The Stories of "A" and "M"

Interesting things have been happening to my classmates this week. For their confidentiality, I'll just use the first letters of their first names.

Maybe a couple days into class, a few weeks ago, "A" was sent up to DRB (disciplinary review board - a panel of chiefs who yell and tell you you're lower than dirt while you stand at attention in your dress uniform and politely try to answer their questions - usually you're there because of a dumb decision, so good luck). "A" was there for getting a tattoo where the Navy says specifically a person can't. It was pretty much an act of defiance... everyone is clear from the day they swear in about this rule.

I just found out a couple days ago that "A", while having been on restriction on 32nd street this whole time (for 45 days, with a reduction in rank, and a half month's pay times two), that after this is all over, she is being processed out of the Navy. ! ... I guess that makes sense, since it's hard to undo a tattoo... but how very strict. She and I went through both A-school and Ops together.

Now "M" was in the division before me in boot camp. Her A-school was right after mine, and we did Ops together. She's still in my Maintenance class, and Thursday, our instructor told her to go talk to someone downstairs for a sea-duty screening, because her orders had come through! She told us yesterday in class (to a very attentive audience) that she'd been selected at random to go with the last set of people manning the Precom (pre-commissioned) ship USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) after she finishes class, and she also mentioned all the neat places they get to see on the way to their home port. (My roommate Kat from the barracks, along with her friend D. were also assigned to that ship as operators.) What news! Maybe more of us will be getting our orders soon.