I am so angry right now - angry and frustrated and sad. As you all know, Phil's retirement ceremony is next Friday. It's been set at 11AM for the last 3 weeks AFTER getting the go-ahead from Sector. We have guests that are (were?) planning on going, and then the plan is (was?) to go out for lunch afterwards. Well, Phil got word yesterday that suddenly 11AM is no longer a good time for the Sector personnel, with them planning on setting it at 8AM. The reason? Because there is another retirement ceremony at the base at that time. Then, Phil and Tony requested that it at least be 8:30 or 9:00 - and no one is returning phone calls or emails to firm up any times.
I just feel it is so completely disrespectful to Phil and to the 25 years he has given to the Coast Guard. Our guests now may or may not be able to make it, the cake may or may not be done, the lunch afterwards will either be cancelled, or I will have to figure out a way to entertain/feed 2 children for the 3 hours until lunch...there are so amny plans that were made around this ceremony that he initially didn't even want. He was told he was going to have a ceremony, and now they're jerking him around. Even worse, I have a bad feeling that because he doesn't actually work ON the base anymore, and because he opted not to have the FULL ceremony, he's being shoved aside in favor of someone who does and did. Of course, to complicate matters even further, its a holiday weekend...the chances that anyone is even still on the base are slim-to-none, and Monday is a holiday.
The suggestion has come up that Phil just go to the base at 8 to get it over with, except that part of the ceremony is to honor Liam...and I think it's only right that he get the recognition he deserves as well. I remember when a retirement, particularly that of a chief, was an all-day, special event. It was however the chief wanted (from full ceremony to those done in local bars), and it was SPECIAL.
Apparently, the days of truly honoring a person who gave much of their life in service of their country is no more.
R.I.P
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