So far being at the squadron I have learned that I am going to have a lot of responsibilities and that includes tracking alot of things. So I am learning things fast and working hard to retain everthing as I learn it. My supervisor and sponsor are ready and willing to turn everything over to me and pretty much let me run the show. I just havent figured out yet exactly how im going to do things Its hectic and will be stressful for a while until I learn everything and bring my self up to speed. But just like anybody I want to do a good job and support the mission as best I can. Everyone knows me already and they call me by my rate. Which should be pretty easy because Im the admin LPO and its not exactly easy to blend in when you are 6"3 and weigh 295. No one would pick me as the "admin guy" If they didnt know already what I did.
Right now my "Book of the Year" nomination is "Uncommon" by Tony Dungy. If you dont know he was the former coach of the Indianapolis Colts who was the first black head coach to lead a team to a Super Bowl victory. Have you ever read a book and you read a sentence or paragraph that is so profound that you have to read it out loud to make sure the knowlege stays with you. You want to remember it and use it whenever a situation requires a certain decision. I always choose a book based on the criteria that if I open it up to a random page, start reading and the story draws me and and flows to where I want to keep reading right there in the store, Its a good chance Im going to buy the book. But this book is on the money. Its about finding your path to significance. What make this book insightful for me is that Im always interested in how people overcome different obstacles on the way to success. I enjoy hearing about the failures and the lesson from the failure. The book talks basically about Coach Dungys experiences and how he strives to do things in a way which God would approve. Its written with Christian principles, but with simple common-sense lessons which he learned and applied to become successful. I read the whole book in four days, even when I should have been sleeping I was reading the book. Its a excellent guide for the young male who isnt sure how to carry himself in this day and time. I could go on and on but I wont. Buy it for yourself and see.
Well anyway the lessons from this book helped me feel better about a embarrassing mistake I made today. We were all in a room for training and after the training, the MasterCheif(highest ranking enlisted guy at the command) was talking and he asked if anybody had anything to put out. My cheif whispered in my ear about some worksheets that needed to be sighned. So i wanted to wait till he finished to put the information out. And thats what I did. However I learned that before he talks he askes "Does anyone have anything to put out ?" Then everyone who has something to say, then says it. However after everyone spoke, He started speaking on other things. After he finished and I said " I got something to put out" and i told the people about the worksheets that needed to be sighned. Well it turns out that I spoke WAAAAAAAY OUT OF TURN. After the MasterCheif speaks, the meeting is officially over and nothing is to be said. What ever you say, you supposed to put it out before he starts speaking. But I didnt know that. So he walked out, and my supervisor and sponsor, looked at me kind of shocked but amused. So the mastercheif turns around and says, PS1 I need to talk to you. So I go and he politely explains to me the way it goes. And he was cool because he knew that i didnt know the rules. And i think everyone else knew, that I didnt know as well. I know im going to catch some good natured flack for my gaffe, and I am still embarrassed about it. But overall I had to realize that sometimes you are not going to get it right. And although I know this, reading Coach Dungy's book helped drive this point and many other points home. I have my own way of doing things but looking at certain things from his perspective in the book convinced me that I need to change the way I look at certain things. What seems like failure or misfortune, could be God's will to prepare you for whats ahead. I can relax and chill because when I give some guidance and talk to younger folk than myself, I can include my mistake at the squadron as a tool/example on the importance of attention to detail and knowing the proper protocol before you speak to a group of people.
Im going to save this book to stay in my personal book archive. Only the best and most informative books get this great honor. Let me know if you read it.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Today
I have came to the realization that this is most likely my last tour in the Navy. I have to enjoy every day no matter what it brings. I have enough experience to realize that even though I am anticipating retirement and letting this military phase of my life come to a close, I know I will miss it. Like so many older former military guys I see walking around with their old ball caps on with pins indicating previous commands, places visited, or medals earned. You can see in their faces when you look at them and they are watching you in uniform. I dont know if I will be like that. Im proud of the things Ive done, the places Ive been, and overall sacrifice of my career in service. But I think that Its on me to make my next phase, my best phase so that my best years are ahead and not behind me.
