Seven days and counting ...
... until Wendy comes to visit! YAY!
Got my new phone from Sprint ... waaaaayyyy cool. Of course it doesn't have a SIM card so I couldn't dump all my old numbers in it. I'm adding them slowly by hand, or as people call me. It does store a LOT more information per contact ... it's a trimmed down version of outlook afterall. So you all should send me an e-mail (which I can now read on my phone) with your B-day's so I don't ever have an excuse again. ;P
Went blues dancing on Monday, mainly for the class, it was really good. I now have some idea of what I'm doing instead of just faking it. Live band too "Insomniacs", lessons were at Alberto's in Mt. View usually known for their Salsa.
Heading out Friday night to Mt. View for Vivian (coworker) B-day happy hour. Saturday is apparently "boys night out" (sweet). Saturday day I'll be packing, because Sunday I start moving "home" to my condo. It'll be good. I'll have to start making my own dinner though.
J
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Upgrades ...
I ordered a new phone from Sprint. I was able to get on their SERO employee discount plan, $30 a month for 500 min. with unlimited text and data. Seeing as data is included I figured it would be a good time to get an internet capable phone. I didn't like the Treo's or BlackBerries with the face mounted keyboards, to bulky when using as a phone and too narrow when using the keyboard. That's just me though plenty of folks rave about them.
I'm getting more involved with the project I'm on at work. Previously they had me working on the documentation (which I had the most previous experience with out of anyone on the team), but now I'm getting more involved with the testing and data analysis. Our project lead has a 'deal' with us, if we don't mind doing more of the 'hard work' he'll go to all the meeting for us. I like this plan a lot. Most of friends in the department complain about the sheer number of meetings that take place and how they stay late just to get the actual work done. Aside from that it strikes me as the way things should be done. One person is in charge and is knowledgeable about all the aspects of the project, because he is the one to attend the meetings and delegates the sundry action items to the rest of the team. He knows who is responsible for what and he is responsible for reporting the information to the other groups who may need it; thus he also knows what has been communicated and by whom. All in all I think it cuts down on the "well wasn't so-and-so supposed to be doing that" and the "didn't so-and-so get in touch with you about how to proceed". Of course it leaves essentially zero time for the project lead to be an engineer, which I think is why most project leads don't go down this path ... they want to still be engineers.
J
I ordered a new phone from Sprint. I was able to get on their SERO employee discount plan, $30 a month for 500 min. with unlimited text and data. Seeing as data is included I figured it would be a good time to get an internet capable phone. I didn't like the Treo's or BlackBerries with the face mounted keyboards, to bulky when using as a phone and too narrow when using the keyboard. That's just me though plenty of folks rave about them.
I'm getting more involved with the project I'm on at work. Previously they had me working on the documentation (which I had the most previous experience with out of anyone on the team), but now I'm getting more involved with the testing and data analysis. Our project lead has a 'deal' with us, if we don't mind doing more of the 'hard work' he'll go to all the meeting for us. I like this plan a lot. Most of friends in the department complain about the sheer number of meetings that take place and how they stay late just to get the actual work done. Aside from that it strikes me as the way things should be done. One person is in charge and is knowledgeable about all the aspects of the project, because he is the one to attend the meetings and delegates the sundry action items to the rest of the team. He knows who is responsible for what and he is responsible for reporting the information to the other groups who may need it; thus he also knows what has been communicated and by whom. All in all I think it cuts down on the "well wasn't so-and-so supposed to be doing that" and the "didn't so-and-so get in touch with you about how to proceed". Of course it leaves essentially zero time for the project lead to be an engineer, which I think is why most project leads don't go down this path ... they want to still be engineers.
J
Drill weekend ...
So last weekend was my first drill weekend. Since I was new to the command it consisted of 'Indoc', getting all the newcomer paperwork type stuff out of the way. Of course it coincided with the annual Readiness Review for two of the units at the reserve center. The Readiness Review is to make sure all paperwork, medical / dental info, service record, bank information, etc. is up to date with the Navy so there will be no problems when you are called up to deploy. So instead of just our 'indoc' group there were a hundred plus people all trying to get shots, dental checkups, x-rays, record updates, etc. It was waaaaaay less organized than I imagined it would be. Of course the "military bearing" is significantly relaxed in the reserves (well at this command anyways), it was a bit of 'culture shock' seeing gaggles of officers leaning against the walls. There was an ONR (Office of Naval Research) unit going through the annual review, which was decidedly officer heavy.
So the first day I spent ALL day going through the medical stuff ... and still had nothing to show for it at the end of the day (no sign off on the checklist). Thankfully, the second day had the units under review running a PFA (Physical Fitness Assessment) so the 'indoc's didn't have to wait to see any of the other staff.
Next month will be indoc with my specific unit. I'm currently attached to a carrier support unit. So our annual 2 weeks a year training will be aboard one of the carriers. I have no idea how I'm going to be able to find my way around a carrier in just 2 weeks. During weekend drill we work on shipboard drills (firefighting, damage control, etc.), and in rate training (advancement preparation, General Military Training, etc.), and of course the obligatory PT (Physical Training) session. Next month is also a change of command ceremony as we are getting a new commanding officer of the unit.
The command did make a point to highlight that mobilization is a "when" not an "if" these days. With that said, you are only up for deployment once every 3 years (unless you volunteer). Of course being on an aircraft carrier (in a non-flight deck rate) is probably one of the safest places to be.
J
So last weekend was my first drill weekend. Since I was new to the command it consisted of 'Indoc', getting all the newcomer paperwork type stuff out of the way. Of course it coincided with the annual Readiness Review for two of the units at the reserve center. The Readiness Review is to make sure all paperwork, medical / dental info, service record, bank information, etc. is up to date with the Navy so there will be no problems when you are called up to deploy. So instead of just our 'indoc' group there were a hundred plus people all trying to get shots, dental checkups, x-rays, record updates, etc. It was waaaaaay less organized than I imagined it would be. Of course the "military bearing" is significantly relaxed in the reserves (well at this command anyways), it was a bit of 'culture shock' seeing gaggles of officers leaning against the walls. There was an ONR (Office of Naval Research) unit going through the annual review, which was decidedly officer heavy.
So the first day I spent ALL day going through the medical stuff ... and still had nothing to show for it at the end of the day (no sign off on the checklist). Thankfully, the second day had the units under review running a PFA (Physical Fitness Assessment) so the 'indoc's didn't have to wait to see any of the other staff.
Next month will be indoc with my specific unit. I'm currently attached to a carrier support unit. So our annual 2 weeks a year training will be aboard one of the carriers. I have no idea how I'm going to be able to find my way around a carrier in just 2 weeks. During weekend drill we work on shipboard drills (firefighting, damage control, etc.), and in rate training (advancement preparation, General Military Training, etc.), and of course the obligatory PT (Physical Training) session. Next month is also a change of command ceremony as we are getting a new commanding officer of the unit.
The command did make a point to highlight that mobilization is a "when" not an "if" these days. With that said, you are only up for deployment once every 3 years (unless you volunteer). Of course being on an aircraft carrier (in a non-flight deck rate) is probably one of the safest places to be.
J
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnddd we're back ...
... I'm home. YAY! The last month or so was very hectic what with me being section leader and all. There was always a fire to put out, always something screwing up what should be 'the routine'. Never enough sleep.
I still managed to get the DMG (Distinguished Military Graduate) award. Which put me at the 'front of the line' for the small graduation ceremony (my parents came out to visit and pictures will be forthcoming).
I'm in a kind of daze now. I flew in Sunday night and spent Monday just vegetating (after checking in at the Reserve center in San Jose only to find the person I need to speak with is out of the office). It feels so strange not to have a fire to put out, or someone coming to me with a problem, somewhere I HAVE to be or something I HAVE to do (not to be confused with things I SHOULD be doing).
I'm at my parents place for the rest of this month, and I'll be going back to work next week or so (need to meet with the Navy Reserve folks first to figure out exactly is going on).
That's all for now. I'll probably post again about reflections on the whole experience, but that will have to wait until I can wrap my brain around them all.
J
... I'm home. YAY! The last month or so was very hectic what with me being section leader and all. There was always a fire to put out, always something screwing up what should be 'the routine'. Never enough sleep.
I still managed to get the DMG (Distinguished Military Graduate) award. Which put me at the 'front of the line' for the small graduation ceremony (my parents came out to visit and pictures will be forthcoming).
I'm in a kind of daze now. I flew in Sunday night and spent Monday just vegetating (after checking in at the Reserve center in San Jose only to find the person I need to speak with is out of the office). It feels so strange not to have a fire to put out, or someone coming to me with a problem, somewhere I HAVE to be or something I HAVE to do (not to be confused with things I SHOULD be doing).
I'm at my parents place for the rest of this month, and I'll be going back to work next week or so (need to meet with the Navy Reserve folks first to figure out exactly is going on).
That's all for now. I'll probably post again about reflections on the whole experience, but that will have to wait until I can wrap my brain around them all.
J
Monday, September 03, 2007
... and it hits the fan
So Saturday was the first Duty Day with me in charge. I have to make sure everyone get's to their watches on time, in the proper uniform, and that they are standing their watch properly (the big three that our SDCs worry about, being on time, doing your job, and being 'half-assed' squared away).
Unfortunately with a lot of our duty section moving to the 'nights' building, and the resulting data base crash (they reverted to a week old backup) in the office our alpha roster (list of people who are here and their status; if they are qualified for certain watches, if they have medical orders not to stand certain watches, etc.) is in shambles, we have people listed as being in the ship who have since moved out, people listed in our duty section who have since been moved to non-duty status (usually people who live 'ashore' in town with their family), and we're missing some of the people who recently moved in from bootcamp (not a big deal since they are exempt from their first duty day), lastly since it's a holiday weekend people have been hustling for any (legitimate) way to get out of duty (duty swaps, duty day off, special liberty, etc.) mostly at the last possible minute (and since the staff just changed WE weren't the ones to sign off on them so they come as a surprise). All this adds up to the best efforts of my Watch Bill Coordinator (the person who arranges the schedule of watches and makes sure someone is assigned to each one), still resulting in people not available (since their gone), or lots of double watches (two 4 hour shifts, or more) for the people that are around.
All of that rearranging and cajoling people into standing extra watches wasn't so bad. Those types of problems are common enough on duty days (people wanting to trade watches etc.) and both the rest of the staff and the people in the duty section were able to cope VERY well. I only had to ask, I never had to tell.
