Coast Guard Recruit Company Bravo 186 weekly journal posted Jan 16, 2012

Subject: B186 WEEK 06 BLOG

       Sunday is every recruit's favorite day. Some find solace in the Chapel while others are recharged by Divine Hours, during which we have time to write letters and get our things together. Hopefully, the fair weather continues, and we can take part in future off-base runs. Double-timing, and singing cadences out in the community has been a highlight during our time here in recruit training.

      Our experience in the galley has changed profoundly. We were once the targets of opportunity as we ate our way through the gauntlet each day, but now that we are a senior company the focus has shifted towards the younger recruits. It's impossible for us not to feel a little pride in our company commanders when they call out faulty recruits, and put them in the same stressful positions we once were in.

      The time finally came for us to put our Manual Of Arms skills to the test. We brought enough "snap" and "pop" to get a perfect score. Our firefighting classes ended in a simulation, which gave us a watered down idea of how it would feel to respond to a real fire emergency.

      Petty Officer Schol brought us together as a team one with a giant line (rope). We toted it around the parade field and it ended up being a fun event. Team building exercises are becoming common place, we are faced with "abandon ship" drills, with increased frequency and the reality of the training was solidified for us when we toured the cutters and small boats in Cape May on Saturday. Despite the cold winds that blasted us on the piers, we boarded a 210 ft cutter, and an 87 foot cutter. Suddenly many of the tedious intricacies of boot camp made sense to us. We transitioned from the operational tours into on-base liberty, which was a welcome release. We jockeyed for phone position, visited the exchange and played pool at the Harborview Club. We are all boiling with anticipation for our off-base liberty.