A change to work responsibilities for a month

I found out last week that my work hours will change for the month of September. Most military commands have some type of "watch" -- basically monitoring events, equipment, facilities, etc. I was added to the 24/7 watch for the mid-shift, 2:00-10:00 p.m. from Sunday through Saturday. I'll work that shift followed by a three-day week. That works out to 56 hours one week and 24 hours the next.

My first watch was Sunday, and unfortunately came while the family was down for the Labor Day weekend. We spent time together in the morning and early afternoon Sunday and Labor Day, Monday, before I headed off to work.

I've stood watches before during military exercises, but it's a very different feeling with it being "the real thing," not an exercise. The good thing is that I'm monitoring information to provide continual updates, rather than being responsible for decision-making. In talking to a Navy retiree, I found that it's not unusual to feel it's you against the world on a watch.

Once again, I put my experience as a reservist to good use, and integrated seamlessly into the watch rotation. Just tell me how to log onto the computer, what sites to bookmark, and who to call if something goes wrong, and I'm good to go.