Leaving Before 20

I've been posting regularly on steemit for 4-6 months or so, but haven't yet made a post for my brother and sister veterans and those still wearing the uniform-whether active or reserves. Here we go!

Joining the Navy was a huge improvement in my life. I had earned a music degree but jobs were scarce and my motivation was low. Like many who enlisted, I did it to try to turn my life around. It worked!

My life changed as I learned how to troubleshoot electronics, a field I knew nothing about fifteen years ago. I was intimidated by others who seemed to naturally understand a lot of the content, and when I got to my first ship I was also worried I wouldn't know as much. We had been the first class to be trained using computer based training, not the standard legacy method with lectures. (It was awful, but we'll stow that rant for later).

My rating badge had gold instead of red chevrons.

I also changed many habits when I began practicing my Catholic faith more seriously. It turned me into a better, wiser man and kept me out of a lot of trouble.

After three years forward deployed on the USS John S McCain in Japan, I returned to Great Lakes, Illinois and became an instructor. That was the most rewarding tour of my time in the Navy, and my wife and I look back fondly on it.

We next came out to San Diego, where I was assigned to the Littoral Combat Ship. LCS is a ship designed with a minimal crew. We got a ton of training leading up to it: I got some network administrator training, certified in Security +, and while on board I even earned the right to drive the ship as a Junior Officer of the Deck.

I have many fond memories of being underway. But it's no place for a family man.

After 13 years of serving, I decided to move on and get out so I could focus more on my family. I saw far too many people in our military staying and losing their families. What good is a retirement check if you're bitter and alone?

My lovely wife never asked me to leave the Navy. I knew it was the right decision, and we made it together. We've had almost a second honeymoon the past year with me not having to deploy at all!

Live Your Life

I got a lot (and still do at times) of "suck it up" from people who wanted me to live the life that they've chosen, but I couldn't be happier with my choice. Now, I work as a contractor with a great company and great coworkers.

I also have more time to spend on cryptocurrency and steemit...so much time, in fact, that I was able to put together my first book, with the hope for writing more. Using steemit to write your book as posts here first, then fixing them into a collection, has to be the easiest way to write a book.

Saving and Keeping Options Open

Getting out was scary, even though we had some savings! We have kids, and SoCal is expensive. I was blessed to have saved money during my time in the military, and even had some cryptocurrency, which made the transition much easier. I also had been building my LinkedIn profile up over the past four years, and am close to hitting 500 connections on there. These are some basic things you should be doing if you are active duty right now. You might be planning for 20, but an injury can cut your career short; or other things can pop up that make you reconsider your choice of profession.

Whatever you do, try to not make mistakes out of fear or because you are desperate. Take care of your finances and don't be afraid to cut out things in your life that make you want to buy stuff: I don't watch network or cable tv; I don't read magazines, and I've even cut way back on Facebook. There's so much going on in cryptocurrency-I don't want to rehash the same old political arguments over and over...especially as they grow more toxic every day.

Forward!

The Navy taught me that I'm never too old to learn something new, and a lot more lessons. I'll be plugging away here on steemit as long as I can, hopefully adding value to this space as I share things I learn about cryptocurrency, unique ways to use steemit, how to maximize steem power,and the occasional paid article . I'll also be putting trying out 3rd party apps like dsound and steepshot, which are two of the great apps that are being designed for this platform.

I look forward to meeting some of you and hearing your stories-thank you for your service and stay in touch!

-Jeff

Special Offer: my book on Trading Cryptocurrencies will be free this Friday, March 2 through Sunday, March 4th!