"INSURV"

Yet another Naval abbreviation, meaning: Board of Inspection and Survey.

In anticipation of this event (that we've been preparing for all year), liberty expired at noon on Sunday... although I had duty that day (so it didn't affect my liberty). This was the second duty day in a row where I did not have a watch! But now that INSURV is upon us, we are back to six-section duty instead of the three-section duty we've endured this last month.

Monday was an early underway for all the INSURV demonstrations... like Small Object Avoidance (SOA) for Sonar in the morning... weapons, anchoring, boats, full-power run, and finally, our own system demonstration at night... where we tracked a little emitter and made like we were going to shoot it to prove that our system is operational. And we successfully passed it in record time!

Our ship had the President of INSURV, RADM Robert Wray (here's a YouTube video of him) onboard during our underway. Nine crewmembers were selected to have dinner with him on the mess decks to ask questions and I was one of them. When we pulled in the next morning, he had an All Hands call on the flight deck and he gave a motivational talk about the importance of INSURV, illustrated through the story of Dewey at Manila Bay... "You may fire WHEN READY, Gridley." INSURV is all about readiness, so it was very apt.

That afternoon I had an "in-port check" with a Lieutenant Commander on our fathometer. The next day, Wednesday, I did checks with a Chief on a couple more of our auxiliaries, and received a bunch of open purchase items from Supply, which was finished up today.

At the Movies!

We got to preview the movie Captain Phillips on Friday... the scene I was in was cut, but I didn't mind too much. The film was really exciting! We all cheered when the Truxtun first came on the scene. They changed the hull number to reflect the Bainbridge's number... DDG-96. I know a few people who had scenes... our captain now, was XO then, and he played the XO. My Leading Petty Officer (LPO) was part of the team that arrested one of the bad guys in the end, and in the last scene, the medical chief who treats Tom Hanks is really a second class like me... and we know each other pretty well, as she comes to church on board.

The screening was on the Joint Little Creek/Fort Story base in Virginia Beach, and I managed to get a front row seat in the crowded theater. In addition to the regular previews, there were ads about the consequences of sexual assault, and the playing of the national anthem. Only in a military theater!

Quickie

Everyone had to stay on board Monday night (I had duty anyway) for an early underway on Tuesday, just for one day out. But Monday sped by for me anyway... I had the first watch (contact sentry on the pier), then I worked very hard getting all of the open purchase and parts that got delivered that morning onto the ship. Then my Divo (division officer) requested some open purchase, so I went to SERVMART (government contracted suppliers) to get a quote. Picked up trash in the parking lot for the duty section on my way back to the ship, then made sure the request got routed up the chain of command.

Tuesday, underway, Sea & Anchor was very early. In the afternoon I organized Sonar 1 a bit more, especially with the new label maker we had received the day before. To help prepare for the evening's Sonar events, I helped carry some equipment to the helo hanger for programming. When I had done all I needed to, I went out on the flight deck to breathe some fresh air and watch the sunset. My watch didn't start until just before our scenario, and it was another quick success to be proud of. Afterwords, I still had the dailies to do, so the watch was over before I knew it. It was a very long day!

This morning we had another Underway Replenishment (same station as before) and I was able to see the sun rise from the horizon, just as I had seen it set the night before. This was followed by a FWWD (freshwater wash-down) on our beautiful new decks, and then Sea & Anchor right after that. We field-day'd the spaces in Sonar as we neared port. Talk about a busy morning!

Truxtun and Comfort

Five Days Out

My 3rd anniversary (21SEP) of joining the Navy, and I had Saturday duty and double watches. The first watch and the last watch (the last one was all Sonar Techs!). 

Starting Monday, 23 September, we went back out to sea for a few INSERV demonstration rehearsals. S&A was set from 09-11, then I took the first watch (after lunch). I observed a MOB (man overboard) drill from CIC for an ESWS item, then had some DC training, then a CSTT (combat systems training team) drill, and finally worked out on the bike before bed.

24SEP started with a GQ drill during my first watch. My LPO had me find out the measurements for the tape markings on the torpedo countermeasures tow cable, and then I prepared for late watch scheduled maintenance checks with hazmat and tagout and the associated spot check. Had steak and lobster (and scallops) for dinner, and then an All Hands Call on the flight deck for awards (But you should have heard the rumors fly about the ship's schedule all day long in anticipation of it! Lots of people were talking about Syria.). That evening I observed another MOB drill, this time from the bridge.