Today I met our Command Master Cheif and our Commanding Officer- For those who are not in the military (the command master cheif or CMC is the top enlisted guy at a command. He is the voice for all the enlisted folks. The Commanding Officer or CO is the officer in charge of everything who we all report to. ) He was a wiry older guy with intense eyes. All COs in air squadrons are former pilots and some still fly. So he had his flight suit on, all most of them wear daily. He said that he was glad to have me onboard and that he was shorthanded- as I knew before. I assured him that I would do my best to make sure everything is taken care of. And thats exactly what I plan to do. I went on to meet many more people in the squadron who all seem like one big family. I doubt everyone gets along perfectly but when you are at a small command everyone knows everyone, and that creates a somewhat "family" type atmosphere.
Im glad to be here for my last command. Its going to be somewhat of a challenge to keep a eye on so many different things going on. But we all need to be pushed out of our comfort zone in order to grow and stretch ourselves. And this is definitely another one of these times.
I moved from my temporary quarters to my permanent quarters today. I learned that most rooms are two-man rooms. But the brother who assigned me my room hooked me up with my own room. Its not the most luxurious of accomodations. But ill make it do what it do. The most disapointing thing is I learned that everytime we get underway for a cruise, they move us out of the barracks and put all our things in storage. Then when we get back, they move us back into the barracks in different rooms. This is true malarky(remember "G"rated blog) Im going to have to use my connections to snag another single room. I have two much stuff to be sharing a room. I dont think a grown man should have to share a room with another grown man on a permanent basis. I havent had a roommate since 1996 while in the barracks in Japan, and this dude was a country music loving black dude. Who talked with a country accent and wore those boots. Now you can imagine how many times I wanted to strangle this cat. Especially when his friends came over. They all hated me. But from that time I swore i would never have another roomate if I could avoid it. Im sticking to this mantra. Ive earned the right to my own room. No country music allowed.
Today I met our Command Master Cheif and our Commanding Officer- For those who are not in the military (the command master cheif or CMC is the top enlisted guy at a command. He is the voice for all the enlisted folks. The Commanding Officer or CO is the officer in charge of everything who we all report to. ) He was a wiry older guy with intense eyes. All COs in air squadrons are former pilots and some still fly. So he had his flight suit on, all most of them wear daily. He said that he was glad to have me onboard and that he was shorthanded- as I knew before. I assured him that I would do my best to make sure everything is taken care of. And thats exactly what I plan to do. I went on to meet many more people in the squadron who all seem like one big family. I doubt everyone gets along perfectly but when you are at a small command everyone knows everyone, and that creates a somewhat "family" type atmosphere.
Im glad to be here for my last command. Its going to be somewhat of a challenge to keep a eye on so many different things going on. But we all need to be pushed out of our comfort zone in order to grow and stretch ourselves. And this is definitely another one of these times.
I moved from my temporary quarters to my permanent quarters today. I learned that most rooms are two-man rooms. But the brother who assigned me my room hooked me up with my own room. Its not the most luxurious of accomodations. But ill make it do what it do. The most disapointing thing is I learned that everytime we get underway for a cruise, they move us out of the barracks and put all our things in storage. Then when we get back, they move us back into the barracks in different rooms. This is true malarky(remember "G"rated blog) Im going to have to use my connections to snag another single room. I have two much stuff to be sharing a room. I dont think a grown man should have to share a room with another grown man on a permanent basis. I havent had a roommate since 1996 while in the barracks in Japan, and this dude was a country music loving black dude. Who talked with a country accent and wore those boots. Now you can imagine how many times I wanted to strangle this cat. Especially when his friends came over. They all hated me. But from that time I swore i would never have another roomate if I could avoid it. Im sticking to this mantra. Ive earned the right to my own room. No country music allowed.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
First Day at VAW-113
Today was my first day at my new command. I didnt have to be there until this Friday, but i didnt have anything to do plus I didnt feel like paying for additional hotel rooms, So I decided to check in in order not to prolong the anticipation on how it was going to be. And to save some loot.
One of the guys who works in my new office was in school with me. I learned he will be working for me along with 4 other guys in the office. My job will be different this time. Instead of running one section, like im used to. Im in charge of the whole office and all the functions. There is not as many people to be responsible for (only 139) So it will be a little different than Im used too. Alot of functions that I will be responsible for, I have little or no experience in the area. So Ill probaly be spending my first three months reviewing instructions just to get my knowledge base down pat.
