When oak leaves fall...

CDR. Asra Kron by her VF-84 Tomcat, BuNo 16021, Miramar, 2016.

 
Yesterday, at the Naval Service Training Center, Velinissimo, the May awards ceremony took place with a good number of awards, medals and promotions presented. The Navy rewards everyone according to what they can put into the service, and more often than not Third Fleet men and women rise to the occasion. These days are for them. But yesterday it was one for me as well.

I loved my oak leaves and I will miss them dearly. I loved the job and what it meant. I have grown accustomed to "Commander Kron" like the words went together naturally, it just seemed right and adjusted to my job. For as long as I could I politely refused the eagles, initially for obvious reasons: the job alone does not justify the rank. The work does. And you need time to let the work speak for itself.

The work is being done, it never stops, and the same applies to time. And I knew someday I would have to place my oak leaves back in the box and pin the eagles on my uniform. Others work as hard or harder than I do, and they also need a chance to be recognized. After a certain point you can become a sort of human cork if you keep putting away your next step. This time, however, it was not just a matter of allowing others room to progress, it was also a matter of respect for the recognition of my superiors, my peers and my fellow officers. So I accepted.

Today I box the oak leaves. I wore them proudly for fifteen months, and I am glad that time is recorded in many ways so I and others can look back and remember what it was like. Not all was easy but all was rewarding and the difficulties I faced helped me to see things in a different perspective and I took my lessons from them, just as I did from every success. A naval officer's apprenticeship is never done, it does not stop after basic, certainly not after intermediate and it goes on after advanced training. And it applies to every facet of the service. So, even if the eagles will now show on my collars, I will keep on learning and passing along what I know, so others do the same.

It is my privilege to serve in this Third Fleet. It is also my privilege to serve in one of the finest naval air stations in this Navy. My pledge remains the same, and I will carry on performing my duty as best I can. The reason I know it was time to move up from Commander is I will miss the time I spent as one. Every day. Every hour. If I had to go back knowing it would take another fifteen months to move up I would do it in a heart beat.

For that reason, my advice to the young officers that now start a career as I did years ago is this: don't be too eager to get a promotion. If you can look back and miss the days you spent in your previous rank, you are doing the deed right. I wish you all the luck I had, in the places I served and the people I had the honor to serve with. And to those who deemed me worthy of this responsibility I give my gratitude and my promise to stay the course as long as I am able to.

I feel like I have the best job in the world, and I owe it to you all.
A page is turned. A new chapter begins. And the book is far from over.

Sincerely,

CAPT. Asra "Cougar" Kron
NASMCO, Third Fleet USNSL