Bradley Redden:  

s and doing quite well. I enjoy the job, still see the sites, and earn a living. If i had to say what i dislike about it, well, i am gone alot, heck not alot but most of the time. I dont have the normal social life most people do and have to take what i can get when i can, and make the short weekends at home worth it. Military This part of me is what i am all about and i consider it more my career than my civilan job, which is merely my main source of income... I started out after deciding college wasnt the thing for me by enlisting in the U.S. Navy in early 1990. I was ready to take on anything back then and quickly got my 1st duty assignment to the USS Wisconsin which was preparing for a Mediteranean Cruise which would last 6 months. I checked on board and was excited to be heading to Europe and see my 1st foriegn country. As we left Norfolk Harbor and sailed out into the Atlantic Ocean it was announced to us that our Med Cruise had been cancelled and there was trouble in Iraq and we were on our way to the Gulf instead. We were the 1st combatant ship to arrive and 8 months later the last to leave. Upon returning back to port here in the states, it was time to decommision the ship and put her away to rest, so i put in for Machinist Mate school in Great Lakes Illinois and then on to Groton Conneticut for Enlisted Submarine School. After completing that i received orders to the USS Omaha in Pearl Harbor and enjoyed a wonderful 2 years of duty. We made a few port calls to several countries, Australia, Japan, Canada, Guam, to name a few. Once my enlistment contract was up i decided to get out of the Navy and return home, but it did not take me long to realize i missed the travel and adventure and started to consider the reserves as an option. There was little need here in Oklahoma for a submariner so i transfered my job skill over to electrician and joined the Seabee's. The unit i am attached to is NMCB 22 and they are based out of the Dallas/Fort Worth area. While serving with this unit i still travel quite a bit and have been to the Philippines as well as Guam a few more times, and even got to go back to Iraq yet again. It has taken a long time to move up the proverbial ladder and i recall my goals from back when i first signed my name and held up my right hand to swear in, but the finish line is coming into sight i believe, i now am in charge of the detachment here in OKC and am up for Chief Petty Officer early next year. I have 18 good years in and feel it has been the best decision i ever made.