United States Naval Academy Graduation and Commissioning
Class of Two Thousand Eleven
May 27, 2011
Today was one of the best days in my life thus far. Nick graduated from the United States Naval Academy and commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy. He is now Ensign Nicholas Oberkrom.
[For my non-military family/friends: I did NOT know this until Nick informed me, four-ish years ago, when he was he going to the Naval Academy, that there were differences in people in the military. In each branch, there are enlisted service members and there are officers. To become an officer, you must go through ROTC at a college, get a college degree and then go through an Officer Candidate School (OCS) or go to a service Academy (Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, WestPoint, Citadel, etc.) There are a few other ways within each branch, such as STA-21 in the Navy (which Nick had intended to do if he was not accepted into the Academy.)]
The day started very early. Nick dressed in his uniform, with midshipman insignia, for the last time. I hugged and kissed Nick as midshipman for the last time and off he went.
After much waiting (in the extreme heat) the midshipman started processing in. Nick is in 1st Company so it was easy to find him. Watching him walk down the stairs and onto the field filled me with such pride. It's something I could not explain but it brought me to tears (the first of many that day.)
Shortly after, the Glee Club beautifully sang the National Anthem. And I cried again. [I cry almost every time I hear the National Anthem now. I've always had respect for the song and the flag. And it's always made my eyes a little watery. But ever since being with Nick, it holds a different meaning for me. It reminds me of those who have lost their lives. It reminds me of those away from loved ones, fighting for me and my family. It reminds me of those families without their father, mother, wife, husband, sister, brother, etc. It makes me proud to be an American and live in this country. Makes me proud to be marrying a military man. And it severely irritates me when people talk during the National Anthem and do not give it or those serving (or those who have served) the respect it deserves.]
Soon, the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, gave an amazing speech. His last commencement speech seeing as he is retiring. He is a great speaker and a great man who has done amazing things for our country. There were parts of his speech that really got to me. (To see some highlights of his speech, click HERE to see one of my posts that has some excerpts from it.) He talked about how these men and women stepped up and freely chose to serve their country during one of the riskest times of the war. Heck, they in general joined during a time of war which speaks enough for them. Today made things a little more real for me. It really had me thinking about the life Nick would be living. The life I would be living. That every single day, Nick would be putting his life on the line. No, he wouldn't be in a war zone every day. But he would be training every day. Accidents do happen on a daily basis. Everyday he leaves the house, no matter where he's going, I will worry. I will pray he walks back through our door every night. I'm so proud of him for choosing a career that puts him at risk every day, for the lives and freedom of millions of people he hasn't met and will never meet. You can't get any more selfless.
Soon after the speech, the Marines took their Oath of Office. Then came those Navy men and women. Nick, and his classmates, stood up, raised their right hand, and took the Oath of Office. Again, I was brought to tears. Here was my Fiance giving his life over to our government, promising to protect and serve our great nation.
Here is the Oath of Office:
I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.It was after this oath, that Nick officially became an officer in the United States Navy . . . and in that moment I have never been more proud of him. All of his hard work, long nights, and many sacrifices, had finally paid off.
Then it was time to get that diploma! It was so great to see Julius, Rob, Dave, Matt, and all other midshipman I have had the pleasure of knowing walk across that stage. The greatest joy was obviously watching Nick walk across that stage. After he shook hands with Robert Gates, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Superintendent of the Naval Academy, he proudly held his diploma up and we all cheered so loudly for him.
The best part of the ceremony was the cover toss (cover = hat). It was such an awesome sight to see all those covers flying in the air. It's a moment they've all been awaiting as well.
After the ceremony, we all met at the back of the stadium. Nick's aunt and uncle changed his midshipman shoulder boards to his officer shoulder boards (a task I will get the honor of doing the rest of our lives). Then I got to place his new officer's cover on his head. It was an awesome moment!
Now that he was an officer, he had his first salute. [It is tradition to have someone be your first salute and present them with a silver dollar. As an officer, they, for lack of better word, outrank any enlisted service member. And within the military, you must salute anyone higher than you (Nick salutes all officers higher ranking than him).] Nick chose his best friend from high school, Jason. Jason took leave to come to Nick's Graduation/Commissioning to be Nick's first salute. Afterwards, Nick presented him with a silver dollar with the year 2006 on it . . . the year the two of them enlisted.
Immediately following all of this was Nick's graduation party, hosted by his sponsors, in their neighborhood with an AMAZING view! It was a lot of fun and he had a lot of people come by. I'm happy both of our families were there as well.
To see all the pictures from Nick's Graduation and Commissioning, click HERE
To see all the pictures from Nick's graduation party, click HERE and find the pictures about midway through the photo album
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