My supervisor is a E7 who I remember working in security when we were both in Okinawa. She will be leaving in May so after then Im pretty much on my own. So Ill be hitting her up with all kinds of questions till she leaves. By then I should have a idea of whats going on.
There are not too many black people at the command. The three that I met were all senior to me but seemed real happy to see another black person checking in. One I didnt even know was black until he approached me and gave me a few words of wisdom of how to navigate through the command. I know I have to do my best to represent, because I refuse to be the weak link in the black chain.
I dont think it will be as fast paced as my CSD Monterey, but i think that this is going to be pretty challenging and different, because Im not used to seeing the people who run the show walking around. Everyone is in one building so you cant get away with anything, and they see everything. So you have to be on top of your game at all times. This is not something im used to. I like to skate around and not do anything sometimes. I dont think ill be able to get away with it much here. But its all good. Ill use this experience to sharpen me up for my next job in the civilian world, If there is a job when I retire..well see.
Is it just me or does it seem that some people in the News are doing whatever they can to talk down Obamas plan so it will fail?
One of the guys who works in my new office was in school with me. I learned he will be working for me along with 4 other guys in the office. My job will be different this time. Instead of running one section, like im used to. Im in charge of the whole office and all the functions. There is not as many people to be responsible for (only 139) So it will be a little different than Im used too. Alot of functions that I will be responsible for, I have little or no experience in the area. So Ill probaly be spending my first three months reviewing instructions just to get my knowledge base down pat.
My supervisor is a E7 who I remember working in security when we were both in Okinawa. She will be leaving in May so after then Im pretty much on my own. So Ill be hitting her up with all kinds of questions till she leaves. By then I should have a idea of whats going on.
There are not too many black people at the command. The three that I met were all senior to me but seemed real happy to see another black person checking in. One I didnt even know was black until he approached me and gave me a few words of wisdom of how to navigate through the command. I know I have to do my best to represent, because I refuse to be the weak link in the black chain.
I dont think it will be as fast paced as my CSD Monterey, but i think that this is going to be pretty challenging and different, because Im not used to seeing the people who run the show walking around. Everyone is in one building so you cant get away with anything, and they see everything. So you have to be on top of your game at all times. This is not something im used to. I like to skate around and not do anything sometimes. I dont think ill be able to get away with it much here. But its all good. Ill use this experience to sharpen me up for my next job in the civilian world, If there is a job when I retire..well see.
Is it just me or does it seem that some people in the News are doing whatever they can to talk down Obamas plan so it will fail?
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Finally Finished
We finally finished school on friday. On Tuesday we graduate. So I am in the middle of a 3 day weekend because Monday is a holiday.
Yesterday afternoon I went out to get something to eat. I really wanted some chicken wings but I didnt want any KFC, Churches, or the like. I wanted something different. I ended up at Mission Valley Mall food court which is a few miles away from base. On my way to checking what I wanted I noticed alot of teenagers (or what seemed like teenagers) all in the food court. After just looking around the first thing that went my mind was we are in a new generation. Old school parents would never let there kids out the house looking like these kids looked. It was crazy and I was embarresed for the parents. It just looked like they had no idea what to do with themselves. I had to step back and realize that this is a new day and time, and some of those old school parental restrictions, arent being passed down to this generation. You see it from time to time, but not a whole lot. These kids are doing what they want to do.
Since these are my last couple of days is San Diego Im going to take a few pictures.. Today i am going to go to the bookstore and watch the All-Star game. Ill update soon.
Yesterday afternoon I went out to get something to eat. I really wanted some chicken wings but I didnt want any KFC, Churches, or the like. I wanted something different. I ended up at Mission Valley Mall food court which is a few miles away from base. On my way to checking what I wanted I noticed alot of teenagers (or what seemed like teenagers) all in the food court. After just looking around the first thing that went my mind was we are in a new generation. Old school parents would never let there kids out the house looking like these kids looked. It was crazy and I was embarresed for the parents. It just looked like they had no idea what to do with themselves. I had to step back and realize that this is a new day and time, and some of those old school parental restrictions, arent being passed down to this generation. You see it from time to time, but not a whole lot. These kids are doing what they want to do.
