That's pretty cool!
Here's a photo of the ship from her last deployment:
And here's one from the film:
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Friday, October 11, 2013
Truxtun in the News!
Here is an interview with HM2 and my CO, for their parts in the film Captain Phillips, which opens today.
That's pretty cool!
That's pretty cool!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Thanks for Telling Me
So I found out who my class advisor (teacher) will be... for class THIS Monday. I'm starting A school a week earlier than I thought. Today when the working party supervisor showed up he mentioned that I'm in his class on Monday the 14th... and that our room is the one we are painting! 405 with a beautiful view! Yesterday I asked the Lord for this classroom; apparently he already had it in mind. :) So I've met my teacher and I like him (and he already knows I work diligently! :) I was wondering why he cared so much about getting this particular room done so fast!
So far today I've been painting. I stepped out right away to help with the color guard, but that only took a half-hour. Right now we've started the second coat, and will touch up this afternoon and tomorrow morning.
So far today I've been painting. I stepped out right away to help with the color guard, but that only took a half-hour. Right now we've started the second coat, and will touch up this afternoon and tomorrow morning.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Checking in with Chief for the Last Two Weeks of School
On Monday the 24th, I had to check in with my PLR (transfer people) to set which day I'd leave for San Diego. Based on my new-found quick progress (in a class without mandatory breaks) we set my graduation date for Monday the 7th of February, and transfer for the next day, the 8th. I had a few errands to run though, checking out with the Post Office to make sure I didn't have any PO box keys, and with Medical and Dental to get my records for transfer, and make sure I was healthy enough to go. All I had to do was fill out a form, but even that took more than an hour and had to be picked up on Friday, even though I did it on Wednesday.
Along with all this, I needed the schoolhouse Chief's signature on the contract saying I would graduate by the 7th. I was only a little nervous going there. He was the guy who yelled at folks who got out of line... and while I waited outside the office at attention on the little green line to the left of the double doors, ...with a painting of this on one of them:
...he was reaming a kid for lying to him about Mandatory Study times missed. Chief came out and told me to come back later... he didn't want to make me wait. :)
When I did, the kid was still there... but they were almost done; he had me come in and sit down until they were. There's a mat in the middle of the room with one set of footprints facing Chief's desk. When you go in (after knocking twice and waiting to be called in) you march right to those feet, come to attention and report. So he was treating me really nice.
Once I actually got to talk to him, I got on those feet and we talked about my status. He was impressed with my Open Learning hours when he found out I've never been on Mando. And I had just aced a BT test (something I've done only 3 times out of 24 possible tests), so it looked extra good. He said I needed to do more open learning though, because this expected graduation meant I didn't have any wiggle room. Between all this we chatted about regular stuff too. He wanted to know where I was from and what I had done before... and was excited when I told him I was a history major. Chatted about how everyone has a slant on it... mentioning how the Japanese teach their children today about WWII, and what the British say about the American Revolution. He had a lot of fun, and said if we were in the fleet he wouldn't mind having a beer with me and talking history. :) But that's a huge no-no here, since I'm a student. The other PLR guy was in the office at the end while we were talking, and back in the PLR office when I picked up my stuff (classrooms were closed because the school day was over), he told me the Chief doesn't get impressed with too many people... so I should be very flattered.
Well, so that went way better than expected! I was super motivated to get ahead (like Chief wanted), so I did Open Learning every minute of afternoon liberty I could... all week. :) He requires all his near-grad students to check in with him every day. I asked if I could do that before school, and he said it was fine (usually, it would have to interrupt the school day). So I've been leaving right after muster at 6 to go get breakfast and then check in early... and I like it better than just resting in my room and waiting to go at the last minute.
The next couple mornings he introduced me to the other chiefs in the office, and told them about how I like history. :) I love it when my bosses think I'm awesome! :)
And then that Thursday, our instructors were taken away from us to do other things. And they were replaced with two petty officers... one a red rope (an RDC waiting to push more boots at RTC) and the other a Gunner's Mate 2nd class. Breaks are now mandatory again, so that means a little less time for school. And today the GM2 was replaced by a more rigid GM1... I've learned to have peace about all this craziness though. The Lord is in control, and I will be fine in his hands. I've spent lots of time in open learning today too, and I think I might be able to finish this Friday, Lord willing.
Along with all this, I needed the schoolhouse Chief's signature on the contract saying I would graduate by the 7th. I was only a little nervous going there. He was the guy who yelled at folks who got out of line... and while I waited outside the office at attention on the little green line to the left of the double doors, ...with a painting of this on one of them:
...he was reaming a kid for lying to him about Mandatory Study times missed. Chief came out and told me to come back later... he didn't want to make me wait. :)
When I did, the kid was still there... but they were almost done; he had me come in and sit down until they were. There's a mat in the middle of the room with one set of footprints facing Chief's desk. When you go in (after knocking twice and waiting to be called in) you march right to those feet, come to attention and report. So he was treating me really nice.
