29DEC09

Air rushing from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure is, in theory, a fascinating principle. When that phenomenon affects Cape May, the results are disastrous.

The wind chill for the last few days has been putting the temperature somewhere between 10 and 15 degrees colder. “This is Coast Guard weather!” we are always reminded. Honestly, nearly everyone in our company loves when it is pouring rain or crazy windy. It’s why we joined the Coast Guard. Everyone else is trying to get stationed in Hawaii.

Still, learning how to shoot in this weather proved more than a little difficult for Tango Company. This week, after the company was split into two sides (Port and Starboard) each group was taken down to the range to learn to shoot the SIG SAUR P229 .40. Nearly everyone in the company had shot a gun before, but the Gunner’s Mates in charge of us had their own set of safety regulations that everyone had to abide by.

All of us valiantly stepped up to the firing line and proceeded to fire 5 magazines at the targets. No need to qualify as marksman here, just to shoot the entire course safely. Good thing, too. On our first try, many recruits would not have hit the broad side of an elephant at 20 yards. Perhaps that is an exaggeration. Broad side at 25 yards. We slowly got better, and about 20-25 recruits even qualified. Many were within 6, 3, or (perhaps most frustrating) 1 point of qualifying.

One of our recruits stepped up to the line and fired 145 out of 150. SR Johnston is our only Expert Marksman. It’s a good thing she’s so nice, or we’d all sleep with one eye open.

During the last few days, both sides of the company have had their first official pictures taken in their dress uniform. Well, part of it. We marched to the Uniform Distribution Center where we took off our Operational Dress Uniform tops and donned the dress shirt, jacket, and covers. Everyone looked really sharp in these uniforms, but continued to wander about halfway in full dress, and halfway in Gortex pants. The effect was disconcerting, bordering on hilarious, but due to some sort of application of self-discipline, Tango was able to keep it together.

The whole week, the threat of R.A.M.P. (Recruit Attitude and Motivation Program) has loomed over Tango Company. 10 people are supposedly on “the list.” It remains to be decided if they will actually go, but not everyone is worried. We would probably do a lot less incentive training if they were in R.A.M.P. As awful as that is to say, everyone honestly feel that way. Some people are just not trying very hard to get squared away, and don’t care how much pain the rest of us are in because of it.

By week 5, maybe the motto of Tango Company will change from “Because this is Tango, and we do whatever we want,” to something more promising.

31DEC09

Tonight is New Year’s Eve. Probably, most of our friends and families are at parties, clubs, parades, fireworks shows, or engaged in other various frivolities, but all of us in Tango-182 are pretty much business as usual. That means we still have zero self-discipline, we bounce when we march, we arrive late for watch, and in general, we anger our Company Commanders, to the breaking point, every. single. day.

Apparently, we are completely incapable of figuring out even the simplest of things. Today, we spent 30 minutes crossing our zeros because one member of our Company forgot this morning, and then another forgot later even after an incentive training session.

On the plus side, all of us have gained at least 05 pounds of muscle. We can hold our hands in the air for a good 20 minutes or hold the sniper position with our pieces for at least 15 minutes. But with all the incentive, you’d think something would sink in. But not in Tango.

There is one thing keeping us going. And it’s super awuful, unsportsmanlike, and anti-teamwork in every way imaginable. Very few will admit it, but many of us will be extremely excited to see a number of our shipmates head off to R.A.M.P. Most of us try as hard as possible to be squared away, and are tired of those same 10 shipmates that won’t or just don’t get it. We just want them gone so that maybe, just maybe, when our Company Commanders look at us, they wouldn’t see a bunch of “derelicts,” they would see dedicated young men and women trying their hardest. Maybe they are right and there is no integrity. Our Company Commanders are here to take care of us but first we have to take care of ourselves. Happy New year, welcome to 2010.