2 JAX AIR NEWS, NAS JACKSONVILLE, Thursday, February 5, 2009 Looking back to 2004... U.S. Navy photo by PHAN Ryan O'Connor An S-3B Viking of the VS-22 "Checkmates" launches from the flight deck of USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) during Operation Majestic Eagle off the coast of Morocco. Disestablished Jan. 29, 2009, the Checkmates were the last opera- tional VS squadron under Commander, Sea Control Wing, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Both were based at NAS Jacksonville. ,Tempted by the fruit of another lifestyle By Sarah Smiley special Contributor F U ll J feel like a traitor. Here I am a military wife the one, in fact, who writes a syndicated column and books about being a military wife - and lately I've flirted with the idea of not being a military family. I have said those words you know, the unthinkable ones for people in my position "Honey, are you ever going to get out?" My husband only has nine more years of service before he can retire and immediately collect the mili- tary's relatively decent pension for -the rest of his life. Therefore, he usu- ally "answers" my. question by leaving It completely unacknowledged, as if I've just asked him if he will run for JPresident tomorrow or something. ' I understand his position. He has Rained, worked and sacrificed (as have I) for 11 years. It seems crazy to 1hrow it all away now, when his "20 years" is actually in sight. A military Retirement literally means money in -the bank and healthcare for the rest "of your days. So how can I possibly ask my hus- :band the dreaded "are you ever going ,to get out" question? To know, you'd have to understand my position, too. During the last 11 years, our family has lived in 8 different places. I plant- ed countless trees and shrubbery that I never saw grow to maturity. I left M ORF THE HOMEFRONT behind pets (dead and alive). I made friends, left them, made more friends, and moved again. I had so many dif- ferent mailing addresses, my alma mater no longer knows where to send their requests for money. (Not such a bad thing, come to think of it.) I sold and purchased real estate seven times. Old our coffee table has a row of different colored moving stick- ers ptuck to the bottom of it. Most upsetting of all, however, is the fact that I measured my sons' heights on four separate closet doors, always painting over the markings when it was time to move again. Just the other day, I looked at my son Owen, 6, and realized that the jeans I bought him in August are already two inches above his ankles. "Wow, you've really grown," I said. "How much?" Owen asked. "Let's measure you and find out." I took Owen and his two brothers, Ford, 8, and Lindell, 2, into the bed- room that Ford and Owen share. "We'll mark your heights here," I said, opening the closet door. "But how will we know if we've grown," Ford asked. "Our last mea- surements are on the closet door in Florida." It was a good point. But I couldn't think about it right then, or else I might start to cry. Navy advancement exams schedule ;By PS1 Heather Bazhenow Personnel Support Detachment March 2009 (Cycle 203) E4/E5/E6 Navy-wide advance- ment exams for active duty personnel will be administered :on: E6: March 5 E5: March 12 E4: March 19 All examination candidates need to be at CNATTU (Bldg. 858) at 6:30 a.m. in the uniform of the day and with military ID cards in hand. Bldg. 858 is located on the north side of Saratoga Avenue, with parking provided in *the lot immediately across the street. Entrance to Bldg. '858 will be through the door on Saratoga Street. Entry .through any other access is not permitted. Worksheet signing for Cycle 203 will be from 9 a.m. to '3 p.m. on the following dates: E6: Feb. 2-6 E5: Feb. 9-13 E4: Feb. 16-20 Stragglers: Feb. 23-26 Stragglers will be permitted to sign their worksheets only with an approved request chit signed by an E7 or above. February 2009 (Cycle 084) E4/E5/E6/E7 Navy-wide advancement exams for selected reserve personnel will be administered on Feb. 8 and 22 at the Armed Forces Reserve Center (Bldg. 10), located on Perimeter Road near the Birmingham gate. Members are to report at 6:30 a.m. in the uniform of the day and with military ID card in hand. DON'T TRASH YOUR BASE! RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER! I stood each boy against the back of the closet door and marked their height with pencil: "Ford, Jan. 2009;" "Owen, Jan. 2009;" Lindell, Jan. 2009." Owen and Ford were and always have been exactly two inch- es apart. But there was quite a bit of white closet door between Owen's marking and Lindell's. "Someday, I bet Lindell will catch up to us," Owen said. But will it be on this closet door, I wondered. The kids got back to play- ing Star Wars and I went up to my bedroom to think. I'm tired of moving my children from one place to anoth- er. I'm tired of marking their heights and then painting over it. I'm weary of making new friends. Now I just want to keep