Mobilization Processing

I received a phone call in early August from the Navy - I was served notice - in two months I would leave for processing, training, and eventually to Djibouti. That was all the information I had, the anxiety level was high. It was a little shocking, even though I knew recall was always a possibility and would eventually catch up to me. It was hard breaking the news to my wife.

During those two months I had a lot to do: preparing the family, settling personal business, getting an official passport, completing 16 online Navy training courses, immunizations, turning over all projects at work, shopping, as well as turning over the Navy Reserve unit I had command of. During the two weeks prior to leaving I took vacation from work. It was great spending that time at home with the family.

It started on 9 October, that night I drove to Harrisburg, PA - where I drill. The following day I met with my Reserve boss, the CO of NSA Mechanicsburg for a turnover and performance review. I then went to the NOSC (reserve center) for one more immunization and some paperwork. With a simple entry on the computer I was back on Active Duty. I went back home for the weekend, then flew to Gulfport, Mississippi on Monday.

I was at Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport (home of the Seabees) for Mobilization Processing. Guflport is one of 4 sites that each week proceses sailors, both active and reserve. During the week there are many briefs: legal rights, family support, financial, etc. There is more medical and dental checks; uniform issue, fitting for chem/bio suit, setting up of pay accounts, and of course plenty of forms to fill out. It was a slow week, lots of waiting in lines, with intentional gaps in the schedule to allow time for people to fix problems or do things like make wills or power of attorney. The sailors with me were heading all over the world, Iraq and Afghanistan or course, but also Djibouti, Philippines, Honduras, and Tampa, Florida (Centcom).

My next stop was Fort Jackson, SC for a three week course taught by Army drill seargents: Navy Individual Augmentee Combat Training (NIACT).