Job Interview Ace!

As my lawyer and I were chatting today just before Rocket #4 (for us), he and I were joking about what we don’t have in order to do our job: responsive computers (they are very, very slow), training on Army legal procedures (we are learning on the fly), and “sanity check” resources. Unlike many legal offices – yes, even those in the Navy, we typically have someone who can offer a bit of advice or their recommendations as to how to proceed. Not us….we joked. In fact, we are both serving as each other’s sanity checks and we’re often finding that our decisions are not in sync with the decisions of some in the Army. For example, an Investigating Officer and the soldier’s Chain of Command do not believe a Soldier was negligent, however, our review of the evidence and supporting documentation – including witness statements - shows negligence. This may sound simple on its face, however, during some of these investigations, if a Soldier is found negligent, if not gross negligence which could result in criminal charges being filed against them, they could have up to an entire month’s salary withheld to pay for the lost or damaged equipment. Let’s face it, we are in a war zone and these Soldiers are not making much money to begin with. For our office to recommend negligence, this means we are taking money away from not only the Soldier, but their family back home who are most likely counting on every penny earned by their loved one. As we carefully weigh all the files before us, working much longer hours than in our “other” jobs, we often ask each other random hypothetical questions: today’s random question was a very good one from my lawyer: “Can you imagine me sitting in a job interview with a big law firm and being asked if I was afraid of hard work and long hours?” I joked and said, that’s easy! “Simply tell them that you’re used to making decisions with as much information as possible, using a computer with the speed of those typically found 10 years ago, while intently listening for a rocket attack siren and at all times prepared to hit the deck at a moment’s notice while taking anything between you and the deck out!” He liked my response and laughed....Needless to say, although it sounds like a joke, it is not funny. Rather it is an accurate depiction of our daily life. He would be a shoe in at any law firm, I’m convinced of that.

He’s been tirelessly working 16-18 hour days at a minimum since we got here. In fact, he hasn’t worked out since he’s been here and knowing that he's a cross fit trainer, I’m starting to notice his lack of working out in his demeanor. The kind person that I am, I gave him an ultimatum before I left for the day: I asked him what he disliked in a gym. He quickly said any stationary piece of equipment. So, I told him that if he didn’t go to the gym tomorrow morning (he’s been saying he’s going for the last week and has yet to make it once) that I was going to make him go with me and do 45 minutes on both a step machine and on a bike. I then told him that for every day he did not go, I would add 15 minutes to the workout on each piece of equipment. I sure hope he goes tomorrow morning! I really don’t want to be the enforcer, however, if needed, I will. While we were in training at Fort Dix, he and I promised each other that we would be each other’s motivator the entire time we were here. I am here to help him with his motivation. I know the gym makes him feel better so it is my job to ensure he does what he likes – since we don’t have many chances to do what we like here. He has options…. I sure hope he takes advantage of at least one of them. I will be up to run at 0515 (5:15am for those who don’t know military time) and he should be doing what he loves most. Note that I didn’t say I love running, I just know it will be good for me in the end!!


Until next post……enjoy your Freedom!