Iron Pol

First, a picture from the Green Bay Marathon.  This is a wonderful picture showing how three co-workers spent their weekend.  On the left (holding the Gatorade) is Lisa, who acted as sherpa during the race.  She is collecting gloves from Casey and replenishing our Gu supply.  Another friend was the photographer and captured several nice shots.

It is great to have co-workers willing to participate in endurance events.  It puts it over the top to have others willing to spend the better part of a day off traipsing around town carrying gear, taking pictures, and cheering our accomplishments.  And were it not for having a baby recently, she would have been out there with us.

As more co-workers join the ranks of marathoner (full or half), many more begin to see they also have the ability to tackle endurance events.  It also helps people see there is nothing overly special about my accomplishments.  Discipline and a bit of dedication make many things possible.

In other "Congratulations" news, we received word that my brother-in-law was selected for promotion to the rank of Senior Chief in the United States Navy.  For those unfamiliar with military rank structure, there is only one enlisted rank, Master Chief, above this.  For those who are familiar with the military, you can understand my sister's pride in the fact that her husband was selected for this promotion his first time up.

To put it in perspective, only about 3% of the enlisted force can hold the rank of Senior or Master Chief.  In a 100-person division, there will generally be perhaps one or two sailors of this rank.  They are the managers, historians, and teachers of the Navy.  Despite the grief less senior sailors are prone to giving "the Chief," they are deserving of and granted a great deal of respect for their accomplishments.

My brother-in-law has always accepted the tough assignments that lead to rapid promotion.  During a recent tour as a boot camp "Company Commander," (similar to Marine drill instructors) he accepted the added pressure of helping develop a new and successful training facility, complete with Disney style animatronics and Hollywood special effects.

After leaving that assignment, he transferred to a squadron that was forward deployed almost immediately after his arrival.  In fact, the promotion announcement leaves my sister with about a month until she can congratulate him in person.  He will wear his new anchors, complete with the shiny new star, when he returns.

So, to my brother-in-law, who just joined a community as small as those called marathoner, congratulations!  Like the 26.2 miles of a marathon, he has reached another milestone in a long and demanding journey.

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