It is not a job, it is a way of life

One thing must be remembered; it is not just a job, it is a way of life. One must be caught up in it bone and marrow to find its deepest rewards. In to day's Navy, significantly different from that of the pre-World War II era, few new officers are full-blown, predetermined professionals. The training, the experience, the education (much of it self-administered), the refinement by fire, and the continuing competition and selection work their effects through the years until, at some time not easily defined or identified, a true professional is created. Once this has happened, a change has occurred which will not easily pass.

Most of the elements of this essentially practical profession are open and plain for all to see. It has aspects, however, like all professions worthy of the name, that go deeper; there is an indefinable dimension, a sort of mystique, that does not yield its secrets to the casual inquirer or, indeed, to many who wear the Navy's blue and gold for many years. Its deepest characteristics are as inscrutable as that combination of the sea and service to country that gives the profession its distinctive flavor.

Is it worth it? Every man must speak for himself. As for me, the answer is yes. It has been worth it, over and over again.

RADM James Calvert, former Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy in his book - THE NAVAL PROFESSION