Looking down on our commissioning pennant... from the very top of the mast.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Aloft Pics
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
On Top of the World!
Coming in Monday morning, I had no idea how I'd spend my time... there wasn't anything to do as I was aware of. Ha! I was busy all day! Started off right away, coming in from Quarters topside... Combat needed our equipment online, so there was some starting and restarting to do. Then after sweepers, I had to do it some more. Afterwords, I found out my tasking for the week... accomplish the check we've been having problems with for months, and the check that none of us have ever done before... going aloft and checking our antenna on the top yardarm of the main mast. No one in the division was aloft qualified, so that was my new mission.
First, I wrote and got a response from the manager of the specific check I was still trying to finish. It took all day, but that's understandable, as he's based in Washington State, and three hours behind us. Then it was a matter of getting aloft qualified in a day. Ship's force was going to go aloft the next day, so I decided I would make it happen. Both checks would be lost if we didn't get them done this week.
I got with the ETs for the rest of the line-items (I've had a couple trainings before, but never enough), then had an oral board with ETC (electronics tech chief). This passed, I decided I'd write up another list of things to order that got left of the first order, and I had just about finished when the 50-man working party for unloading the ship's food stores was announced as inadequate. They needed more bodies, so I went to the mess decks and spent a solid hour helping move generally very heavy boxes (some frozen) from one person to the next in the main ladder-well. When I finished with this, I walked my aloft qualification around for four or five signatures, including the XO and CO.
Tuesday was rather busy as well. I was worried all morning that the ETs were going to leave me behind from going aloft (always have to do it in pairs for safety), but it was sort of out of their hands. The ship wouldn't allow anyone aloft all morning for some reason. So I worked on getting the fatho check done, but of course, the test equipment needs looking at by an ET first. I remembered the aloft check required a tag-out, and according to procedure, needed to be tagged out by taking out the fuses to the distribution box. That required getting the right safety gloves from tool issue, and routing a "energized work chit" to be signed off by the Captain. I managed to get 3 minutes to eat lunch (spaghetti and meat sauce) while on my way to look for my Department Head (lieutenant). Once the Captain signed it, the CSOOW (combat systems officer of the watch) helped me write the tag, as none had been done before by anyone on board.
So following the checklist on the work chit, I pulled the fuses associated with the correct gear (to keep us safe from radiation while aloft), then headed up to see the ETs. They were very helpful, and dropped everything to help me by being my safety observers (and showing me how to get up there). I was warned I might get scared once I saw how high it was, but as I told them, heights don't bother me in the slightest if I know I can't get hurt (when I'm tethered to something... and I can hang on). And goodness, what a view from up there! After the clean and inspect check, ET2 took me up a few feet more to the very top for some pictures... boy, was it fun!
The rest of the day was pretty relaxing... five-hour, "sit down and monitor the alarms" watch (during training!), a good rest, and then more tags to run in the morning!
Also of interest, last week the females had to move out of our usual berthing so that the deck could be redone (needed it badly in places), so yesterday, I was shown where the new one was, since I had never been there before and would need to move in for my duty day today. This morning, I picked out a bottom rack for the day, put brand new sheets on it, and stowed my PT gear and toiletries. When I got my t-shirt and shorts out for this cycle's BCA (weigh-in), I remembered why I like the top rack so much better... it takes a bit of struggling to open up the rack at the angle so low near the deck. And I passed the weigh-in, thank goodness! A highly profitable day.
Today, my LPO told me that I was the first Sonar Technician on the Truxtun to ever go aloft!
First, I wrote and got a response from the manager of the specific check I was still trying to finish. It took all day, but that's understandable, as he's based in Washington State, and three hours behind us. Then it was a matter of getting aloft qualified in a day. Ship's force was going to go aloft the next day, so I decided I would make it happen. Both checks would be lost if we didn't get them done this week.
I got with the ETs for the rest of the line-items (I've had a couple trainings before, but never enough), then had an oral board with ETC (electronics tech chief). This passed, I decided I'd write up another list of things to order that got left of the first order, and I had just about finished when the 50-man working party for unloading the ship's food stores was announced as inadequate. They needed more bodies, so I went to the mess decks and spent a solid hour helping move generally very heavy boxes (some frozen) from one person to the next in the main ladder-well. When I finished with this, I walked my aloft qualification around for four or five signatures, including the XO and CO.
