Zulu 182 weekly journal posted March 3, 2010

Zulu-182 Weekly Journal 16FEB10-28FEB10

Week 01 Summary

When the recruits of Zulu-182 left the comfort of our homes and the support systems of our friends and family, we had only a vague idea of what it means to be a member of the United States Coast Guard.  It takes honor, respect, and devotion to duty.  The company saw that the Coast Guard core values would be pivotal in our success as a team.  Our first lesson came the moment we pulled into Training Center Cape May.  Following orders, responding, showing respect, and doing everything quickly and correctly will make it an “easier” time for us.  Little did we know, the first few days of processing would be the easy part compared to what we would experience when we met our lead company commander and company commanders.  The training we were waiting for had finally began.  The goal was to make a rag-tag group of strangers into a cohesive team of shipmates.

Week 02 Summary

This week was a truly stormy one, both literally and figuratively.  Zulu-182 marched through rain, snow, and 50mph wind gusts.  We also marched through sweat, tears, injury, and illness, only to come out stronger and more eager in our training.  We took the swim assessment as well as some important class assessments and were less than pleased with the results.  It’s obvious we are neither ready physically nor academically for graduation; not yet anyway.  It will take some doing but with some of the company in remedial swim and all of us studying hard, we can and will catch up.  Our company received our pieces this week and began learning piece drills and our piece nomenclature.  We were all excited about this opportunity until we learned that our pieces can also be used for incentive training! “Move Fast!”, “Get Topside!”, “You better not be late!”  One false move and we all wind up pushing the deck.  As our company commanders drill the idea of discipline and moving with urgency and purpose into our heads, a lot of what we hear seems to go in one ear and out the other.  We could blame it on stress or lack of sleep, but in reality, a lot of us are just plain stubborn.  Learning to follow directions and pay close attention to detailed instructions has been a struggle, but we have begun to bond as a company and help each other accomplish tasks.  We are slowly discovering that a willingness to follow is better than a strong will.  To be a leader, one must learn to be a good follower.