Then the proverbial feces hit the oscillating air mover. Another ship on base sprung a gas leak so the Commanding Officer of the base wanted them all (147 of them; minus those who were gone for the weekend) to move into our ship. On paper not much of a problem since we have the room what with people moving out to the 'night' schedule ship. The big problem was 35 or so are female, and we only had 11 empty racks on our female deck. The CO also authorized integrating decks as long as a physical barrier was there between males and females. So we could have mixed decks but not mixed rooms. This meant we had to post EXTRA watches, specifically 2 people on each deck to make sure no one was using the fire escape ladderwells to get to a deck they weren't supposed to be on (we had alarmed the ones on the 2nd deck when we knew in advance that females were moving in, but didn't have the equipment to do it for other decks on short notice), and one more person on the uppermost mixed deck to ensure that females didn't go any higher than that deck. Luckily the student staff (who were on duty) from the other ship were willing to work with us to staff those extra watches, but it still meant 2 and 3 watches for many people from both duty sections. Note: the ships SDC staff came in to plan the move but they were open to ideas from the student staff, once the plan was in place they left again to have us carry it out.
So at 6pm we started getting people from the other ship, they brought a hastily packed seabag and we had to do check ins and room assignments for them in waves. We also had to move some of our people around on some of our decks to make empty rooms for females; if we had a room with only 1 male in it (and 3 empty racks) we'd move him to another room to make a female room. The people from the other ship came in waves since most of them were on liberty, we had a two big waves when Phase I liberty expired (be back on ship by 9:30pm, and have a mandatory 9:45pm muster; which we had to run and track for both ships), and Phase II liberty expried (be back on ship by midnight, no mandatory muster); and a smaller wave when Phase III folks (don't have to back at any certain time on weekends) who were coming back for the night arrived. Phase IIIs were the most interesting though since most of them had been drinking. We had no problems with underage people being caught drunk, or with people being too drunk to get back on base (or with police escort); but people who had been drinking and away from the ship all day were surprised to find females on their previously all male decks. We had a few shouting matches but most situations were resolved without needing to escalate it to a higher level (the roving SDC, a chief, had me on speed dial and was making more frequent and through visits to our ship).
The roving Chief was pleased with how well we responded and was very accommodating about the 'little' things (the visiting OOD was taking a cat nap in uniform around 1 am, but she was on an 8 hour shift and we had our OOD on shift at the same time; the Chief was more concerned that she was someone without a room, which she wasn't), some of the folks standing the extra watches (27 extra watches total, three 4 hours shifts of 9 people) were in coveralls instead of utilities (mostly from me or the visiting section leader saying "get there now I don't care what you're wearing").
I went to bed around 3am, with instruction to have someone call or come pound on my door BEFORE anyone was being yelled at to come get me (ie. before someone is yelling, "get me whoever is in charge NOW!"). At 6:30am it was time to make sure sweepers (cleaning the ship) was happening and get ready for the 7am muster and handover to the next duty section. The oncoming dayshift SDC (not one of the regular ship SDC staff), was VERY critical about our (mine and the visiting section leader) choices from the number of extra watches to how they were sitting instead of roving. Being criticized first thing in the morning for being (debatabley) over cautious is not fun, but "aye, aye Petty Officer" was pretty much the range of available responses. I gave a detailed handover to the oncoming section leader and chuckled internally at her and her watchbill coordinator's mouth hanging open. Of course, an hour after the new section took over the other ship was declared safe and all the visitors were off the ship by the time I had showered, cleaned the room and was on the way out for liberty.
I bumped into the section leader and his assistant on the way out. "It's been a pleasure working with you," I said, "Now get the hell of my ship!" A laugh and a handshake later, I took my own advice.
I was amazed at how well the duty section responded. They did a phenomenal job, I was worried I would have to be yelling and threatening to get them to do all the extra work but they just stepped up. The visiting duty section also understood. The only real problems were with slightly drunk guys being silly around females. It hit me when people from my section were telling me to get some sleep, and trying to think ahead for me, that I might actually be doing a good job. When the people who work for you are concerned about you that's a good sign.
That's all for now, I'll probably have to give a rundown to FC1 (our ships Leading Petty Officer) when everyone is back on Tuesday) but it should be mostly positive.
That's all for now, time for a nap.
J
So Saturday was the first Duty Day with me in charge. I have to make sure everyone get's to their watches on time, in the proper uniform, and that they are standing their watch properly (the big three that our SDCs worry about, being on time, doing your job, and being 'half-assed' squared away).
Unfortunately with a lot of our duty section moving to the 'nights' building, and the resulting data base crash (they reverted to a week old backup) in the office our alpha roster (list of people who are here and their status; if they are qualified for certain watches, if they have medical orders not to stand certain watches, etc.) is in shambles, we have people listed as being in the ship who have since moved out, people listed in our duty section who have since been moved to non-duty status (usually people who live 'ashore' in town with their family), and we're missing some of the people who recently moved in from bootcamp (not a big deal since they are exempt from their first duty day), lastly since it's a holiday weekend people have been hustling for any (legitimate) way to get out of duty (duty swaps, duty day off, special liberty, etc.) mostly at the last possible minute (and since the staff just changed WE weren't the ones to sign off on them so they come as a surprise). All this adds up to the best efforts of my Watch Bill Coordinator (the person who arranges the schedule of watches and makes sure someone is assigned to each one), still resulting in people not available (since their gone), or lots of double watches (two 4 hour shifts, or more) for the people that are around.
All of that rearranging and cajoling people into standing extra watches wasn't so bad. Those types of problems are common enough on duty days (people wanting to trade watches etc.) and both the rest of the staff and the people in the duty section were able to cope VERY well. I only had to ask, I never had to tell.
Then the proverbial feces hit the oscillating air mover. Another ship on base sprung a gas leak so the Commanding Officer of the base wanted them all (147 of them; minus those who were gone for the weekend) to move into our ship. On paper not much of a problem since we have the room what with people moving out to the 'night' schedule ship. The big problem was 35 or so are female, and we only had 11 empty racks on our female deck. The CO also authorized integrating decks as long as a physical barrier was there between males and females. So we could have mixed decks but not mixed rooms. This meant we had to post EXTRA watches, specifically 2 people on each deck to make sure no one was using the fire escape ladderwells to get to a deck they weren't supposed to be on (we had alarmed the ones on the 2nd deck when we knew in advance that females were moving in, but didn't have the equipment to do it for other decks on short notice), and one more person on the uppermost mixed deck to ensure that females didn't go any higher than that deck. Luckily the student staff (who were on duty) from the other ship were willing to work with us to staff those extra watches, but it still meant 2 and 3 watches for many people from both duty sections. Note: the ships SDC staff came in to plan the move but they were open to ideas from the student staff, once the plan was in place they left again to have us carry it out.
So at 6pm we started getting people from the other ship, they brought a hastily packed seabag and we had to do check ins and room assignments for them in waves. We also had to move some of our people around on some of our decks to make empty rooms for females; if we had a room with only 1 male in it (and 3 empty racks) we'd move him to another room to make a female room. The people from the other ship came in waves since most of them were on liberty, we had a two big waves when Phase I liberty expired (be back on ship by 9:30pm, and have a mandatory 9:45pm muster; which we had to run and track for both ships), and Phase II liberty expried (be back on ship by midnight, no mandatory muster); and a smaller wave when Phase III folks (don't have to back at any certain time on weekends) who were coming back for the night arrived. Phase IIIs were the most interesting though since most of them had been drinking. We had no problems with underage people being caught drunk, or with people being too drunk to get back on base (or with police escort); but people who had been drinking and away from the ship all day were surprised to find females on their previously all male decks. We had a few shouting matches but most situations were resolved without needing to escalate it to a higher level (the roving SDC, a chief, had me on speed dial and was making more frequent and through visits to our ship).
The roving Chief was pleased with how well we responded and was very accommodating about the 'little' things (the visiting OOD was taking a cat nap in uniform around 1 am, but she was on an 8 hour shift and we had our OOD on shift at the same time; the Chief was more concerned that she was someone without a room, which she wasn't), some of the folks standing the extra watches (27 extra watches total, three 4 hours shifts of 9 people) were in coveralls instead of utilities (mostly from me or the visiting section leader saying "get there now I don't care what you're wearing").
I went to bed around 3am, with instruction to have someone call or come pound on my door BEFORE anyone was being yelled at to come get me (ie. before someone is yelling, "get me whoever is in charge NOW!"). At 6:30am it was time to make sure sweepers (cleaning the ship) was happening and get ready for the 7am muster and handover to the next duty section. The oncoming dayshift SDC (not one of the regular ship SDC staff), was VERY critical about our (mine and the visiting section leader) choices from the number of extra watches to how they were sitting instead of roving. Being criticized first thing in the morning for being (debatabley) over cautious is not fun, but "aye, aye Petty Officer" was pretty much the range of available responses. I gave a detailed handover to the oncoming section leader and chuckled internally at her and her watchbill coordinator's mouth hanging open. Of course, an hour after the new section took over the other ship was declared safe and all the visitors were off the ship by the time I had showered, cleaned the room and was on the way out for liberty.
I bumped into the section leader and his assistant on the way out. "It's been a pleasure working with you," I said, "Now get the hell of my ship!" A laugh and a handshake later, I took my own advice.
I was amazed at how well the duty section responded. They did a phenomenal job, I was worried I would have to be yelling and threatening to get them to do all the extra work but they just stepped up. The visiting duty section also understood. The only real problems were with slightly drunk guys being silly around females. It hit me when people from my section were telling me to get some sleep, and trying to think ahead for me, that I might actually be doing a good job. When the people who work for you are concerned about you that's a good sign.
That's all for now, I'll probably have to give a rundown to FC1 (our ships Leading Petty Officer) when everyone is back on Tuesday) but it should be mostly positive.
That's all for now, time for a nap.
J
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
=(
So I'm on the list of people to move to night class schedule. Currently they're planning on moving us to a different (although immediately close) ship as well. So I need to pack tonight. I think there may have been a mistake with my name getting on the list though. I'm no longer on the 'Radar' lessons, and there's a rumor that the communication systems labs (the ones I'll be needing) won't be staffed during the night classes. I need to verify all these details tomorrow at the schoolhouse. Needless to say I'm annoyed (although I should mention that both of my roomates and most of the duty section is being moved) but "welcome to life in the Navy".
Time to pack.
J
So I'm on the list of people to move to night class schedule. Currently they're planning on moving us to a different (although immediately close) ship as well. So I need to pack tonight. I think there may have been a mistake with my name getting on the list though. I'm no longer on the 'Radar' lessons, and there's a rumor that the communication systems labs (the ones I'll be needing) won't be staffed during the night classes. I need to verify all these details tomorrow at the schoolhouse. Needless to say I'm annoyed (although I should mention that both of my roomates and most of the duty section is being moved) but "welcome to life in the Navy".
Time to pack.
J
Monday, August 27, 2007
Holding ...
Today I spent a day on "hold". Basically instead of going to class I helped clean the ship (barracks, dorm, etc.) for 6 hours, but at least I got to skip heritage (and do laundry ... weeeeeee). I also took the FC comp. test ... 94%, true to form I missed one question from each of the three topics covered. On Tuesday I start ET A school, which will be the communication equipment not covered in FC A school.
