Wild Couple Days

Tuesday, first day back this week, you know of. After I took care of the orders stuff in the morning, I had another usual workout before the afternoon Holds PT muster. Elliptical and weights for about a half hour.

Wednesday I found out some specifics from my sponsor on the Truxtun, and got a welcome email from my Senior Chief (LCPO - leading chief petty officer). I had my screening with the doctor, and along with getting that done, we found out that we were both very much in to military history. She recommended reading Helmet For My Pillow, and we talked about the Norfolk area. She also had the neatest picture on the wall of her grandmother from 1938, dressed in Sailor dress blues outside a house... sort of like this old recruiting poster, but much more normal. :)

Today was crazy! Went straight into the office and turned in my medical clearance page from the doctor. Then I talked with a lady in admin about the transfer days, about how it meant I could detach anytime in June 2012, not on June 12th, like I had mistaken it for. She gave me an extra week so that I could get money for the transfer in advance (it needs processing time). So it's official: I leave June 8, and with my 11 days of leave on the books and requested, I report on June 19. She told me I'd get up to 8 days back when I arrive. To fill out the form completely, I had to go home and get my banking information... and I let my family know the news. Back at base, they helped me find and print my "Page 2"... proving I was married so that my husband could transfer with me. Then I was handed a checkout sheet. Just like that.

Went straight to Dental, got my record, swung by the Post Office, and they stamped my sheet. Dropped off my car at the NEX so it could be safety-checked for the long drive and smog-checked so I could already have military decals when I arrive, and not have to mess with vehicle access. While I waited for that, I walked over to Medical, got my record (checking out) and stopped by for the checkup on my immunization from Tuesday. Walked a little further and had an outstanding "Mediterranean chicken salad" at the Luna Grill in Liberty Station for lunch, and even caught a little of the women's softball world series on TV. Walked back to the NEX, got the next installment of MHQ, then waited at the NEX garage for the car to be done (reading a great article about Midway... it's the 70th anniversary next week). When I did get it, I cleaned the windows and got gas around the corner, then went to the Sub Base for my decals.

When I got home from that, it was 1400, and time to change into the PT uniform for muster. Muster was short, then I went up to the Cabrillo National Monument for a half-hour run/walk on the 3.2K trail loop. What a view! I forget how I hate running when I'm out there.

Back at base, I called my Senior Chief from the boat to tell him the dates and talk about housing. Cleaned up at the pool house (the gym's showers are closed), then waited for the Van Lady by the barracks to pick up the two extra sets of coveralls (she sewed all those patches on) and the new dry-cleaned dress white pants that I had dropped off on Tuesday.

Then I talked with my family in North Carolina and then my family in Seattle (who are going to North Carolina during the time I'm driving across the country) for a good long time about our very near plans.

Orders!

I routinely checked my orders from home this morning, but this time it had changed! So very excited... I immediately made phone calls to my closest family, then reported in for the morning Holds muster. And instead of a working party, I worked on getting my Sea Duty Screening (medical stuff) on the way to getting completed. Dental was easy, needed an immunization at medical, and signed up for an appointment with a doctor.

I am assigned to the USS Truxtun, DDG 103, home-ported in Norfolk, Virginia. When I got home, I did a bit of research on the various commands it is assigned to, its commanders, and history. It's the sixth ship to be named Truxtun (after one of the first Captains in the US Navy who served on the original Constellation, one of the first frigates to be made after the Navy was officially established by Congress in 1798).

I told my instructors before the muster and they had good things to tell me about the people there. I know one person from the previous Ops class who is stationed on it, and since I emailed the boat this morning to establish contact, I was already contacted by my sponsor, an STG2 who seems very friendly. She friended me on Facebook. :)

The Truxtun joins five other DDGs, three CGs (cruisers) and one FFG (frigate) in Destroyer Squadron Twenty-Two, attached to the USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77) - which I was so moved by watching it being commissioned in January 2009. Interestingly, that's the same year my own ship was commissioned.

Deja Vu

When I last posted about the Admiral Sims book, I did another search on eBay and found this (also for much cheaper on Abebooks):

I started reading it on my flight to see my husband for the holiday weekend and finished the first couple chapters (or 30 pages). It's a big hardbound book: 200+ (8.5/11") pages with small pictures. And it's very interesting! I loved the back-story on submarine development, and now with the focus on how to defeat the new threat. It's a promising read, covering the topic all the way to 2007!

Didn't know that the Irish-American inventor, John Holland, was originally working for the Fenians in Ireland, but finally developed the first working submarine for a competition put on by the United States Navy in 1888. This famous picture of him reminded me in a vague way of Professor Calculus from the Tintin stories who created a submarine (Calculus was actually modeled after a different inventor):

Advancement Score

The final scores from my March 8th advancement exam came out Thursday. As I went to the Student Resource Center to check for orders this morning, there were a few others there to check their scores... and they were talking about it. No announcement... just word of mouth.