25SEP started very early with the late watch, did the scheduled maintenance, so it went faster than normal. After breakfast, there was a connected underway replenishment (UNREP) and my station was on the forecastle for the first time in a long time. Managed a little rest before another MOB drill (this time requiring us to muster with our divisions). All of Sonar went to early chow because of our schedule... but when we got there, we were all surprised to learn that we were required to get a flu shot at the same time. Nothing like a hamburger and a shot in the arm! Not long afterwords they manned the stream team, and a few of us re-taped a bunch of the tow cable, until we ran out of tape. After dinner, I had a spot check with OPS (operations officer). Worked out again (proud of myself for doing it twice in one week underway!), then managed a short rest before the mid-watch, in which I trained our new guy on lots of things, including the dailies.

26SEP: There was a field day until lunch, and the new guy and I took care of two passageways and two spaces ourselves. That evening, CMC (command master chief) sent an email to the crew, calling out my division for being the "most impressive" and giving us a "BZ" or Bravo Zulu, which is Navy code for "Well Done".

"Clean decks, high dusting, sparkling hand wheel and all the corners and angle irons.  But most importantly, witnessing the TEAM effort with all paygrades pitching in, set a positive tone for me."

That night we had a quick and successful sonar scenario. I verified the frequency of the thing we tracked. It was fun to watch the drill go so well with equipment and personnel working so fluidly.

27SEP: Pulled in mid-morning, and I was able to observe Sea & Anchor from the forecastle for ESWS. As we were coming up the Elizabeth River, we passed a Frigate going out to sea, and rendered passing honors. Even though I wasn't on the watch-bill, I joined everyone in falling in at parade rest, and in saluting as the whistles blew as we passed. Since it was my duty day, I obviously stayed on board. I wrote a job and searched for a couple part numbers on our computer program for jobs. Conducted pier sweepers just before sunset (picking up lots of trash in the parking lot). Up in plenty of time for the last watch, and it went by quickly enough, I guess. LSC was my OOD, and he said he knew someone on the USNS Comfort (hospital ship) that is moored across from us on our new pier. Apparently, on that ship, an E-5 would have their own stateroom. What a shock it would be for somebody like that to come to a fighting ship and have to share a berthing with 50+ other people!

Turning over the duty on Saturday morning was very pleasant... I had two whole days to relax at home!

In the End, It Was Alright

Wednesday was my duty day, but my watch wasn't until very late. I started off doing a maintenance check after the usual morning stuff. Just as I finished, a tech rep had arrived, delivering a very important piece of gear that had been CASREP'd (it was really important). I installed it right away with a bit of help from the tech assist. The hard part was screwing the ten mammoth cables back into the transmit/receive unit afterwords. This was a little bit of a deja vu, as last year I had to screw all hundred or so of them back in. And even though it was only a little, I still had to take my blouse off, it got so warm down there. My hands and arms were bright red (and I imagine my face was too) from straining.

After a quick lunch, I mustered with the duty section for line-handlers. There were about ten of us who went to the next pier to cast off the lines for the huge USNS Robert E. Peary that was getting underway. The long lines were so heavy I had to heave around (pull) on the line so we could get it over the top of the bollard on the pier and let it be retrieved by the ship. When I got back to the Truxtun, Senior had been looking for me... he and the ASWO (our DIVO - division officer) needed some particulars about the installation for reporting the CASREP complete. And right after that, I closed the associated job.

I was so hungry when I went to bed... I almost ordered pizza... but the online site I was using required a street address... and that was too complicated for me. Went to bed around 2130 after talking with my husband, and experienced one of the worst feelings of my career so far when I was woken up by someone a half-hour after I was supposed to be on watch; I had fallen back asleep after my alarm. I made it out there as fast as I could, but that was still much too late... it takes extra time to arm up to be the Rover. As it turns out, I was relieved late by the oncoming duty section... so much so that we called the galley to keep some food for me for breakfast. For tomorrow's duty day, I am assigned two watches as a consequence. Even though I feel very bad about what I did and don't really need more watch to be reminded how bad it is to be late, I don't mind taking the extra watch either. And I will be bringing another alarm clock!

That was Thursday morning. It was extraordinarily awful. While waiting to get relieved, my monthly cycle started as I was standing there... and I was helpless to do anything about it. After Quarters, I did three maintenance checks, all while teaching our new guy that arrived this week. I showed him all our spaces back aft, and then we walked through the two checks up forward together.

Right after that, I had to rush to get to the Little Creek Joint Expeditionary Base (about a 20 minute drive) for a gun shoot to keep people's qualifications up to date (so they can still stand armed watches). It was for the pistol, and it took quite a while to cycle everyone through. I was very pleased with my score... 227 (just shy of an Expert score!) Next time I will be more careful and go even slower. Even though it was pretty late in the afternoon when I finished, I had to go back to the ship to work on an issue. Ended up leaving later than normal.

