In the Navy, du da du da du daaah du!

I am sure there are words to the rest of the song, but I don't remember them...

For several years now, my husband and I have talked about the possibility of him joining the Armed Forces.  As a Chaplain.  For several years now, we've debated and discussed and gone back and forth about the topic.  You see, his denomination is the Church of the Brethren, which is traditionally a peace church.  They tend to support the troops but not the war, and he had a very hard time reconciling that fact.  He's always agreed that he would be very good at it, and that it is a position that is in desperate need for people, but he's always been very hesitant.

My husband also hates his current job.  He is working at Directv, making $10.00 an hour to do something he hates.  He is miserable there.  Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of jobs in Missoula.  And there aren't ANY jobs that would be putting his hard-earned degree to use.  One of the reasons we moved back to Montana was so that he could plant a church here - we thought that the city was ready for a CoB.  We've had some difficulties on that front.  It isn't going as well as we'd hoped.  Several weeks ago, he told me that while he'd felt called here...he wasn't feeling the drive to start the church anymore.  We talked a lot about finding a way for him to get his CPE (clinical pastoral education - the extra training a Chaplain for a hospital, for example, needs in order to get a job.)

Tuesday was the last that he could deal with the constant job hunting and the constant rejections.  He stopped in at the Navy Recruitment office and had a long talk with their Officer Recruiter Lady.

Before anyone asks...no, this wasn't a snap decision.  We've discussed it a lot, and I told him that I would be very supportive of him becoming a Chaplain.  The time apart will be hard...but he is going to be so good at it. People like him are needed in the Chaplain Corps.  He has a lot of experience with various denominations and he is not so set in his ways that he's not willing to talk to people and help them.  Plus, he really loves counseling people and helping them.

The biggest obstacle we're facing right now is that he needs to lose 50lbs.  Or grow 12 inches...but I think it's more likely we'll lose the weight first.  ;)  It is going to be difficult, but I think that he'll be able to do it.  He's really, really dedicated to this...he wants it, and he's going to bust his ass to make it happen.

The next boards (which are interviews, of sorts, in DC) happen in August.  Which would mean he'd need to lose the weight by then.  We're hopeful, but realistic...losing 50lbs in 7 weeks is not an easy task.  However, if he can't...there are the next boards.  At the most, he'll be waiting a year to get into training.  At the earliest, he'd be going to training in October.

I won't lie, it's a scary thing.  Depending on where he is stationed, he could be gone quite a bit.  The distance is going to be hard...but it will be worth it, in the end.

Right now, things are very up in the air.  But the plan is he'll do 5 weeks of ODS training in Rhode Island, then 10 weeks of Chaplain Training in Jackson.  After that, he'll be stationed somewhere.  He'll get down there and get us set up with a house, and then I will move down with the baby.  He will get a 'wish list' of where to be stationed, but there is no guarantee that he'll get any of the places.  There are a lot of options...unfortunately, they're ALL far away from Montana and the mountains.  But...we can visit.

He'll be going in as an officer.  The money is...pretty ridiculously good.  He'll be making double what he would as a starting CoB Pastor at a church.  And while that isn't the only consideration...it is a big one for us. I won't HAVE to work, if I don't want to.  I will finish my degree...I'll transfer wherever he gets sent.  After that, I can find a job teaching or find another way to put my English degree to use.  But it's nice that it will be an option and not a requirement.  On top of that are the other benefits like the tuition reimbursement (he'll get money to pay for his student loans,) GI Bill, health insurance, etc etc.

He told me that one of the reasons he really considered this is because of the baby.  I'm grateful to him for that.  He is going to be very good as a Chaplain, and I think that this can open a lot of doors for him.  If he doesn't like it, he'll still have experience and training as a Chaplain, and can find a job at a hospital.  Or take a church somewhere.  Or so many other things.

Needless to say, I'm very proud of my husband.  He has really grabbed this thing by the horns.  He's been working out, and eating much better.  He's willing to do whatever he has to do to make this work.