The Navy

It's been early 30 years since I joined the Navy...yes, 30 years.


I joined the summer of my junior year in high school much to the dismay of my parents. I signed up with Chief Fox (yes, I actually do remember his name)...he was a tall, dark-haired bearded man with the waist of a wine barrel.  I signed up and then had to ask the folks...they were conveniently on vacation with I joined. Dad finally asked if I'd join when I turned 18 anyway and I said "yes sir" so he signed the papers for me. Mom wasn't too happy.


I joined so the Navy would help pay for my college since the folks were already paying for Laton and Keith...it's what I felt I needed to do...for me.


I went to boot camp, hospital corps school, pharmacy tech school and was stationed in San Diego for a wonderful four years ('82-'86 to be exact). I had a wonderful time in SD and still have friends that I met all those years ago...Bee, Theresa, Carol & Al, Charlie Hargrove, and more...lost a few too...Adam for instance...my friend from Alaska in boot camp and corps school. He was killed on his motorcycle one night after leaving the hospital...he asked me to go with him but I stayed at the barracks.


I went into the reserves as a HM3...joining a hospital unit in Wichita Falls where I made HM2 and HM1...I decided to stay in the reserves because I loved the Navy...plus it would help with school. I transferred to the unit in OKC, then went to a unit in Dallas to help me make Chief...which I did in 1994.


1994 was a hard year...Dad had his first stroke and I remember pinning an anchor on his hospital gown the weekend before my chief's initiation. They call it a transition now...back then, it was a complete initiation...trust me.


In 1997, I met CDR James Taylor...a PAO attached to the NAVINFO OKC...he came to the VA where we were drilling and my CO, CDR Bergner, a pharmacist by trade, told CDR T I was the unity PAO...didn't know I was but I just became one...CDR T convinced me to put in my commissioning packet. I'm glad he came by! I was selected among four others who got selected that year for PAO.


I had the opportunity to come back on active duty in 1999 as the assistant webmaster of the Navy at the Pentagon. I learned HTML...yes, HTML the hard way. Everything as by code...I went on to work on the Navy News Desk and my last year was the flag aide to the CHINFO (Chief of Information - the Navy's #1 PR guy)!


Working at the Pentagon was a great tour...met some really cool people - P, Meghan, Dawn, Bill, Dora, Jensin and more...still the worst day was 9-11 (10 years coming up)...that was probably the longest day of my life. I still smell the same smells every time I go back there...eery. I remember the Candyman who came in every day and passed out candy to people...he worked in the video section of the Ops Center...what a nice man.


From DC, I went to Sicily as the NAS Sigonella PAO for three wonderful years...it was a great time but also very tragic in so many ways. We had three helicopter crashes, two volcano eruptions and more...it was really hard writing the obit for my neighbor Pete Ober after his crash...great guy and family.  


I've had the opportunities to see the world thanks to the Navy. All over Europe, Japan, Australia, Vietnam, Russia, China, Singapore, Philippines, Korea, and more...Hong Kong and Florence, Italy are my favorite spots! Seeing Banda Aceh nearly swiped off the map, from volcano clean-ups in Cebu, to the marble mountain in Da Nang, I would have never been able to see some of the most interesting people (and now friends) in the world. The people, the food, the vino, the sites, presidents, ambassadors and movie stars...everything...makes this gig worth while. 


From Sicily to Japan then to Omaha...and now Everett, WA. 


Yes, the Navy has been good to me but has been good at a cost...but that's a whole other blog.


People join the military for a variety of reasons. 


I joined mainly to help with college...but really, deep down, I wanted to do something with my life that mattered. Being a dad to Jessie and Tucker is probably the greatest honor I will ever have. Being in the Navy is just being a part of something bigger than myself. It's not just a job...it's me. 


I absolutely love what I do...I get to tell people about the Navy. Being on USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) is a totally awesome...4.5 acres of US sovereignty! With jets, helos and over 5,000 professionals who work hard every day serving their country!


Yes, I'm a Sailor...for 30 years...and this was my decision...the best one I've ever made.


So, I, Steven Mark Curry, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.


I think that says it all...