to me during Kitty Hawk\u2019s<\/em> one-year overhaul in the Bremerton Shipyards<\/a>.<\/strong> Our normal workday was 7:30a to 3:00p. After that, liberty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I got bored after a couple of months, so I took a few classes at Olympic Community College<\/strong>. One was in electronics, which planted the initial seed. Even though I\u2019d flunked out of Florida State University<\/strong> after a year (I don\u2019t know why \u2026 my GPA was 0.7<\/a>), I knew I\u2019d grown up a bit in the Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    After I got home, I took a job as a firefighter with the City of Gainesville<\/strong>, Florida<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Gainesville<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    I think that because I went from one regimented routine into another (the fire department), that helped ease me back into civilian life. That, and going back to college full-time, kept me pretty busy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And then \u2026 I met the love of my life, Becky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The rest is, as they say, history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Later Years<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019m retired now \u2026 and have been for a while. At 70 years old, I still keep myself busy (sometimes, there are too many things going on at one time), but I don\u2019t complain. I often tell Becky, \u201cIt helps keep me off the streets<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We both do a lot of volunteer work, mostly through our church. There are a lot of needs out there, so Becky & I do what we can when we can. It\u2019s extremely rewarding to see the impact our small deeds have on others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But what a lot of people don\u2019t know is how these people impact us<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I don\u2019t ask myself the initial pertinent question anymore. As I\u2019ve grown older, with my soul mate, two wonderful kids and three awesome grandsons, I often look back at the things we\u2019ve done and reflect on that wonderful journey called “life.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now, the question I often ask myself is, \u201cHow did I get so lucky<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Until we meet again,
    Andy<\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"Andy<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Andy Adkins is a US Navy veteran<\/strong> (\u201973-77) and the author of several books (www.azadkinsiii.com<\/a>), many of which are free downloads (PDF, eBook format). He is currently retired and lives in Gainesville, Florida with his wife and life-long soulmate, Becky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Previous Blogs mentioned in this Post:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n