Today, after a normal sleep in my own bed, I'm feeling much better and more relaxed in general. Right away in the morning, I had to go to a site on base for a simulated M-16 gun shoot. Although it went really fast, I really enjoyed it. I shot better than any of the nine guys on the line with me. And it was wonderful to get to go to my Senior Chief's re-enlistment in downtown Norfolk on the USS Wisconsin.

Today marks the end of my first three years in the Navy (and without NJP - non-judicial punishment - or Captain's Mast) so I earned the Navy's Good Conduct Medal (the patch I had bought online after visiting the USS Constitution in June 2010... without realizing what exactly it was):

It was a difficult, busy and sometimes frustrating week. But it's one foot in front of the other... left, right, left, right.

Oh... and just before the re-enlistment, I walked around the Hampton Roads Naval Museum and I saw a model of the USS TRUXTUN... from World War I:

 From the placard:

USS Truxtun (TBD-14), Scale 1/8" = 1'

The Truxtun was one of the first torpedo-boat destroyers authorized by the Navy. Like other ships of its class, this veteran of the Great White Fleet was originally intended to combat torpedo boats, not submarines. As submarines developed into formidable weapons, these "destroyers" became the most effective anti-submarine ships afloat. The Truxtun patrolled the Chesapeake Bay during the summer of 1917.

Rehearsals and Sunday Duty... to Get Things Done

Thursday the 12th, the ship had a rehearsal for Friday's rehearsal for the stuff we're doing this week. Just as that sounds, it didn't seem like much to us in Sonar, as we were not incorporated into the scenario. Much of the week I spent trying to get Supply and the vendor in town to get our plexiglass screen completed, so it would be ready for this week. It ended up getting paid for on Thursday, so on Friday I was on the phone to the vendor again... and they got it done that morning. I picked it up after work, then installed it while on duty on Sunday. The process ended up being rather complicated, but it got done... and the new screen looks so much better than the old one. It felt good to see tangible evidence of improvement from all my efforts.

Sunday duty went by pretty quickly. I had the first watch... and that was easier than usual since the duty section had a Dress Whites inspection at turnover, then a whole hour of training a bit later. They had every person practice ringing the bell, as well as some vehicle inspection training on the pier. It's much easier to get through the watch when things are going on. I also managed to sweep up around the quarterdeck and in the OOD shack... it seems like it's messy every time I have Petty Officer of the Watch. After being relieved, I ate the tacos I brought from home for lunch, installed the plexiglass screen, then worked a long while (interrupted by Pier Sweepers - stacking 19 stacks of used pallets for pick-up, and then colors) on a brand new maintenance check... which included a very complicated tag-out, and training from someone used to the equipment... my brain was fried by the time I went to bed... which was not long after I cleared the tags.

The hardest thing about Sunday duty is rolling right into a Monday workday. Got up very early to turn the system back on and make sure everything was good to go for integrating with the rest of the ship for the scenarios. We weren't at our fully-manned condition all day, so I was able to get a few things done on the side. I caught up with our division's MOV (material obligation validation - making sure our parts on open jobs are still needed and current), and took care of a last minute Open Purchase request for consumables. It seemed like every time I came back to Sonar Control there was something else I needed to do. :)

Today I managed to get some medical stuff done for an upcoming maintenance check... going into an air-pressurized Sonar Dome... last time I had blood work done, but today it was urinalysis and an EKG... the latter to make sure my heart would be able to handle the PSI change. And we haven't even done the physical yet.

Before and After Leave

My four-day leave over the weekend was incredibly nice... even though I dreamed about the Navy every night, I was able to leave it all behind me and relax with my Mom and my Grandparents, spending quality time with people I love very much but don't get to see very often.

To tell you the truth, I don't remember much about Wednesday or Thursday last week. I know that right before I left on Thursday afternoon, I made sure things were where they should be. I had a dentist appointment that morning, and had another pleasant experience with Navy dentists; it was over before I knew it.

First day back, the other tech and I managed to clear up a little issue we had with the fatho repeaters, and I figured out what was going on with the open purchase and other things from last week.

Today, though, I kept very busy doing all the maintenance checks... four of them. Knocked out the tag-outs in the morning and everything went pretty smoothly.

Three-Hundredth Post

An extra duty day... with no watch! After Labor Day now, the ship has gone to three-section duty. And as a benefit to the crew, the Executive Officer put out a late Liberty expiration this morning in order for parents to be able to take their children to their first day of school... and I know one Mom in my division was very happy about being able to see her kids off. I really enjoyed the late expiration too... I slept in, had a wonderful breakfast and time for one episode of Dick Van Dyke on Netflix before I went to work. It was time for lunch only minutes after Duty Section turnover.

