{"id":8399,"date":"2026-09-29T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/?p=8399"},"modified":"2026-09-28T17:43:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T21:43:21","slug":"224-short-timer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/224-short-timer\/","title":{"rendered":"#224\u2014Short Timer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

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  1. Who said, \u201cThere are no times like the old times; they shall never be forgot.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. In what movie did we hear (and who said it), \u201cThere\u2019s no place like home.\u201d<\/em>?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. In what song (and who sang it) did we hear:
    I\u2019m sitting in the railway station<\/em>
    Got a ticket for my destination<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    <\/div>
    Blog #224 (audio)<\/div><\/div>
    <\/div>
    <\/div>
    Published: <\/span>September 28, 2026<\/span><\/div>
    <\/div>Audio by Andy Adkins<\/a><\/div><\/form><\/span>2<\/span> Downloads<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>
    <\/div>\n\n\n
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    Technically\u2014and I use that term loosely\u2014a \u201cShort Timer<\/strong>\u201d refers to a military member who has fewer than 90 days before they transfer to another duty station or leave the service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It also implies a certain \u201cGAF\u201d attitude that often accompanies said military member during those last days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A \u201cShort Timer\u2019s chain\u201d is a physical symbol that one might wear signifying their status. I know a few shipmates who fashioned theirs out of various items, including twine or office paper clips; one link\/clip representing a single day and usually starting with 30 links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In my time (\u201973-77), the Short Timer\u2019s Chain wasn\u2019t as popular as the Short Timer\u2019s Calendar, primarily because (in my experience) Navy Chiefs didn\u2019t like the additional paraphernalia (i.e., it wasn\u2019t part of the \u201cUniform of the Day\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Personally, I think they were just jealous because I was leaving and they weren\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The verbal Short Timer equivalent is, \u201c30 days and a wake up\u201d or however many days are left before departing. The intensity & relief uttering this specific phrase increases as the days count down; I can tell you that from experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Vietnam War Era<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    During the Vietnam War<\/strong>, a \u201cnormal\u201d tour of duty was one year for the Army and Air Force, 13 months for the Marines, and if you were a sailor \u201clucky enough\u201d to be stationed in-country, also 12 months. It was not unusual for these men (and women) to list the number of months left on their tour on their helmets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When the soldier or sailor reached \u201c99 Days and a Wake-up,\u201d they joined the ranks of what was commonly known as the double-digit midget. THAT was a big day\u2026 you could see the light at the end of the tunnel.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"\"
    \u201cSnoopy\u201d Short Timer Calendar
    Photo credit: Butler Center for Arkansas Studies. Central Arkansas Library System.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Troops often created a special \u201cShort Timer Calendar\u201d to track their last 100 days. Many represented an outline of a well-endowed young lady. The idea was that the Short Timer would color in the 100 numbered segments day-by-day. The last three days to color in were located \u2026 well \u2026 use your imagination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Other popular Short Timer calendars included a hand with the middle finger extended up (i.e., the \u201cbird\u201d) or a picture of the ever-popular Snoopy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It wasn\u2019t that much different in the Navy aboard a ship (USS Kitty Hawk<\/em><\/strong> for me) or stationed on dry land (NAS Agana, Guam<\/strong>). Once you reached those remaining days, your overall attitude also changed \u2026 many of us just didn\u2019t \u201cGive a Flip\u201d (GAF). Well \u2026 we really did care, but we didn\u2019t want to show it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Last Days Aboard Kitty Hawk<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    My last few days aboard the Kitty Hawk<\/em> were full of mixed feelings. Those emotions were different from when I left Guam (my first duty station) after being stationed there for 15 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I wasn\u2019t leaving a girlfriend\u2014I was leaving a home. I wasn\u2019t being transferred to another duty station\u2014I was going home. Kitty Hawk<\/em> had been a great ship, and I considered most of the V-1 Division<\/strong> crew I worked with … family.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    USS Kitty Hawk, CV-63
    Photo credit: Official U.S. Navy photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    I had to complete a ton of paperwork, which I really didn\u2019t mind. I knew the main reason was that I was being discharged. The last document I signed was my discharge paper, the infamous DD-214. No problem\u2014\u201cpress hard, the third copy\u2019s yours<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We often call this a \u201cVeteran\u2019s Ph.D.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And with that simple gesture, I was no longer a member of Uncle Sam\u2019s Sailing Club<\/strong>. After four years, I was once again a civilian. Of course, at the time it didn\u2019t really feel any different from going home on leave, and it would take some time before I realized I was truly out of the Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Last Traditions<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    It is also a Navy tradition to have someone carry your seabag off the ship for you that one last time. I thought about it, but I didn\u2019t ask anyone, mainly because I was ready to boogie and I\u2019d already said my goodbyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    After emptying my lockers in both Crash<\/strong> (I secretly kept one there without anyone knowing, after I became a Yellow Shirt Director<\/strong>) and in the V-1 Division berthing compartment, I stuffed my seabag with all my Navy uniforms as well as the few civvies I owned. The Navy lets you keep all of your uniforms\u2014like I might wear them again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I had dressed in civvies\u2014blue jeans, a pullover shirt, and Keds lace-up sneakers\u2014to make my last walk across the After brow<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As I\u2019d done for the past 2 1\/2 years, I saluted the Petty Officer of the Watch and asked one more time, \u201cPermission to go ashore, sir.\u201d He bid me farewell and wished me good luck. I saluted the flag one last time, even in civilian clothes\u2014it was an old habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I thought about leaving a little \u201csouvenir\u201d behind, something for my buddies to remember ol\u2019 Chet Adkins, but I didn\u2019t. Like I said, I was ready to leave. It was me, my seabag, and my 12-string guitar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There was no fanfare, no band, no one on the pier waiting for me. There were no tears or sorrowful looks. I walked out to my truck, threw my seabag in the back, and headed out through the North Island Naval Air Station<\/strong> gate one last time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It had been an interesting career, my first of many, though I didn\u2019t know it at the time. For me\u2026 Three Years, Eleven Months, and 29 Days: But Who\u2019s Counting?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cReserve\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Although I was technically out of the Navy, they still considered me \u201cInactive Reserve,\u201d which meant they could call me up unexpectedly if they needed me. I would be in the inactive reserve for two more years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My dad, a WWII Army veteran, suggested that I stay in the active Navy Reserve, which meant I would have to meet one weekend a month and two weeks during the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But after thinking hard about it for exactly 1.2 seconds, I said, \u201cNo, I\u2019d had enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Do You Remember?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Remember those last days as a Short Time and when you met a FNG and were able to say, loud & proud, \u201cI\u2019m so short that \u2026\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n