Since these are my last couple of days is San Diego Im going to take a few pictures.. Today i am going to go to the bookstore and watch the All-Star game. Ill update soon.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Suprise Opinions
In class our instructor passed out a copy of a article where a Cheif (E-7) had been convicted of forcing himself on a young female sailor while at a local hotel. He ended up losing his rank, half of his months pay for 2 months, and after which he was going to get kicked out of the military. The article went on to say that the sailor was "traumatized" by the event and would need additional counseling to restore her faith in the male upper chain of command or something of that nature.Now here is what I found interesting. After listening to the class give their opinion on the article 99% of the class (100% of the female class members) beleived the notion that the female sailor was just as guilty as the Cheif. They beleived that there was more to the story and that possibly the female sailor was not as innocent and traumatized as the article made her out to be.
Now....Normally a reasonable person would give the benefit of the doubt to the young sailor which obvious is what happened during the case, because the Cheif should have known better. I didnt voice my opinion but I did say that I doubt the whole story is coming out, because from being at my different commands and observing how a lot of the young female sailors carry themselves in the workplace and outside the workplace, I can Definitely see how they were very skeptical about her being "traumatized". Since this is a " G" rated blog im not going to go into what they thought happened in the case. Now none of them knew the individuals involved in this particular incident- but they reinacted what they thought happened. All of which had interesting points of view. I was most suprised at the opinions of the female class members. Like i said - im not going to go into what they said but it was crazy. Not at all what i expected their reaction to be.
Now....Normally a reasonable person would give the benefit of the doubt to the young sailor which obvious is what happened during the case, because the Cheif should have known better. I didnt voice my opinion but I did say that I doubt the whole story is coming out, because from being at my different commands and observing how a lot of the young female sailors carry themselves in the workplace and outside the workplace, I can Definitely see how they were very skeptical about her being "traumatized". Since this is a " G" rated blog im not going to go into what they thought happened in the case. Now none of them knew the individuals involved in this particular incident- but they reinacted what they thought happened. All of which had interesting points of view. I was most suprised at the opinions of the female class members. Like i said - im not going to go into what they said but it was crazy. Not at all what i expected their reaction to be.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Irritated at Dinner
Not much going on today..It will be a short post but yesterday I was a little annoyed with a guy who sat at my table while I was eating dinner yesterday. Him and the girl he was with ( both probaly in their early 20's (black) was talking and i was just watching President Obama on TV in the cafeteria. Now the tv isnt so loud in the cafeteria plus people are talking, so im struggling to listen. Then dude and the girl get on the subject of movies. And he tells her that he is a Batman fan, and that everyone is a Batman fan or should be. Of course the girl disagrees, so to prove his point, he starts asking random people walking through the line, have they seen all the batman movies, and do they like batman. Now im not looking at him, my eyes are glued to the TV. As so to indicate my serious interest in the stimulis package President Obama is trying to school these republicans on, and not some dorky debate on batman. So this cat gets my attention and starts asking me all these questions on my knowlege on batman. So my N---er alarm goes off in my brain and im thinking "If you dont shut the (jinglebells) up while the Presidents on..Cant you see im looking at TV" I know my eyes say this when i look at him. But i politely said, I only saw one batman movie, and no others..and no im not a fan of batman," At the same time on top of the fact he saw i was looking at the TV, Did he not observe that Im a grown, 37 year old man?? Why in the (jinglebells) would I entertain or have a interest in a batman conversation.??
Needless to say he got the picture and eventually both of them left....
As soon as they left the President had already went off. I was hot as a 45.
You should be able to beat people about the head and shoulders when they dont think........Thats my take.
Needless to say he got the picture and eventually both of them left....
As soon as they left the President had already went off. I was hot as a 45.
You should be able to beat people about the head and shoulders when they dont think........Thats my take.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Today
In the last few days I was struggling to think about something to blog about. This is because there was nothing that happened that I thought was worth telling. But Ill just touch on a few observations for the last couple of days and see what was interesting.