Finally found time for a security spot check before I went to eat, and I helped another tech with trying to find the right item for a job to be written, then took care of two maintenance checks during the rest of the day... both needed hazmat checked out... grease and detergent (the grease gun needed loading... what a nasty job that was... I think it would qualify for the TV show Dirty Jobs). However, the LS checking me out the hazmat did it for me... I only helped by holding the can of grease as he dug into it with his gloved fingers. I'd never seen it done before, so that was very helpful and nice of him.

And they both required Danger tags on the relevant circuit breakers... and people in the division were very willing to help out with that too, so it didn't take too long. Every tag-out requires a "second" in order to verify that everything was actually done correctly.

After dinner I finished up the second check, then we had Duty Section training. After that, I finally ordered the expendable parts I've been having a whale of a time trying to order... when I finally got with Supply, it took a few tries to figure out that I needed a certain kind of access to our system before I was able to get to the right screen... and it only took roughly 15 seconds. Incredible how important it is to know what you're doing in the system and have access to it.

If that wasn't enough, I was on the hit list for not having completed an Information Awareness training online (that I had completed back in the Spring). But if they say so, you do so... and I did. Another wonderful hour on Navy Knowledge Online. This one is more creative than most... but an NKO is still and NKO no matter how up to date they get. This time around I didn't get tripped up by the question that requires me to take my CAC (common access card) - commonly referred to in the military as a "CAC Card" - before I left my desk to investigate something in the virtual government office I work in. Hah! So even though my name is printed in the POD for tomorrow as a delinquent, I am not!

Sunday Duty, Saturday Duty, and Everything Between

That was Sunday, August 25th, and Saturday, August 31st. Both times I had the first watch as Petty Officer, and I had to announce lots of things over the 1MC, even though the first began with holiday routine, and the second, today, was the first day of a holiday weekend. I very much enjoyed getting a five-hour watch out of the way before my feet started hurting too bad or the sun started beating down too hard.

Monday was a rigmarole. Our entire division, E-5 and below, were sent to medical in the morning to get blood-work done to begin the process of getting approved for a Dome Dive... entering the Sonar Dome under higher than normal air pressure to conduct maintenance. When I got over to medical, they said there was no order in the system for me to have my blood drawn. When I came back to the ship, I found that this was because my name was not in the Truxtun's system yet! I suppose it never got done when I checked in... and I've had no reason to go to medical during the last year... but gosh! So I went back to medical to get registered with Tricare Norfolk, then called the ship so they could put in the order. While I was waiting, I managed to get an over-due dental cleaning appointment for September, then had my blood drawn. At first the technician couldn't find my vein, but then a more proficient tech used a smaller needle and found her way in. Thank goodness! It was 1030 by the time I got back! All I remember from the rest of the day was running around a lot and being called every which way for the division.

It was Tuesday when I worked on an Open Purchase order that had been neglected, then I helped someone with a tag-out for a maintenance check, and finally got the Open Purchase routed before I had to be on the mess decks for a special Navigation Brief for a 20-minute underway. We were switching piers, and only two piers over. I was the fathometer operator, watching and recording our depth as we were pulled by tugs. When we pulled in, I was one of the first ones off since I had an appointment to pick up some test equipment for a maintenance check that needed to get done as soon as possible. And I was able to finish that evening! Yay! Scratch one more little thing to do off my list.

Wednesday, another sonar tech and I went to the plastics company we had used to open purchase a new screen for some equipment of ours. It needed re-cutting, and so I showed them the measurements and arranged for it to get done. We got a couple errands done on the way back, then I stopped off at the ministry center on base to sign up for the next Lay Leader training, since my one-year mark is almost here (it's a yearly training). Then we stopped at Servmart (government supplies) across from the piers to get some quotes on a few things I needed to order. It was lunchtime when we got back, and we didn't have much else going on. There was a quick Safety Committee meeting that had to do with the next day's inspection.

Thursday morning the inspectors arrived, but I didn't have my walk-through until the afternoon. I was allowed to go over to Servmart and figure out how to order more logbooks, and I also had a long back and forth email conversation with supply folks about ordering more bathythermographs. Later on, we tried working on open jobs, and jobs that hadn't been written yet. Also found out that there's a job-writing class every Friday on base... that would have been good to know a few months ago...! So the week after next, I'll try to get into one. My first e-Leave request needed re-routing since my duty section watch-bill coordinator changed. But it didn't take long for it to get approved! I also picked up the TP and brownies from the cleaning gear locker for berthing... and some brownies for Sonar as well. It's amazing to me why the duty sections don't care enough about getting TP (female berthing was out again!) when the locker is open. It's a necessity for everyone!