Tuesday was rather busy as well. I was worried all morning that the ETs were going to leave me behind from going aloft (always have to do it in pairs for safety), but it was sort of out of their hands. The ship wouldn't allow anyone aloft all morning for some reason. So I worked on getting the fatho check done, but of course, the test equipment needs looking at by an ET first. I remembered the aloft check required a tag-out, and according to procedure, needed to be tagged out by taking out the fuses to the distribution box. That required getting the right safety gloves from tool issue, and routing a "energized work chit" to be signed off by the Captain. I managed to get 3 minutes to eat lunch (spaghetti and meat sauce) while on my way to look for my Department Head (lieutenant). Once the Captain signed it, the CSOOW (combat systems officer of the watch) helped me write the tag, as none had been done before by anyone on board.
So following the checklist on the work chit, I pulled the fuses associated with the correct gear (to keep us safe from radiation while aloft), then headed up to see the ETs. They were very helpful, and dropped everything to help me by being my safety observers (and showing me how to get up there). I was warned I might get scared once I saw how high it was, but as I told them, heights don't bother me in the slightest if I know I can't get hurt (when I'm tethered to something... and I can hang on). And goodness, what a view from up there! After the clean and inspect check, ET2 took me up a few feet more to the very top for some pictures... boy, was it fun!
The rest of the day was pretty relaxing... five-hour, "sit down and monitor the alarms" watch (during training!), a good rest, and then more tags to run in the morning!
Also of interest, last week the females had to move out of our usual berthing so that the deck could be redone (needed it badly in places), so yesterday, I was shown where the new one was, since I had never been there before and would need to move in for my duty day today. This morning, I picked out a bottom rack for the day, put brand new sheets on it, and stowed my PT gear and toiletries. When I got my t-shirt and shorts out for this cycle's BCA (weigh-in), I remembered why I like the top rack so much better... it takes a bit of struggling to open up the rack at the angle so low near the deck. And I passed the weigh-in, thank goodness! A highly profitable day.
Today, my LPO told me that I was the first Sonar Technician on the Truxtun to ever go aloft!
Sunday, May 19, 2013
The Week That Never Ended
The last week and a half, continued from the last post, was the most interesting I've had so far in the Navy, as pertains to my job. Every day we had to stay late, as in 19 or 2000, the First Classes were always working on getting the power-point brief put together... initially, and then fine-tuning it as we went.
I was very pleased with my watch team (the division was split up into two teams, blue and gold; I was gold); we worked rather well together and got our job done, when the system behaved. :) My friend, STG2, did a bunch of extra work, I think it was Wednesday or Thursday, rebooting some of our computers and bringing a vital system back online. I helped her, and watched her, trying to take in as much as I could. The class I went to for being a technician had a lot to do with finding things in the tech doc, but had hardly anything to do with understanding how to troubleshoot computer systems... which is the majority of what we do as techs.
On my duty day this week (Wednesday the 15th), we were also conducting checks with some tech assist guys... and I did the underway check on the fatho. We replaced the bulbs in the door, and found out that one of the fuses was out of spec. He wouldn't continue the check until we had the right one, but that I couldn't find anywhere... not even with three other divisions or the electronics officer. Since we needed to get this checked off our list, I volunteered to go get one out in town. I tried the obvious first, Auto Zone, Radio Shack, O'Riley Auto, but they didn't have one small enough. O'Riley was helpful though and directed me to Audio One a couple miles down the street. They didn't have it, but directed me to the people who did... 4.5 miles away. It took me an hour to do it, but I came back with a little pack of the right fuses. After lunch, we finished the check and all was well.
