Coined

I got coined. It was a great honor after my brief one night that the commander told everyone the he wanted to be sure to give me a coin to recognize my work. Sure enough, during this last shift he came over shook my hand, gave me his coin, and said I was one of the best weathermen he's ever had. Now that tells me that either he says it to everyone or hasn't had many weathermen, but it felt good just the same.
People in this community, especially with the commander's background, aren't too prone to hyperbole or empty compliments though, so I'm proud of it. The coin is more meaningful and personal than any medal or decoration I'm going to get.
Weather isn't my passion, but it is the specialty I ended up with and I'm glad I was able to contribute period.

I can't get over the irony that if I had remained on active duty then I would still be sitting in a stateside office supporting stateside training with no growth potential for two more years. In the past year I've had opportunities that few will ever have or even know about.

I was glad to hear that my unit back home did well at our recent inspection. Also found out that the training we've been waiting on will be available. We'll see if it happens.