Friday, we had some FWWD (freshwater wash-down), but I only worked with sponges on the flight deck. I also stayed later than everyone else to meet with our soldering guy to install the part I bought last week... and while I was waiting for him, I got the last of my Open Purchase forms filled out and ready for after the weekend. It's mammoth, but it will take care of the division for quite a while.

Inserv Underway and Checks

Tuesday the 20th, was our first day back in port for a good while, and since Duty Section 2 had duty that day, the Leadership decided to give our section a few hours off that afternoon before liberty expired on board at 1800 (to be ready for an early underway the next morning). I thought that was generous, and I certainly enjoyed my time! And I managed to make use of it, stopping by an electronics store to see if I could find a part we need that wasn't available through normal routes.

Since this week was a pre-inserv (the ship's certification) event, they told us our personal stuff had to be out of our equipment room... and part of what I took with me off the ship was pretty heavy: with all the temperature measuring devices we dropped during the last three weeks, I managed to wind seven pounds of excess copper wire (that would have been thrown away) and sold it to a recycling business in Norfolk for enough money to cover the cost of the part I needed to buy. My, how well that worked out!

Sea & Anchor the next morning was relatively early; my station was in Sonar Control, keeping the logbook for when we went active for our first Inserv demonstration. There were some hiccups, but we completed the event satisfactorily in time. Since we were only out for a day, we went back to the old five-hour watch rotation, and I had the afternoon watch with my same watch-mates as the last three weeks. I did one of the quickest checks with an inspector, and not long after, one of the longest checks with another. Before dinner, I went up to the bridge to watch the anchor drop demonstration for a ESWS line-item signature. The OOD, a former Sonar Tech himself, signed it off after I observed the evolution. Before we reached the spot for the drop, we were clipping along at a pretty good pace... and all of a sudden we came upon dozens of dolphins, riding through our wake. They looked as if they were swimming and diving right into our dome, but I'm sure they were too good of swimmers to do that. It's entrancing to watch their graceful maneuvers just under the surface, up through it and down again. After dinner I managed some rest, then got up for the late evening ASW demonstration, in which I found the contact! Yay! I felt useful!

I thought I was on the UNREP (underway replenishment) demonstration, but when I checked the watchbill in the morning, I wasn't on it. So I stayed in Sonar Control to augment the watch team and used that time to finally figure out how to use our new electronic leave request forms. It was a big relief, and it was so much easier than filling out the paper form... it automatically put all the standard information in, including stats on how much leave I had left on the books, whereas before, I had to go look that up on MyPay... which is a pain in the neck (and recently when I checked, not available). Then it was time for my watch, and while I worked on our system for ordering parts, I also generated the day's muster report as the watch before me hadn't done yet.

My Sup sent me back aft for line-handlers during Sea & Anchor, since one of our girls on the line was LLD (light, limited duty). I didn't mind at all since I hadn't been a line-handler for a long time. Sometimes it's nice to be topside... I love feeling the wind in my face and watching our wake as we tore through the water (while we were still a ways out). After S&A secured, and the trash taken out, we didn't have to wait too long for Senior to allow us to go on liberty for the rest of the afternoon. First he had us put the cover on the port torpedo tubes... and that was harder than it looked. But at least I know how that works now, and we got it done.

Today, I had just one check with one of the same inspectors from Wednesday, and it turned out to last close to four hours. There were a few issues we had to fix, along with a few burnt out light bulbs, on top of the check itself. After being let go, and after I enjoyed a wonderful all-you-can-eat sushi on the way, I picked up a special open-purchase order from a business in town, then picked up the electronic part I ordered on Tuesday. Can't wait to enjoy one whole day of staying home and relaxing tomorrow.

Three Weeks This Time

I didn't feel as bad as I thought I would, missing my husband after two months together for the first time in our lives. It helped that he was on his way back home and not in Norfolk, waiting for me while I was underway. Before we left, I also decided to think of this underway as never ending... so I really didn't think about returning to port until we were only a couple days out; and even then, it wasn't as bad as it has been before. I must be getting used to this a little.

