Color Guard

Outside the hall, right after exiting.

Roommates!

These have only recently popped up on Facebook, so I thought I'd like to put them here together.










From Allen's webcam... taken in late January sometime from Davis's desk.










On Trish's camera, self-timed. This was my last morning, February 8th. They were all preparing for the day and I was getting packed.

Sisters in Arms

Waiting for the ride over to the change of command ceremony...

It was duty day for me in more than one way! I was so concerned about not missing the 0630 muster for my duty section that I woke up at least 4 times before my alarm went off at 0600. I can put myself into a frenzy sometimes... I made it just fine. Had a big breakfast right after, then hurried back to my room, changed into my blues and made it to the Holds 0730 muster with time to spare.

Our other member, STG3 Vonwerder, came promptly after this picture was taken and soon we headed off to the base downtown with Chief's blessing. Our hearts beat faster in the presence of so many officers and chiefs and civilians all dressed to the hilt... but it went off without a hitch.

There was a Navy Band brass quintet there, playing smart marches and patriotic tunes before it all began. It felt as if I were at a concert if I closed my eyes. My favorite was their "God Bless America" that repeated several times... loud and proud one time through, soft and delicate another, and again with more fluctuation. The ceremony was a bit late starting, but we were done and loading onto the van to leave at 10:20.

Upon returning our arms, flags and special apparel, we headed straight for the barracks. I changed back to the digital working uniform I began in today and after a little down time mustered with my duty section again. We were directed to pick up trash in the main parking lot. It amazed me how fast I switched from a grand ceremony to picking up cigarette butts all within a couple hours. :)

One Day Duty

At muster they told me my name came up for urinalysis... so I didn't make it to the INDOC class today... next one is in two weeks. I checked the working party board out of curiosity, and didn't feel like asking Chief for the day off she promised, because I was on a new, four-person detail in an office at the A school. And I didn't want to leave my shipmates hanging (good thing too, because only one of them had shown up).

It was strange work, shredding student's notes and notebooks from previous classes. It made me worry about the good A school will be, if all we're meant to do is load all this info onto our brains for a few weeks and then literally dump it immediately afterwords. Hmm...

After lunch I was back to scraping paint... except this time very quickly from the toe-guard on the office door. Took about 10 minutes.

Color Guard Practice

Friday morning's work was only taken up with the trip to the base downtown to practice the ceremony. We're doing it inside in a small auditorium on base, probably due to the bad weather we've been having lately. We practiced what we thought we'd like to do, and then the master chief arrived and let us know how we're doing it. Filing in from the right side of the theater (me leading), we come to the center, halt and left face. Present arms... and then shoulder arms after the Banner is played. Right face and march off to the left side of the theater (me leading).

Whatever you do in the Navy, it is always a huge compliment to have the master chief come up and thank you for volunteering and notice your good military bearing. :)

We were picked up by the same duty driver and taken back to Point Loma right around 1100... which is quitting time on Fridays. Lunch was outstanding that day! Fresh shrimp and veggie stir fry! This was one of the best things I've had here... I am so impressed!

Of Working Parties and Special Duty

We (my friends Witte, Jerousek and I) completed our check-in sheet to the best of our ability on Monday this week. That was when we got our security badges for the A school building. Right afterwords, they told us to check into the BPO (barracks petty officer) for an assignment in a working party. I was surprised they had us do this right away, because our sheets were not completely filled out, but I didn't mind doing actual work either. We ended up at the hotel on base for bachelor officers, moving pallets and old TV's around. The next couple days we had the same thing, except Witte and I volunteered for scraping and painting the sprinkler pipes. It was harder than it seemed... but again, good to do work.

I really love it here... we're encouraged to do PT most days, and I've kept up with it. I've run by the water in the setting sun with the wind blowing in my face, and there are two weight/cardio machine buildings very close by that make it easy to go do. One building has a very good lineup of weight machines. I use that and just go down the line... hardly anyone uses it. And today, I did the PRT run in Liberty Station across the street... very nice! Half of it is along the water and I watched shore birds as I jogged by.