My only watch consisted of a 5 hour stint in the Combat Systems Maintenance Central, to keep an eye on the alarm panel and let the right people know if something went off. Afterwords, I stayed up and did the dailies before crashing for a couple hours (0300 to 0530) in Sonar 1 because I was too lazy to want to change in and out of my uniform. My team rolled right into a two-hour scenario, waited through the next one, and then did the final two-hour scenario after lunch. I was wiped out! But just as people were getting ready for the debrief, I was told that our consumables had come in and LS1 was waiting for me on the pier. I went right outside, still in my fleece from being in Sonar Control all day, and walked into a brilliant sunlit, warm afternoon. The fleece came off and a bunch of supplies came in... we ordered some cleaning stuff (like new brooms! and a mop caddie!) that everyone was excited about.
Friday was the final day of our exercise, and it didn't involve me at all. So after getting their early to help set up the system and listen to the final brief, I made myself useful after that by taking out some of the trash. First I worked on getting the dead console batteries (that we replaced underway) recycled at the site on base. It's a bit of an operation getting them there... they weigh 35 pounds each; with one in each hand, a person gets tired pretty quick. Took them up the one ladder to the deck one at a time, then leaned back as I walked down the 15-foot ladder to the pier with both in my hands. I dropped them off at the end of the pier (with permission) and drove my car over to pick them up (I was parked a ways away). From then on it was easy!
Came back to find that the chairs we ordered for the division had arrived, so I picked up one box and carried it all the way to sonar (Master Chief helped me for the last bit of the ways... she is so helpful!). The guys managed to get the other three inside while I set to work assembling them. The assessors were pretty surprised to come back after lunch and find plenty of places to sit down! That's what I call good timing!
We were finally let go at 1345... so I guess it only felt like it would never end.
I was very pleased with my watch team (the division was split up into two teams, blue and gold; I was gold); we worked rather well together and got our job done, when the system behaved. :) My friend, STG2, did a bunch of extra work, I think it was Wednesday or Thursday, rebooting some of our computers and bringing a vital system back online. I helped her, and watched her, trying to take in as much as I could. The class I went to for being a technician had a lot to do with finding things in the tech doc, but had hardly anything to do with understanding how to troubleshoot computer systems... which is the majority of what we do as techs.
On my duty day this week (Wednesday the 15th), we were also conducting checks with some tech assist guys... and I did the underway check on the fatho. We replaced the bulbs in the door, and found out that one of the fuses was out of spec. He wouldn't continue the check until we had the right one, but that I couldn't find anywhere... not even with three other divisions or the electronics officer. Since we needed to get this checked off our list, I volunteered to go get one out in town. I tried the obvious first, Auto Zone, Radio Shack, O'Riley Auto, but they didn't have one small enough. O'Riley was helpful though and directed me to Audio One a couple miles down the street. They didn't have it, but directed me to the people who did... 4.5 miles away. It took me an hour to do it, but I came back with a little pack of the right fuses. After lunch, we finished the check and all was well.
My only watch consisted of a 5 hour stint in the Combat Systems Maintenance Central, to keep an eye on the alarm panel and let the right people know if something went off. Afterwords, I stayed up and did the dailies before crashing for a couple hours (0300 to 0530) in Sonar 1 because I was too lazy to want to change in and out of my uniform. My team rolled right into a two-hour scenario, waited through the next one, and then did the final two-hour scenario after lunch. I was wiped out! But just as people were getting ready for the debrief, I was told that our consumables had come in and LS1 was waiting for me on the pier. I went right outside, still in my fleece from being in Sonar Control all day, and walked into a brilliant sunlit, warm afternoon. The fleece came off and a bunch of supplies came in... we ordered some cleaning stuff (like new brooms! and a mop caddie!) that everyone was excited about.
Friday was the final day of our exercise, and it didn't involve me at all. So after getting their early to help set up the system and listen to the final brief, I made myself useful after that by taking out some of the trash. First I worked on getting the dead console batteries (that we replaced underway) recycled at the site on base. It's a bit of an operation getting them there... they weigh 35 pounds each; with one in each hand, a person gets tired pretty quick. Took them up the one ladder to the deck one at a time, then leaned back as I walked down the 15-foot ladder to the pier with both in my hands. I dropped them off at the end of the pier (with permission) and drove my car over to pick them up (I was parked a ways away). From then on it was easy!