them and grow old with them. When my boys go to college, I want to find comfort in my friends who knew the boys when they were going to kindergarten and every grade in between. I want roots. I want my boys to say, "This is the street I grew up on." I want one closet door to be cov- ered with the markings of children's heights. Of course, I could always mark their heights on something more transportable than a closet door. Or I could take the closet door with us. But, well, that isn't really the point, now is it? Special class Photo byATAA Adam Thomas Fleet and Family Support Center Sexual Assault Response Coordinator Jan Logan gives a presentation on sexual assault prevention during the Personal Readiness Summit at The Zone Jan. 28. user or patron. If a violation or refraction of this equal opportunity policy by an advertiser is confirmed, the publisher shall refuse to print advertis- ing from that source until the violation is corrected. The deadline for all story and photo submissions is close of business the Friday before publication, and can be sent to jaxairnews@comcast.net. The deadline for classified submissions is noon Monday. Questions or com- ments can be directed to the editor. The l Am NEWs can be reached at (904) 542-3531, fax (904) 542-1534, email JaxAirNews@comcast.net or write the JA An NEWS, Box 2, NAS Jacksonville, Fla., 32212-5000. The JAll NEWS is published by The Florida Times-Union, a private firm in no way connected with the U. S. Navy under exclusive written agreement with the U. S. Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida. It is published every Thursday by The Florida Times-Union, whose offices are at 1 Riverside Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32202. Estimated readership over 32,000. Distribution by The Florida Times-Union. Advertisements are solicited by the publisher and inquiries regarding advertisements should be directed to: SaAir News Ellen S. Rykert, Military Publications Manager 1 Riverside Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32202 904-359-4168 Russ Martin, Advertising Sales Manager 904-359-4336 s.Wfpa. .. BMSN DELVIN DOZIER Job title/command: 4 NAS Ja\ Quarterdeck Hometown: Fa\etteville. N.C. Favorite duty station/ Why? NAS Jax\. Great people. Last book read: To Kill a Mockingbird Favorite pastime: Playing football and writing. Most interesting experience: winning Smy high school football championship. Who is your hero? My grandmother t -7V JEFF BURGE Job title/command: Firefighter/ENIT NAS Jacksonville Hometown: Jacksonville Favorite pastime: Football and driving my 1962 Lincoln. Most Interesting Experience: Being deployed to Kirkuk. Iraq. attached to the 506th ESFS %where I helped provide base security. Who is your hero? The men and women serving this great nation here and abroad. HEY, MONEYCHICI Hey, MoneyChic! My husband thinks he thought of the most creative way to stay a step ahead of the credit card companies. He accepts offers of zero percent interest on balance trans- fers, transfers our loan balances and once the teaser rate ends, transfers the balance again to a new zero percent offer. He's proud that we never pay interest on our bal- ance. Somehow, I think it can't be this easy to skip out on finance charges. MoneyChic says: Good instincts my dear. The first issue to consider is that with the fallout in the economic sector, we are seeing a significant reduction in available credit. Many of the zero percent interest offers are drying up and with new regulations affecting banks, fewer cus- tomers will be getting those types of deals in the future. Also keep in mind that every time a new credit account is opened, it affects your credit score. Even if balances are paid on time and in full, too many new lines of credit will pull down a credit score. So, yes, there is a catch to your husband's scheme to outsmart the creditors. There is no getting around the best option of just paying down and eliminating your debt, rather than a series of transfers. NAS Jacksonville Commanding Officer Capt. Jack Scorby Jr. NAS Jacksonville Executive Officer Cmdr. Ellis Bowler Command Master Chief CMDCM(SW/SS) Jeff Hudson Public Affairs Officer Miriam S. Gallet Assistant Public Affairs Officer Kaylee LaRocque Naval Air Station lacksonville Editorial Staff Editor Clark Pierce Assistant Editor ATAA Adam Thomas Design/Layout George Atchley The JiAil NEWS is an authorized publication for members of the Military Services. Contents of the JuA Ai NaWs do not necessarily reflect the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, the Department of De- fense, or the Department of the Navy. The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorse- ment by the Department of Defense, or The Florida Times-Union, of the products and services advertised. Everything advertised in the publication shall be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical hand- icap, political affiliation or any other non-merit factor of the purchaser,