Went out with Wendy to celebrate finishing FC A school, went to a great Moroccan restaurant ... mmmmmm ... lamb. Yes, still steamed we got fourth in the competition the week prior.
Things I will never complain about again: having to clean my room / bathroom / kitchen (hey, I'm going to be the only one 'inspecting' it), meetings, an 8 hour work day (ONLY 8 ... not 12?!??!).
Things I will complain about a lot more: people not doing what they are supposed to be doing, especially at 'critical' times (yes that includes me).
The ship had 7 (seven) ARIs over the weekend. Most involved underage drinking (see above). The SDCs are not pleased, but so far seem more interested in cracking down on the 'basics' (clean rooms, proper watchstanding, proper military bearing, etc.) rather than willy nilly mass punishment (ie. putting the entire ship on duty 7 days a week for a month).
It's strange what you think about in public restrooms. Nowhere in Chicago public restrooms are there the little paper seat covers for the toilets. First I thought it was limited to the base, seeing as us low ranking personnel clean them on a regular basis (once an hour today while on hold). I have yet to see a public restroom in Chicago with them. This isn't terribly offputting or anything it just makes me wonder ... what good are they? Does SF have a lower rate of than Chicago? It would be interesting to look up ... not that I have the time or the inclination to do so now.
And now that I've weirded you all out, it's time to fold my laundry.
J
Today I spent a day on "hold". Basically instead of going to class I helped clean the ship (barracks, dorm, etc.) for 6 hours, but at least I got to skip heritage (and do laundry ... weeeeeee). I also took the FC comp. test ... 94%, true to form I missed one question from each of the three topics covered. On Tuesday I start ET A school, which will be the communication equipment not covered in FC A school.
Went out with Wendy to celebrate finishing FC A school, went to a great Moroccan restaurant ... mmmmmm ... lamb. Yes, still steamed we got fourth in the competition the week prior.
Things I will never complain about again: having to clean my room / bathroom / kitchen (hey, I'm going to be the only one 'inspecting' it), meetings, an 8 hour work day (ONLY 8 ... not 12?!??!).
Things I will complain about a lot more: people not doing what they are supposed to be doing, especially at 'critical' times (yes that includes me).
The ship had 7 (seven) ARIs over the weekend. Most involved underage drinking (see above). The SDCs are not pleased, but so far seem more interested in cracking down on the 'basics' (clean rooms, proper watchstanding, proper military bearing, etc.) rather than willy nilly mass punishment (ie. putting the entire ship on duty 7 days a week for a month).
It's strange what you think about in public restrooms. Nowhere in Chicago public restrooms are there the little paper seat covers for the toilets. First I thought it was limited to the base, seeing as us low ranking personnel clean them on a regular basis (once an hour today while on hold). I have yet to see a public restroom in Chicago with them. This isn't terribly offputting or anything it just makes me wonder ... what good are they? Does SF have a lower rate of
And now that I've weirded you all out, it's time to fold my laundry.
J
Friday, August 24, 2007
Got It!
I got orders to switch rates to ET (Electronics Technician)!!! On Tuesday I start the coursework for ET. On Monday I take the comp. test for Radar side (FC school). So ... there's a good chance I'll get BOTH rates (only the most recent one really counts, but it'll be in my record at least). The remaining work for the ET rate should take 3-4 weeks. I'm so excited (despite having to clean the ship for 3 hours or so as part of a punishment for our Duty Section)! I won't have to start over again or anything I'll keep my 94.9 GPA and +3 day status. I learned something too ... the squeaky wheel does get the grease but it has to be VERY squeaky.
On top of that since I'll be here an extra month or so (and I technically have completed an "A" school) I might be able to qualify for my 'pushbutton' (automatic) advancement to E-4. I may just be Petty Officer Falk before coming home.
Everyone thinks I'm crazy for being the only person here trying to stay LONGER, but I think it's worth it. As an FC I would rarely if ever work with the equipment the rate deals with, which would hurt come time for advancement. FC is a weapons rate, there's not much flexibility or opportunity; while ET's are put to work everywhere ... they aren't nicknamed "everything techs" for nothing.
Well back to the rest of Duty Day. I have a comp. test on Monday which will cover the equipment taught, need to look over my notes for a bit; on top of getting uniform etc. ready for Monday.
Still so excited!
J
I got orders to switch rates to ET (Electronics Technician)!!! On Tuesday I start the coursework for ET. On Monday I take the comp. test for Radar side (FC school). So ... there's a good chance I'll get BOTH rates (only the most recent one really counts, but it'll be in my record at least). The remaining work for the ET rate should take 3-4 weeks. I'm so excited (despite having to clean the ship for 3 hours or so as part of a punishment for our Duty Section)! I won't have to start over again or anything I'll keep my 94.9 GPA and +3 day status. I learned something too ... the squeaky wheel does get the grease but it has to be VERY squeaky.
On top of that since I'll be here an extra month or so (and I technically have completed an "A" school) I might be able to qualify for my 'pushbutton' (automatic) advancement to E-4. I may just be Petty Officer Falk before coming home.
Everyone thinks I'm crazy for being the only person here trying to stay LONGER, but I think it's worth it. As an FC I would rarely if ever work with the equipment the rate deals with, which would hurt come time for advancement. FC is a weapons rate, there's not much flexibility or opportunity; while ET's are put to work everywhere ... they aren't nicknamed "everything techs" for nothing.
Well back to the rest of Duty Day. I have a comp. test on Monday which will cover the equipment taught, need to look over my notes for a bit; on top of getting uniform etc. ready for Monday.
Still so excited!
J
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Hahahahahahha ....
Must share this before I forget. Our new class instructor is strict, but hilarious. A student was having a (pointless) semantic argument with another instructor, so Genius #1 was sent to the hallway to stand at parade rest and whenever anyone walked past he was to pop to attention and announce, "I will not argue with senior Petty Officers". This is funny enough in and of itself but it doesn't end there. Another Genius from another classroom is having too much fun walking past Genius #1 and pointing and laughing. Our instructor hears this and has Genius #2 post 3 feet down the hallway with a similar routine announcing, "I will not harass the EMI guy". (EMI = Extra Military Instruction) Still not funny enough? Genius #3 is happy to oblige, he figures Genius #2 is fair game for harassment. Our instructor demonstrates otherwise and Genius #3 suffers the same punishment as Genius #2.
It is now time for the classes to clean the classrooms, this involves a small parade of people walking to the gear locker for cleaning supplies. Every time someone walks down our section of hallway they are greeted with ...
Genius #3: "I will not harass the EMI guy."
Genius #2: "I will not harass the EMI guy."
Genius #1: "I will not argue with senior Petty Officers."
... and two classrooms worth of students trying VERY hard not to laugh.
That is all for now.
J
Must share this before I forget. Our new class instructor is strict, but hilarious. A student was having a (pointless) semantic argument with another instructor, so Genius #1 was sent to the hallway to stand at parade rest and whenever anyone walked past he was to pop to attention and announce, "I will not argue with senior Petty Officers". This is funny enough in and of itself but it doesn't end there. Another Genius from another classroom is having too much fun walking past Genius #1 and pointing and laughing. Our instructor hears this and has Genius #2 post 3 feet down the hallway with a similar routine announcing, "I will not harass the EMI guy". (EMI = Extra Military Instruction) Still not funny enough? Genius #3 is happy to oblige, he figures Genius #2 is fair game for harassment. Our instructor demonstrates otherwise and Genius #3 suffers the same punishment as Genius #2.
It is now time for the classes to clean the classrooms, this involves a small parade of people walking to the gear locker for cleaning supplies. Every time someone walks down our section of hallway they are greeted with ...
Genius #3: "I will not harass the EMI guy."
Genius #2: "I will not harass the EMI guy."
Genius #1: "I will not argue with senior Petty Officers."
... and two classrooms worth of students trying VERY hard not to laugh.
That is all for now.
J
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Twice in a row?!?!?!?!
Had some time to kill waiting for laundry. So since I have to change my morning routine to accommodate my "new" duties as work center supervisor, I've changed my evening routine accordingly. More cleaning and whatnot at night plus trying to get to bed an hour earlier to cope with the 4am personal wakeup (so I can have my stuff ready so that I can spend time inspecting everyone else in my work center). We'll see how it works. Plus we have a personnel inspection tomorrow morning at school (after I conduct one for my work center of course). I'll be finishing the FC school content this week (technically Monday of next week), and I hit my last dead end with trying to get the new orders on my own, so tomorrow will be spent calling the person who helped me initially every hour until I can actually talk instead of leaving a message (very hard to get a hold of). Hopefully this won't piss off the office folks too much, but the alternative is getting caught with a cell phone in school so I'll take stepping on a few toes. I know the orders are "there", it's just that no one seems to know (or more accurately they THINK they do) where "there" is.
Nothing much exciting planned, starting to organize stuff for packing and sending home just in case.
Laundry should be done ... good thing I remember how to fold from boot camp.
J
Had some time to kill waiting for laundry. So since I have to change my morning routine to accommodate my "new" duties as work center supervisor, I've changed my evening routine accordingly. More cleaning and whatnot at night plus trying to get to bed an hour earlier to cope with the 4am personal wakeup (so I can have my stuff ready so that I can spend time inspecting everyone else in my work center). We'll see how it works. Plus we have a personnel inspection tomorrow morning at school (after I conduct one for my work center of course). I'll be finishing the FC school content this week (technically Monday of next week), and I hit my last dead end with trying to get the new orders on my own, so tomorrow will be spent calling the person who helped me initially every hour until I can actually talk instead of leaving a message (very hard to get a hold of). Hopefully this won't piss off the office folks too much, but the alternative is getting caught with a cell phone in school so I'll take stepping on a few toes. I know the orders are "there", it's just that no one seems to know (or more accurately they THINK they do) where "there" is.
Nothing much exciting planned, starting to organize stuff for packing and sending home just in case.
Laundry should be done ... good thing I remember how to fold from boot camp.
J
Monday, August 20, 2007
Hello again ...
Right, so almost a month between posts. Bad form I know. Let's see what have I been up to ...
I'm working on getting my rating changed to ET (what I want, hence the blog address), one last hiccup is getting the orders to the people that need them before I finish my coursework for the FC rate.
I entered a swing dance contest with Wendy last Friday, and I cheated ... I wore my dress whites. It was a lot of fun even though we weren't as prepared as either of us would have liked. We did well, and were robbed of 3rd place (we took 4th behind a couple that fell out of an aerial). The best part was the dozen or so audience members who were simply appalled that we didn't win ... and went on to complain to the judges about it. That was a huge ego boost, the crowd (in the section of dance floor that we staked out) did seem to enjoy us a lot; and that helped us have a great time competing ... and the whites definitely helped. No pictures, but there may be a couple coming in here and there. Of course, injury was added to insult as Wendy got her purse stolen while we were dancing in the contest.
