Hello and welcome to my blog.  My name is Abby Nixon. I'm a veteran and I will use this blog to highlight not only my experience as a military person but more as a veteran.  I entered the US Navy after high school in 1977 from Chicago.  A classmate Allen and I went to boot camp together in a buddy program so that summer after high school, we boarded a flight to San Diego, unfortunately, he had to stay behind to settle a traffic ticket.  Allen was in the class behind me.

We both exited the Navy in 1981 and met up once in Chicago. Allen eventually re-entered the US Navy and retired to California after achieving the rank of Chief. I had started college at Columbia College Chicago for photojournalism and transferred to the University of Missouri/Columbia where for a year and a half, I was in the college ROTC officer class and joined the local National Guard, an armory unit as a junior officer.  I chose to forego being commissioned an officer after much thought about if I really wanted to live a life in the military after much problems I experienced in the US Navy.