I just got back from my first underway period in about 13years. Being on a aircraft carrier is just like I remembered it. The ship is built like a maze, with lots of ladderwells and hatches that you need to go through to get were you need to go. What does mean to the layman who has never been to a ship, Lots of climbing narrow stairwells. Sleeping in a small coffin size rack (bed) stacked 3 high. 30-100 people showering and using the same bathroom, which only has 3 showers, 5 sinks and 4 toilets. 12-16 hour workdays. Sounds difficult? It is...But guess what, you get used to it. and it comes natural. The only thing that hurt me was the fact that I havent to long ago had knee surgery, so the old knee was acting up for the first three days. But after that, I was good.
My new job is taking me some time to get used to. Im learning on the fly, while ensuring that my 12 guys are being taken care of. Mind you that only 4 of my guys work in my office, the other 8 have different jobs and responsibilities when we go to the ship, but im their supervisor, and they have to see me for everything. Then If I cant solve the problem, then I go to my supervisor, who pretty much wants me to use my own judgement. Which you learn to do very quickly in the military. The more you supervisor is out of the office, the better. Taking care of the people is not so difficult for me, the difficult part during this sea period for me was traking correspondence, reading evaluations and correcting as neccessary, and reading and rewriting awards packages. Not to mention you see the Commanding Officer and Executive Officer every day and they all know me well, because Im the only one for my rate and rank in the squadron. I cannot just blend in and work. They all have to come through my office for something, because we take care of their paperwork before they sign it. I havent even began to talk about the different things they want me to take on while im here. As you know from reading my previous blogs, I have made a few mistakes while learning the ropes. But you cant let mistakes or missteps slow you down. To be honest, my only advantage is my experience in being passed taskings or jobs that take me WAYYYYYYY out of my comfort zone. With all this being said this two week underway period -seemed like two months. The days stretched out longer than any days I can remember. And when it was time to go and we got off the ship, It felt like we had broken out of Shawshank. (If you dont recognize that reference, check out the movie "The Shawshank Redemption). But on the positive side, the food wasnt to bad(they have a chicken line-(a line where you get only chicken, drummettes, fried, baked) a black mans dream. And im not being stereotypical either, if you would has saw us eating them wings and legs, you would know. The desserts were not that great though. But this was the biggest difference from my last ship, They let you serve yourself, like a buffett line. So you know when they served barbque ribs you seen us with plates stacked to the ceiling with ribs, walking trying to balance the stack to your table. You know I couldnt figure out why we had so many hefty people on the boat with all the stair climbing and walking around required on a daily basis. But when you see those heavy plates at breakfast, lunch, and dinner - then it all becomes crystal clear.
Overall the ship wasnt that bad. The ship is huge - its like the caddilac of the ocean. But my offices is right below the flight deck, so all you hear is jet engines taking off and landing during flight operations. Its pretty loud, but eventually you tune it out. Every morning every one cleans during "spirit" for one hour (7:30-8:30) and you have to clean for the whole hour, dirty or not. Dont be caught not cleaning during this time. Unless you are supervising the cleaning.
Internet connectivity isnt the greatest. And you cannot access your personal email while underway. You have to use your official email address to get mail.
I have to load some software so I can post my pictures I took before we pulled in. Ill update later.
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