Saturday went out with the guys since Audas is leaving soon for his ship. Hit up a pretty neat bar with a 5 lane bowling alley attached. It was good to hang out with the "rednecks" (Texas, Arkansas, Georgia, etc. are the home states in question) again, since I don't go to the on base bar during the week and I'm usually in Chicago when I have a free weekend. A good time was had by all, helped along by the cheap drinks ($5 double tall Long Islands).
The hassles of being a Class Leader in a class full of turd flinging monkey's resolved itself when a Second Class Petty Officer who is also a student joined the class. He adds considerable weight to keeping the class in line. Our new instructor is great too ... laid back but inventive when it comes to those who get out of line.
My roommate moved out and got reclassed, it turned out he was color blind (bad when choosing between the red or green wire). He's now living it up in Florida as an Airdale (Aviation rates) Females have been assimilated into the 'ship' (barracks, dorms, etc.) and so far there haven't been any major problems (just a few extra watches to staff and a lot of shuffling people through rooms) ... but I honestly don't think that will last. There are waaaaaaay too many hormonally driven 18-20 year olds for there not to be any drama. I hope to be pleasantly surprised.
Photo gallery hasn't been updated much. Best place for the visual take on how I spend my time in Chicago. The answer to the question, "Why are there so many dancing pictures?"; because I've been doing a lot of dancing, and it's great.
That's all for now ... I have to get to bed early since I'll be getting up early to start getting my workcenter in line earlier. One thing is for sure ... I will NEVER complain about having "too many meetings" at work ever again.
Until next time.
J
Right, so almost a month between posts. Bad form I know. Let's see what have I been up to ...
I'm working on getting my rating changed to ET (what I want, hence the blog address), one last hiccup is getting the orders to the people that need them before I finish my coursework for the FC rate.
I entered a swing dance contest with Wendy last Friday, and I cheated ... I wore my dress whites. It was a lot of fun even though we weren't as prepared as either of us would have liked. We did well, and were robbed of 3rd place (we took 4th behind a couple that fell out of an aerial). The best part was the dozen or so audience members who were simply appalled that we didn't win ... and went on to complain to the judges about it. That was a huge ego boost, the crowd (in the section of dance floor that we staked out) did seem to enjoy us a lot; and that helped us have a great time competing ... and the whites definitely helped. No pictures, but there may be a couple coming in here and there. Of course, injury was added to insult as Wendy got her purse stolen while we were dancing in the contest.
Saturday went out with the guys since Audas is leaving soon for his ship. Hit up a pretty neat bar with a 5 lane bowling alley attached. It was good to hang out with the "rednecks" (Texas, Arkansas, Georgia, etc. are the home states in question) again, since I don't go to the on base bar during the week and I'm usually in Chicago when I have a free weekend. A good time was had by all, helped along by the cheap drinks ($5 double tall Long Islands).
The hassles of being a Class Leader in a class full of turd flinging monkey's resolved itself when a Second Class Petty Officer who is also a student joined the class. He adds considerable weight to keeping the class in line. Our new instructor is great too ... laid back but inventive when it comes to those who get out of line.
My roommate moved out and got reclassed, it turned out he was color blind (bad when choosing between the red or green wire). He's now living it up in Florida as an Airdale (Aviation rates) Females have been assimilated into the 'ship' (barracks, dorms, etc.) and so far there haven't been any major problems (just a few extra watches to staff and a lot of shuffling people through rooms) ... but I honestly don't think that will last. There are waaaaaaay too many hormonally driven 18-20 year olds for there not to be any drama. I hope to be pleasantly surprised.
Photo gallery hasn't been updated much. Best place for the visual take on how I spend my time in Chicago. The answer to the question, "Why are there so many dancing pictures?"; because I've been doing a lot of dancing, and it's great.
That's all for now ... I have to get to bed early since I'll be getting up early to start getting my workcenter in line earlier. One thing is for sure ... I will NEVER complain about having "too many meetings" at work ever again.
Until next time.
J
Monday, July 23, 2007
Whew, long day ...
... and it's not quite done. School just dragged today, but I made a little headway on getting my rate changed to ET. Now I just have to wait for two people in two different states to finish their game of phone tag and resolve each others issues. Starting the next lab soon, although many have said that the intro lab session doesn't help explain the system as much as the last lab. Had PT as well today, they finally split the run into two groups I decided to push myself and run with the fast group. I never understand the people who try to skate by on PT ... it just means it's always going to be that hard to complete, instead of getting easier each time. Today is also our duty day, and I have Quarterdeck Messenger, which is either really laid back, or a lot of paper running ... depending on what is going on (hopefully not more people changing ships).
That's all for now, have to get my dress whites looking pretty for quarterdeck watch.
J
... and it's not quite done. School just dragged today, but I made a little headway on getting my rate changed to ET. Now I just have to wait for two people in two different states to finish their game of phone tag and resolve each others issues. Starting the next lab soon, although many have said that the intro lab session doesn't help explain the system as much as the last lab. Had PT as well today, they finally split the run into two groups I decided to push myself and run with the fast group. I never understand the people who try to skate by on PT ... it just means it's always going to be that hard to complete, instead of getting easier each time. Today is also our duty day, and I have Quarterdeck Messenger, which is either really laid back, or a lot of paper running ... depending on what is going on (hopefully not more people changing ships).
That's all for now, have to get my dress whites looking pretty for quarterdeck watch.
J
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Grrrrrr ...
... went to open study last night (on AES), and got kicked out for having 5 o'clock shadow. Had to go back home and shave then come back, only in the Navy. Annoying since I need to log a certain amount of time there on AES. I could have just said "okay" and hid from that Petty Officer the rest of the evening but that's not me. I did get a 100% on the test I was there to take though.
J
... went to open study last night (on AES), and got kicked out for having 5 o'clock shadow. Had to go back home and shave then come back, only in the Navy. Annoying since I need to log a certain amount of time there on AES. I could have just said "okay" and hid from that Petty Officer the rest of the evening but that's not me. I did get a 100% on the test I was there to take though.
J
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Short and Sweet ....
... been a while since I've posted. See here for the short version (in picture form!).
Hopefully more later.
J
PS: If you have a picasa photo page send me the link.
... been a while since I've posted. See here for the short version (in picture form!).
Hopefully more later.
J
PS: If you have a picasa photo page send me the link.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
STRIPPER!
Now that I have your attention ... my roomate and I finally got around to stripping all the wax (and other sundry gunk) off of our floor. Yes you read that correctly, I was on my hands and knees scrubbing to CLEAN a floor. It looks damn good too if I say so myself.
On to the real news though. I finished ATT! Actually I finished last week on Monday, and started FC "A" school the following day. Regardless, I finished around 15 days ahead of schedule, no where near "soonest" but more than enough to get my PDA. Besides I wasn't going to open study every waking hour (read: ever) and I was also taking time to help out fellow classmates (which I enjoy, and really didn't take that much time). Some of my classmates gave me a little 'going away' present. Our instructor hands out these awards for various things (getting 100% on tests, being the most days ahead, having highest GPA, etc.); I had all but one. So before I 'comp-ed' (graduated) they made me a bunch of gag awards to hang around my station "'The Laugh' Award", the "Falk Award", the "Most Awards Award", the "Jewish Student Award", to name a few. I came back from a test to find them all over my station, even the instructor had a good laugh. Anyway, the game plan for "A" school is to take my time and max my scores since grades matter now. I'll see if I can get the 'Distinguished Military Graduate' award. I'm not class leader anymore, since I joined a class that was already formed, but I am Master-at-Arms ... which means I'm in charge of cleaning the room each day (note the 'in charge' bit which means I don't do any actual cleaning, I'm sneaky what can I say). Other than that the PT is more involved at "A" school, '3-mile' (feels like 2) runs and whatnot. It's very humid here so I invariably end up thoroughly disgusting and tired.
That's all for now, need to iron and shine my boots (do we notice a trend yet?).
J
Now that I have your attention ... my roomate and I finally got around to stripping all the wax (and other sundry gunk) off of our floor. Yes you read that correctly, I was on my hands and knees scrubbing to CLEAN a floor. It looks damn good too if I say so myself.
On to the real news though. I finished ATT! Actually I finished last week on Monday, and started FC "A" school the following day. Regardless, I finished around 15 days ahead of schedule, no where near "soonest" but more than enough to get my PDA. Besides I wasn't going to open study every waking hour (read: ever) and I was also taking time to help out fellow classmates (which I enjoy, and really didn't take that much time). Some of my classmates gave me a little 'going away' present. Our instructor hands out these awards for various things (getting 100% on tests, being the most days ahead, having highest GPA, etc.); I had all but one. So before I 'comp-ed' (graduated) they made me a bunch of gag awards to hang around my station "'The Laugh' Award", the "Falk Award", the "Most Awards Award", the "Jewish Student Award", to name a few. I came back from a test to find them all over my station, even the instructor had a good laugh. Anyway, the game plan for "A" school is to take my time and max my scores since grades matter now. I'll see if I can get the 'Distinguished Military Graduate' award. I'm not class leader anymore, since I joined a class that was already formed, but I am Master-at-Arms ... which means I'm in charge of cleaning the room each day (note the 'in charge' bit which means I don't do any actual cleaning, I'm sneaky what can I say). Other than that the PT is more involved at "A" school, '3-mile' (feels like 2) runs and whatnot. It's very humid here so I invariably end up thoroughly disgusting and tired.
That's all for now, need to iron and shine my boots (do we notice a trend yet?).
J
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Fun with Cadence ...
So when we march, we sing to help us keep in step. Usually Cadence is a 'call-repeat' sort of thing; for example: Caller, us
We're not the Army!
We're not the Army!
The backpack'n Army.
The backpack'n Army.
We're not the Air Force!
We're not the Air Force!
Always on the golf course.
Always on the golf course.
We're not the Coast Guard!
We're not the Coast Guard!
They don't even work hard.
They don't even work hard.
We're not the Marines!
We're not the Marines!
They don't even hygiene.
They don't even hygiene.
We ARE the Navy!
We ARE the Navy!
The Worlds Finest Navy.
The Worlds Finest Navy.
Now for the 'fun' part. Today was a Heritage day, so we have a long march back from the theater on base. Our march happened to take us past a normally empty barracks that is currently holding a bunch of Marines (not sure why). Said Marines we're in front of their barracks preparing to muster. Our cadence caller called the above cadence and managed to time it so the 'Marines' section was RIGHT IN FRONT of the group of Marines. They all laughed and clapped and so did we. Who says there's inter-service rivalries. We'll have to see what they come up with in return. =)
I've started "A" School and have some photo's to post but I need to get my uniforms ready, since there's also been a crackdown in the ship (dorm) on room and personnel inspections.
J
So when we march, we sing to help us keep in step. Usually Cadence is a 'call-repeat' sort of thing; for example: Caller, us
We're not the Army!
