Wanting What You're Going to Get Anyway

Proper 25    The Sunday closest to October 26

Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of
faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you
promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

This collect for next Sunday always reminds me of the time fifty-four years ago when Navy officers in my graduating class were speaking to the “detailer” about what kind of an assignment we wanted. The “detailer” being the officer from Washington who did our “detailing,” made our assignments. A few shore assignments were available, plus a tender homeported in Villafranche. Most of us would be going to sea duty, either destroyers, cruisers, aircraft carriers, or tenders (large ships that do maintenance on destroyers or submarines, and that stay tied up to the pier most of the time).

One member of my class, an ensign my age, about 22, was newly married and did not want to go to sea, and if he had to go to sea he wanted a large ship, not a destroyer. On his preference for duty card, then, he had written his three choices. 

1. Any shore duty 

2.  AD or AS

3. CVA

AD and AS were destroyer tenders and submarine tenders, a CVA an aircraft carrier. When the detailer arrived from Washington to discuss our assignments, each of us had a five-minute appointment to speak with him. Weller here, wanting the most career enhancing assignment and seeing the handwriting on the wall anyway, requested 

DD Newport

DD Mayport

DD Norfolk

destroyer homeported in Newport, Rhode Island, Mayport, Florida or Norfolk, Virginia. It was easy for the detailer: USS CORRY DDR-817, NORVA, 

my most fun tour of duty in twenty years, 

the one that made me decide to augment from USNR to USN, and the assignment that gained me a below-the-zone promotion to 0-3, the only one I ever heard of. Beep beep.

But the newlywed officer who did not want to go to sea was not so -- fortunate. The detailer took his preference for duty card and looked at it. After staring at it for a moment, he said, “Why don’t you request a destroyer so you get what you asked for?”

He got a San Diego destroyer. It was pretty clear to all of us from then on, that the preference for duty card was more for us than it was for the detailer. 

The Sunday collect’s petition, “and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command,” always brings that to mind. The theology that comes to me is that I’m going to get what God commands anyway, so might as well want it. As a matter of fact, it ties in to my midlife career change and the day after years of internal and external -- harassment -- I was called to my rector’s office in Harrisburg to hear him ask, “How much longer are you going to ignore God’s call on your life?” And my answer, “Oh, what the hell, I give up.” To which he picked up the phone and called the bishop and I was on my way to seminary.

A warrant officer got the AD in Villefranche.

TW+