The following was written in letters or notes during the underway:

Friday, 2 AUG:

Goodness! These last five days were unbelievably long, drawn out, and cumbersome. We were barely out to sea when the craziness began… we had scenarios that night, as well as Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, lasting anywhere from 1730 to 0400 the next morning. So the days sort of muddled together. Didn’t really have any sense of time, or what day it was. I think it was Wednesday and Thursday where outside email was blocked and we didn’t have Internet… but we were so busy I barely had time to think of it. But on Wednesday morning, I was able to call my husband for a moment... and that was a good way to start.

Well, our two watch-teams passed the certification events! We are *finally* done with what they call the Basic Phase. All I can say is that I got a lot of practice using a couple of our operating programs (that we call Functional Segments), and feel pretty proficient at them.

Stayed up a little late after our last events Thursday night, since we assisted a Coast Guard helo that rescued an Air Force pilot who had to eject from his fighter jet over the ocean just off of the Hampton Roads area. All I saw was the helo on one of the video cameras, dangling the rescue swimmer (it was a speck on the screen).

Yesterday was a transition back to normal activities. Even though I was still very tired from everything… we were supposed to jump back into normal hours. We have a new watch rotation this underway where we have the same watches every day; they are in three-hour shifts instead of the old five-hour system. It does afford a chance to get into a routine, but it’s been hard with the scenarios we’ve had. I have hopes that it will be better, now that we’re done. One problem though: it’s changed up the breakfast and dinner meal hours, so it’s difficult to remember when it’s time to eat, believe it or not.

As for normal activities, I was able to figure out early this week what the problem on the one piece of gear was… and yesterday I managed to do a spot check with a chief outside our division, and do some maintenance, and organize my stuff in Sonar 1, throwing some things away and organizing it very nicely. After that I worked out on the stationary bike and elliptical treadmill for a good half-hour, took a quick shower and got my laundry done. I felt fantastic (and put back together) when I finally lay down in my rack just past midnight.

In order to stay sane, I’ve been doing a bit of recreational reading in my down time this week… started a book that a high-ranking officer recommended to me during my last week in San Diego: Neptune’s Inferno (about the US Navy at Guadalcanal, 1942). Also, I finished the first book in the Crusades trilogy, The Road to Jerusalem, and now I started my last Dorothy Sayers novel, The Nine Tailors.

Saturday, 3 AUG,

First thing in the morning was berthing cleaners (every Saturday morning, females from Weapons department are assigned the duty). I even managed to get an overhead lightbulb changed, we were so on top of it. Earlier in the day I had some time to kill, so I wrapped all the excess copper wire from the bathythermograph room in an hour or so, then a bit later I had to help out with the Stream Team for streaming our torpedo countermeasures back aft. We pulled it back in during my evening watch, just before I started all the tag-out maintenance madness.

I stayed up til 11pm working on our one piece of gear in Equipment Room #2. I had two maintenance checks on it, and during the second, I had the ship’s circuit board guy to help me troubleshoot the little out-of-tolerance reading we were getting on one setting. It didn’t go so well, and in the end he concurred with my prior diagnosis. I started this madness at 7pm, and it lasted four hours (with a brief interruption for a bowl of ice cream right after we hung the Danger tag for working on the electrical equipment).

Sunday, 4 AUG,

Sunday has been a day off for sure! It started out like all the others… I woke up at the time my watch would have started if we hadn’t been shifting the schedule forward today… so I ate breakfast, then realized I was still an hour early. But during it, we shot a missile! That was the first time we were able to do that since I’ve been on board! It was for training purposes, of course, but it was a real missile and the blast that we watched on our TV monitor in Sonar was a real ball of fire. It was gone and out of the tube in seconds.

Then it was time for our first Sunday Church service. A real encouragement! We have a new Senior Chief Gunner’s Mate on board who is a Christian and has been one for 30 years. He’s been a Lay Leader on other ships, and plays the guitar. I think he will help our group a bunch! Not only that, but my section leader came this morning as well; I knew I liked her a lot, and now I know the reason why. Also, a new seaman came as well. Our little group is growing! We had the three other regulars as well.

Had a bit of lunch after the remaining half-hour of watch, and Star Trek: Into Darkness was playing on the mess decks. They shut it off just as it went into the last half-hour or so, but that was okay with me. The main part had just wrapped up. I went straight to bed and slept for a while... I feel much refreshed! Sleep is so important, and we barely get enough of it in normal circumstances. Thank goodness for Holiday Routine on Sundays!

Monday, 5 AUG,

Our first really regular day, and the first of the new watch rotation change. I now had the 9-12 every morning and night, instead of the 6-9 during the first week. Now we started preparing in earnest for DITS (division in the spotlight). As the Safety and Security divisional Petty Officer (and alternate Repair Parts PO), I prepared as best I could for the walk-throughs. While flight quarters was set for our helicopters in the evening, I went to the helo hanger to get training from the Damage Controlmen for the Advanced DC qualifications that are required for the ESWS (enlisted surface warfare specialist) qualification.