Came back to find that the chairs we ordered for the division had arrived, so I picked up one box and carried it all the way to sonar (Master Chief helped me for the last bit of the ways... she is so helpful!). The guys managed to get the other three inside while I set to work assembling them. The assessors were pretty surprised to come back after lunch and find plenty of places to sit down! That's what I call good timing!
We were finally let go at 1345... so I guess it only felt like it would never end.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
A Little Bit of Class and a Lot of Work
That was the week of May 6th through 10th, evenly divided.
Monday, Tuesday and half of Wednesday, the Truxtun's entire Sonar division was in class on base in Norfolk, getting a solid refresher on our various watch-standing duties. When they split Combat and Sonar, we operators had a few lessons on the marine environment and our basic segments that were very helpful; the instructors were knowledgeable, and answered all our questions.
The rest of the week we continued the learning on board with the instructors looking over our shoulders as we simulated real situations. It was the most Sonar I've done since joining the Navy... and although a little stressful, it was absolutely essential for getting to know the system and procedures for real.
I especially enjoyed having classroom time with the entire division. It's rare that we're all together in one room for so long... there's usually someone off doing something else. And it afforded us time to hang out a little too, especially at lunch time.
Thankfully, my duty day landed on Wednesday, which was a super-long day anyway. I had the afternoon quarterdeck watch with Chief, for the first time. She was very amiable, and the watch went by quick enough; I saluted my entire division ashore as they left around 1900. I was kept pretty busy the whole time with phone calls and what-not... there was only an hour and change left after evening colors went down.
Monday, Tuesday and half of Wednesday, the Truxtun's entire Sonar division was in class on base in Norfolk, getting a solid refresher on our various watch-standing duties. When they split Combat and Sonar, we operators had a few lessons on the marine environment and our basic segments that were very helpful; the instructors were knowledgeable, and answered all our questions.
The rest of the week we continued the learning on board with the instructors looking over our shoulders as we simulated real situations. It was the most Sonar I've done since joining the Navy... and although a little stressful, it was absolutely essential for getting to know the system and procedures for real.
I especially enjoyed having classroom time with the entire division. It's rare that we're all together in one room for so long... there's usually someone off doing something else. And it afforded us time to hang out a little too, especially at lunch time.
Thankfully, my duty day landed on Wednesday, which was a super-long day anyway. I had the afternoon quarterdeck watch with Chief, for the first time. She was very amiable, and the watch went by quick enough; I saluted my entire division ashore as they left around 1900. I was kept pretty busy the whole time with phone calls and what-not... there was only an hour and change left after evening colors went down.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
A Week Underway, Coming Back on Duty
(Written Tuesday, April 30th)
Wow, this underway was a busy one. There were drills practically non-stop, but thankfully the only one I had to participate in was General Quarters. The GQ watchbill got switched around somehow, so instead of being where I should be (in Sonar 1 as a repairman) I was stuck with the gunner's mates below the 5" deck gun as the person to check the serial numbers on the shells to be loaded. There was nothing to do, since this was a drill, so I got a lot of rest. First in a chair for about 25 minutes, then sitting next to the door for the same time (where it was warmer), then I curled up in a corner below the mount for the remaining hour.
Monday, the 29th, I was back outside as a line-handler for sea and anchor. It was pouring rain out, so we all got drenched. It was a little chilly, but the wind wasn't bad at all (at least where I was... on the starboard side to take on and cast off the line that one of the tugboats used to pull us away from the pier. We were standing around for a couple hours though... lots of delays somehow. It felt wonderful to change into dry clothes and eat lunch when they let us go from that. The rest of the watch stations had to stay at sea and anchor for a couple more hours, but at least they were the inside the skin of the ship stations.
