Days 24 & 25

Well, we are now in our fourth week here with only one more week to go. This week is full of training with the Division Officer Course as well as Fire Fighting and the Buttercup.

Tuesday was a spectacular training event as the group that I was in got to go to the fire fighting training. It was very nice to get to do some fleet relevant training and go back to my roots from my first ship. We learned the basics of fire fighting and then got to dress out in fire fighting ensembles and "man" the hoses to put out fires. It got pretty warm in those suits. Top that off with breathing from a self contained breathing apparatus, you can say that it was as realistic training as possible. I know that all of us in the team who participated had a blast.

Today's training was focused on flood control. We were provided with some fundamental training on pipe patching and damage control organization in the Navy and were then dressed out to board the USS BUTTERCUP where the ship was intentionally flooded. It was our job to pump out the water and plug all and any holes in the ship.

Unfortunately, I was not able to take any pictures today, but I am attaching some pictures from yesterday's training here for your enjoyment.

Day 17

What happens on a day when you do not have anything on the schedule except to get ID cards for the company? Well you do nothing, or find something to do. Our day was consumed with running back and forth from the ID Card lab to the barracks, then to lunch, then to the barracks to only sit around and do nothing.

Well not quite nothing as one of my fellow classmates happened to have a deck of Uno cards. Yes, we played Uno while we were waiting for the next major event to take place. At 1500 (3:00 pm) we got together in the middle hallway to receive a lecture about evaluations and fitness reports. After that we went to dinner and back again to the barracks. So it felt like the day went on with not much accomplished.

I did manage to stop by the bank to pick up two rolls of one dollar coins so that my fellow classmates would not have to hustle to get one from the bank. Of course I could have made money off of these coins at $2 for a $1 coin, but I am about the team.

During some of the dead time, I was able to talk to a possible landlord for a place in Rockville. She is going to show me the place on the 11th and is even going to hold it for me. She sounded German and from her e-mail address, I think she is. So it would be really great if we got this place since it has a decent sized yard and is real close to where Tracy and I will be working.

So, we have another 80 minutes here at the cafe and I should wrap it up so I can write my lovely wife. Talk to you all soon.

Some pictures from ODS

Day Thirteen

Well my followers, I am sorry I have not been keeping posts. It has been tiring nights and all I wanted to do at the end of the day was get some sleep.

Today is Friday and we got up early this morning (4:30 a.m.) to do our Physical Fitness Assessment. I knew that I was not going to perform as well as I had on our initial PFA since I have been physically fatigued and getting up real early in the morning is never going to give good results for the test. I managed to crank out 55 situps and 33 pushups (solid ones, not fleet ones). Despite this, I was able to improve my run by 48 seconds, which was what I was really pushing for since that was my major concern. Now I can do the run in under 13 minutes so it is a good start.

After the PFA, we went to breakfast for chow and I ate the usual fruit, granola, egg beaters, and some french toast. Over the past two weeks, I have managed to get full faster and want to eat less. With the 15 minutes that we get, I only eat for the first 10 minutes or so (usually less), and that is when I am full. The remaining five minutes is busy with me trying to finish the blue Poweraid I got for my meal. Yes, I have acquired a taste for "blue" drink lol. I have to replenish the electrolytes after all.

The rest of the morning was filled with taking care of medical issues. Since I had everything done, all I did for 45 minutes was stand in line to hand in a piece of paper that did not have any changes since I received it and turned it in originally. Real brilliant system going there. I guess I cannot fault the medical staff since the system probably works well for those who are non-prior military.

After lunch we headed to Perry Hall for three hours of wonderfully boring lectures. I mean the material was alright and could have been dressed up a little better, but the instructor just sucked so bad and was so monotonous (he probably did not even like the topic) that it was just plain torture for all of us.

After dinner I got ready for duty by taking a nap. Turns out, there were some of my fellow classmates who did not know the rules (as I was not aware of) and were in their PT gear before 2000 (8:00 p.m.). Since our DI was on duty and caught our people violating the rule he established, everyone had to get out of their beds and into their uniform. Lucky for me that it did not filter down to me until it was almost time for me to get up for my watch.

Watch was alright. Definitely not too much to complain about for a two-hour roving watch in the building. The best part was that I got to wash my clothes. So my personal laundry (civilian clothes) that had been sitting in my locker since my training began is now finally clean.

That was my day and I am sticking to it. I will try to keep up on my daily posts a little better.

Day Two

Well today was not really day two – rather the first real full day and mostly administrative matters. As has been revealed to us by previous ODS graduates as well as insinuated by our Class Officer, we will be really starting our training tomorrow.