We're not the Army!
The backpack'n Army.
The backpack'n Army.
We're not the Air Force!
We're not the Air Force!
Always on the golf course.
Always on the golf course.
We're not the Coast Guard!
We're not the Coast Guard!
They don't even work hard.
They don't even work hard.
We're not the Marines!
We're not the Marines!
They don't even hygiene.
They don't even hygiene.
We ARE the Navy!
We ARE the Navy!
The Worlds Finest Navy.
The Worlds Finest Navy.
Now for the 'fun' part. Today was a Heritage day, so we have a long march back from the theater on base. Our march happened to take us past a normally empty barracks that is currently holding a bunch of Marines (not sure why). Said Marines we're in front of their barracks preparing to muster. Our cadence caller called the above cadence and managed to time it so the 'Marines' section was RIGHT IN FRONT of the group of Marines. They all laughed and clapped and so did we. Who says there's inter-service rivalries. We'll have to see what they come up with in return. =)
I've started "A" School and have some photo's to post but I need to get my uniforms ready, since there's also been a crackdown in the ship (dorm) on room and personnel inspections.
J
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Weekend Update ...
Friday - Headed down with King for the Chicago Blues festival. Went in working whites for the proper '20s experience (you know the old movies with the Sailors in the uniforms dancing), and it was great fun. My camera wasn't working and King lost his charger so hopefully I'll be able to track down some photos from the other folks who were snapping away.
Saturday - Duty ... 'nuff said.
Sunday - Chores day was interrupted by a request for volunteers to go sailing. Naturally I jumped at the chance. A group of Navy retirees have a sailboat they race in local competitions, and they happily recruit extra crew from Great Lakes. Never 'raced' a sailboat before (more plotting and wind planning than when just cruising), and the wind was much lighter than expected but still fun.
After hanging out at the free festival and discovering there's a ton of stuff like that, it reminded me of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. So now I have a new 'plan' for my liberty weekends. To see all the sites they hit in the movie, and most of them are free/cheap ('cept Cubs games but Military can get discount tickets).
Time for bed.
J
Friday - Headed down with King for the Chicago Blues festival. Went in working whites for the proper '20s experience (you know the old movies with the Sailors in the uniforms dancing), and it was great fun. My camera wasn't working and King lost his charger so hopefully I'll be able to track down some photos from the other folks who were snapping away.
Saturday - Duty ... 'nuff said.
Sunday - Chores day was interrupted by a request for volunteers to go sailing. Naturally I jumped at the chance. A group of Navy retirees have a sailboat they race in local competitions, and they happily recruit extra crew from Great Lakes. Never 'raced' a sailboat before (more plotting and wind planning than when just cruising), and the wind was much lighter than expected but still fun.
After hanging out at the free festival and discovering there's a ton of stuff like that, it reminded me of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. So now I have a new 'plan' for my liberty weekends. To see all the sites they hit in the movie, and most of them are free/cheap ('cept Cubs games but Military can get discount tickets).
Time for bed.
J
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Wednesday ...
Better than yesterday. Had sweepers this morning, a little more rough than usual since having everyone clean makes lots of stuff dirty. Blazed through some more MODs in ATT (11+ days ahead of schedule, which is more than the 15% to get my PDA). Academics today was canceled due to a blood drive being held in the ship. Just need to iron a uniform for tomorrow and re-polish my boots (got destroyed Tuesday). One thing learned from yesterday ... coveralls are comfy!
Tuesday ...
.... LAME. Started off well, moved into the 'digital circuits' part of the ATT curriculum. Digital was always easier to begin with and I also remembered more of it, so I was able to do well on the section Pre-Test. Then there was post-ATT PT ... in the rain. Not bad, this is the NAVY afterall and it's just water ... but still push-ups in the rain isn't my idea of "fun".
But then it got REALLY silly. Since it was a Duty day our section decided to have everyone strip and re-wax our floors. Sure no problem ... oh wait, big problem ... there's not enough of ANYTHING for everyone on one deck to strip and wax their floors all at the same time. The student staff for our duty section also didn't think any sort of detailed planning was necessary ... just put the stuff out there and people will get it done. Thus I ended up spending 5 hours trying to provide some method to the madness. Getting people to share equipment (swabs, strainers, etc.), rationing chemicals (pure striper melts plastic gloves), and then cleaning up all the equipment when people were done. NOT fun. I didn't help my roomates get our room done, and they spent a few hours helping me get equipment clean. I'll be writing up a "how to" so we don't have to go through that again ... I'll also be striping and waxing my floor on Saturday (our next duty day).
Better than yesterday. Had sweepers this morning, a little more rough than usual since having everyone clean makes lots of stuff dirty. Blazed through some more MODs in ATT (11+ days ahead of schedule, which is more than the 15% to get my PDA). Academics today was canceled due to a blood drive being held in the ship. Just need to iron a uniform for tomorrow and re-polish my boots (got destroyed Tuesday). One thing learned from yesterday ... coveralls are comfy!
Tuesday ...
.... LAME. Started off well, moved into the 'digital circuits' part of the ATT curriculum. Digital was always easier to begin with and I also remembered more of it, so I was able to do well on the section Pre-Test. Then there was post-ATT PT ... in the rain. Not bad, this is the NAVY afterall and it's just water ... but still push-ups in the rain isn't my idea of "fun".
But then it got REALLY silly. Since it was a Duty day our section decided to have everyone strip and re-wax our floors. Sure no problem ... oh wait, big problem ... there's not enough of ANYTHING for everyone on one deck to strip and wax their floors all at the same time. The student staff for our duty section also didn't think any sort of detailed planning was necessary ... just put the stuff out there and people will get it done. Thus I ended up spending 5 hours trying to provide some method to the madness. Getting people to share equipment (swabs, strainers, etc.), rationing chemicals (pure striper melts plastic gloves), and then cleaning up all the equipment when people were done. NOT fun. I didn't help my roomates get our room done, and they spent a few hours helping me get equipment clean. I'll be writing up a "how to" so we don't have to go through that again ... I'll also be striping and waxing my floor on Saturday (our next duty day).
Monday, June 04, 2007
Mondays ....
... are usually blah. Our class was divided in two today, not really sure why. We like our new instructor much better, and I'm class leader again. Pouring rain complete with lightning, just after a gorgeous weekend weather wise. Plus we had Heritage today. Usually a bore, today wasn't bad. A History channel-esque movie on the "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors", covering one of the battles at Leyte Gulf (Phillipines) during WWII. Essentially the Japanese pulled a bait and switch to lure the main fleet away from the forces on the beach. The main fleet bought it hook, line and sinker ... leaving escort carriers (VERY small carriers by comparison) and their Destroyer escorts to face the main striking force of the Japanese complete with line of battle Battleships, Cruisers, etc. The Destroyers and Aircrews fought tooth and nail and were able to rout the Japanese. By far the most interesting presentation as it dealt a little more with tactics and whatnot, instead of dry procedures.
Blues Festival in Downtown Chicago this weekend.
Oh and read this, it's long but worth it.
... are usually blah. Our class was divided in two today, not really sure why. We like our new instructor much better, and I'm class leader again. Pouring rain complete with lightning, just after a gorgeous weekend weather wise. Plus we had Heritage today. Usually a bore, today wasn't bad. A History channel-esque movie on the "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors", covering one of the battles at Leyte Gulf (Phillipines) during WWII. Essentially the Japanese pulled a bait and switch to lure the main fleet away from the forces on the beach. The main fleet bought it hook, line and sinker ... leaving escort carriers (VERY small carriers by comparison) and their Destroyer escorts to face the main striking force of the Japanese complete with line of battle Battleships, Cruisers, etc. The Destroyers and Aircrews fought tooth and nail and were able to rout the Japanese. By far the most interesting presentation as it dealt a little more with tactics and whatnot, instead of dry procedures.
Blues Festival in Downtown Chicago this weekend.
Oh and read this, it's long but worth it.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Long Day ....
New Navy Phrase of the Day (which Jeremy will continue to use when he gets home): "Bag of Ass" = SUB-par performance on either activity (march-out looked like a bag of ass!) or general appearence (You look like a bag of ass, did you iron that shirt with a rock?), see also "Hot [pile of] Garbage".
Friday's are usually good days. We get out an hour early from ATT (school), no mandatory PT, no Academics or Sports or Heritage. This of course assumses that people don't send their brains on liberty before the day is through. The rearmost quarter of our ~100 person return march to the ship (dorm / barracks) decided that since it was friday they didn't have to put any effort into marching. Which really sucked when GM1 drove past in his car and observed the slovenly section, his reaction featured today's Navy Phrase of the Day early often and loudly. As a result we took a marching tour of the base for an hour under the supervision of FC2 (who is the resident perfectionist). It was a nice day weather wise, as a Californian I can phrase it as excellent beach weather ... which makes for a damn hot day marching in wool socks, wool pants, a cotton long sleeve shirt, and a ball-cap. To cap the night off, it's a Duty day for our section. As a newly appointed Workcenter Supervisor I'm responsible for organizing the 'sweepers' (top to bottom cleaning) of one deck (complete with cleaning supply locker, small lounge, and laundry room); all in all not to bad, just some grumbling about how the last guy was much more lax.
On a lighter note the newer "PC" Navy policies are bearing fruit. Talked with a friend over dinner, she's on 'hold' waiting to leave for her next school. A group of hold's from her ship went out to help a local Junior High class with a Civil War Day event. The Navy folks were duly cautioned about presenting a good appearence / example, etc. As it turns out the average 13 year old now curses WORSE than a Sailor. I may be able to help defend our fame as drinkers this weekend if I get down to Chicago, luckily I don't think many 13 year olds will be allowed to compete.
Well my boots need polishing (stupid mud).
New Navy Phrase of the Day (which Jeremy will continue to use when he gets home): "Bag of Ass" = SUB-par performance on either activity (march-out looked like a bag of ass!) or general appearence (You look like a bag of ass, did you iron that shirt with a rock?), see also "Hot [pile of] Garbage".
Friday's are usually good days. We get out an hour early from ATT (school), no mandatory PT, no Academics or Sports or Heritage. This of course assumses that people don't send their brains on liberty before the day is through. The rearmost quarter of our ~100 person return march to the ship (dorm / barracks) decided that since it was friday they didn't have to put any effort into marching. Which really sucked when GM1 drove past in his car and observed the slovenly section, his reaction featured today's Navy Phrase of the Day early often and loudly. As a result we took a marching tour of the base for an hour under the supervision of FC2 (who is the resident perfectionist). It was a nice day weather wise, as a Californian I can phrase it as excellent beach weather ... which makes for a damn hot day marching in wool socks, wool pants, a cotton long sleeve shirt, and a ball-cap. To cap the night off, it's a Duty day for our section. As a newly appointed Workcenter Supervisor I'm responsible for organizing the 'sweepers' (top to bottom cleaning) of one deck (complete with cleaning supply locker, small lounge, and laundry room); all in all not to bad, just some grumbling about how the last guy was much more lax.