Other than that, I worked a good deal on ESWS (surface warfare qualification), getting sign-offs for two whole sections (Supply and Operations), and made appointments with Engineering and Deck for Wednesday, when most of the drills are over. Also started on Anti-Terrorism, but it's a recent addition to the qualification, and our recent AT guy just left the ship a few weeks ago. So the guy who got thrown into the job wasn't familiar with the questions... that and he's one of those guys who goes into a lot of detail. Three line items took a half-hour. :-)
Besides the GQ on Tuesday, I had a couple maintenance checks to accomplish that morning (requiring a tag-out for electrical safety, and "hazmat", or regular detergent to the rest of the world). So although the check itself was extraordinarily simple, it took a good couple hours to get done. GQ lasted all through normal lunch hours, so I ate lunch about 2:30 in the afternoon, and had dinner (after doing some studying on my own) just before it ended at 5:30ish. I spent a bunch of time after dinner walking around the main deck of the ship and recording where all the damage control equipment is located, so I can have a practical focus for my DC studying. I think I learned a lot just by looking around. Then it was time for yet another Sonar watch.
(Written Thursday evening, May 2nd)
During the mid-watch (Tues night to Wed morning), we had a very unexpected casualty with our cooling water unit. The officer of the watch for combat systems called and asked us about some overheating alarms he was getting. Immediately, I thought... SKID! So we went down there and found that the cooling unit was completely out of water, and had shut off because of it! So our supervisor shut down the system so it wouldn't overheat while we got engineering to send us some water through the inlet pipes. Even after it started coming in, it wasn't filling like it should, so the officer and I looked around our sonar spaces, and he noticed a drip valve that was doing a lot more than dripping. The watch team before us had simply wrapped rags around it without telling us about it... and when we discovered it, there was a bit of water all over the rags they had put on the floor to catch it. We found the connected valve and made sure it was tight. This stopped the water and we think, solved the problem. The tank filled up just fine, and the system went back to normal. I wiped up the water with the rags, wringing them into a bucket, and all was well.
I got a couple hours of sleep, and was up in plenty of time to eat my daily shredded wheat and granola cereal for breakfast. Spent the morning in slight frustration, trying to meet with someone for ESWS training who wasn't where he said he'd be... and then I tried to find a Boatswain's Mate for some primer paint for a space of ours, but couldn't since they were all busy with the small boats. Then I did my Corrective Maintenance that was scheduled for that morning... changed out a light bulb (smaller than a dime) on one piece of gear in CIC (combat info center).
I finally did track down the person for my ESWS signature, and coped with the schedule change for early lunch and watch (an hour ahead of time) for a six-hour watch. I tried to work on the brief for the wardroom that night, but my secret account was still not set up right. After being at the command for as long as I have (nearly a year; end of next month) I called Radio again and again until everything was working. Saw all the secret-side emails for the first time... some ranging back to mid 2012. But just as I was going to start on the brief, they called General Quarters, and I had to go back to the room below the 5" gun... and that lasted for FOUR hours. I was very rested and ready for action when it was lifted. Got relieved from the watch soon after, enjoyed breaded shrimp for dinner, then did a lot of work on my ESWS book, organizing it and copying all I needed to for the first three sections... and continued to work on finding answers for the anti-terrorism stuff. I stayed up to give the first prayer this underway, even though I had the late watch. Read the first bit of Psalm 1, and prayed for the usual things... safety and rest. Nothing crazy happened during that watch... just copied over my DC notes from the day before and that ate up practically the whole ordeal.
Went right into today...goodness. Today started off with a visit to the Navy's underway gas station... a USNS fast replenishment ship. I was on the watchbill for being a line-handler at the refueling station on the aft missile deck (gas + missiles... hmm :) It took us (around 15-20 line-handlers) all our strength to get that heavy nozzle across the span-wire and into the receiver. But our job was over when it was accomplished. Very glad I wore gloves, because the rope we were pulling on was covered in greasy something. The weather was beautiful out there though... I really enjoyed it on the whole. We all stood in a line at parade rest while coming alongside the big auxiliary, and again as we broke away.
The big job, though, was back in Sonar, replacing the heavy batteries in one of the consoles. My friend and I had a heck of a time with the people who control tag-outs. They were trying to make us do more than necessary... which would make it impossible for us to finish during the day... but our LPO went up there and straightened things out. That didn't make it any easier, though. This particular console hadn't ever had the batteries changed before. Everything was very tightly fastened, and we had to uncomfortably wedge our heads and shoulders underneath in order to take the old ones out, and put the new ones in.
