Underway Weekend

Written 12 JUL 13:

Yesterday was possibly the worst I've felt in a long time. I was grumpy from the moment they set sea and anchor for getting underway right after quarters. I didn't have a watch station, so I busied myself by sweeping our passageway and cleaning up sonar 1 some more. There were a couple more bulkheads that had lots of tiny paint splatters near them on the deck from our major painting operation a week or two ago. Right as I finished, there was a fault with our system that I had to join everyone in Sonar Control to contribute. There was really nothing I could do since there is another more experienced tech in the division. She already did all the checking that could be done... and they decided to just restart the system... and that fixed the problem.

I was feeling pretty queasy at that point (stomach always feels a little lousy the first day underway), more than normal, so I got a sea-sick pill from medical and then had some lunch... which mostly solved that problem. I think it was because my stomach was empty, and I took the opportunity right after sea and anchor to re-make my bed from the "habitability inspection" we had the day before... where they check to make sure everyone has Navy-issue bedding; so personal mattress pads and extra pillows and blankets have to disappear for the inspection.

After lunch I managed to get a couple hours of fitful sleep in sonar 3... and then after dinner I did a lot of ESWS training with Combat Systems and Engineering, all the way up until my mid watch... which with our scenario, ended up going past 4am... I was so tired, I could not keep awake. After the rest of the division got back from doing an event back aft, my Sonar Sup sent me to bed. Thank God for him! So I got just over two hours of perfect sleep before I had to get out this morning for a lightning-fast breakfast (they had grab-and-go bacon/egg/muffin sandwiches!) and an underway replenishment for taking on fuel. I was stationed on the missile deck with ten other line-handlers (including three other sonar techs) for a top-off of our fuel tanks.

It was really pleasant out there at first... breezy to windy, overcast, cool... and there was this long dark gray line of clouds off our starboard beam... and you could see the sheets of rain coming from it. Before I noticed it, it was on top of us, and started sprinkling... then pouring. We got drenched!!! While cleaning up in berthing, I had to pour water out of my left boot! It was such a nice feeling to shower off the cold water with fresh hot water and soap... and there's nothing like putting on dry clothes after a drenching. 

WRITTEN 13 JUL 13:

I did more ESWS after I last wrote yesterday, doing the general introduction to Combat Systems with FC1... who is very through in how he goes over each line item. I did manage to get it signed off, so that was good progress at least.

Watch started after dinner, and this was the first one for me while actually underway with a real submarine. So we had to monitor our underwater telephone to record whenever the sub made contact with its assist ship. Hearing the spoken word through water is garbled enough, but add to that a German accent, and spoken without warning at random times... it was really hard to make it out.

And then I took over monitoring the passive noise, and I really couldn't see anything there either. Felt sort of useless, really. But I just have to realize that this is normal and that I need to not feel like I let anyone down. :)

Right after watch, I tried troubleshooting some equipment that was not responding (it got fixed by of the other tech) before we started our five-hour exercise with the sub... so I was down in Sonar for nearly ten hours straight. And it was only because of our Senior Chief that we were let go to bed at 0300.

From there I slept solid from 0330 to 1045 this morning. Time has sort of lost its meaning out here. Got up and went straight to lunch where the line was long and the food was terrible. While we were waiting, the CO came down the passageway and got mad because no one called "attention on deck" for him, although it's the rule to not call it in the mess line or on the mess decks during meals.

Then watch! Yay! Had a good talk with my Sonar Sup about our screw-up guy (who's in our watch section), and gave some training to an FC3 who's going up for her ESWS board pretty soon. That felt pretty good! Anyway, watch will be over in a mere hour and a half, then it will be pizza for dinner (yay!), an ice cream social later(a little time to relax), then yet another late-night session with the sub.

Sunday the 14th, I had the first watch, then the last watch too (we were in four sections, and I was fourth). I didn't have much time for writing letters this last day underway. I was supposed to have Non-Lethal Weapons re-certification in the morning, but it got rescheduled for after dinner since the ship was rocking pretty strongly at the time. Did get a little rest after watch, but I had to be up after an hour for a two-hour clean ship evolution in the early afternoon. The NLW training was my Lever II OC contamination while practicing take-downs and defense with the baton. The pepper spray sure hurt my forehead, but it was not even half as bad as getting a direct spray like last year. This was only contact with a rag with OC on it. And I got to lay my LPO out at the first station... which was fun. Then we had another scenario... but I was allowed to clean up first! Thanks!

After Sea and Anchor on Monday morning, I took care of the weekly checks as we went right into a "regular" workday. No rest for the weary! :)