Last week, I got the best news I have received in a very, very long time. To give you an idea of how momentous this is, you have to understand a few things about how sailors in the Navy get their jobs. For decades, sailors would call up one person who is called their Detailer. This person is privy to all of the open positions that person is qualified for throughout the Navy. They would talk to this person and try to convince him or her to give them the position they wanted. Two things have to coincide for a sailor to get what he wants: the desire of the sailor and the needs of the Navy.
As time goes on, and a sailor spends more and more time in the Navy, this window of opportunity gets tighter and tighter. Eventually, they have gained so much experience and specialized training, that there are only a few positions available. To get the detailer to give you something completely outside of your normal career path, is like pulling teeth from a lion. Its like trying to get Atlas to shrug or perhaps unravel the Gordian Knot. 99% of the time, its just not going to happen.
So, this momentous occasion, this absolutely amazing event that happen... my detailer released me to the special programs detailer, who is putting me into the Navy's Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Program Counselor position on the USS Ronald Reagan. I have to owe this to my department head, who happens to know my detailer, for facilitating the decision, and a whole lot of it to luck.
What am I going to be doing, you ask? Well, in September I will be driving out to California, to the naval station at Point Loma in San Diego. There, for 10 weeks, I will sit through 7 weeks of didactic training and then spend 3 weeks in clinical rotation learning to be a substance abuse counselor. Once I have completed the school I will drive north to Bremerton, Washington where I will check in to the USS Ronald Reagan. For the next year I will serve as the one individual on the ship who counsels people when they have substance abuse issues. After that first year, I will be able to take an exam, raising myself from intern to a full fledged Navy Alcohol and Drug Counselor. After spending three years in that position, I will be able to take a second exam which will internationally certify me in 40 states and 14 countries. After reading up on this program I discovered that many people in this position are highly sought after in the civilian sector, at places like the Betty Ford Clinic.
I love knowing where I am heading. I do not like not having a course or a heading, but now that I have this one, I am extremely happy. So, at least one thing in the last eight months has gone right.
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