Back in the saddle again

I have returned from a four-day jaunt to Naval Station Great Lakes next to Waukegan, Illinois. For those unfamiliar with the Navy, this is the site of the Navy's basic training and several of their initial training, or "A" schools. Navy Personnel Command sends a team of people to different Naval stations around the world to discuss different aspects of retention and retirement and the programs going on effecting those things. Since I am both new to this command and the Navy, my boss had me tag along to get a feel for how we communicate our programs to our Sailors and what programs we emphasize.

Good in theory.

I flew in to Chicago O'Hare and was picked up by a co-worker who had gone up a few days earlier with his wife. He's getting stationed there and went ahead to scout the area out. This was nice in that it meant no driving in Chicago for me. But in the long run wasn't a very good thing. This particular Naval officer had his own agenda and I was just an obstacle to him.

We were supposed to go to all these different briefings over the course of two days. Each briefing is geared toward a select audience, but is the same information, just presented differently. So, when it was suggested that we skip a couple here and there, I didn't mind. I didn't realize that he meant to skip most of them. That wouldn't have been so bad had I been mobile. But he had the rental car and was always off checking out schools and sports programs for his kids.

We had planned to go into Chicago proper and it never materialized because he was always off doing his own thing. I guess I could have taken a cab and the train, but I didn't. Oh well. I got a Vienna Chicago dog at the airport, and that's what I was really after anyway.