Tuesday, 6 AUG,

After watch at night, I was part of the team for streaming our countermeasures again. During the morning watch, the OPS brief in the wardroom lasted quite a bit longer than normal as the ship was preparing for operations with the strike group. We set a special condition for ASW, which meant we had to man up the stacks in Sonar Control with more people for as long as it lasted; I managed to get some good sonar training with my LPO while we were there.

Wednesday, 7 AUG,

(Well, some days it's hard to recall what all happened... this is one of them) I did manage to do a lot of work on my ESWS book, as well as more training with the DC'men. Also finished an NKO (computer-based short learning course from Navy Knowledge Online) that I needed for one of the DC quals, and started the other.

Thursday, 8 AUG,

This time our ASW condition was set early in the morning, and lasted a good portion of the day. But there was lasagna for lunch, and pretty decent steak for dinner. And we brought in the countermeasures we had put out on Tuesday after that. That night I started a different NKO that I was told I had to do again, but the Internet was so slow, the course locked up and I couldn't finish.

Friday, 9 AUG,

This was my Security walk-through day with the ship's assistant security manager. He's a fine officer and friendly as well. He said our division looked very good, but he pointed out a few things that needed updating. We were interrupted by our division's medical emergency training where the corpsman came in, one with plastic wounds, and the other with the first aid kit. Everyone had to respond and put bandages on and answer questions about each of the wounds. And then I spent the rest of the day updating the security measures I needed to.

Saturday, 10 AUG,

After berthing cleaners, we set the ASW condition again all day. So even though it was my last 9-12 watch, I was pretty much on watch all day long.

Sunday, 11 AUG,

We had early church this time due to the ship's schedule. Retrieved the countermeasures yet again, set the ASW condition watch again, then held FWWD (fresh water wash down) and those of us from weapons department layed to the aft missile deck where we waited for the water to be sprayed everywhere so we could begin sweeping it off. We do this to help preserve the weather decks by washing off the salt residue. Upon coming back to Sonar, I had the Electrical/Safety walk-through with one of our new Chief-Selects. That also was a big improvement over the last time, so I'd say it went well. A special meal of scallops and rib-eye was for dinner (and I heartily enjoyed it, even if the scallops were way overdone), and then the ever-present ASW condition was set until 2000 (this was controlled by the strike group, so it was out of our hands). But when it FINEX'd (finished exercise) we retrieved the countermeasures for the last time. While cleaning the spaces for DITS, I wrapped the excess XBT wire. During watch my counterpart and I cleaned the Sonobuoy storeroom, XBT room and the countermeasure room.

Monday, 12 AUG,

This morning started with a VERTREP (vertical replenishment - helicopter lowering supplies) back aft and continued with an All Hands working party to bring all the food stores to the refer decks and store rooms below the mess decks. Right after that, my division had a uniform inspection for DITS; but we were told several things for quite a while... I switched back and forth from the Service Uniform to Coveralls at least twice. It ended up being in coveralls, and went just fine. During "clamp-down" as Clean Ship used to be called, I cleaned back aft, wiping up spots of the deck in our passageway... while listening to Frank Sinatra... the selection of one of the GMs. I snarfed down an early lunch (and quick! ... about 10 minutes), and then they set the underway replenishment detail. It was very warm outside; the sun shone and the sky was brilliant blue and caused the ocean to look an exquisite turquoise. After we were done pulling the fuel hose across and we had begun to pump, I and a few others went below for water to keep cool before going back out to wait to stand in line while we disconnected. Upon returning to watch, I went to work in the dome cage, shining brass. Took a much needed shower after working in all that heat. I was supposed to be on a team for handling something called a "Killer Tomato", but it was cancelled. Instead, I cleaned up and even trimmed my toenails. I tried on my new boots... but I think I will shine them some more before I break them in. ESWS training with engineering and the fire controlmen consumed the rest of the evening until my mid-watch which required certain duties that made the time go by even faster. Since the next day was the big inspection, I wiped up Sonar Control and checked out Sonar 3 as I was asked to by my Sup.

