Billet Roulette

Well, folks, it’s that time again. Brian and I have lived in Hawaii for a little over a year, which means it’s now time for us to determine where we’ll be living this time next year.

Brian is approaching his fourth year in the Navy and the end of his second sea tour. This February, he will be moving to a shore duty assignment, a two-year gig that actually means what the name implies: he will have a job on shore, not attached to a ship, not deploying, not leaving several times a month to go underway. This means we will get to live together all of the time like normal adult married humans. This is good news.

Now we just have to figure out where we’re going to live.

map

Photo courtesy of stromo’s Flickr photostream

For the last year or two, we’ve been dreaming of the awesome choices we could have. Anything in Western Europe would be ideal since we are both itchin’ to live abroad again, and there are sometimes opportunities in Italy, France, Germany, Spain… it all depends on what’s available at the time. Hawaii is also amazing, and it would not be a punishment to stay here another two years. We’ve been eagerly waiting for Brian’s slate, the list of possible billets and their locations, for months now, and it finally arrived last week. And… it’s OK.

It’s a pretty sparse selection of places we are excited about. There are only two jobs in Hawaii, and it turns out the odds of getting a good international billet are much higher if you sign a piece of paper vowing to stay in for a ship’s department head tour after shore duty (which Brian is not prepared to do). We can still put a few of those options (in Italy, France, Chile and Germany! WANT.) down on our list of top 10 preferences, but who knows what our chances are.

There are still a few other domestic choices we would be fine with– San Diego, Monterey, Bremerton (near Seattle)– but it’s hard not to be a bit disappointed with the idea of returning to the West Coast when Italy and France have been sneaking into my dreams lately. I feel spoiled and guilty even being picky when we’ve been so lucky with our location so far, but Navy life has been a bumpy ride at times. The Navy could try to make it up to me by buying me some flowers, a nice bottle of cabernet and paying for me to live in Europe for two years. Is that really so much to ask?

I also feel a little insane because, throughout all of this, I get really sad when I think about leaving Hawaii. I’m happy here. I love our friends, I love our town, I love being able to swim in the ocean in the dead of winter. Two more years of this would be incredible. We could settle in more, and we wouldn’t have to start from scratch making new friends in a new place. But… if we had the chance, I couldn’t resist the temptation of moving to another country and potentially learning a new language. That clever north wind is always trying to lure me to the next adventure.

Ultimately, the final decision isn’t up to us anyway. We put in our preferences, roll the dice and see what the Navy decides to give us. It’s crazy to think that this list will determine the next two years of our lives, but maybe it’s a good thing we don’t have to make the tough decision ourselves. Our final list is due at the end of the month, and we should have our answer by the middle of July. Fingers crossed, let the billet roulette begin…

7 comments

1 Melia { 06.22.10 at 2:12 pm }

Despite not getting the variety of great choices you hoped for, it’s definitely exciting that you’ll find out next month where your next destination will be — or if you get to put down more roots in Hawaii. It’ll be a grand day when you and Bri can develop a boring old married couple routine. In the meantime, the Navy’s just trying to keep the spark alive!

2 Mark { 06.22.10 at 3:31 pm }

I’m sure wherever you end up will be a party! I’d like to see you stay in Hawaii for a couple more years ;)

3 tracey { 06.22.10 at 3:46 pm }

An exciting time – though maybe not as exciting as you’d hoped. Either way, it sounds like you don’t hate any of your choices which is a good start. Fingers crossed for Europe, toes crossed for Hawaii….

4 NayNay { 06.22.10 at 6:49 pm }

I do see some dots on Brazil, Argentina and the Caribbean! I am not mad at those.

I hope you get your top choice though, and personally I never did get to visit you in Hawaii yet, so I am a tad biased. =)

5 Shannon { 06.22.10 at 7:19 pm }

I hope for you it’s Europe, I hope for me it’s Monterey. I’ll (hopefully) be in grad school there the two years you’d be there!

6 Ide { 06.22.10 at 8:27 pm }

Having spent time in some kinda dodgy locales over the past five years, I can honestly say that you’ll do awesome no matter where you end up. Every place I’ve been has had its perks; I liked the smallish city of Columbia, MO, just as much as sprawling Chicago (but for different reasons). I even miss the S.C. from time-to-time. Living with someone you love does a lot to improve a less-than-ideal situation.

Will you for sure get one of the 10 you list? Can they assign you to one you don’t select?

7 Gillian { 06.23.10 at 1:05 am }

Melia, the Navy does like to keep us on our toes. And I am really excited to hear what we’re doing next. I want it now!

Mark, you have to promise me you’ll come visit and party down wherever we end up. I know I can count on you for wild travels.

Tracey, thanks for crossing all your fingers and toes for us! I wouldn’t hate staying here at all, but it would be pretty fun for you guys to come see us in Europe…

NayNay, if only those pins were actual possibilities for us! Can we do some more crazy ferry rides somewhere? This time with real food instead of mustard and crackers?

Shannon, I didn’t know you were thinking of going to Monterey for grad school! I have a couple friends who just graduated from Monterey Institute of International Studies– is that where you’re looking at?

Ide, I totally agree that we’ll be happy no matter where we end up (and it helps that we at least like all the options we’re putting down). There’s as much of a guarantee as you can have in the Navy that we’ll get one of our 10, so that’s awesome. Dahlgren was an option on the slate, and it was awfully tempting, but I think we’ll pass.