That sentence took a second to write, but the operation took literally all day. We were interrupted with a General Quarters drill, but only for an hour or so. Each screw was excruciating... and every step completed a small miracle. For instance, a tool had to be rigged out of two tools taped together in order to begin in the first place. How wild it was! But we managed, I suppose. It was a relief to sit in a chair after we were done. I have several bruises on my left thigh, my right knee and my left elbow.
Gave the ranges brief (very briefly) for the wardroom (the UNREP debrief and Sea & Anchor brief were both held beforehand on the mess decks, so the Ops brief was brief indeed), and back in Sonar, I tried to get my secret-side account to work for the weekly acoustic cuts we're supposed to classify. No luck, of course. It never ends... until tomorrow! :-) Gave another prayer, simply on my old reliable, Psalm 23 (it is so much easier when I don't have to read what I'm saying over the 1MC... don't have to hold my flashlight and study words instead of thinking about how my voice will carry, like I should), and I finished by reminding the crew that the Lord never leaves us and always loves us.
(Written post-underway, Sunday, May 5th)
Friday was not exempt from drills, no matter that we pulled in that day. First was a continuation of gas-mask drills that turned into a GQ... and lucky for me, that was during my scheduled watch time that morning. S&A was set early, around 1330, and I stayed on the flight deck this time and helped fake out (set down in neat rows) all three of the mooring lines in that area. Then I set up my line to be ready when we moored, opening up the section of wire mesh that passes over the chock opening (where the line passes through), putting the line through and back over the rail, and tying the heaving line to the mooring line on the second try (the way they trained us in boot camp; not bad for not doing one for several months!). I stayed out on the flight deck all the way past Virginia Beach, Cape Henry, VA-13 bridge/tunnel passage, Ocean View, I-64 bridge/tunnel passage, and up to where we were passing the carriers at the naval station. This was my duty day when we moored, and I had the first watch as POOW (petty officer of the watch) and had to change from coveralls to the working uniform, besides getting dinner and my necessary items for watch.
The first two hours of the watch were absolutely wild. I was passing words over the 1MC every other minute for so-and-so to muster here or there, the posting of four successive watch-bills (for over the weekend), the working party to get the shore power connected (which they did in record time!), calling out "Liberty Call; Liberty Call. Liberty Call for duty sections..." - every one but mine), and bonging the CO ashore... (four bells)... "TRUXTUN, departing." (stinger). [Boy, do people get upset if you get that wrong... one guy was relieved of his watch once, because he kept messing up the bells.] Between all these things, I had to answer the phone... and had to transfer two or three calls as well. Then of course, there were the people checking out on leave (good for them!), the ship's log to keep up with, and personnel to salute as they left the ship. The other three hours of watch went slower, but at least time did not stop. I soon was talking with my husband, checking the dome pressure, and going to sleep!
Going home Saturday morning was very nice, indeed. Sunrise (turning off the lights), sweepers, turnover, and the dailies were done before I knew it, and soon I was free as a bird, walking down the pier with my bag in one hand and a bag of berthing trash in the other (to be deposited at the end of the pier).
[Post Script... I loved this last line from my husband's last email for the underway...
"Prayers for your Friday, and that you don't have to replace any more teeny tiny lightbulbs, or batteries, or grab any Incredibly Heavy Gigantic Greasy Hoses. So looking forward to hearing your voice again."]
Thank you, Michael!
Wow, this underway was a busy one. There were drills practically non-stop, but thankfully the only one I had to participate in was General Quarters. The GQ watchbill got switched around somehow, so instead of being where I should be (in Sonar 1 as a repairman) I was stuck with the gunner's mates below the 5" deck gun as the person to check the serial numbers on the shells to be loaded. There was nothing to do, since this was a drill, so I got a lot of rest. First in a chair for about 25 minutes, then sitting next to the door for the same time (where it was warmer), then I curled up in a corner below the mount for the remaining hour.
