The Navy was not all fun and games. Official orders to report for Sea Duty carried the note that the duty was considered arduous, meaning the Sailor could expect to be deployed away from home base for any length of time, and as often as deemed necessary by the Navy.
This was no surprise to the Sailor, especially one coming off of a cushy shore duty job in, say, Hawaii or San Diego (I know, right?). Shore duty consisted of sleeping in the barracks or at home every night, pulling 48-hour duty one weekend a month, and 24-hour duty every fourth or sixth day rather than duty every other day, and working 8-hour shifts rather than 14. Shore duty was like being in the Air Force!
So, after I completed my initial specialty training in aircraft structural repair in the lovely oasis of Millington, Tennessee, and aircraft specific training on the P-3 Orion in Jacksonville, Florida, I received official sea duty orders to NAS Brunswick, Maine. ROCK ON! I loved Maine, though I had never been there. One of the books I read as a kid described the “rocky coast of Maine.” I fell in love from the pictures in the book.
Soon after I arrived at my squadron in Maine, we received deployment orders, arduous duty of course, to…………..Bermuda.
Yes. Bermuda.
Man, was it arduous.
To be continued 🙂
Writers Envy 
There’s a reason my dad joined the Air Force rather than waiting to be drafted into the army. Though, I think the Marines scoffs at them all.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My dad was Navy in WWII, then joined the Air Force to have a regular family life. He missed the Navy though, and encouraged that service to me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My father taught at the AD school in Millington for years. He so loved the Navy, and the aircraft he worked on in his younger days.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ahhh, Millington. I went to AMS A school there. I miss the old buildings, the P-2s on the flightline, the bowling alley, Navy Lake, and going to the movies in Memphis. I saw Star Wars there when it came out in 1977.
LikeLike
The BRAC which occurred in 1993 changed many things. Some for the better, some, not so much.
LikeLike