There are special times in the life of any parent, when they naturally want to share about the successes of their children. The Savannah American Legion Commander, Charles Carman, has one of those moments right now with his first-born son, B-U-2 (STW) Michael Carman.

Michael has been in the Navy for 12 years, and he just recently received his new orders for the next three years - Camp David. He will be running the wood shop at Camp David, which is responsible for all the needed repairs and construction there. The thrill of this assignment is not only that he will be directly serving the presidents, which we know will be plural, the current President George W. Bush and the future president, whoever that might be.

He will also have the opportunity to see many world leaders, who often gather at Camp David. This is a highly sought after honor and less than 3 percent of those who apply and are eligible are ever appointed.

When asked what he did to receive such a high honor, he answered it was his hard work!

Michael's earlier Stations in the Navy found him in Kuwait with the NMCB 74 Battalion (Naval Mobile Construction Battalion) where he was responsible for remodeling the troops barracks. Next he served in Ethiopia, where he was responsible for building a school for the many orphans that were there.

When asked why he joined the Navy, his answer was similar to many young men and women from our area: He wanted to get out of his home town of Fort Ann after high school, which is where he was brought up. Fort Ann is located in the Lake George Area near the Vermont border and was the place of a fort that was important during the Revolutionary War. His intention was to spend five years in the Navy and move on with his life.

At the end of five years, he had not accomplished what he had wanted to do, partly because of too much partying, so he settled down and reenlisted for another five years. This time, he truly developed his skills and his leadership abilities, which all led to this appointment at Camp David. He felt great when he learned that he had been accepted and also pleased with his accomplishments again crediting his hard work to enabling him to reach this position.

He is looking forward to the next three years and is ready to face its challenges. His home base has been Golf Port, Miss., but for the next three years, he and his family will be living in a Naval House on Camp David.

Michael is married to Jamie and has three children - two boys and a girl. They too are looking forward to this next assignment.

When asked about a career in the military, Michael responded that he would recommend it to everyone, but acknowledged that the military is not for everyone.

The military can be hard, especially if you are married and have children, he believes.

“In the Navy, you learn quickly that you are seven months at home and then seven months employed away from home, which can be very hard on the family,” he said.

Michael shared that it takes a strong woman to endure this kind of upheaval (which is true of Jamie, and he is ever thankful for her). First he is home to help with the family and then he is gone and there is little support for the wives while they are gone. As servicemen, they have the support of each other on the ship, but that is not always present for their wives.

What he learned most from the military was to become disciplined, something that he admitted was lacking in him when he first joined.

Congratulations Michael on this new appointment and thanks for your insight. I also want to say thank you to Charles Carman for sharing about his son. Charles himself served in the army from 1973 to 1982 and has been the commander of the Arthur T. Meehan American Legion Post in Savannah for three years as well as sharing his leadership skills in the Savannah Chamber of Commerce and the Potato Fest Committee since coming to Savannah six years ago.

Carol Spellman proudly lives and writes from her home in Savannah. You can reach her at spellmanjc@tds.net