I've only been at this new gig for just over a year, but it has been a good one. It was a big change of pace and scope- from managing a Mine Warfare portfolio, to overseeing the management of Undersea Experimentation and the development of CONOPS- Concept of Operation. As we test and experiment on new systems, we have to write down how we plan to use it, who will operate it, how it'll communicate back to the ship or shore station, and what support is needed. That part can be a little dry, but the actual experiments we're conducting is exciting, such as sending little robots out of subs to do interesting things, special comms between a sub and the F-35, and using 100 mph unmanned boats to drop off interesting things.
In the last gig I had several bosses, which isn't optimum, but had been doing that job for 13 years so I was on auto-pilot. I also ran my program in a way that my bosses wanted all others in my department to emulate. So it was nice for the first law of Navy thermodynamics* to always be maintained.
In the new position, which was a nice bump in pay, and a commensurate level of responsibility, work is very different, but far more interesting. Mine Countermeasures and Mining had long since grown monotonous and highly disrespected by Big Navy, whereas submarine operations and other undersea missions have top level interest. They are also the things that good authors write exciting books about, ones that stack up on both mine and Sarge's nightstands.
As a supervisor though, I have my own office and no longer work in a cubicle environment, rolling up my sleeves on the daily, which I actually didn't mind. I had great co-workers in a fun and often hilarious work space that is somewhat missed. I'm a pretty social guy so it was a change to not have that same work environment, but the pay, parking space, office, and potential for upward mobility is an even trade off. Not to mention the coolness factor of the things I work on now.
My boss, another S-3B Viking guy, is approaching his mid-60s and won't be here forever. He's been bringing me in on all his efforts so I can pick up the ball whenever he decides to punch out. He's even said "when you take over for me" a couple times. That would be another bump, (good), with added stress (bad). I had a little incident when I first took this job- some chest pain and too-high BP, which sent me to the ER, but it turned out to be just stress related as I realized I had a lot to learn and I was also absolutely dreading the commute home. It's only 10 miles, but it was taking 40+ minutes due to traffic that I didn't have in the last job (10 minute commute). I started listening to conservative talk radio on the drive home which really lowers my BP. HA! Nah, I just relaxed and realized it's just part of the job and to not let it get to me. It was a transition for me though- commuting, supervising, planning, etc.
I only have a few folks working for me- two military, one civilian, but my boss has four senior civilians, plenty of active duty guys, and a large contractor team working with a fluctuating annual budget ($2-6M) on various Frankenstein projects that have potential to make it to the Fleet. And if proposals aren't submitted timely or correctly, a lot of those contractors could be out of a job. That's not the priority- helping the Fleet is, but that money is out there and it'll just go to some other command if we can't capture it. The powers that be may want another retired O-6 in the billet though, which is probably a good idea as I'm not sure I'd be comfortable juggling all those bowling balls. He'll get me up to speed whether or not I want to apply for it when he leaves though, because we never get a new hire quickly and I'll have to manage the program in his absence. We'll see, but in the meantime my wife and I will be doing more of this:
Job prospects aside, I mentioned that pre-retirement planning has already begun for me. My wife and I have been using the leave and travel comp time I earn by taking four trips already this year- Tampa, Cancun, Hawaii, and Niagara Falls. And I've been to India twice and Monterey once for work projects. I have too many friends and relatives who either died too early, or whose health declined in their 60s so we're not waiting to start ticking off that bucket list. We definitely have the travel bug and a commensurate level of timeshare points, so we will continue to do that both ahead of and after retirement. My work is very interesting, challenging, and it pays the bills, but whenever I do decide to pull the handle- either at minimum or full retirement age, I won't miss it. I've gotten a bit cynical after 14 years of Govt service. Not that I don't like the work or feel that I'm continuing to serve honorably, but I see the bureaucracy inherent to all things the govt touches, and am absolutely unable to change a bit of it. No matter how much we try to fix our broken and slow acquisition cycle, we still require 20 years to get a system to the Fleet. And when we attempt to avoid the errors of the past (LCS), we do the same when we build the next (Constellation Class Frigate). And no program is immune to constant marks by congress**, or reprogramming within the Pentagon.***
On a more happy note, my Nuke Machinist Mate nephew is newly stationed here in San Diego. And on the Carl Vinson, which was the best tour of my career. I just might be able to get onboard for one of those family day cruises to watch some flight ops! He's got five long years ahead of him, but he'll reenlist for an additional two years this December, at the two year mark of his career. There's another Nuke bonus for that, and an instant promotion to E-5. E-5 in two years! That's what going Nuke does for you. We'll have him over for family dinners on the regular, which he's already appreciated once. He's in four section duty though and is under the gun to get qualified so every other weekend he'll be working. It'll be fun to watch him start his career as I begin to wind down my own.
