"Half left, Face. Push up Position, Take." "Aye, Aye Petty Officer Quiggle." Immediately 49 recruits drop to the deck, assuming the push up position. "Push ups, begin." "Aye, Aye Petty Officer Quiggle." And the pain begins. Of course, it wasn't as painful as it was 08 weeks ago and the fact that we were pushing the deck during our graduation rehearsal made it bittersweet. Our graduation day is upon us with a new lifestyle ahead of us. The flood of knowledge that we've received since being here is almost too large to even begin reflecting upon. I know most of us will have a hard time just trying to explain to our loved ones what it was like; giving details will be almost impossible. Basic training here is something that will force all of us to sit and think about who we are and what type of role we will take on as we are released upon the world.

We have become a family in so many ways. Everyone grooms each other like a family of chimpanzees, picking off lint and fixing loose strands of hair. We close each other's rucksacks and tuck in each other's shoelaces. We also get on each other's last nerves at almost every opportunity, but that's what family does. We look out for each other and as the weeks have progressed we've had the chance to fully understand that our new family extends beyond our squad bay. The fact that the Coast Guard is such a small service makes the camaraderie that much more crucial and much easier to come by. We've all realized how blessed we are to be at the end of one journey and at the beginning of another....hopefully this next journey won't lead to fire drills every morning.

Fair winds and following seas.