Officer

And perhaps even more exciting than the All Whites....James is officially an Officer in the NZ Army now. It's been a long time coming (remember he left our honeymoon and trip to the States early so that he could come back for the selection process?)

He was officially changed over about 2 weeks ago, and all last week he was away in Waiurou learning all the ins and out of Officer life. Apparently there's things that are done different in the mess, and a different social culture, different expectations etc etc. There's a 10/90 split between Officers and other ranks, so he really is in the minority now.

He starts his new job tomorrow with the Infantry unit - a total change from what he had been doing. He's acting in a Captain's position - but his official title is Lieutenant (he was previously a Staff Seargent) Officers float around and change units every few years so they get a broader expierence of the Army as a whole. Okay, I should probably shut my mouth now cause really I'm not the expert on all this Army career stuff...and James could tell you better himself....but it's quite an honour and I'm really proud of him for making the change - it's not going to be easy, as it's a HUGE change, but I know he'll do really well once he gets settled in. Again, incredibly proud of him :)

And what does this mean for us? Well it could potentially mean more postings in other cities in NZ - Headquarters in Wellington, or possibly Auckland, or Christchurch...but that's not such a big deal right now as we'll most likely be in Palmerston North for a while. There's also the possibility of overseas postings.....and I admit - that would be quite cool. Yes, REALLY cool (and no I have no problem moving overseas for a bit with two kids!!!) Not for a while though (he's gotta get some seniority first) but the potential to be posted overseas would be AWESOME. But most importantly this posting means that if James choses to stay in the Army for a while - this will be the best career move as far as pay and rank goes. Not to mention it's going to look great on his resume. and of course there's the possibility to contribute more, and actually change the way some things are done in the Army.