Saturday- I was cleaning the car and a guy came over and checked it out and told me it was "a nice machine" I thanked him and noticed he had a pretty nice truck. I noticed it had a trailer hitch on the back, while he was explaining to me that he had a 18ft boat that he uses to sportfish and relax on with his sons. He was retired navy and he had sons who where currently in the navy. Black man of course. Now this observation was regular run in the mill except one fact: I could not get over the fact that he had a raggedy mouth. Like Kenny Ray, Johnnie Smith, Jasper Williams type raggedy. As a matter of fact if I would have saw him in passing - he strikes you as one of those cats that ride around the neighborhood on a old bike waving and grinning wide at everyone he sees. Dont front, you all know what im talking about. I guess teeth arent that high on the priority list....
Super Bowl - GREAT GAME! I was pulling for the Cardinals till i realized that it would mean more for Mike Tomlin (Pittsburghs Coach) to win. By him leading that team to the Superbowl and winning and him being so young will open the door for so many black coaches. This is only his second year on the job and he is one of the youngest head coaches in the league. That has got to open some eyes - Even though they didnt spend much time giving him credit. Most of the credit I noticed went to Ben Rothlesburger- The QB from Pittsburgh. But they know.
Larry Fitzgerald from the Cardinals is WAY better than I thought. Phenomonal player.
Today I went to lunch with some of my classmates at the galley. It was a normal lunch until I realized that it was a mini-united nations. It was me, a guy from Nigeria, a guy from Jamaica, and a guy from Belize. We talked about why the US was in trouble and why/how Bush jacked up America. I have strong opinions on this matter -but I was more interested in their points of view, so I mostly listened and basically they thought like I did. You know sometimes I used to look at TV and I used to wonder - Am I the only one who is noticing this craziness. Is everyone else fooled. Well I learned from all the people Ive talked too from everywhere that people know when you are not coming correct and when you are not being honest. However there are some die hard Bush supporters and I knew it because we were getting some hard looks from people sitting at surrounding tables..(because we were talking loud like black folk do) But nobody said one word to us.
Today I got a 100 on one of my job sheets. Now my average is around 94.3. Although its not the best, My goal is to leave with what I came to get. and thats what I intend to do......
Saturday- I was cleaning the car and a guy came over and checked it out and told me it was "a nice machine" I thanked him and noticed he had a pretty nice truck. I noticed it had a trailer hitch on the back, while he was explaining to me that he had a 18ft boat that he uses to sportfish and relax on with his sons. He was retired navy and he had sons who where currently in the navy. Black man of course. Now this observation was regular run in the mill except one fact: I could not get over the fact that he had a raggedy mouth. Like Kenny Ray, Johnnie Smith, Jasper Williams type raggedy. As a matter of fact if I would have saw him in passing - he strikes you as one of those cats that ride around the neighborhood on a old bike waving and grinning wide at everyone he sees. Dont front, you all know what im talking about. I guess teeth arent that high on the priority list....
Super Bowl - GREAT GAME! I was pulling for the Cardinals till i realized that it would mean more for Mike Tomlin (Pittsburghs Coach) to win. By him leading that team to the Superbowl and winning and him being so young will open the door for so many black coaches. This is only his second year on the job and he is one of the youngest head coaches in the league. That has got to open some eyes - Even though they didnt spend much time giving him credit. Most of the credit I noticed went to Ben Rothlesburger- The QB from Pittsburgh. But they know.
Larry Fitzgerald from the Cardinals is WAY better than I thought. Phenomonal player.
Today I went to lunch with some of my classmates at the galley. It was a normal lunch until I realized that it was a mini-united nations. It was me, a guy from Nigeria, a guy from Jamaica, and a guy from Belize. We talked about why the US was in trouble and why/how Bush jacked up America. I have strong opinions on this matter -but I was more interested in their points of view, so I mostly listened and basically they thought like I did. You know sometimes I used to look at TV and I used to wonder - Am I the only one who is noticing this craziness. Is everyone else fooled. Well I learned from all the people Ive talked too from everywhere that people know when you are not coming correct and when you are not being honest. However there are some die hard Bush supporters and I knew it because we were getting some hard looks from people sitting at surrounding tables..(because we were talking loud like black folk do) But nobody said one word to us.
Today I got a 100 on one of my job sheets. Now my average is around 94.3. Although its not the best, My goal is to leave with what I came to get. and thats what I intend to do......
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