So, that's what's going on in Tuna world. All in all, quite blessed and quite happy. Enjoy your week.
*When the heats on someone else, it's not on you!
**Congress marks up the defense budget and steals money from defense programs all the time.
***The CNO also moves money around so programs are challenged to stay on schedule, budget, and performance. Sometimes they are zeroed out, which is essentially cancelling them without having to say they're cancelled, or being blamed for it.
Was wondering how life was treating you and the better half and here's a post, with visuals, most excellent! Good to read that someone finds their work challenging and interesting Tuna, nice to know that some of my Federal tax $$ are going to good use....... :) Travel now while the health allows it and by the way...... keep the 'stache.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I've only been present here in the comments, with my last post being back in April. And it had been so long that I forgot that that particular post is far too similar to the one today! Hopefully you won't forgotten as well. I like that mustache too but snorkeling in Hawaii demanded it's removal. I may bring it back soon.
DeleteHUZZAH!
ReplyDeleteRetirement is great! do what I want when I want - no pressure, no chest pain
ReplyDeleteGetting up at zero dark hundred, fighting the other commuters on the way home (twice as long as getting there), dealing with OPP (other people's problems) twelve hrs per six days per, requisitioning necessities for today that'll arrive next week, ad inf.
I'd rather be working.
I'm sure I'll adapt well. 12x6? Ugh.
DeleteNice post, Tuna. In that opening photo, I'm happy to say that I've never experienced rush hour in a major city on a daily grind. So I've got that going for me. (Probably why I avoid cities, if I can.)
ReplyDeleteThanks. The traffic can be mind numbing but I have to chill out and focus on something else.
DeleteVery good that you've been climbing in ability and money. Responsibility, though, yeah... Sigh... Are you planning to stay in SD once you retire or are you wanting to bail to other places?
ReplyDeleteProbably stay here because of our son.
DeleteMy frequent comment that "some day all this could be yours" was met with a visible lack of enthusiasm.
ReplyDeleteHaha! Yeah, that's pretty much how it is. The only plus side is the pay at that point, and not sure that's worth the stress.
DeleteExcellent planning and execution there, Tuna!
ReplyDeleteSure would be nice to get some travel reports as you wander off to exotic (or moderately interesting) places. Tales and tips of misadventures, successful plans, great places to visit, or those to avoid. Make us jealous we have not been somewhere and convince us we really need to go. Or, make us thankful we know about that and can skip or do things differently.
Sadly, "Mine Countermeasures and Mining had long since grown monotonous and highly disrespected by Big Navy..." Yup, that mine warfare stuff is boring and not important... until it is REALLY important. Like if the other guy dumps some where you need to go, like in that tiny little channel in Sandy Eggo, or a dozen other critical points near U.S. bases. Or, places we might want to go, like somewhere in the Pacific.
We only have eight Mine Countermeasure Ships (MCM-1 Avenger class) left from the 14 built 30+ years ago, and they are all homeported in Japan or Bahrain. Four of the eight will decommission in 2025. Delusional folks claim that the LCS can do minesweeping (true, each LCS can do it once) although the first of the MCM packages has now been delivered 10 years late, and thankfully the LCS are being decommissioned as fast as the stragglers are delivered. We had significant airborne minesweeping capability with MH-53 helicopters, but that has atrophied to a single combined active/reserve squadron with some birds deployed to Bahrain and South Korea, and their future lifespan is tenuous.
Tuna and his former playmates obviously do not set policy or priorities, but those who do have done us no favors with their disinterest and disrespect. There will be a huge price paid for this disrespect of mine warfare.
John Blackshoe
You have definitely summed up the mine warfare woes, but next year we will have no ships in Bahrain, and the rest atrophying at the pier in Japan. The 53s go away next year as well.
DeleteTuna, thanks for sharing! It is Interesting to me to hear about other peoples working environments
ReplyDeleteLike you, although not at the point that I can actually talk about retirement I am certainly thinking about and was even discussing it with my sister and brother-in-law this afternoon. And like you, I have had too many people clock out too early to be willing to wait all that long to start doing the things I want to do now.
You are welcome, while I know what I will do in retirement it won't be a lot different than what I'm doing now, except for the work part!
DeleteStarted as a Nub MM3 Nuke CVN-70 RM02, Ended 7 1/2 yrs later, MM1, (E-6) LPO.
ReplyDelete"Rat" Willard, Tech advisor to TOP GUN "the movie" was a squadron xo?CO? when I arrived. '87ish. Had to get his signature as ship XO when I checked off the ship in '94, he did comment on our career overlap.
Wouldn't want to do it again.... But I would so love to try to do it again.
If he ends up in 2RAR, I've got stories!