On a lighter note the newer "PC" Navy policies are bearing fruit. Talked with a friend over dinner, she's on 'hold' waiting to leave for her next school. A group of hold's from her ship went out to help a local Junior High class with a Civil War Day event. The Navy folks were duly cautioned about presenting a good appearence / example, etc. As it turns out the average 13 year old now curses WORSE than a Sailor. I may be able to help defend our fame as drinkers this weekend if I get down to Chicago, luckily I don't think many 13 year olds will be allowed to compete.
Well my boots need polishing (stupid mud).
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Adjusting ....
Yes it's been a while. I've been getting used to the new schedule (several new schedules as some things changed every week), also had some paperwork issues with getting my "appliance chit" (list of appliances you want to have plugged in that have to approved before you can use them, don't want random electronics causing fires in the ship/dorm/building). Anywho, all has been resolved and I'm finding time to do the things I want to do.
First, so we're all on the same page this is my typical schedule ....
0500 - Reveille; up, shaved, dressed, and fed by ...
0545 - Morning Muster; roll call, followed by cleaning (room inspections are a random event), until ...
0615 - Muster for class; we form up and march the 10 minutes to the ATT (Apprentice Technical Training) building for our classes. I'm in a ship/dorm/building with 5 decks (floors) of rooms, we are the largest ship on base ... our marchout line is loooooooong, a good set of lungs is required to be cadence caller.
0645ish - Class; I'm class leader (which has nothing to do with test scores) so I'm in charge of the morning uniform inspection (we use it to determine who will be cleaning later that day, if you can't iron you get good at swabbing); which also means I'm partially responsible if someone in the class has to go see the LPO (Leading Petty Officer) or LCPO (Leading CHIEF Petty Officer) and has a 'subpar' uniform. More on the other 'benefits' of being class leader another time.
ATT is a self paced class, it's ALL computer based; with an instructor there to answer further questions. Lessons are on the computer, and an test set that accepts various cards to simulate various circuits. The emphasis is on diagnostics and locating faulty components.
Noon until 1300 (1pm) - Chow (general for food, lunch in this case), yay free galley food. Galley food isn't that bad, there are 4 different 'lines'; 'standard' (think Hometown Buffet with 1/5 the variety on a rotational basis), 'Italian' (pasta, pizza, soup, salad), 'Burgers / Wings' (Burgers and lunch, wings during dinner, fries, fruit salad, etc.), 'Chinese' (not as good as Mr. Chau's and much less variety). Half of ATT marches out together for chow of course. If you are really motivated (don't mind inhaling your food and some running) you can get some quick shopping / dry cleaning pickup / mail pickup / haircut done during lunch as well.
1300 until 1600 - Class; twice a week we leave at 1445 to do PT (running, push ups, sit ups, etc.); also once every other week 1 class will have an hour to clean the general areas of the 3 story ATT building (swab hallways, take out trash from offices, clean out / restock heads (bathrooms), etc.).
1600 until 1800 (4 - 6pm) - DASH our acronym for our NMT (Naval Military Training) rotation. D = Duty, stand watches, sweepers (clean the building), have to stay in uniform and can't leave the ship unless you are going to the galley. A = Academics, command sponsored speakers (drug/alcohol awareness, sexual harassment awareness, etc.), quality time with our Duty Section's (everyone on our floor) mentor "GM1" (Petty Officer First Class, Gunners Mate). S = Sports, PT (yes can happen twice in one day, once with ATT once with Duty Section), conducting PFA's (Physical Fitness Assessments, need one once a month to maintain your liberty phase (more on that later)), team sports. In addition the next couple of weeks is UCC (Ultimate Command Challenge ... think Greek Week ... really), various team events / esprit du corps ('spirit') activities, which I'm proud to say our ship is KILLING the other ships in the standings ... to the tune of a 100+ point lead. Duty Sections on Sports go to UCC to participate in those events. H = Heritage; the much maligned naval history class. Mainly because our ship has to march clear across the base to get to the theater where Heritage is held, and then also due to the difficulty of staying awake in comfy theater seats while listening to an occasionally dry lecture. When they cover historic battles it's pretty interesting, not so much when they discuss the overview of underway replenishment. So after class we have one of the above on a rotational basis; on weekends there is no ASH ... but if your Duty day falls on a weekend you spend that day in the ship, in uniform, and muster 3 times for cleaning in addition to standing watches (usually 4 hour watches).
1800 - Liberty Call; freedom ... sorta. As a (recent) Phase III, I can not only wear civilian clothes, I can also ride in or drive a private car, I can stay out until 0500 the next day (as long as I have a liberty buddy). Usually, this is errand time (dry cleaning, mail, etc.), dinner time, workout time, cleaning time, and ironing / boot polishing for tomorrow time. If there's time then an hour or two at Open Study to get through ATT sooner.
2200 - Taps; I try to be in bed before this (sad I know).
So that's the typical day. On weekends unless you have duty your on liberty, still need a buddy to go off base. There's plenty of MWR (Morale, Welfare, Recreation) activities going on both during the week and on the weekend, I generally haven't found time to go (except for one Poker Night where I was robbed in the last hand netting me second .... no prize), but some of the upcoming weekend trips look good. Plus I'm trying (still waiting for the weather to warm up a bit more) to import an SAE tradition and arrange a house boating weekend.
In general it is a lot like college, only with no option for cutting class, more marching, a LOT more excersice (sine I wasn't in the gym everyday in college), the occasional need to salute and say, "Good Afternoon, Sir!", and a noticeable lack of sorority girls.
That's all for now it's a Duty day today and it's time for sweepers (yay cleaning the laundry room), plus I have some ironing / boot polishing to do for Monday ... going for BOB ... more on that later.
Until next time (when I hope to have some pictures as well) ...
J
Yes it's been a while. I've been getting used to the new schedule (several new schedules as some things changed every week), also had some paperwork issues with getting my "appliance chit" (list of appliances you want to have plugged in that have to approved before you can use them, don't want random electronics causing fires in the ship/dorm/building). Anywho, all has been resolved and I'm finding time to do the things I want to do.
First, so we're all on the same page this is my typical schedule ....
0500 - Reveille; up, shaved, dressed, and fed by ...
0545 - Morning Muster; roll call, followed by cleaning (room inspections are a random event), until ...
0615 - Muster for class; we form up and march the 10 minutes to the ATT (Apprentice Technical Training) building for our classes. I'm in a ship/dorm/building with 5 decks (floors) of rooms, we are the largest ship on base ... our marchout line is loooooooong, a good set of lungs is required to be cadence caller.
0645ish - Class; I'm class leader (which has nothing to do with test scores) so I'm in charge of the morning uniform inspection (we use it to determine who will be cleaning later that day, if you can't iron you get good at swabbing); which also means I'm partially responsible if someone in the class has to go see the LPO (Leading Petty Officer) or LCPO (Leading CHIEF Petty Officer) and has a 'subpar' uniform. More on the other 'benefits' of being class leader another time.
ATT is a self paced class, it's ALL computer based; with an instructor there to answer further questions. Lessons are on the computer, and an test set that accepts various cards to simulate various circuits. The emphasis is on diagnostics and locating faulty components.
Noon until 1300 (1pm) - Chow (general for food, lunch in this case), yay free galley food. Galley food isn't that bad, there are 4 different 'lines'; 'standard' (think Hometown Buffet with 1/5 the variety on a rotational basis), 'Italian' (pasta, pizza, soup, salad), 'Burgers / Wings' (Burgers and lunch, wings during dinner, fries, fruit salad, etc.), 'Chinese' (not as good as Mr. Chau's and much less variety). Half of ATT marches out together for chow of course. If you are really motivated (don't mind inhaling your food and some running) you can get some quick shopping / dry cleaning pickup / mail pickup / haircut done during lunch as well.
1300 until 1600 - Class; twice a week we leave at 1445 to do PT (running, push ups, sit ups, etc.); also once every other week 1 class will have an hour to clean the general areas of the 3 story ATT building (swab hallways, take out trash from offices, clean out / restock heads (bathrooms), etc.).
1600 until 1800 (4 - 6pm) - DASH our acronym for our NMT (Naval Military Training) rotation. D = Duty, stand watches, sweepers (clean the building), have to stay in uniform and can't leave the ship unless you are going to the galley. A = Academics, command sponsored speakers (drug/alcohol awareness, sexual harassment awareness, etc.), quality time with our Duty Section's (everyone on our floor) mentor "GM1" (Petty Officer First Class, Gunners Mate). S = Sports, PT (yes can happen twice in one day, once with ATT once with Duty Section), conducting PFA's (Physical Fitness Assessments, need one once a month to maintain your liberty phase (more on that later)), team sports. In addition the next couple of weeks is UCC (Ultimate Command Challenge ... think Greek Week ... really), various team events / esprit du corps ('spirit') activities, which I'm proud to say our ship is KILLING the other ships in the standings ... to the tune of a 100+ point lead. Duty Sections on Sports go to UCC to participate in those events. H = Heritage; the much maligned naval history class. Mainly because our ship has to march clear across the base to get to the theater where Heritage is held, and then also due to the difficulty of staying awake in comfy theater seats while listening to an occasionally dry lecture. When they cover historic battles it's pretty interesting, not so much when they discuss the overview of underway replenishment. So after class we have one of the above on a rotational basis; on weekends there is no ASH ... but if your Duty day falls on a weekend you spend that day in the ship, in uniform, and muster 3 times for cleaning in addition to standing watches (usually 4 hour watches).
1800 - Liberty Call; freedom ... sorta. As a (recent) Phase III, I can not only wear civilian clothes, I can also ride in or drive a private car, I can stay out until 0500 the next day (as long as I have a liberty buddy). Usually, this is errand time (dry cleaning, mail, etc.), dinner time, workout time, cleaning time, and ironing / boot polishing for tomorrow time. If there's time then an hour or two at Open Study to get through ATT sooner.
2200 - Taps; I try to be in bed before this (sad I know).
So that's the typical day. On weekends unless you have duty your on liberty, still need a buddy to go off base. There's plenty of MWR (Morale, Welfare, Recreation) activities going on both during the week and on the weekend, I generally haven't found time to go (except for one Poker Night where I was robbed in the last hand netting me second .... no prize), but some of the upcoming weekend trips look good. Plus I'm trying (still waiting for the weather to warm up a bit more) to import an SAE tradition and arrange a house boating weekend.
In general it is a lot like college, only with no option for cutting class, more marching, a LOT more excersice (sine I wasn't in the gym everyday in college), the occasional need to salute and say, "Good Afternoon, Sir!", and a noticeable lack of sorority girls.