Monday, the 29th, I was back outside as a line-handler for sea and anchor. It was pouring rain out, so we all got drenched. It was a little chilly, but the wind wasn't bad at all (at least where I was... on the starboard side to take on and cast off the line that one of the tugboats used to pull us away from the pier. We were standing around for a couple hours though... lots of delays somehow. It felt wonderful to change into dry clothes and eat lunch when they let us go from that. The rest of the watch stations had to stay at sea and anchor for a couple more hours, but at least they were the inside the skin of the ship stations.
Other than that, I worked a good deal on ESWS (surface warfare qualification), getting sign-offs for two whole sections (Supply and Operations), and made appointments with Engineering and Deck for Wednesday, when most of the drills are over. Also started on Anti-Terrorism, but it's a recent addition to the qualification, and our recent AT guy just left the ship a few weeks ago. So the guy who got thrown into the job wasn't familiar with the questions... that and he's one of those guys who goes into a lot of detail. Three line items took a half-hour. :-)
Besides the GQ on Tuesday, I had a couple maintenance checks to accomplish that morning (requiring a tag-out for electrical safety, and "hazmat", or regular detergent to the rest of the world). So although the check itself was extraordinarily simple, it took a good couple hours to get done. GQ lasted all through normal lunch hours, so I ate lunch about 2:30 in the afternoon, and had dinner (after doing some studying on my own) just before it ended at 5:30ish. I spent a bunch of time after dinner walking around the main deck of the ship and recording where all the damage control equipment is located, so I can have a practical focus for my DC studying. I think I learned a lot just by looking around. Then it was time for yet another Sonar watch.
(Written Thursday evening, May 2nd)
During the mid-watch (Tues night to Wed morning), we had a very unexpected casualty with our cooling water unit. The officer of the watch for combat systems called and asked us about some overheating alarms he was getting. Immediately, I thought... SKID! So we went down there and found that the cooling unit was completely out of water, and had shut off because of it! So our supervisor shut down the system so it wouldn't overheat while we got engineering to send us some water through the inlet pipes. Even after it started coming in, it wasn't filling like it should, so the officer and I looked around our sonar spaces, and he noticed a drip valve that was doing a lot more than dripping. The watch team before us had simply wrapped rags around it without telling us about it... and when we discovered it, there was a bit of water all over the rags they had put on the floor to catch it. We found the connected valve and made sure it was tight. This stopped the water and we think, solved the problem. The tank filled up just fine, and the system went back to normal. I wiped up the water with the rags, wringing them into a bucket, and all was well.
I got a couple hours of sleep, and was up in plenty of time to eat my daily shredded wheat and granola cereal for breakfast. Spent the morning in slight frustration, trying to meet with someone for ESWS training who wasn't where he said he'd be... and then I tried to find a Boatswain's Mate for some primer paint for a space of ours, but couldn't since they were all busy with the small boats. Then I did my Corrective Maintenance that was scheduled for that morning... changed out a light bulb (smaller than a dime) on one piece of gear in CIC (combat info center).
I finally did track down the person for my ESWS signature, and coped with the schedule change for early lunch and watch (an hour ahead of time) for a six-hour watch. I tried to work on the brief for the wardroom that night, but my secret account was still not set up right. After being at the command for as long as I have (nearly a year; end of next month) I called Radio again and again until everything was working. Saw all the secret-side emails for the first time... some ranging back to mid 2012. But just as I was going to start on the brief, they called General Quarters, and I had to go back to the room below the 5" gun... and that lasted for FOUR hours. I was very rested and ready for action when it was lifted. Got relieved from the watch soon after, enjoyed breaded shrimp for dinner, then did a lot of work on my ESWS book, organizing it and copying all I needed to for the first three sections... and continued to work on finding answers for the anti-terrorism stuff. I stayed up to give the first prayer this underway, even though I had the late watch. Read the first bit of Psalm 1, and prayed for the usual things... safety and rest. Nothing crazy happened during that watch... just copied over my DC notes from the day before and that ate up practically the whole ordeal.
Went right into today...goodness. Today started off with a visit to the Navy's underway gas station... a USNS fast replenishment ship. I was on the watchbill for being a line-handler at the refueling station on the aft missile deck (gas + missiles... hmm :) It took us (around 15-20 line-handlers) all our strength to get that heavy nozzle across the span-wire and into the receiver. But our job was over when it was accomplished. Very glad I wore gloves, because the rope we were pulling on was covered in greasy something. The weather was beautiful out there though... I really enjoyed it on the whole. We all stood in a line at parade rest while coming alongside the big auxiliary, and again as we broke away.