Once I actually got to talk to him, I got on those feet and we talked about my status. He was impressed with my Open Learning hours when he found out I've never been on Mando. And I had just aced a BT test (something I've done only 3 times out of 24 possible tests), so it looked extra good. He said I needed to do more open learning though, because this expected graduation meant I didn't have any wiggle room. Between all this we chatted about regular stuff too. He wanted to know where I was from and what I had done before... and was excited when I told him I was a history major. Chatted about how everyone has a slant on it... mentioning how the Japanese teach their children today about WWII, and what the British say about the American Revolution. He had a lot of fun, and said if we were in the fleet he wouldn't mind having a beer with me and talking history. :) But that's a huge no-no here, since I'm a student. The other PLR guy was in the office at the end while we were talking, and back in the PLR office when I picked up my stuff (classrooms were closed because the school day was over), he told me the Chief doesn't get impressed with too many people... so I should be very flattered.
Well, so that went way better than expected! I was super motivated to get ahead (like Chief wanted), so I did Open Learning every minute of afternoon liberty I could... all week. :) He requires all his near-grad students to check in with him every day. I asked if I could do that before school, and he said it was fine (usually, it would have to interrupt the school day). So I've been leaving right after muster at 6 to go get breakfast and then check in early... and I like it better than just resting in my room and waiting to go at the last minute.
The next couple mornings he introduced me to the other chiefs in the office, and told them about how I like history. :) I love it when my bosses think I'm awesome! :)
And then that Thursday, our instructors were taken away from us to do other things. And they were replaced with two petty officers... one a red rope (an RDC waiting to push more boots at RTC) and the other a Gunner's Mate 2nd class. Breaks are now mandatory again, so that means a little less time for school. And today the GM2 was replaced by a more rigid GM1... I've learned to have peace about all this craziness though. The Lord is in control, and I will be fine in his hands. I've spent lots of time in open learning today too, and I think I might be able to finish this Friday, Lord willing.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Lady Submariners
It's official: Women will serve on subs.
By Russ Bynum (AP Military Writer):
KINGS BAY NAVAL SUBMARINE BASE, Ga. – The first U.S. women allowed to serve aboard submarines will be reporting for duty by 2012, the Navy said Thursday as the military ordered an end to one of its few remaining gender barriers.
The cramped quarters and scant privacy aboard submarines, combined with long tours of up to 90 days at sea, kept them off-limits to female sailors for 16 years after the Navy began allowing women to serve on all its surface ships in 1994.
There were some protests, particularly from wives of sub sailors, after the military began formulating a plan last fall. But it received no objections from Congress after Defense Secretary Robert Gates notified lawmakers in mid-February that the Navy intended to lift the ban. The deadline for Congress to intervene passed at midnight Wednesday.
Rear Adm. Barry Bruner, who led the Navy's task force on integrating women onto submarines, brushed aside questions from reporters about the potential for sexual misconduct or unexpected pregnancies among a coed crew. "We're going to look back on this four or five years from now, shrug our shoulders and say, 'What was everybody worrying about?'" said Bruner, the top sub commander at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in coastal Georgia, where the announcement was made.
The first group of women will consist entirely of officers assigned to guided-missile attack submarines and ballistic-missile submarines, which have the most living space in the Navy's fleet. They'll be assigned to two subs based at Kings Bay on the East Coast, and two others at the West Coast naval hub of Bangor, Wash.
Limiting women to officer slots lets the Navy, for a time at least, sidestep the more vexing and cost-prohibitive problem of modifying subs to have separate bunks and bathrooms for enlisted men and women. Enlisted sailors make up about 90 percent of a sub's 160-sailor crew. No timeline was given for integrating enlisted women onto subs.
Bruner said 24 women will be able to begin training for submarine officers, which takes at least 15 months, this summer. They'll be divided up so that three women are assigned to each sub's two rotating crews. That grouping will let all three women aboard a sub share a single stateroom for sleeping. The single bathroom shared by a sub's 15 officers will be equipped with a sign to show if it's occupied by men or women. Otherwise, most changes will likely be behavioral shifts by male sailors who aren't used to having women aboard, said Lt. Cmdr. Daniel Lombardo, executive officer of the submarine USS Alaska. "The guys are probably used to walking to the restroom in their boxer shorts and stuff," Lombardo said. "But all in all, I think the adjustments for the crew are going to be minor."
One of the most difficult groups to win over on the concept of coed subs has been women themselves — at least those who are married to submarine sailors. On blogs and online networking sites, wives of submariners have warned that close contact between the sexes at sea could lead to temptation and allegations of sexual harassment. "There's a lot of Navy wives worried about their husbands cheating," said Petty Officer 1st Class Glenn Gray, a missile technician on the Alaska, who said his wife isn't crazy about the idea. "I've told her not to worry, because I'm married to her."
The Navy declined several requests by The Associated Press to interview female sailors and cadets at U.S. bases about the policy change. Women are currently allowed to serve on subs in a few countries, including Australia, Canada, Norway, Spain and Sweden. About 52,446 women serve on active duty in the U.S. Navy, or about 15 percent of total personnel. Navy officials said women also make up about half the pool of potential recruits with educational degrees that qualify them for training as submarine officers. "We literally could not run the Navy without women today," Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in a statement.
