The GITMO wrap-up

Did you  ever have a boss who was a micromanager? My last Master Chief in Gitmo was just that. I had repaired all the machines and ran both Civilian and Military payrolls for 3 years. No one missed check or a payday. No time was lost due to down time on machines. But still two days before a payroll was to be processed he would stop by my desk to say, “Payroll in two days, we can’t be late.”  It was like that for every routine job.

Funny, I smiled the first couple times, then I started giving my stock answer, “Been doing this 3 years Master Chief, ain’t missed one yet and never had to be told.”

It never phased him, still the same. So I talked it over with Sherry and decided to cut my tour short, I could do that. So I put in for early transfer.  Unbeknown to me the Master chief was doing the same. I could have stayed and let him go.  But the paperwork was already started.

Daddy, Mama, Kat, Shirl and Me

One of the worst thing in my life up until then happened. My Dad passed away while we were in GITMO. The USN sent me home in time for the funeral, Sherry and the boys came a couple days later. We spent a couple weeks with mama before we headed back to Cuba. Shirl was home and lived near, watching over mama.

We can never forget dad’s words when he learned we were going to Cuba, “You will take those boys to Cuba and I will never see them again.”

But he did see them again, as this picture shows. Those two boys, with our permission, by themselves, left Cuba, landed in Norfolk, took a taxi to the Bus station and took a bus to Grandpa’s house, 300 miles away! That was an adventure for them they have never forgotten….

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So we were leaving Gitmo bay after 3 1/2 years. The whole family agrees that this was absolutely the best tour of duty of our career.  Chatty mentioned my jobs seemed to be fun, I have seldom had a job I disliked. I have never hated Mondays it is not my nature. Master Chief Montoya could not help the fact he was insecure, but he was the least liked of all my bosses in life.

Even under him, I still liked my job. Funny isn’t it, the USN considered this duty so isolated, I had my choice of duty again. I chose Albany, Georgia, and  NIPSTRAFAC (acronym for: Naval Intelligence Processing Training Facility). I had never attended this school, but this was the facility that trained sailors and officers for the Intelligence Center on the Ships. I had worked this system aboard the Independence, and liked that job.

Leaving Gitmo we were financially better off than we had been in our lives. After Sherry came to Gitmo and took a job, we lived off her salary and saved mine. We were taking a ten day leave between duty stations. Boarding that plane for Norfolk, we all had mixed feelings. We had fell in love with the tropics…

Nite Shipslog

PS:

We had all heard of Albany, NY, but had not heard of Albany, Georgia.

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