GLW, I understand all of your comments,....
Classy reply, you just may be good officer material,...
I'll elaborate a little bit,...
....I told my wife five years ago that if she made the sacrifice of moving away from her family in order for me to pursue my education, I would make every effort to get us back to Maryland when I graduated. The needs of the Navy don't come into play unless I'm actually commissioned into the service, which is something we've also discussed as a separate issue...
Sounds like a classy lady as well, the short of it is you are getting in deeper and deeper to this fine woman (then again, all of us that snag one of the fine ones are always indebted to them and their capacity to adapt and support their loved ones). IMNSHO (from over 20 years ago now) the Navy does seem to provide more support to the officer community, then again, the investment in officers is much greater
and the expectations for officers even higher (i.e. I'm good with it as I understand the paradigm).
........Besides all that, I wouldn't consider the needs of the Navy and my duties as a husband and father to be mutually exclusive, though certainly they can be at odds to some extent, and often are.......
Your commitments and obligations will not be at odds, being there for broken arms, hockey stitches, 6th grade graduations, assorted feminine maladies and close loved ones dying will be,.......often.
....The long and short of it is that my wife wants a support structure, whether that takes the form of living close to family or within the extended family of the military community, she isn't terribly picky......
Well, that attribute
will be challenged,...
......If somehow it came down to a choice, I'd pick my family 100% of the time, and I don't think that is wrong or selfish.....
While you are Regular Navy you cannot make that choice, your oath to your country, for the terms of your oath, will be honored first and foremost as best serves the needs of the Navy,...
....The Navy can always find someone to replace me when I'm gone, no matter how much I like my job or love my country.....
Yup, it's their job to be able to survive your departure,...
.....My kids only get one dad. So if I felt like my family was going to crumble if I continued to serve, as much as it might pain my heart to leave I would certainly resign my commission when my obligation was complete.....
I empathize with the sentiment, but it can be a long obligation to endure, particularly once you have made your decision it is time to go,...
check your PM's, there is at least one user on these forums who can enlighten you much better than I can as to the contemporary NUPOC, married with children, experience,....
...just wanted to let you know I've given this a lot of thought.
Thanks for the consideration, as before, best of luck and best regards,....
GLW