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If you are reading this, you’ve likely been given access to this page by its very author. I, CTI3 Reed, have been discharged from the US Navy under honorable conditions. This site is a remembrance of who I was to the Navy and perhaps more importantly, the shipmate I was to you.
The Discharge of CTI3 Reed…
…the eternal flight of SN Reed
I started out in the Navy just like every other enlisted sailor, a Seaman. Over the course of my enlistment, the majority of which I spent with an E-3 pay grade, I always addressed myself as “SN Reed” because it was my name in the military realm I (we) lived in. And in that realm I faced an assortment of challenges, adversary, and pain; torpedoes if you will.
Time after time, I defaulted to a place where I believed I was doomed to give up. The system pushed me down and I eventually got tired of fighting it. My vitality dwindled along with any form of motivation and perhaps hope. But one day, I received an ultimatum, detailing how my career would wither away, and I snapped. No one fucks with Seaman Reed that way.
That sailor learned to hone an unrivaled resilience. I approached a season in my life where I started to believe in my new legacy. Later I’d draft what I now called the Seaman Reed Creed, a verbal to convince myself that I actually like the punishment and negative confrontation, of which I was perpetually afraid. I knew I needed a rebirth from the lil’ bitch I was, lacking confidence and positive self-esteem. I knew I had no choice but to find the healing force to get me through the darkness. I knew I needed to rise up.
One night, I stepped out into the moonlit night, dressed in my service white uniform. I stood before the memorial of the late Naval linguistic matriarch and stood at attention while taps sounded over the base speakers. It was more or less the official motion of the midnight sailor becoming the Phoenix of Monterey. A year later in that same uniform, I stood before my CoC as a qualified linguist. For 500 days, I resisted and overcame every obstacle and opponent that obstructed my path.
I’m no superior being, I’m not a god. I simply refuse to be weaker than the motherfucker who stands in my way. I will never stop rising up. Who am I?
I’m Seaman Reed.
lonely sailor
Unfortunately, in the end, I was separated at my last duty station for denying the flu shot again. I thought they wouldn’t go through with the separation like they didn’t the first time, but I played their bluff and lost. I lost my budding career, friends, financial standing (to buy a home in the outskirts) and honestly motivation.
I still live with bitterness, knowing that so many servicemembers are treated with respect the higher they rank, but I was not given the courtesy to have ample time to out-process, instead I was rushed out and missed out on vacation time I saved and other benefits.
I am not a victim, albeit admittedly disgruntled and harbor anger. But by my fundamental mission, I will rise up and sail on, I always do.
[WIP, TBC]
SN Reed 