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