The first few weeks on board the USS O Bannon I started doing the usual things people do when they meet new groups of people.  I start talking to each person and find out who they are and all that.  I had been getting to know many of the guys in my division and started to become kind of friends with this one guy (The Enemy).

It turned out he really liked a girl (The Enemy’s Girl) that was in our division.  We would talk about it and joke around as all guys do until one day I said something wrong.  It was one evening after work hours and we were all planning on what we were going to do that night.  Well, earlier in that day I had spoken to the enemy’s girl and she ended up inviting me out to a bar that her and some friends were going to.  For the record, I was not physically attracted to her much.  I thought she was a cool person but did not have intentions on trying to get with her.

Words Are Powerful

While I was getting ready, the enemy came up to me and asked me what I was going to do that night.  I said the following in a kind of chicken shit but joking manner.  “I am going to be going out with your girl!”  You know how sometimes you mean to say things as a joke, but it turns out to be NOT funny to the person at all?  Well this was one of those times.  I don’t know why I used those words but I did and it must have hurt the dude really bad.

He gave me a really sour look and I could tell that he was pissed.  It was that moment that I knew he really cared for this girl.  I tried to apologize but he would not accept it and from that moment forward he began to hate me.  He started talking trash and treating me like crap.  Since I was new he was able to get a lot of the other people against me also.

Not a great way to start off your tour on a Navy ship, let me tell you!  As time went by, I kept trying to apologize and be cool with this guy.  I figured since we have to work together it would be easier on the both of us if we got along.  He just would not budge.  He was really jealous and had this grudge against me.

Eventually he started dating the girl and they ended up becoming a couple.  I tried talking to her to make him understand that I felt bad and that he didn’t need to hate me for it.  She usually acted like she didn’t care and seemed to like the fact that we had drama because of her.  They eventually got married and he moved to another ship that was in the same battle group.

The Creation Of The Enemy

I used to hear threats from other people that knew him sometimes.  They would tell me that if he saw me he was going to kick my ass, etc.  This is where I began to dislike him.  I was tired of kissing this guys ass and if he was going to be making threats then I had a problem with that.  This is how he became, “the enemy”.

I am sure by now you might be thinking, “Why didn’t you just let it go?”  Well, all I can say is that when you are young, proud and in that type of competitive environment it is not easy to let things go.  I always felt like I had something to prove.  My friends are no help either because they were usually egging me on to fight him.

I occasionally saw him in local bars, clubs, etc.  We would exchange some words and make threats but both of us always waited for the other person to make a move first.  One time we did actually almost fight but he backed down.  There was even a time when he came to my apartment!

One night we had a party and one of my roommates invited the enemy’s lady over and she brought him along.  I was pretty drunk when they arrived and was blown away that he actually showed up to my apartment.  I stepped to him and called him outside to fight but he didn’t want to.  My roommates held me back and I kept talking trash.   It was probably a good thing that we didn’t fight because I was pretty drunk and he was sober.  Liquid courage can get your ass kicked sometimes.

So, eventually I calmed down and I sat down with him and talked things out.  I explained to him that it was really shitty for him to treat me so bad all that time and make threats and get others to dislike me.  I think we agreed to squash the drama but I got this feeling that he still didn’t care for me at all.  So be it.  I think that was the last time I saw him.  I can’t remember talking to him again after that day.

What I learned

I learned a lot from that experience.   I image what things would have been like if I never said those words.  Or what would have happened if we fought, or what if I pursued that girl in the beginning, lol.  It is crazy how life is like that.  One small thing can change the whole course of your life.  I learned to be more sensitive to others feelings be a little more careful about what I say.

I know some people might ask why I even cared so much about it, well I can’t help it.  It is just how I am.  I feel as though I can get along with anyone and if I feel their hatred towards me is unjust then I always try to fix things.  It is such history now that if I ever saw him again I would probably just laugh and not say anything.

In the next episode I will introduce you to my best friend who I call E.

What I am writing?

I am in no way a professional writer.  I am writing this simply because I enjoy writing about Navy life and because I get to kind of re-live my experiences.  I have also found that people enjoy hearing stories about military experience.  I spent 3 years and 8 months in active duty in the U.S. Navy.  I first did a 3 year tour on a ship and then got activated from the reserves to do 6 months of duty in Kuwait.

I got out at the end of 2004 so it has been some time and a lot of partying since my Navy days.  Let us hope my memories still remain in tact.  So without further ado, I give you Navy Stories.  My first non-fiction writing project.  I hope you enjoy it.

The Decision To Join

For as long as I can remember I wanted to be a Navy SEAL.  I think it is because of a combination of reasons.  Both my father and brother were in the Army and they both are really into sports.  My father always talked to me about being somebody big and being my own man.   I wanted to to do something to top them and to impress them so, I joined the Navy to become a S.E.A.L.

I remember thinking that Navy SEALs are the best of the best and that is what I want to be.

Notes: SEAL is an acronym for SEa. Air and Land.  Which means they can run operations and attack the enemy from any geographical area or terrain.  Navy SEALs are the most elite military special forces unit in the world.  They have the most difficult training known to man.  The SEALs are trained to never quit no matter what.  This philosophy of strength in the individual makes them virtually unstoppable as a team.

I don’t remember the exact date I told my parents about joining the Navy but I know It was sometime during my junior year of high school.  My mom was not too happy about it but she wouldn’t tell me not to go.  My sisters were concerned but it was peace time at the time.  My brother was always a little tough on me and I remember my brother saying, “So you want to be a bad ass huh?  When you get back I am just going to kick your ass.  Just to show you how bad ass you aren’t.  Hahaha!”

I remember telling my dad that I wanted to go to the Navy to become a SEAL.  He gave me a lecture about the military and agreed that I should go if that is what I really wanted to do.  My father was drafted into the Army for 2 years during the Vietnam era.  He explained to me the difference between wanting to go, and being drafted, but I was very determined at that time to become the best so I did not care.

One day the recruiters came to my school and gave some speeches and walked around talking to the students and went ahead I enlisted during my junior year of high school.  I joined the early enlistment program so I would be ready to go as soon as I graduated.

The Recruiter’s

Those recruiters really sock it to you with the motivational speeches and bullshit, but when you are young they are very impressive people.  They will pretty much tell you anything to get you in.

When I went to the recruiter’s office he showed me various videos of Navy SEAL training to show me how hard it was.  The videos showed them holding boats over their heads and running ridiculous distances.  They did tons of different calisthenics and really tough training procedures.  They showed them infiltrating and taking over buildings, etc.   I was not deterred by the training.  I felt like I would be able to handle it.  The recruiter was surprised at how determined I was to be a SEAL.  He said that most of the people he shows the videos change their mind right away.

I had been approached by other recruiters from different branches before but I chose the Navy instead.  It was entertaining watching the recruiters argue that their branch of service was the best.  The Navy recruiters used Bo Jackson to help sell the idea saying, “Did you know Bo Jackson flew for the Blue Angels?!”.  They had posters of him on the wall in their office.

After the initial paper work I received a little white id. card saying that I was in the early enlistment program.  I was showing it off at school thinking I was all bad because I was going to the Navy.

Stay tuned for the next episode where I explain the grueling process of joining the Navy and going to boot camp.