Not a whole lot went on today for the most part, but while shopping for my dad's birthday present I got conned into speaking with a Navy recruiter by my mom. Seeing as I've actually been glancing sideways at the idea of military service recently, I figured it couldn't hurt to bounce a few questions off of someone.
I decided I'd just loiter up to the office to look at some of the pamphlets and random shit they had outside and wait to see what they did. I had been standing outside the office for literally five seconds before one of several guys in uniform came out and offered me his hand. Then came the questions, standard ones first: age, birthplace, college y/n?, where's your school (Columbia? Isn't that in South Carolina?), etc. Then the fun ones that I seriously considered having fun with: got any tattoos?, are you on drugs?, ever been arrested?, are you pregnant? Anyways, after that was through, I had to get over the first real hurdle: So...what brings you here?
Finally, a good question.
I simply said I was kicking around ideas for after school and wanted to know what joining the Navy would be like and what opportunities were there. While getting in as an officer was somewhat more involved, I learned they pretty much just test the shit out of you and assign you someplace you show aptitude for. And then it hit me: I didn't have to know or want anything to get into the Navy because they would just mold me into whatever they wanted anyways. So here's the bottom line: sign up, do what you're told, do it well, get paid, get benefits forever. What a deal! If it weren't that nagging little bastard question of "to what end" to consider, I might have signed up right there. Problems solved. But I want more, I think, even if I don't know exactly what yet, and I think I need a greater purpose than the general good of the Navy and the good ol' US of A.
I'd heard enough, but I had to ask...
"So how do I become a submarine captain?"
He laughed.
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