Nonetheless, today was not without. I only got one hour of sleep in and needless to say it was a real hard and long day. We started the morning with some breakfast and then came back to get out physical training gear issued to us. After changing into our new gear (well new for those who did not have some) we got rounded up and did our first physical fitness assessment. I slowed down about 39 seconds on my run and I am hoping that I will get better with time. I am sure that with daily PT scheduled I will improve my overall score and not worry about my run time (not that I am really a runner).

After our physical training, we met with the admin personnel to take care of our paperwork, to include pay and all that great stuff. The good thing for many of us priors is that we largely have all of our stuff good to go and will not need any changes to our paperwork.

On the schedule was also the mandatory urinalysis for us so that was a blast. I will offer up that I successfully executed “Operation Goldenflow”. This is no small feet as some of our team mates had to go back to try again a few times.

Lunch and dinner came to the right times. I was starving well before chow time however, since I am used to having mid-meal snacks to keep my metabolism going as well as keep my hunger at bay.

We finally were dismissed for the evening and went on to take care of some menial personal tasks, to include getting some laundry done. I am now only waiting for my stuff to dry so I can hit the hay.

I will surely have much more to write about tomorrow.

Day One

The first day was pretty interesting. I checked in around noon and got settled in. Naturally I forgot loads of things so I still need to go to the NEX to pick up some odds and ends. I have a noob roommate who is going to be a Nuclear Instructor (a new program). We figured out how to make our beds and ironed the sheets so they would be wrinkle-free as required. Then we cleaned up a little with some Swiffer dusters and then it was pretty much time for us to meet our Class Officer.

Our Class Officer came in at 2000 as promised and lined us up and then we were all weighed and measured. Yes, I am a little on the pudgy side now so I had to get taped, but I was at 19% body fat so I was good (our cut off is 22%).

After that, we proceeded into a classroom and went over some of the paperwork as well as an introduction by Lieutenant Hazelrigg (our Class Officer). Turns out he is prior enlisted as well and he is an MSC officer who is now on his third tour doing this. I think this is a great opportunity to go to an assignment as an MSC and make a difference for the future of Fleet. I may consider a tour like this as long as Tracy could get collocated.

Right now it is about 2300 and I am pretty tired with little else to report. I did get to meet most of my Shipmates here, however, I am sure that they will all be reintroduced to me tomorrow as my memory was never good with names.

Week before checking in

Well it is the night before I am to check in to Officer Development School (ODS). I am excited about the experience and also a little hesitant to go through training that will be in many ways a repeat of the first few months back when I joined in May 1996.

So far it has been a great experience. Driving from San Diego to Newport has been a phenomenal road trip and I am thankful that I made it safe and that I was also able to catch up with my old and dear friends (whom I consider family) Martin and Elizabeth Griffin (yes Tristan, Dallas and the puppies too).

Driving through New York during early evening rush hour was not part of the plan, but it just reminded me how much I dislike traffic and also how much I enjoy smaller cities/towns.

On my ride across country, I was able to stop for a lunch break in Alabama at the Cracker Barrel. It was nice to have "good ole home cookin from the South". For the first time I was able to enjoy fried apples (it was more like a compote). It reminded me of the time I spent in Wichita Falls, and that food I got to enjoy there.

On Friday evening, I finally reached my destination, Newport, Rhode Island. This quaint little northeastern town reminded me much of my home back in Germany with many little stores and cobblestone streets. I checked into the Newport Beach Hotel & Suites for the weekend and had dinner in the hotel. I also went out to a local bar, Rusty's, to have a few beers and check out the local nightlife. I was surprised to see how expensive everything was here, given that it is now off-season, but Tracy reminded me that things are more expensive on the coast and to the North.

Saturday morning was spent with a morning run. There is a great little path that is goes along the cliffs here in Newport. The Cliff Walk runs south along the island on which Newport is located. It is a very scenic and surely a romantic (when it is not so cold and lonely - boo hoo for me) path that is well worth visiting again (maybe tomorrow on my morning run again).

Later on in the day, I located my storage unit and dropped of my things as well as found my way to the base to get an idea of what to expect as well as to get a haircut. The base is small and there are two older aircraft carriers sitting on the pier, fighting the good fight against rust and time. Two remnants of a pre-nuclear carrier Navy...

Around 4:00 pm, I made my way to the airport to pick up one of my fellow MSC selectees. Jennifer Nestor flew in from San Antonio, where she left behind her husband and 18 month old daughter. After I took her to King Hall (our residence for the next five weeks), we grabbed a bite to eat and talked about our careers to date as well as what we expect to get out of the next weeks in training. After dropping her off for the evening, I got a text from another fellow MSC selectee, Gary Burris, who was staying at the Hyatt. I stopped by the hotel bar and was able to shoot the breeze over a glass of McCallan Scotch (whew that was smooth).

Tomorrow will be the day I check in to ODS. I am not sure if I will be able to provide daily updates, but I will sneak online whenever I can to share my stories.