Chatper 10: A Final Task
When you leave a military unit, you have to fill out what is known as a “check-out” sheet. This sends you to many different offices and locations for signatures to make sure you aren’t leaving the unit while you still have unfinished business (like gear to turn in or outstanding appointments). During Permanent Change of Stations (PCS’s), these check out sheets are often dreaded as some of these signatures can be extremely difficult to procure. When you are getting out of the military, however, you have to do the ultimate check-out sheet, because there is a lot more at stake for the unit if you leave while there are still accounts you have opened or what not.
At this point, it was late April and, now that I knew the end of my road would be separation from the military through the Chaplaincy program, I decided to get a head-start on my check out sheet. There was only so much of it I was able to do this far out from my separation, but one of the primary things I needed to complete is what is known as the “final physical”. The final physical boils down to a medical appointment where you sit down with a doctor and they determine whether or not you are physically well enough to leave the military. Essentially, if there is a health problem that you have, they don’t want to send you out without making sure they treat the issue first. The hard thing about it is: it takes forever to schedule an appointment for it. Even with it being late April and us moving in June, I was not sure I’d be able to get in before we left.
I spent the majority of May completing all the medical exams I needed to complete before you are allowed to schedule your final physical (ear exam, eye exam, dental exam…etc.). As the weeks ticked by and we were closer and closer to moving, I became worried about how I could possibly get this scheduled. Of course, it wasn’t a requirement for me to have done before I left, I wasn’t getting out of the military immediately, but I would have to come back to base and complete it at some point, if I couldn’t do it before I left.
By the time I had completed all the prerequisite appointments, we were only two weeks away from our move. I called to schedule my final physical and they told me they were now scheduling things for August, which is just as I feared. I asked if they did any walk-in appointments and they of course said no. So, I decided I would go into the office when they open and simply sit in the waiting room, maybe if someone didn’t show up for their appointment I would be able to get it done before we leave. I was mentally prepared to be sitting there all day for a week and a half until something opened up.
I kid you not, the first day I set out to do this, I walked into the office and let the clerk know what I was doing. She let out an audible laugh and said “people wait for these appointments for months, they never miss, but if you want to waste your day be my guest.” I sat down with my book and waited. Not 10 minutes later she waved me over to the counter, her face was blush. “Well, the Navy gods are smiling upon you today because, for the first time in my entire time working here, someone has canceled their appointment on the day they were supposed to be here.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, “I don’t know anything about any Navy gods, but I am confident the real God, my God is always taking care of me. This is just another fine example of that.” I responded, “when was the appointment scheduled for?”
“That’s the thing, it was our first person for the day, you can go back right now and do it.” I was once again amazed. Even something as minute as completing a medical exam worked out far better than I could have imagined (and gave me a little chance to witness to the clerk. She politely nodded but I could tell she was not amused at my taking her very obviously sarcastic statement and treating it literally). And that was it. The final roadblock had cleared. A week later, to the day, I slammed the back latch to our moving truck shut, threw a lock on it, and we drove off on to our new adventure: Concordia Seminary, St. Louis….
That was the last major thing in my pre-seminary story. God blessed us with a smooth transition to seminary and my unit sent us off with fair winds and following seas, expecting that, within a month I would be separating from the military… that didn’t happen. The entire process took more than a year and had two more seriously astonishing moments, but I plan on detailing that in my next post: the epilogue. Before I get to that, however, I want to point out a few people that were very impactful to me throughout this time. Some of them I have already mentioned but I have not spoken of all of them yet, as some came on the scene more after I left Pensacola.
Pastor Huesmann: My pastor from Pensacola. I am convinced one of the primary reasons God ever even put my family in Pensacola was so I could have him as a mentor. He has played a huge role in my faith formation and really worked with me to help keep my eyes focused on God as we went through this crazy time.
Vincent Keller: He and I became good friends while in OCS and he was one of my first calls when I felt the call to drop out of flight school. He stuck by me and supported me through all of this and was always quick to reassure me that I was doing the right thing, even when my confidence would waver.
Chaplain Holland: As I have already addressed, he played a crucial role in helping me gain traction as well as show me a possible way out of the Navy. He and I met regularly throughout this time and he continued to work with my command to help them understand I was sincere. His door was always opened for me and that had a huge impact.
Craig Muehler: Craig is a retired Chaplain and the head of the LCMS chaplaincy recruitment for the Navy. Once I began the process of going into the Chaplaincy, he was quick to follow up leads with me and help me secure all the paperwork I needed, while also knowing the ins-and-outs of the chaplaincy program I was entering into. He has a heart for the ministry to the armed forces and he works diligently to help Lutheran pastors feel that call and pursue it.
Pastor Kueker: I have talked about him a few times, but I cannot say enough how encouraging it was to work with him throughout this time. Not only did he help pull strings to let me apply to the seminary but he constantly spoke words of encouragement when I was in times of uncertainty.
Petty Officer’s Da Lu Huang and Larissa Jackson: PO1 Huang was with my unit in Pensacola, PO1 Jackson works with Craig Muehler in St. Louis as a recruiter. Both of them were experts in their field and were able to move mountains administratively. Without their hard work and expertise, I don’t know what would have become of my situation. They were instrumental in my separation from the military and two of the most reliable administrative personnel I have ever had the privilege to work with.
My Parents: They were so supportive in all of this and helped us prepare our house and move. They never doubted me or acted ashamed that I was quitting something. They trusted me and stood by my family as we processed all of these events.
Rachel: She is listed last but of course she bore the brunt of all of this. She was there for my lowest lows and my highest highs in this process, and it just as drastically affected her life as it does mine. But she stood by me through all of it and constantly kept a cool head, even when I was losing mine. I am convinced that there is no bigger blessing God has given me in my life than the love that He has given me with as wonderful a wife as Rachel is.
This list is not exhaustive. There were so many people throughout all of this that I relied upon. Lisa and Fred (my In-Laws), Pastor Jason Dart, Steven Weber, GySgt Danny Hanna, Billy Gillispie, and Alvin Oh, to name a few. I am so blessed to be surrounded by such great friends.
This completes my narrative. I plan to put out an Epilogue next week detailing some of the highlights that occurred once my family moved to St. Louis and were awaiting the final paperwork to separate from the Navy. Afterward, I hope to continue writing weekly on a different (and not yet decided) topic. If you are interested in receiving future articles, please feel free to subscribe below! If you have ideas on things you would like me to write about, feel free to comment below, I’m open to suggestions!