Success! I scored 1.5 PNA (Pass, but Not Advance) points for my next advancement exam coming up this September. Out of all the STG3s in the Navy who took it, I scored in the 70th percentile, missing the minimum points required to advance by 22 (out of 144). I'm not sure how many STG3s are in the Navy... but according to the Navy, 210 advanced to STG2.

Nothing Much Different

Except for the fact that I knew more about what I was doing today, it wasn't much different from the day before. We cleaned the third classroom that was occupied yesterday, and also cleaned up the student lounge. There was a special lunch of steak and fried shrimp (along with egg-foo-young, fried rice & wonton soup) at the galley today celebrating Asian-Pacific Islander heritage month.

I again started my workout at 1300, going until 1415 or so. Did 30 minutes on a bike, then mostly core strength exercises.

First Day Back

There was a little confusion this morning as we all tried to figure out where we were supposed to stand for the Holds muster. Apparently, they've been making one big, long line spanning the side of the schoolhouse. But IC1 had everyone form up the old way when he came out.

And of note, this was the first time my name was called out during a muster as "Waters". :)

Over by the Holds office, I volunteered with a former classmate to work up in the schoolhouse for a certain working party he had been on before. We joined two others up in the student lounge, and waited until someone came for us and gave us something to do. We ended up cleaning two classrooms very thoroughly, wiping down tables, cabinets, sills, and even the bases of swivel chairs before sweeping and mopping and taking out the trash.

There was some down time before we were let go for lunch, and I was able to do my PT early, before the afternoon PT muster. I worked out for over an hour, doing my own concoction of sets on the basketball court. As I've said before, I really like the setup in the big gym. I did some strength training, as well as lots of cardio before I was through. Finished out with a 10-min. cool-down on a bike.

And there was a super-fast turn-around time for my out-of-bounds chit in admin. I got a phone call during lunch that it had been approved, even with turning it in just the day before. And another classmate got orders this afternoon... for San Diego. I think I checked mine about three times, but alas, to no avail.

Graduated!

I am officially done with all courses and checked back into Holds.

Today, in our service uniforms, the instructors handed out the certificates while we were formed up in the front of the classroom. STG2 tried to get my new name on them, but whoever was in charge changed them back to Payne. Oh, well. I guess they all match. We got three other certificates as well: one for each of the auxiliary classes.

Training Time and GMT Joy

Yesterday we started the final auxiliary, and had a great walk-through in the lab with STG2. It was all very cool equipment, and I feel privileged to get to find out about it. We also had a short refresher training in class about Operational Security given by Master Chief before being let go for the day.

The second test also went well for me... I scored a 90%, only missing 3 questions. And tomorrow is the final test of all. After almost nine months of training (four separate classes) here in San Diego, interrupted by a few breaks on Holds, it is finally coming to a close. Sometime soon I'll be able to start giving back to the fleet what I've been invested with.

I had planned ahead to work-out on base that day, so I brought PT gear in a bag to be retrieved after class. The gym is undergoing some remodeling: it had been moved into the volleyball/basketball courts next door. But I liked having the machines in the much bigger space (and without the TVs), so it went well. Did a solid mile-and-a-half on the elliptical and then some strength training. Found it easier than before, so I think I am very much improved from last year.

From there I went to Liberty Hall to work on an article for the LT and on a chit for myself before the afternoon Duty Section Muster. After that, I went home to relax before returning for my nighttime rover watch. Turned out my mentor was on duty as well, so we were able to catch up a little bit.

As for today, we continued learning the last Tech Manuals, and then we had our summer safety stand-down General Military Training (GMT) for about an hour and a half after lunch. The command DAPA gave a good interactive talk, incorporating a scenario from a Captain's Mast that was held earlier in the day (someone was UA, drunk on duty, and lied to investigators), the command Chaplain spoke about suicide prevention, and the Holds LPO gave a very informative and personal talk about motorcycle safety. It was finished up by the presentation I've seen before about driving safety with examples of accidents in the region by former students.

An informative couple days, to say the least.

Next Big Read

I had the notion a while back to search "anti-submarine warfare" on eBay, just to see what I'd find. Came across an old book about sub-chasers... a class of ship from the WWI era.  So I googled it, and came across this neat website all about the sub-chasers. On that site I found a different book... The Victory At Sea, by Rear Admiral William Sims... a name I recognized, as one of the buildings on base is named for him. So I looked online at my favorite used book source, http://www.abebooks.com/, and found a copy for $5.51. This, I started on Friday, and finished the first section today.

Can't believe my good fortune! So far he has described in detail the predicament the Allies were in around April 1917... how the Germans were on the brink of winning the war by cutting off shipping to Great Britain. The book deals with how they overcame the submarine threat. A history about the beginning of ASW! And what a jump; last I was reading a personal account from a third class petty officer, now I'm reading about the American naval representative to England in World War I.

Can't wait for the rest of it! As for class, we did what we started out to last week... today we took our second auxiliary test... tomorrow the results!