The big job, though, was back in Sonar, replacing the heavy batteries in one of the consoles. My friend and I had a heck of a time with the people who control tag-outs. They were trying to make us do more than necessary... which would make it impossible for us to finish during the day... but our LPO went up there and straightened things out. That didn't make it any easier, though. This particular console hadn't ever had the batteries changed before. Everything was very tightly fastened, and we had to uncomfortably wedge our heads and shoulders underneath in order to take the old ones out, and put the new ones in.
That sentence took a second to write, but the operation took literally all day. We were interrupted with a General Quarters drill, but only for an hour or so. Each screw was excruciating... and every step completed a small miracle. For instance, a tool had to be rigged out of two tools taped together in order to begin in the first place. How wild it was! But we managed, I suppose. It was a relief to sit in a chair after we were done. I have several bruises on my left thigh, my right knee and my left elbow.
Gave the ranges brief (very briefly) for the wardroom (the UNREP debrief and Sea & Anchor brief were both held beforehand on the mess decks, so the Ops brief was brief indeed), and back in Sonar, I tried to get my secret-side account to work for the weekly acoustic cuts we're supposed to classify. No luck, of course. It never ends... until tomorrow! :-) Gave another prayer, simply on my old reliable, Psalm 23 (it is so much easier when I don't have to read what I'm saying over the 1MC... don't have to hold my flashlight and study words instead of thinking about how my voice will carry, like I should), and I finished by reminding the crew that the Lord never leaves us and always loves us.
(Written post-underway, Sunday, May 5th)
Friday was not exempt from drills, no matter that we pulled in that day. First was a continuation of gas-mask drills that turned into a GQ... and lucky for me, that was during my scheduled watch time that morning. S&A was set early, around 1330, and I stayed on the flight deck this time and helped fake out (set down in neat rows) all three of the mooring lines in that area. Then I set up my line to be ready when we moored, opening up the section of wire mesh that passes over the chock opening (where the line passes through), putting the line through and back over the rail, and tying the heaving line to the mooring line on the second try (the way they trained us in boot camp; not bad for not doing one for several months!). I stayed out on the flight deck all the way past Virginia Beach, Cape Henry, VA-13 bridge/tunnel passage, Ocean View, I-64 bridge/tunnel passage, and up to where we were passing the carriers at the naval station. This was my duty day when we moored, and I had the first watch as POOW (petty officer of the watch) and had to change from coveralls to the working uniform, besides getting dinner and my necessary items for watch.
The first two hours of the watch were absolutely wild. I was passing words over the 1MC every other minute for so-and-so to muster here or there, the posting of four successive watch-bills (for over the weekend), the working party to get the shore power connected (which they did in record time!), calling out "Liberty Call; Liberty Call. Liberty Call for duty sections..." - every one but mine), and bonging the CO ashore... (four bells)... "TRUXTUN, departing." (stinger). [Boy, do people get upset if you get that wrong... one guy was relieved of his watch once, because he kept messing up the bells.] Between all these things, I had to answer the phone... and had to transfer two or three calls as well. Then of course, there were the people checking out on leave (good for them!), the ship's log to keep up with, and personnel to salute as they left the ship. The other three hours of watch went slower, but at least time did not stop. I soon was talking with my husband, checking the dome pressure, and going to sleep!
Going home Saturday morning was very nice, indeed. Sunrise (turning off the lights), sweepers, turnover, and the dailies were done before I knew it, and soon I was free as a bird, walking down the pier with my bag in one hand and a bag of berthing trash in the other (to be deposited at the end of the pier).
[Post Script... I loved this last line from my husband's last email for the underway...
"Prayers for your Friday, and that you don't have to replace any more teeny tiny lightbulbs, or batteries, or grab any Incredibly Heavy Gigantic Greasy Hoses. So looking forward to hearing your voice again."]
Thank you, Michael!
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