Tuesday, 13 AUG,

I conducted a good sweeper in Sonar 1 after quarters. I went to the all-hands security training with my inspector for an hour in the lounge. Had chicken Parmesan for lunch before coming on watch. This time I actually ended up back aft to handle the Killer Tomato. My counterpart wrote the ranges brief, so I routed the XBT message, and picked up parts from supply when they called. Read a bunch after watch, then met with the new seaman from church for a Bible study in Sonar 2. Fried shrimp for dinner, then met our Muslim chaplain in the CO's cabin while I was hunting for a signature in officer country. Managed time for ESWS training with another engineer, then returned to Sonar for Combat Systems drills as Area Supervisor for the first time. I finally found the officer's I needed for signatures while I was in CIC for our equipment reload.

Wednesday, 14 AUG,

Met with the Chaplain after sweepers, as per his request the previous evening in order to get a common understanding of what we need to do before deployment in regards the "religious program" on board. I also started getting sick with a sore throat. During watch, I wrote most of the brief, but it was cancelled after the Ammo VERTREP brief. Then I ran around getting the correct paperwork for a sign off on a chit for supply. I managed to rest in the afternoon, since I had been running myself pretty hard, and combined with the cold, I needed it badly. But I also met with my friend again for Bible reading. Got the last 100 level ESWS signature in CSMC when I turned in the daily report. Met with EN2 in CCS afterwords for last engineering sign-offs. Yay!

Thursday, 15 AUG,

Senior changed some of our watch-standing habits by laying down a few new rules while at quarters, and for the better. Cleaned the dome trunk with one of the first classes after that, then Berthing 2 had meeting on the Mess Decks about cleaning and sanitation. Because of the ship's assignment that day, we were close enough to shore for cell phone signals and I talked to Mike for a few minutes. Read some ASW PPRs during watch, then cleaned up and finished all my laundry afterwords. More drills again, and I did about the same. Tried to fix a job order, then took a nap before watch, on which I worked on analyzing grams.

Friday, 16 AUG,

In the morning I was bombarded with several things at once: I was wrong with the job, wrong with the grams, and laughed at for the way I responded to one of the drills. Good morning to you too. After sweepers, I worked on jobs with my counterpart. After potatoes and fried chicken for lunch, picked up some medicine from medical for my runny nose. Then I watched the live fire exercise from CIC for an ESWS sign-off. Worked more on trying to find the right part for the problem job. Dinner was singular... a half-hour wait for "Mongolian BBQ" (I had mine with shrimp, veggies, rice, garlic sauce... and I thought it was pretty good), which I ate in 10 minutes... and then another ASW condition for training that night.

Saturday, 17 AUG,

Berthing cleaners after quarters, got after dust and wiped down the walls and doors. I volunteered this morning at quarters to work on “topside preservation” from 10-12. We have rust spots on the part of the deck back aft that our division is in charge of… and we’ve been having a heck of a time getting it completed for one reason or another. So I was determined to get it done… except it took a good half-hour or more to get the right hose and needle gun out there and connected to low pressure air so we could do it. Started off pretty well and got most of it done, and then I turned over to someone else in my division, so I could have lunch before it closed. I was way too dirty to go right to lunch, so I took a quick shower and made it just in time before the mess line closed so I could have a baloney sandwich and some fruit. When I got back out there, a few people from the division were picking up all the tools and taking them back to the BMs. But when I saw the deck, I was aghast! The guy after me did a slipshod job and didn’t bother to sweep up the mess… so when they tried to get paint from the BMs, they turned us down… so all those spots will get rusty again in no time, and we’ll have to begin again. Working was fun, but I was pretty disappointed at the end. Such is life in the Navy. For the rest of watch, I helped out my Sup by writing down the specifics of a couple line items from our ZIDLs (zone inspection deficiency list), then helped a couple others with educting our sumps (excess water tanks). Then I took a nap for an hour or so, got up to meet for a Bible study, but the other person never came, so I read by myself. Pizza for dinner, then more Combat Systems drills, and finally, ice cream. Played a couple of Bingo games for fellow techs, and went to bed.

Sunday, 18 AUG,

In the morning, with no time for normal "Holiday Routine"; we had an All-Hands call on the flight deck for awards and a brief by the Captain about the near future. Then FWWD, early lunch and watch. Wrote the Sonar ranges brief during watch, then relaxed for an hour before meeting a bunch of VBSS (vessel boarding search and seizure) team members to watch some training. I was invited to participate myself, and it felt great. Steak for dinner, then it was my turn for the assigned duties during watch.

Monday, 19 AUG,

Almost late for quarters since I fell asleep after my alarm (but I was very rested!). Swept Sonar 1 for clean ship, took care of my rack for the upcoming inspection, then took care of two maintenance checks (reading meters) before lunch. It was the Asian meal for lunch, then watch... shined boots, checked watchbills, chatted, generated the muster report, and... SET SEA AND ANCHOR! However, it was my duty day when we pulled in.