May 11-13, 1972: At My Sister's House in Elon
	January 22: Winter in My Indianapolis Neighborhood
	Return to Index for 1972

In the three years that I have been in the Army, I have gotten comfortable with it, and so when the Army let me know that I would not have to complete my entire four years of service (the price of my college scholarship), I started thinking about applying for a Regular Army commission. Right now, I am a Reserve Officer, and can be separated at the Army's discretion, and with Vietnam winding down, there is much less need for personnel in the Reserves.

I consulted my superiors some time ago, and they advised and helped me prepare a request to be given a permanent commission. All that paperwork was sent off before Christmas last year. General Fazakerley was quite honest; he knew that there was a surplus of both officers and enlisted men, and that the Army would only be picking for retention those men with the widest experience and portfolio of assignments. He told me that there were probably enough Regular Army Officers already to fill the Army's needs going forward, and so my chances of getting that commission were not auspicious.

But I had gotten used to the Army hierarchy and the work I was doing, and when I get used to something I tend to want to continue it, rather than jump to something different. So I put in my application.

In late February, I found out that my application for an RA (Regular Army) Commission had been turned down, and so I started looking for jobs ahead of my separation date which would be in May. I must admit that facing such a change made me extremely nervous, and actually hit me kind of hard.

The Personnel office pointed me towards the Lendman Agency (a employment firm that specialized in locating after-service jobs for junior grade officers) and so I met with them. They helped with my resume and then scheduled me for a kind of job fair in Chicago one weekend in late March.

I interviewed with a number of companies, one of which was Continental Bank- the nation's seventh-largest. They were one of a few companies who asked me back up to do a formal interview at the Bank itself. A week or so after that interview, they made me an offer for a position in the Auditing Department. I was apprehensive about job possibilities, and so I took it, although the salary was less than an Army Captain's and even though I did not look forward to leaving Indianapolis. I was due to begin work on the 30th of May.

On the subject of leaving the Army and Indianapolis, I have noticed in myself a distinct aversion to radical change in whatever I am doing at the moment, particularly when there is some choice on my part. This feeling, I think, has been getting stronger as I get older. I didn't want to leave the Army because I had many friends there, I knew the routine, and it was very secure. But knowing that I had to do so, then I didn't want leave Indianapolis, again because of friends, knowing my way around, and security. So both changing jobs and locations was doubly difficult.

I made another trip up to Chicago to look for a place to live. I found one, and engaged it for the end of May, but I'll say more about it later.

Knowing that things are going to be hectic with my moving and with a new job, I decided to take a few days of my leave time to drive down to North Carolina for a visit.

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	May 11-13, 1972: At My Sister's House in Elon
	January 22: Winter in My Indianapolis Neighborhood
	Return to Index for 1972