That's all for now it's a Duty day today and it's time for sweepers (yay cleaning the laundry room), plus I have some ironing / boot polishing to do for Monday ... going for BOB ... more on that later.
Until next time (when I hope to have some pictures as well) ...
J
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
April 6th.
This is from Jeremy's Dad.
Jeremy made us proud. He looked fantastic as he stepped up to receive his award for Academic Excellence from the Rear Admiral. There were only 6 award recipients, one in each category out of all the 9 Divisions graduating. Jeremy didn't parade with his Division as he was playing his trumpet in the recruit band. The ceremony lasted an hour an a half. It was very inspiring to see some 600 young people mainly in their twenties, clean, disciplined and there by their own choice to defend our country. They went through the rigors of basic training and I'm amazed at the amount they learned in such a short time. Jeremy wore a ribbon with colors for serving in time of war with an "S" on it for achieving Sharp Shooter level. After graduation the families of the honorees were taken to a private reception where we were introduced to the Admiral and his staff and the officers that had worked over, I mean trained the recruits. The spirit of the recruits and their commanders was infectious. Their bearing and courtesy to civilians was absolutely wonderful. And we couldn't help but come away with the feeling of respect for these outstanding people and the Service that they represent.
We were able to spend time with Jeremy after the graduation on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning for breakfast. We met all his requests which were simple; food (including a good steak) long HOT showers, a swim and a couple of naps on a real bed at our hotel. We made it to the movies Saturday afternoon too.
Since the graduation he has started A school, which is his technical training. The conditions are not as spartan as they were before graduation. He shares a suite with 3 others (instead of the eighty or so previously.) There are still many rules to follow, and duties to perform in addition to his classes. The amount of free time and leave will increase as time goes on. He asked me to thank all those that have written to him, and said he will soon be able to use email and have a phone. In the mean time his new address is:
SN Falk, Jeremy
320A Dewey Ave.
BEQ 6301 RM#527
Great Lakes, IL 60088
He now has a locker and a microwave in his suite. So we were able
to send him a care package.
Well, that's all for now, perhaps Jeremy will be able to send the
next missive.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
April 1st
A final letter before graduation. Sorry I couldn't write last week as had two big events on Monday and I spent the time getting ready. We had our final personnel inspection and our final compartment inspections. We passed both. On my third and final test I only got 4.8 (missed 2 questions) which was a little disappointing since I felt I did well. However I'm still the Academic Honor winner for our grad group (9 divisions total) so you and I get to hob nob with the special guests (officers etc.) after the graduation ceremony. The ceremony starts around 9am, you'll want to be there by 8am though so as to get the special seating for award winners families. The weather here has been all over the place, hot and cold with occasional thunder storms, so I've no idea what you should pack. I on the other hand, have the luxury of being told what to wear each day.
When you come you can bring me goodies but I can't take them back to the barracks, so no Costco bags of things. My next Navy check should be larger since I'm not buying uniforms for a while. I'm not sure what the restrictions will be for liberty weekend. We'll get a brief before you come.
As you asked;RDC's are Recruit Division Commanders, the Navy version of Drill Sergeant. Ours are great (yes, even with the occasional yelling) and I'll introduce them after graduation.
We have our final event 'Battle Stations' tonight. It starts around 8m and lasts for 24 hours. Lots of running, teamwork exercises (fire fighting, line handling, water survival, etc.) and no sleeping. Should be lots of fun!
Looking forward to seeing you and performing in graduation. And taking real hot showers in your hotel.
Until then, time to shine my boots.
Jeremy
A final letter before graduation. Sorry I couldn't write last week as had two big events on Monday and I spent the time getting ready. We had our final personnel inspection and our final compartment inspections. We passed both. On my third and final test I only got 4.8 (missed 2 questions) which was a little disappointing since I felt I did well. However I'm still the Academic Honor winner for our grad group (9 divisions total) so you and I get to hob nob with the special guests (officers etc.) after the graduation ceremony. The ceremony starts around 9am, you'll want to be there by 8am though so as to get the special seating for award winners families. The weather here has been all over the place, hot and cold with occasional thunder storms, so I've no idea what you should pack. I on the other hand, have the luxury of being told what to wear each day.
When you come you can bring me goodies but I can't take them back to the barracks, so no Costco bags of things. My next Navy check should be larger since I'm not buying uniforms for a while. I'm not sure what the restrictions will be for liberty weekend. We'll get a brief before you come.
As you asked;RDC's are Recruit Division Commanders, the Navy version of Drill Sergeant. Ours are great (yes, even with the occasional yelling) and I'll introduce them after graduation.
We have our final event 'Battle Stations' tonight. It starts around 8m and lasts for 24 hours. Lots of running, teamwork exercises (fire fighting, line handling, water survival, etc.) and no sleeping. Should be lots of fun!
Looking forward to seeing you and performing in graduation. And taking real hot showers in your hotel.
Until then, time to shine my boots.
Jeremy
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Jeremy phoned home.........
His voice was hoarse and he hadn't slept in 2 days. However he was in high spirits even though he said he was exhausted. So far he has performed in 2 graduations and they are practicing for his graduation this Friday the 6th. His position is 2nd trumpet but they moved him from in from the outside line as he has trouble marching in step and playing his trumpet at the same time. (Some thing like he can't walk and chew gum.) He will be getting one award and all his scores have been good.
We (his parents) are flying out for the graduation and will stay the weekend, as we hope to catch as much of his free time as the Navy will give him. It is his birthday today but all he wanted is to be taken out for a big steak. We will take pictures and if I can figure it out I will post them. After the graduation we can all feel safer in our beds knowing Jeremy is out there protecting us.
Jeremy's dad
His voice was hoarse and he hadn't slept in 2 days. However he was in high spirits even though he said he was exhausted. So far he has performed in 2 graduations and they are practicing for his graduation this Friday the 6th. His position is 2nd trumpet but they moved him from in from the outside line as he has trouble marching in step and playing his trumpet at the same time. (Some thing like he can't walk and chew gum.) He will be getting one award and all his scores have been good.
We (his parents) are flying out for the graduation and will stay the weekend, as we hope to catch as much of his free time as the Navy will give him. It is his birthday today but all he wanted is to be taken out for a big steak. We will take pictures and if I can figure it out I will post them. After the graduation we can all feel safer in our beds knowing Jeremy is out there protecting us.
Jeremy's dad
Thursday, March 22, 2007
March 18th.
Our Sunday routine changed a bit today and it was decided I didn't have time to call home. I'll call next time I have a chance.
I was nominated to be an award winner, but I blew the review board. I got nervous and my military bearing disappeared. ( Looking around, licking my lips etc.) I'm still in the running for an Academic Award since I got a 5.0 on test #2. I also qualified as a Sharpshooter with a 9mm pistol (2 points away from Expert, grrrr...)
Next weekend we perform at another group's graduation. We're rehearsing 3 times this week and once for the Ship's (building) Lieutenant to review. Our next big event is fire-fighting, which will include tear-gas exposure. We got our dress uniforms and took individual photos, I probably won't order any as the packages looked pricey and we didn't get any time to work on our appearance.
The weather is getting warmer, the sun is out every day. But we still wear our full cold gear. I have no idea what the temperature is but you'll need long sleeves and sweaters at the graduation. The ceremony is indoors in bleachers. 900 division families get their own section near the center of the VIP dais.
Time to finish shining my new dress shoes.
Jeremy
Our Sunday routine changed a bit today and it was decided I didn't have time to call home. I'll call next time I have a chance.
I was nominated to be an award winner, but I blew the review board. I got nervous and my military bearing disappeared. ( Looking around, licking my lips etc.) I'm still in the running for an Academic Award since I got a 5.0 on test #2. I also qualified as a Sharpshooter with a 9mm pistol (2 points away from Expert, grrrr...)
Next weekend we perform at another group's graduation. We're rehearsing 3 times this week and once for the Ship's (building) Lieutenant to review. Our next big event is fire-fighting, which will include tear-gas exposure. We got our dress uniforms and took individual photos, I probably won't order any as the packages looked pricey and we didn't get any time to work on our appearance.
The weather is getting warmer, the sun is out every day. But we still wear our full cold gear. I have no idea what the temperature is but you'll need long sleeves and sweaters at the graduation. The ceremony is indoors in bleachers. 900 division families get their own section near the center of the VIP dais.
Time to finish shining my new dress shoes.
Jeremy
Thursday, March 15, 2007
March 11th.
It's Sunday again, at last. The only day of the week that I bother to check the date.
First off next Sunday I'll be using my bonus phone call to call home.
Please post a "Thank You" to everyone that's written to me. I don't have time to write back individually, but I do appreciate it tremendously.
Tomorrow is a long day; we have our second fitness test, our second personnel inspection and our second 'Dynamic' (folding) inspection. So an hour of physical activity followed by 2+ hours of standing at attention. Next Friday we have our second exam as well. The RDC's (I don't know what that is either-dad) ordered me to get a 5.0 on everything next week' since they are nominating me for an award. (They did not elaborate.) I plan to follow orders. We got our first paycheck $600 and change after taxes and our uniforms.
Have no fear mum, I get enough food and sleep and warm clothes.
Have no fear dad, they don't give us the opportunity to procrastinate. In fact I'm one of the few who give 100% all the time.
Jeremy
It's Sunday again, at last. The only day of the week that I bother to check the date.
First off next Sunday I'll be using my bonus phone call to call home.
Please post a "Thank You" to everyone that's written to me. I don't have time to write back individually, but I do appreciate it tremendously.
Tomorrow is a long day; we have our second fitness test, our second personnel inspection and our second 'Dynamic' (folding) inspection. So an hour of physical activity followed by 2+ hours of standing at attention. Next Friday we have our second exam as well. The RDC's (I don't know what that is either-dad) ordered me to get a 5.0 on everything next week' since they are nominating me for an award. (They did not elaborate.) I plan to follow orders. We got our first paycheck $600 and change after taxes and our uniforms.
Have no fear mum, I get enough food and sleep and warm clothes.
Have no fear dad, they don't give us the opportunity to procrastinate. In fact I'm one of the few who give 100% all the time.
Jeremy
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Jeremy called home and it was great to talk to him.
March 4th.
Yesterday was another chance to practice for the graduation performance. We not only play for our graduation but the two before us as well. My lips aren't what they used to be, but the performance is only three songs; it's the practices that I can't last through.
My feet are doing alright, they hurt but so does every ones. I had a blister that popped yesterday during PT that hurt a lot but it's better now. I'm going to "sick call" Monday morning to follow up and maybe get some moleskin bandages.
I'm working hard, I got 5.0's on all tests/ inspections so far and I was one of the few to pass the first fitness test (only 14 out of 80-something passed.) The military bearing stuff is still the hardest. I have to break my old speaking habits; no looking at people in the eye when talking, no talking with my hands, "say again?" instead of "what?", and so on.