Just Another Day

In class today we decided to do the labs today and go over schematics and troubleshooting Friday and Monday, and test on Tuesday. The lab consisted of going through the turn-on procedure. Baldwin and I were paired again... we're doing it by tables, since there are two to a desk.

Otherwise, I did a lot of reading and finished Battleship Sailor. What a story that guy had. He was perched on the maintop of the USS California at his battle station while Pearl Harbor was attacked, having a bird's eye view of the carnage. He abandoned ship three times... those in command oscillated back and forth twice, and the third time, he had gone back alone on orders to man the radio for a short time. He dug in with others with a Springfield rifle and steel helmet on Ford Island for a few weeks before being ordered elsewhere.

Quiz, Test, Now New Topic

That's what short auxiliary classes are like; one yesterday, another today.

Monday morning we had some down time (continued my reading), then we took a 15-question open book quiz, and later reviewed it. I took the trouble to write down the questions and page numbers I found the answers on for my notes. And that came in handy for the 40-question Fathometer final test we had on Tuesday. It was so frustrating, because we had to flip through this extra-wide, 100+ page tech pub to find the pickiest little answers... such as, what hertz does this test point read on this part of the equipment? Beats me. I took a long time (with most of the others) to complete it, and only needed extra help with one question.

Tuesday was also my duty day, but again I was blessed with Supers. So only the morning and afternoon musters.

Today I found out I tied for second, with an 87.5%... which is passing. STG2 said if we failed this, we'd fail the entire set of courses... and possibly be dropped. Apparently, there had been trouble in the past with people not caring about learning the aux's.

Today we started learning our second to last aux. Baldwin and I wheeled the equipment into the classroom from the lab (via the normally off-limits elevator) while STG2 and Wagner managed carrying the 6-inch thick, 8.5"/11" tech manuals. We've moved into another classroom for all of our aux classes. We had time to familiarize ourselves with the manuals, then STG2 pointed out the various components. Otherwise, I only have three chapters left in Battleship Sailor.

I stayed a while on base, reading a little more because I finally had my dental cleaning appointment after class. Once the hygienist started, I was worried she didn't know what she was doing, especially since she poked me in the gums right off the bat. But I completely changed my mind by the end. It was the quickest and easiest cleaning I can remember, and my teeth feel great.

Aux's

The first three days of class on the Fathometer have gone by. The first day wasn't much because it was interrupted by a "Captain's Call" or something, where all the staff members had to go hear him speak a few words about something. But on Thursday we started off with a short lab (in the classroom), doing a check on the equipment. Baldwin and I were the first to go, and after that, I spent a lot of time reading Battleship Sailor as other groups did it. Today we finished up the labs (some folks had their PRT yesterday) and then went through the Tech Pub... a super-wide (landscape-printed) technical manual solely for the Fatho, bound together by 7 or 8 clip rings. It's similar to the Tech Doc, but I think it's much better organized. And they lied to us... we will be having tests... they just don't mean much because there is no mandatory extra study. Only a 75% is required to pass.

Speaking of percentages, yesterday we were given a final class ranking from Maintenance. I did indeed stay at third place, only under one percent from second with a final of a 97.22%.

And two more folks have been given orders this week: first Fierro on Wednesday... he is starting out in San Diego on a destroyer, but within a month it is being reassigned to Everett (San Diego was his first pick, Everett was not on his list). And today Baldwin got orders for a destroyer in Pearl Harbor, his third pick. So the rest of us (6 of 11) went down to the student resource center (SRC) to check for orders to no avail. Also looked at my PRT scores... this cycle I scored an EXCELLENT. Last cycle it was a GOOD, although my run time was almost precisely the same. It was my pushups that improved. My first two PRTs were both OUTSTANDING. Must bring it back up!

On Wednesday I decided I ought to go ahead and get a new pair of boots and dress shoes and dress white trousers. My boot camp boots are worn, cracked at the ball of the foot on each and dinged up so much... I started working on shining the new ones and the difference is remarkable. I was amazed how much better of a shine I got in five minutes on my new pair than I did for the first few months on my old ones. Amazing what practice can do! The old dress shoes were really the catalyst for the spree. Since my foot fell asleep on watch last time, I realized I needed a roomier pair. This time I got Men's 9 E, and I think that'll do the trick; they're much roomier and lighter too.

On Thursday I got my new dress white trousers fitted for hemming; I'll pick them up Monday. These were much needed because my boot camp pair were hemmed too short... and had become a little too tight. And I hear we might have to wear them for our graduation 22 MAY.

Last Test, Last Day

A huge weight has suddenly been lifted. I am completely done with testing, and have completed everything assigned in my current orders. For the next three weeks, however, I have auxiliaries classes... so I have a straightforward, uninterrupted and untestable time until 22 MAY for the final completion and official graduation from all my classes.

This morning Baldwin and I had our final practical, and we worked together well finding the foreign object in the levelwind and narrowing down all the power faults, for a final grade of 97%. Found out after Quarters that I got a 93% on the final test... so I don't know exactly where that puts my final overall grade, but I'm pretty sure I stayed at 3rd place.

Whew.