But today! At muster IC1 asked for volunteers for something that sounded like being a road-guard... I checked my working party (it was the same- and it is overmanned) and went back to him and volunteered. Turns out I was the only one to do so, and it had nothing to do with what I thought. It was to be a part of the color guard for the change of command ceremony next Friday! And this will be at the base downtown in front of lots of people! Wow! They needed two more people as well as me, and at that moment Witte and Jerousek walked by... :) Since Witte is taller, us other two will carry the rifles on either side of the flags. STG3 organised it, and he'll take the US flag. So we practiced the shoulder arms, present arms, order arms movements... I've always wanted to do something like this!

Tomorrow we head down to 32nd street for a walk-though of what we'll be doing. We were given Tuesday off as a reward for volunteering, and then we'll have Wed & Thurs to practice before the big day. So excited!

Yet Another Indoc

Greetings from sunny (and warm!) San Diego! and my third duty station to date.

The flight here was pretty uneventful, except for the guy two rows up from me who decided he needed to light a cigarette. It was two hours away from Chicago, and I was pleasantly dreaming... until a Sailor sitting across from him screamed at him to put it out. Apparently, he didn't listen to a polite request. I didn't ever get back to sleep for the rest of the trip, but did rest a little. Very tired.

It was so exciting to land! Here I was in good ol' San Diego... many good memories... and to live and work here! The USO was better here than at O'Hare. Much bigger with a separate kitchen to eat in. Lots of Sailors and Marines... and prospective Marines. I had a big bowl of chicken noodle soup, and was able to chat with mom on the phone. But soon the duty driver from Point Loma showed up and we were whisked away.

Where we checked in is visible on Google Street View... the building on the right is the admin building. The people who checked us in were pretty nice... letting us know whatever we wanted about the things to come. I felt very relaxed and happy about everything, even when they said we'd be on hold for about two months before starting school, and at the end of everything, we'd probably be here at least a year. They delivered our bags to our barracks door for us! And when I found out my single roommate was a friend of mine from my very own bootcamp division, it made it a very good night, even though there is nearly no cell phone service inside. So I talked for a moment on the lawn outside, letting people know I was alright.

Muster is at 0730 for holds, and even though I went to bed super late (11:30 pacific) I was very awake at 0600 (it being 8am on my body clock). We got quite a bit done today, getting signatures on a check-in sheet and turning in dental and medical records to the appropriate places. Also got a dentist appointment in the process! :) We were done for the day around 1430, and I finished unpacking and settling before going to chow with my friend from Great Lakes. I love it here.

The rooms are huge for two people... lots of storage space. Six drawers, two shelves, one fold out table, a nightstand, and a closet. And regular beds... with no climbing involved! The bathrooms are communal, but clean and new-looking. The rec area is connected to my building... free computers/internet, games, tv screens, books... etc. And since the base is so small, there is a small NEX just steps away and a small fitness center that I will look into tomorrow. The galley (which is also very close) has just two food lines, but with good food... and the salad bar is excellent! I am excited to explore and enjoy this city. Witte (my new friend) and I took a walk down by the waterfront as the sun was setting over the western ridge. Wow!

Yay!

COMP'd!

I've completed my coursework at ATT (Advanced Tech. Training for electronic surface warfare).

I did this yesterday at 1400... but that was the very last thing... the Fiber-Optics Performance Test. I had gone back to do that at 1300, completing the last two lessons and Block Test that morning from 0900-1100. How could I wait until Sunday when I could get it done immediately? :) And it turned out my friends were busy anyway... so the Museum of Science and Industry will have to wait for another time. I do plan to come back some day... as a Sailor or not (we'll see!).

So I'm free as a bird! (school-wise, until San Diego later this week)

I had heard about folks getting their last duty day off... but not so much! I reported in to muster this morning to be honest, and let my section leader know my request had been denied... and he had me replace someone on Rat Team. Yay... It's not too bad though... it's not that I'm missing time in Open Learning or anything. :) Gee, I'm so glad I did that yesterday!!!

So this morning I swept some snow off the path to the barracks after someone shoveled and before someone scattered salt across the way. We'll see how often I have to do this... the snow is coming down steady in light flakes. And there are so few tools, I'm switching on and off with another girl every time they call us.

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.