When you write, feel free to send along news clippings (or jokes, or any of the stuff you usually forward in emails.) And let that be known on the blog too.
Jeremy.
Please write to Jeremy at:
SR Falk, J. P.
Div: 919 Ship: 06
Recruit Training Command
3510 Illinois Street
Great Lakes, IL 60088-3119
March 4th.
Yesterday was another chance to practice for the graduation performance. We not only play for our graduation but the two before us as well. My lips aren't what they used to be, but the performance is only three songs; it's the practices that I can't last through.
My feet are doing alright, they hurt but so does every ones. I had a blister that popped yesterday during PT that hurt a lot but it's better now. I'm going to "sick call" Monday morning to follow up and maybe get some moleskin bandages.
I'm working hard, I got 5.0's on all tests/ inspections so far and I was one of the few to pass the first fitness test (only 14 out of 80-something passed.) The military bearing stuff is still the hardest. I have to break my old speaking habits; no looking at people in the eye when talking, no talking with my hands, "say again?" instead of "what?", and so on.
When you write, feel free to send along news clippings (or jokes, or any of the stuff you usually forward in emails.) And let that be known on the blog too.
Jeremy.
Please write to Jeremy at:
SR Falk, J. P.
Div: 919 Ship: 06
Recruit Training Command
3510 Illinois Street
Great Lakes, IL 60088-3119
Thursday, March 08, 2007
We have our first inspection tomorrow.........
Since I'm a section leader I have to make sure everyone else can fold, iron and make their beds properly. Believe it or not I became a section leader by being good at all those things. Who would of guessed!
There are 83 people in our Division. 41 are females. Since we are "integrated" the males share a compartment with the males from another integrated Division. The beds are pretty small, I just fit lengthwise. Some people snore, a few loudly, but I'm usually too tired to care. The food is pretty good, but I foresee getting bored with the selection.
Well time to shine my boots and teach some folding.
Jeremy
Since I'm a section leader I have to make sure everyone else can fold, iron and make their beds properly. Believe it or not I became a section leader by being good at all those things. Who would of guessed!
There are 83 people in our Division. 41 are females. Since we are "integrated" the males share a compartment with the males from another integrated Division. The beds are pretty small, I just fit lengthwise. Some people snore, a few loudly, but I'm usually too tired to care. The food is pretty good, but I foresee getting bored with the selection.
Well time to shine my boots and teach some folding.
Jeremy
Thursday, March 01, 2007
"P Week" is officially over. All the initial in-processing stuff is complete and the "real" training courses are beginning (first aid, ship types/missions, etc.). This also means physical "motivation" has begun as well, Our Division has it's share of clowns, but after one (painful) session of just about every exercise, they now get the picture. It's not bad, even marching through fresh morning snow has a Zen like quality to it. Friday there was a fresh new group in the chow hall. Brought a few chuckles of memories before realizing we're only one week ahead; amazing what gets done when you work 14+ hours a day. Let mom know that not only do I have to make my bed every day, but I also have to get up in the middle of the night to iron and fold! I was most worried about the physical demands but the mental "attention to detail" is still the hardest thing; imagine someone chewing you out every time you didn't use your turn signal. On a 'meta' level I understand the stakes are higher, it's still nerve wracking. Have to go refold most of my clothes as they weren't quite right!
Jeremy
Jeremy
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
This is Jeremy's Dad. Forgive me but it's taken a while to figure out this blogging stuff and I'm still not sure I have it right. Anyway I'll get right to it as it's news from Jeremy that you are interested in:
The first thing that arrived was an old cardboard box containing everything Jeremy stood up in when he left. It's the Navy way; they provide everything a sailor needs, (including a sewing kit) so it was Good Will or send it home.
This is what he wrote in his first letter:
.........the good news is that I'm in a 900 Division so we will perform during graduation. The bad news is that there are 10 other trumpet players, so I may have to mini-audition to be in the band section. The hardest thing so far is the attention to the smallest detail. After some high volume correction I get it done their way! When we arrived (that was the evening of the 8th.) we got our uniforms and gear, weighed in, drug test, breakfast (note: no sleep yet) TB test, haircut, stencil and stamp our gear, march to our barracks, dinner, then finally end a long Friday. Saturday we spent half the day at the drill hall starting to train for performing. The rest of the day was rules lectures and finish stenciling. Sunday is usually a rest day but we will resume training when I finish writing this letter.
I'm doing fine,
Jeremy
If you want to write him:
SR Falk, Jeremy, P.
Division # 919 Ship # 06
Recruit Training Command
3510 Illinois Street
Great Lakes, IL 60088-3119
The first thing that arrived was an old cardboard box containing everything Jeremy stood up in when he left. It's the Navy way; they provide everything a sailor needs, (including a sewing kit) so it was Good Will or send it home.
This is what he wrote in his first letter:
.........the good news is that I'm in a 900 Division so we will perform during graduation. The bad news is that there are 10 other trumpet players, so I may have to mini-audition to be in the band section. The hardest thing so far is the attention to the smallest detail. After some high volume correction I get it done their way! When we arrived (that was the evening of the 8th.) we got our uniforms and gear, weighed in, drug test, breakfast (note: no sleep yet) TB test, haircut, stencil and stamp our gear, march to our barracks, dinner, then finally end a long Friday. Saturday we spent half the day at the drill hall starting to train for performing. The rest of the day was rules lectures and finish stenciling. Sunday is usually a rest day but we will resume training when I finish writing this letter.
I'm doing fine,
Jeremy
If you want to write him:
SR Falk, Jeremy, P.
Division # 919 Ship # 06
Recruit Training Command
3510 Illinois Street
Great Lakes, IL 60088-3119
Sunday, January 28, 2007
You're doing what? Why?
Since almost everyone is going to ask me that question I'll put the answer here.
The "what" is joining the Navy Reserve. Not to be confused with Active Duty Navy. As a reservist I will keep my civilian job and "drill" one weekend a month, plus two weeks (14 straight days) per year. Of course, if the unit I belong to is 'called up' I'll be on Active Duty for that time. Usually this happens once every three years for a 'call up' of six months to a year. Obviously things may be accelerated a bit given the current national situation, but the draw on Navy personnel is not as large as the other branches.
Put simply the "why" is because it's something I felt I should do. I'll elaborate. Almost a year ago I was thinking of getting a new job. I had come to the realization that I was a) more or less 'coasting' having learned what I needed for my job and b) there wasn't much in the way of advancement in the department I was in. In addition I had been contemplating changing career dramatically towards FBI, Secret Service, or something along those lines. After having applications turned down (stupid low undergrad GPA), I began looking at a potential military career. After looking at the options I thought Naval Intelligence would be the way to go for me. Unfortunately, due to a rather odd restriction, I was unable to qualify for the highest level of security clearence which is required for Intel positions. Finding that out was a fair drawn out process of pestering as many people I could find. I was also talking to as many Active Duty military folks I could find to try to get an idea of what I was potentially getting into.
So after finding out I didn't qualify for the job I wanted, I contemplated the 'backup' options I had looked at. About this time I transfered to a new department at work that was challenging and had very good upward potential. I really couldn't rationalize what would essentially be "starting over" career wise for a 'backup' option. My recruiters were understanding (and tremendously helpfull along the entire process might I add), but asked if I had though about joining the Reserves instead of Active Duty. I hadn't, it was an 'all or nothing' proposition for me at the outset. So I did some more digging and more pestering. After all the people I talked to I found that performing some form of service was appealing to me, and something that I needed to do.
That is how I ended up joining the Navy Reserve. The address for this blog "usnr-et" stands for United States Navy Reserve - Electronics Technician. ET is the 'rating' I'm enlisting under. I'll be heading to Naval Station Great Lakes (north of Chicago, Illinois) for basic training (boot camp) and for my 'A' school (technical school for ET's). It will be 10 months total, and I head out on February 8th.
This blog will (hopefully) be updated by my dad whenever I write letters home, so people can keep up-to-date if they like. I'm certain I won't have internet access during the first 8 weeks of basic training, and I'm not sure how much access (or time) I'll have to update during 'A' school; so if nothing else I'm helping my dad practice by typing out my letters (of course he doubts I'll write that often; I have a rather dismal history when it comes to letter writing).
If you have quetions you can leave them as comments here. My dad will also put a post up with the address where you can send me (snail) mail.
Since almost everyone is going to ask me that question I'll put the answer here.
The "what" is joining the Navy Reserve. Not to be confused with Active Duty Navy. As a reservist I will keep my civilian job and "drill" one weekend a month, plus two weeks (14 straight days) per year. Of course, if the unit I belong to is 'called up' I'll be on Active Duty for that time. Usually this happens once every three years for a 'call up' of six months to a year. Obviously things may be accelerated a bit given the current national situation, but the draw on Navy personnel is not as large as the other branches.
Put simply the "why" is because it's something I felt I should do. I'll elaborate. Almost a year ago I was thinking of getting a new job. I had come to the realization that I was a) more or less 'coasting' having learned what I needed for my job and b) there wasn't much in the way of advancement in the department I was in. In addition I had been contemplating changing career dramatically towards FBI, Secret Service, or something along those lines. After having applications turned down (stupid low undergrad GPA), I began looking at a potential military career. After looking at the options I thought Naval Intelligence would be the way to go for me. Unfortunately, due to a rather odd restriction, I was unable to qualify for the highest level of security clearence which is required for Intel positions. Finding that out was a fair drawn out process of pestering as many people I could find. I was also talking to as many Active Duty military folks I could find to try to get an idea of what I was potentially getting into.
So after finding out I didn't qualify for the job I wanted, I contemplated the 'backup' options I had looked at. About this time I transfered to a new department at work that was challenging and had very good upward potential. I really couldn't rationalize what would essentially be "starting over" career wise for a 'backup' option. My recruiters were understanding (and tremendously helpfull along the entire process might I add), but asked if I had though about joining the Reserves instead of Active Duty. I hadn't, it was an 'all or nothing' proposition for me at the outset. So I did some more digging and more pestering. After all the people I talked to I found that performing some form of service was appealing to me, and something that I needed to do.
That is how I ended up joining the Navy Reserve. The address for this blog "usnr-et" stands for United States Navy Reserve - Electronics Technician. ET is the 'rating' I'm enlisting under. I'll be heading to Naval Station Great Lakes (north of Chicago, Illinois) for basic training (boot camp) and for my 'A' school (technical school for ET's). It will be 10 months total, and I head out on February 8th.
This blog will (hopefully) be updated by my dad whenever I write letters home, so people can keep up-to-date if they like. I'm certain I won't have internet access during the first 8 weeks of basic training, and I'm not sure how much access (or time) I'll have to update during 'A' school; so if nothing else I'm helping my dad practice by typing out my letters (of course he doubts I'll write that often; I have a rather dismal history when it comes to letter writing).
If you have quetions you can leave them as comments here. My dad will also put a post up with the address where you can send me (snail) mail.
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