A Whole New Language

When Chief got orders for us to move to Naples, I knew that this assignment would encompass a great deal of change. A new language, a new culture, a new way of life was in store for each one of us. As expected everything we know changed the moment we stepped off the airplane.

A simple trip to the store involves much more cognitive energy than I ever expected. Luckily, my European spec car gauges speed in kilometers per hour; so that's a no brainer for me! Although, I do need to know how many kilometers or meters to make my turn. I also have to figure out how many liters of gasoline I need to put in my car, and remember to carry the right amount of gas ration coupons. At first I was constantly calculating these conversions in my head. After a month of living with the metric system, I am beginning to "get the feel" of it.

I have a running log of the U.S. dollar to euro conversion rate. One dollar is worth .74 euro, In case you wanted to know. All of this is really no big deal. I expected to have to learn all of this.

I also expected that when the going got tough and all this change was too much to handle I would be able to seek solace and comfort in the one thing that is familiar to me: Military life. WRONG! I've spent 7+ years of my life living near Army installations. Even though Chief is an Army representative on the NATO base, we rely on the Navy for all of our support activities (shopping, banking, the library, etc). The transition to "Navy life" has definitely been one of my biggest unexpected challenges.

Every military spouse knows the importance of learning the "language" of the military. It took me a couple of years to get accustomed to the structure of the Army, know the ranks, and most importantly understand all of the acronyms. A majority of military speak is done in acronyms. The terms ACU, MWR, CYS, PT, PCS, MP, BAH, and PX are just a handful of terms that are likely to be used in the course of a day. In fact, I often forget when I am talking to civilian friends and family that they might not understand these terms. Army acronyms have really become an important part of our family vernacular. Unfortunately many of the Navy's acronyms are different, which means that in addition to learning Italian, I am learning "Navy".

The Navy's ranks are very different than the Army's. For example, a Navy Chief is enlisted (E7 or above) and an Army Chief is an officer. When we were attending the mandatory week long AOR (area orientation), the Captain of the Naval Support Site came to speak to all of us newbies. For the life of me I couldn't understand why a Captain was in command of the whole Support Site. Finally, (my) Chief informed me that in the Navy a Captain is the equivalent of a full-bird Colonel. In the Army a Captain is an O3 and usually in charge of a company.

Another thing that I noticed upon arrival at the Navy base was the variety of uniforms they wear. I have counted at least 5 different uniforms. For the life of me I can't figure out a pattern to who wears what uniform; just that they are all dressed differently. On an Army installation you are likely to only see one uniform, maybe 2 on the rare occasion. For some reason it was comforting to know that everyone was dressed the same.

Really I must say that adjusting to life with the Navy is not so much of a nuisance, but just one more thing to add to the laundry list of adjustments that must be made. Number 284 on the list to be exact! In fact, I have found Navy life to be much more family friendly. All in all, change has been good for us, and if you're going to change one thing you might as well change it all!

Ciao, for now!