High School Graduation

I joined the Navy (actually the Navy Reserves) in November 1966. I was 17 and a senior in high school. I went to boot camp in a 2 week accelerated program over the Christmas vacation, went to weekly drills, made E2 in March, graduated in May. Over the summer I went on a 2 week training cruise and made E3 in September, with a 2 year active duty commitment starting in November 1968. It seemed a better deal than getting drafted.

It never occurred to me to wear a Navy uniform to my high school graduation. They had dress rules for graduation ceremonies. It didn't seem like being in the Navy made me special.

It seems that these days people who enlist in the military think of themselves as special, as someone for whom ordinary rules don't apply.