The Road Less Traveled by...

"...Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference...."

Those words from the Robert Frost poem The Road Not Taken have become my motto for staying with the enlisted force and not crossing the line into the commissioned ranks.

When you are an enlisted person, if you stay around long enough, a chance at a commission usually presents itself to you for the taking. I am no different, but the circumstances of my offer of a commission were pretty much to my advantage. When the two lists came out, I was sitting pretty well on both of them. I was above the cut for E8 and I was the Predictor for CWO. This situation was good, because with those standings, I could stay on both lists and not make any decisions until the time came to either stay the course, or jump the chasm.

I had mixed feelings on both options. One argument I always hear is the CWO ranks have a lot more choices on where to go and what to do, but you are basically starting over at the lowest officer rank. The Senior Enlisted pay grades have their advantages too. You are the Senior Enlisted; with that moniker comes more responsibility and yes, privileges, but the number of places you could go diminish considerably. I had always gravitated towards the senior enlisted ranks, but I wasn't going to close any doors until I had to.

So, come Feb of 2000 I was advanced to ETCS. Now, with an advancement comes transfer, which is especially true when you get up this far. So I waited until the season rolled around for the transfer and the inevitable call from the detailer. I was currently at ELC Baltimore and I was sent down the road to the famous Puzzle Palace, Coast Guard HQ. My choices were basically limited, because a detailer is supposed to try and keep your transfer no cost if you have the possibility of advancing (and transferring) again within the same year.

So here I am, a Senior Chief and I have just settled into my new job when I get the call from another detailer, this one the Warrant Officer Detailer. Along with my commission I was offered a free trip to the Mediterranean Sea to meet my ship and continue on a six month Out-of-Hemisphere cruise. In the meantime, my family would have to pack up and move cross-country, find a place to live and get all set up; all without me. I asked for the weekend to think it over, but it was pretty much a no brainer. I had just come up on 18 years in the Guard and my family had followed me hither and yon for most of that time. I wasn't going to ask them to make that move without being there to do my part. I turned down the commission.

Not too long after making that decision, I came across the Robert Frost poem and it struck a cord with me. I had known it all the time. I don't like crowds; I like following new or little used paths to see where they go. I wanted the road less traveled by.

Now I am an E9, getting ready to start a job that protects and nourishes the rating I have been for 23 plus years.

And that has made all the difference.