SIERRA-182

Recruits from all over the United States volunteering to join the Nation’s premiere maritime service stepped off the bus 01Dec09 in front of Sexton Hall, at United States Coast Guard Training Center Cape May.  No one really understood what we were getting ourselves into.  After a long night of being issued gear, we were all nervous yet excited for what the next few weeks will bring.  Before meeting the people entrusted to guide and train us to become guardians, we were briefed by Captain Thomas.  She gave us some insight on how to succeed in the next weeks of training.  She had us think of who we were doing this for.  This is the person who immediately comes to mind, who we will make proud.  This is you, our families and loved ones.  You are the ones who will keep us going when the times get really hard and we feel like we can’t go on anymore.  We then met our company commanders, all Chief Petty Officers.  These four men will be our guides and trainers to help us successfully complete the next 06 weeks. 

Day 01    Today we started our day off with great inspiration.  On this day we celebrate the anniversary of Pearl Harbor.  We first take time to honor all of those involved on that day in 1941.  Chief Garry asked us if we knew what branch of service was first to fire back on the Japanese. Many of us thought the Navy was first but we soon learned it was the United States Coast Guard who is always ready. We all sat up at a little straighter and had a heightened sense of pride. With this pride we found out it takes a lot of hard work and dedication, as we soon found ourselves hitting the deck in front of James Hall for some Incentive Training.

Day 02   “Fire, fire, fire,” was our wakeup call this morning.  We had to run downstairs and line up in front of James Hall in the chilly Cape May air.  Unfortunately Sierra did not meet our time objective to get outside and we experienced our first early morning incentive training session.  Today was a long day in classes and to some it felt like being back in high school.  Between saluting classes, rules and regulations, and marching the day was long for Sierra.  Though we all worked as a team that night during squad bay clean-ups and shower time and we were rewarded with personal time.

Day03    Sierra Company woke up to Coast Guard weather today, a dark and stormy morning.  We went to the gym for early morning workouts and everyone did well.  We got our pieces today which were M1 Garands that were actually used in WWII.  Everyone was excited to hold a piece of history until we found that we can inventively train with these pieces.  By the end of the night everyone was looking forward to Yum-Yums.  Chief Garry gives us granola bars every night to help us fight the swine-flu and he calls them our yum-yums.

Day 04   Being tired has fell upon Sierra Company as we have been short on meeting our time objectives.  To be successful we need to start working together as a team, which is essential to be successful in the Coast Guard. 

Day 05   Today we became very familiar with our gear as we changed in and out of it many times.  We then learned the proper way to shine our boondockers as Chief Eppright gave us his knowledge.  Tonight our nights become longer as we begin watch standing at James Hall.

Day 06   Today we met a very important person in the Sierra family.  This person is Lieutenant Foley, who is our company mentor.  He comes from the Deployable Operations Group and is here to answer questions we may have about the Coast Guard that we may not be comfortable asking our Company Commanders about.  Before Lt. Foley left us he gave us 04 tasks to always uphold.  They are to always take care of your shipmates, always look over your family, put forth your best effort, and always have fun.  We will see what the next weeks bring about for Sierra Company.