Sailors interviewed aboard the Alaska at Kings Bay on Thursday said they're not opposed to the change. But Petty Officer 2nd Class Chris Merceri predicted there will be "a little more anxiety" when female officers come aboard for the first time. "Everybody's going to be really up on their P's and Q's, very formal and careful of what they do," Merceri said. "After that, everyone will be relaxed and comfortable. It'll be another day at work."
___
This is From Yahoo News
___
Associated Press writer Pauline Jelinek contributed to this story from Washington. Russ Bynum has covered the military based in Georgia since 2001.
........................................................................
Now I wouldn't want to serve on submarines myself, but that's just because of the normal reasons: it's super cramped, you don't visit ports, there's lots of rules about secrecy (more than on surface ships) and I'm sure there would be a few more if I thought about it longer. I think it's just fine that they're integrating them... I would be a little nervous at first, because of the close quarters, but as with anywhere in the Navy, I think it's just something to get over.
By Russ Bynum (AP Military Writer):
KINGS BAY NAVAL SUBMARINE BASE, Ga. – The first U.S. women allowed to serve aboard submarines will be reporting for duty by 2012, the Navy said Thursday as the military ordered an end to one of its few remaining gender barriers.
The cramped quarters and scant privacy aboard submarines, combined with long tours of up to 90 days at sea, kept them off-limits to female sailors for 16 years after the Navy began allowing women to serve on all its surface ships in 1994.
There were some protests, particularly from wives of sub sailors, after the military began formulating a plan last fall. But it received no objections from Congress after Defense Secretary Robert Gates notified lawmakers in mid-February that the Navy intended to lift the ban. The deadline for Congress to intervene passed at midnight Wednesday.
Rear Adm. Barry Bruner, who led the Navy's task force on integrating women onto submarines, brushed aside questions from reporters about the potential for sexual misconduct or unexpected pregnancies among a coed crew. "We're going to look back on this four or five years from now, shrug our shoulders and say, 'What was everybody worrying about?'" said Bruner, the top sub commander at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in coastal Georgia, where the announcement was made.
The first group of women will consist entirely of officers assigned to guided-missile attack submarines and ballistic-missile submarines, which have the most living space in the Navy's fleet. They'll be assigned to two subs based at Kings Bay on the East Coast, and two others at the West Coast naval hub of Bangor, Wash.
Limiting women to officer slots lets the Navy, for a time at least, sidestep the more vexing and cost-prohibitive problem of modifying subs to have separate bunks and bathrooms for enlisted men and women. Enlisted sailors make up about 90 percent of a sub's 160-sailor crew. No timeline was given for integrating enlisted women onto subs.
Bruner said 24 women will be able to begin training for submarine officers, which takes at least 15 months, this summer. They'll be divided up so that three women are assigned to each sub's two rotating crews. That grouping will let all three women aboard a sub share a single stateroom for sleeping. The single bathroom shared by a sub's 15 officers will be equipped with a sign to show if it's occupied by men or women. Otherwise, most changes will likely be behavioral shifts by male sailors who aren't used to having women aboard, said Lt. Cmdr. Daniel Lombardo, executive officer of the submarine USS Alaska. "The guys are probably used to walking to the restroom in their boxer shorts and stuff," Lombardo said. "But all in all, I think the adjustments for the crew are going to be minor."
One of the most difficult groups to win over on the concept of coed subs has been women themselves — at least those who are married to submarine sailors. On blogs and online networking sites, wives of submariners have warned that close contact between the sexes at sea could lead to temptation and allegations of sexual harassment. "There's a lot of Navy wives worried about their husbands cheating," said Petty Officer 1st Class Glenn Gray, a missile technician on the Alaska, who said his wife isn't crazy about the idea. "I've told her not to worry, because I'm married to her."
The Navy declined several requests by The Associated Press to interview female sailors and cadets at U.S. bases about the policy change. Women are currently allowed to serve on subs in a few countries, including Australia, Canada, Norway, Spain and Sweden. About 52,446 women serve on active duty in the U.S. Navy, or about 15 percent of total personnel. Navy officials said women also make up about half the pool of potential recruits with educational degrees that qualify them for training as submarine officers. "We literally could not run the Navy without women today," Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in a statement.
Sailors interviewed aboard the Alaska at Kings Bay on Thursday said they're not opposed to the change. But Petty Officer 2nd Class Chris Merceri predicted there will be "a little more anxiety" when female officers come aboard for the first time. "Everybody's going to be really up on their P's and Q's, very formal and careful of what they do," Merceri said. "After that, everyone will be relaxed and comfortable. It'll be another day at work."
___
This is From Yahoo News
___
Associated Press writer Pauline Jelinek contributed to this story from Washington. Russ Bynum has covered the military based in Georgia since 2001.
........................................................................
Now I wouldn't want to serve on submarines myself, but that's just because of the normal reasons: it's super cramped, you don't visit ports, there's lots of rules about secrecy (more than on surface ships) and I'm sure there would be a few more if I thought about it longer. I think it's just fine that they're integrating them... I would be a little nervous at first, because of the close quarters, but as with anywhere in the Navy, I think it's just something to get over.
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