A Good Day

So I've moved classrooms yet again. That happened on Friday, but this time they split up my class and sent handfuls of us to fill holes in other self-paced classrooms. So I've got brand new instructors... Mr. Victory and FC1 Smith. The class runs really well... breaks are optional and I'm able to do much more during the day. It's on the third deck in the center of the building (no views) and there are twice as many people (around 40) in it.

But today was so good because we started it off with a uniform inspection nearly on the scale of one from boot. Mine was described as "good" and I was awarded by being given a class leadership position, even though it was only my second day there. I'm now the Master-at-Arms for this week... I keep people quiet and say when to go on the optional breaks and assign people the cleaning! And that means I get to stand in front of the class when it gets in ranks outside the room along with the class leaders.

And then I finished the Module on Transistors and got a 96% on it... so today's been pretty cool.

School Days

I thought it'd be useful to write down what it's like at Apprentice Technical Training School. It'd quickly describe the last month or so... and the few weeks to follow.

My first reaction about my schedule is that it makes no sense... at my barracks or at school.

I wake up between 0500 and 0530, dress in my working (digital camo) uniform, muster in the lounge at 0600... leave for school at 0645, arrive before 0700. Right there I've been up for more than an hour to do what takes less than 15 minutes. :)

We wait for our instructor, Mr. Shockley, outside our room. He has a meeting before class every morning, and has to check out the Oscilloscope test probes from the equipment room downstairs. Our class leader tells us to fall in, and we find our station (desk), hang our parkas on the backs of our chairs, and log in as we take off watches, rings & ID tags and then roll up sleeves or take the blouse off altogether. We're called to attention to say the Sailor's Creed before getting to work.

So at 0710 the lesson is ready to begin.

Most people out of the 20+ students in my class are either Electronics Techs, Fire Controlmen, Interior Communications Techs, Gunner's Mates or Minemen. The only other Sonar Tech completed her course yesterday. And we're all at different places in our lessons, having started at different times. My course has all four sections of modules: (math review didn't count) Direct Current, Alternating Current, Analog Circuits, Digital Circuits and then finally Advanced Electronics. The number of mods in each section is much less for me though, than say an ET. So I will complete my course sooner than they will complete theirs. They say my course should take 37 days... but that's rather optimistic!

They have a schedule for each module that is supposed to be kept up with... but it's nearly impossible! We have mandatory 15-20 minute breaks at 0800 and 0945 and a super long lunch from 1115 to 1230. Before we moved from upstairs (first room 321, then room 325... third deck, where I had a window seat looking over Lake Michigan) we had even another break: 0810, 1010, and after lunch (1145-1300). What's terrible is that school is over at 1430 M, W & Th, meaning by 2:30 in the afternoon our day is over. Friday is a bit better because we can keep working until 1500, and Tuesday is best where we stay until 1600.

My course (and my entire class) is self-paced. We work at computers arranged in a ring around the room and click through lessons, take 10-question quizzes after each lesson, and a 25-question block test (BT) after each group of lessons. There's even a post test (PT) with 85 questions for a section after all the groups are completed. Up until today we've been able to use the notes we write out during quizzes, but now we can't use them for anything but studying. :)

Along with these multiple choice tests, there are also Performance Tests, where to practice taking readings on circuit cards (attached to a trainer that controls signals) using test equipment (from a multimeter or oscilloscope) and typing in what is measured on the computer. Answers have to be exact in order to pass... and these are pass/fail.

The chiefs and petty officers that run the school are a little crazy sometimes. For a while they wouldn't let us leave until all the oscilloscope probes had been accounted for... And before that we used to be able to leave whenever our instructors let us out, but after a few weeks of that they'd send us back to standing in front of our class until all classes were done... and then there'd be a traffic jam getting down the ladderwells and out the door. Oh, well... I guess. :)

And then the rooms have to be cleaned every day... so two lucky Sailors in each class get to sweep and swab each day. That's been really frustrating for me, being a couple days behind in the first place. But ever since getting back from Christmas stand-down I've been decidedly less worried about being behind. The Lord will work it out and I will do my best. And putting it in the Lord's hands helped quite a bit.

I'm sitting at a 93% average... and hopefully I will keep that up or do better.

Jp