Patrick Davidson:  

Life Joined the Navy right out of high school, actually before. Remember in psychology class, Denise Walker called me a war monger. Never got around to monging war. Signed up for six right out of the box, so spent most of the next 18 months in schools. Rode three different ships during that first enlistment, plus a little time in both drug and alcohol rehab, first drug then 18 months later alcohol, hey, I was trying to be a good sailor. 1978 decided peacetime Navy was a bunch of crap and got out. Had a little money and truck with camper on the back so I made a couple month trip coming back to KC by way of Canada. Went to KCKCC for a while, went to work for the railroad (UP), married a girl from Argentine who went to Ward. She had a son, so I married a family. Had a daughter and while on leave for her birth got the layoff notice from the railroad. After about a year and half of filling vacations and looking for other jobs, I went back into the Navy so I could put a roof over our heads and keep us fed. 1983 Restarted my Navy career by going to Washington state. Worked on the OHIO class missile boats for a couple of years, then went back to the fleet. Somebody told me not to get on a new frigate so of course that's where I went. Precommissioning crew for USS Reuben James FFG-57. Spent 85-90 there, wife had a son in 86, while I went from EM2 to EMC(SW) '90 Went to Great Lakes on a general duty billet and ended up as an instructor at EM/IC C-7, after two years I was the director of the school, but didn't last long, Navy was into zero drops, I was into safe electricians. When I got replaced as director, went to curriculum development, test development training and became the curriculum coordinator for the EM/IC schools. Tw...Expand for more