26JUL09

There’s a saying here at Cape May about training and it’s that the days are long, but the weeks fly by.  Today ALFA concluded week 02 of training.  Most people would never believe how much you can learn and accomplish in such a short time.  Two weeks ago we were running around in civilian clothes.  Today ALFA stepped out for the first time in inspection-ready uniform, complete with shiny boots and trouser creases.  Our normally distracted company actually looked a little puffed with pride as we strutted out in formation.  We spent the bulk of our divine hours polishing, clipping threads, ironing and taping off lint.  No, we didn’t get it perfectly right-but we marched a little quicker and stood a little taller.  It was amazing to see bona-fide military bearing from our group in that manner.  As it becomes more routine for us to maintain our uniform s to these specs that confidence will spill over into our other work.  Tonight we also begin our watch duties- the quintessential of any Guardian.

27JUL09

Week 03 seemed to start out on the right foot for ALFA Company.  We looked better, marched better, and seemed to be getting along exceptionally well.  Petty Officer LaKose surprised us at the gym with another lifecycle interval workout instead of core training.  Everyone worked very hard and left the gym feeling better for the hard output.  There’s been a definite growth spurt within ALFA-182 over the past few days.  There’s less talking, more helping, and more attention to our duties.  If only we could just move a little faster.  Our CC’s raised the bar for our performance today as well- we will be performing our close order drill in a parade on Sunday with our pieces.  We are all nervous, but no doubt we will be working hard on our MOA for the rest of the week.  It feels good to be getting into the groove and turning our focus towards our Guardian training.

28JUL09

ALFA dove right into training today, with several classes and our survival float at the pool.  The float seemed to be exciting for many of us, since we were able to zip up into the “Mustang” survival suits.  Picture what you’ve seen the Guardians wear on the “deadliest catch” and you’ve got the idea.  We stepped off into the deep end and practiced survival floating and huddling techniques.  It was awesome to think that only a few short weeks from now, some of us would be wearing them as a standard issue.  Our classes ranged from our Military ID cards, to safety protocols, to the Coast Guard History.  Our schedule is getting busier, with several core Maritime classes this week.  Our CC’s have been kind enough to allow us longer trips to the head and time in the evenings to devote to our uniforms and squad bay cleanliness.  As a result, ALFA’s morale is swinging up and away from the terrified “New kids on the block” mentality.  At every muster there are shipmates correcting shoes under the racks, rolling uniform sleeves, and asking for required knowledge. 

29JUL09

By now we have determined that each person in ALFA has a role to play, even if they don’t know what that role is just yet.  Today we had our class on the Coast Guard roles and Missions.  It was enlightening to break down what we really do in an average day from search and rescue operations to marine mammal protection and beyond.  Discussing all the ways we operate has gotten many of us excited about what we’’ soon be doing out in the fleet.  But since we’re still starting small, our CC led a great discussion tying our Manual of arms training to our overall teamwork and the teams we will be joining after basic training.  It came as a surprise to most of us that our “pieces” we carry are not WWII reproductions, but was actually manufactured during the war and could have been seen action.  The thought was sobering and immediately instilled a deep sense of pride and respect within us.  The Coast Guard is so small that our survival and mission completion depends entirely on infallible teamwork.  Pushups and incentive training get easier after a while; you can practice to run faster.  Forming a well training, responsive, and totally trustworthy team from a muddle of different people is by far the hardest part of basic training.  ALFA-182 is doing our best to motivate ourselves to live up to the standard. 

30JUL09

As you probably already know, seafarers speak their own language altogether. There are thousands of terms and new vocabulary to master before being able to converse fluently on a ship. Today ALFA-182 began seamanship classes, starting with the basic nomenclature of a vessel by its areas and major features. Many we already know, since we’ve been using terms like “deck“ or “bow” to describe our surroundings’ We learned the types of securing devices found on the decks of a ship for moorage. We also practiced for Sunday’s parade with the rest of the battalion. Unfortunately, we had a difficult day discipline-wise. ALFA is still struggling with consistency in sounding off and self-discipline, but the more times we all get Incentive Training for one or a few people’s actions, the fewer incidents will occur. Of course for the sake of our shipmates, we hope it gets better before it that happens! As we’ve said before, tomorrow is a new training day and a fresh attempt at getting it right.

31JUL09

Another busy day of training for ALFA! We literally hit the ground running this morning as a group around the track. Friday’s are busy around Cape May since we have Graduation Day every week- and this time ALFA got to march the field with the senior companies. It was an emotional event for many of us- we were excited for our graduating shipmates, but we are of course counting the days down until we are the guests    of honor.  Aside from an early turn, ALFA seemed to make a good showing out on the field. We worked very hard to keep the same military bearing our more experienced shipmates exhibited. Afterwards, our spirit of teamwork seemed to linger through the day despite the minor squabbles we are facing. Everyone is making an effort to get it all done, we are just honing our communication skills amongst ourselves. Additionally, we had a great time at Seamanship putting knot definitions to memorable tunes. So far everyone seems to enjoy those classes, especially since it will be real live practical knowledge out in the fleet. Participating in the graduation and our interactive classes seems to have motivated and inspired us.

01AUG09

Alfa spent the entire day at Seamanship today, learning to tie the 05 basic knots and helm commands. We were able to get behind the helm simulators and practice calling and executing the movements. The simulator was actually pretty realistic, with environmental factors such as choppy waves affecting your rudder alignment. This time it was only a practice run, but Thursday we will be tested for graduation qualification. Our pace at Seamanship is generally a little more relaxed, and in addition to being fun subject matter, we are afforded a lot of study time between course sections. BM2 Humphrey, our instructor, finds some engaging and helpful ways to get us to retain the information. ALFA also made a strong effort to pull our discipline together today. Our CC BM2 Crews gave us a truthful and constructive briefing of our status, with self-discipline and motivation being the main issues we all agreed on. Afterwards, we headed out the door to practice our MOA for the parade tomorrow. As if it was a divine test, a black cloud of mosquitoes lit on us and tested every bit of restraint we could muster at attention. Apparently we missed a few questions, because our next step was some inter-company IT to welcome Charlie Company to boot camp. On the parade field! ZULU, ALFA, BRAVO, and CHARLIE companies all sweated it out together. Seeing our junior companies up close seemed to sharpen our attention to how we appear as a company. ALFA may have some good wheels turning!   

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