LCDR... Finally. (Sappy Version)

I promoted to Lieutenant Commander during a formal ceremony on September 4, 2015.

Finally.

It felt like a forever in coming.

I was selected back in May (or was it June?) of 2014.  I then had the pleasure of waiting over a year for the promotion to actually happen.  When I was selected, I was not nearly as excited as I thought I should be.  Everyone kept talking about how O-4 was the first promotion that you earn, not one that just happens after a prescribed length of time.  And that's true... to an extent.  Up to the point when I realized that 92% of SWO's were selected my year group.  At that point, it didn't feel as much as being selected for what I had done, as much as being selected for what I had not done (no DUI, no PRT failures, no fraternization, no DFC's for me).  So to say that I was a bit blase about my promotion was an understatement.  I only grew more so when I realized that I would be promoting while I was a student in Dahlgren, VA for training.  One of the only redeeming features about Dahlgren is its proximity to other places.

But that was until Niles started getting excited for me.  He reminded me this was the first promotion ceremony he would attend.  I had basically promoted myself to LTJG while TAD to a carrier in 5th Fleet.  I had promoted to Lieutenant on my ship in Norfolk and was so busy, I didn't even think to ask him to take the day off to come.  But this time around, he was the one who reminded me to invite folks.  I think up until two months before my actual promotion, I had figured I would just do on my actual date of rank... Squeezed into my lunch break so I would not miss class.  I'd invite Niles and the kids, but that would be it.  It was he who reminded me I could have someone other than the CO of ATRC, who I had met once, to administer my oath.  It was he who reminded to invite my in-laws from Maryland to make the drive.  It was he who first put the idea of inviting someone from every one of my ships to the ceremony.  (Thanks, ATRC, for being AEGIS Mecca so that I could actually do that.)  It was he who helped pick out clothes for the kids and helped practice the pinning of the new devices on my collars.

And it was he who I forgot to actually thank in my promotion speech.

Go figure.  I managed to thank LCDR Ryan Rogers, who drove down from Annapolis to administer the oath, even dragging his own in-laws with him.  I managed to thank my class from Dahlgren who took time off their lunch break, despite my protests, to see me promoted.  I managed to thank FCC Holliday, who used to be my CF02 WCS on the PAUL HAMILTON, LT Streich who was the FCO on the CHUNG-HOON with me, and my new FCO and FCC on the RAFAEL PERALTA with me.  But ungrateful spouse that I am, and despite my repeated reminders to myself that morning, I forgot to actually thank Niles.

So thanks, Ryan, for the really beautiful and heartfelt words I should have said to my husband on my promotion.