Coast Guard Recruit Company Alfa 183 weekly journal posted March 9, 2010

The arrival to Cape May was an exciting one.  Seaman recruits flew into Philadelphia airport from all over the United States.  We dealt with canceled and/or delayed flights, meal vouchers, and extremely long layovers before arriving to the USO office and catching the nearly two-hour long bus ride to the training center where the forming week company commanders were anxiously awaiting our arrival at Sexton Hall.  Seventy-seven wide-eyed recruits poured out into the cold and instantly began the processing period.  It would be 0200 before we went to bed that night.

For the first three days, we had a crash course on the basics.   We learned how to stand, how to eat, how to talk, how to sit, how to address the company commanders, and so on.  We spent a great deal of time sorting through paperwork.  We hustled through the streamlined medical process of vaccinations, physicals, dental exams, haircuts, fittings for uniforms, and receiving supplies.

The following Friday after our arrival, we were handed over to our permanent company commanders.  Our nerves were at an all time high as their introduction was quite ceremonious with all of the chain of command in attendance.  Lead Company Commander, BMC Hampton, and Assistant Company Commanders BM1 Kruger and BM2 Thor marched us out of Sexton Hall and over to Healy Hall (our home for the next seven weeks).

We’re just now entering into our third week of training and every day is filled with something new.  To this point we’ve learned saluting, marching (including passing our first evaluation), we were issued our demilitarized rifles and have been learning the manual of arms, addressing military personnel, and the Coast Guard rates and ranks.  In addition to all of this, we’ve been making beds with hospital corners, ironing uniforms, organizing our racks (beds), managing 15-minute showers with over 20 people in a squad bay, being timely, memorizing the plans of the week, and cleaning the squad bays.

We’ve also been enjoying the physical fitness aspect, which only the military can deliver.  We have regular “incentive training” which consists of push-ups, crunches, squats, and flutter kicks.  We also have Cybex training (weightlifting), cycling, one mile runs on the track, and core strengthening.  Most recently, we also completed our swim exam with an overwhelming majority passing on the first attempt.

Several members of this company have been honored by Chief Hampton with positions of leadership.  That list includes: Company Yeoman Cea and Clark; Religious Petty Officers Byrd, Stevens, Thurman, and Vodde; Mail Orderly Ratzlaff; Supply Petty Officers Askins and Beene; Laundry Detail is Filkins, Rivoire, Newsom, Trembley, Ludwick, and Owen; Safety Petty Officer Schwab; Watch Coordinators Schwab and Edwards; Company Unit Leaders Beck and Gregorski; Guidon Flag Bearer is Cable; Company Historian and Photographer is Larson; and Squad Leaders are Pryor and Papp.  Band members from our company include: Tackett (Ceremonial Squad Leader), Newsom, Wiley and Holden. 

We’re slowly working out the jitters.  The first week and half consisted of all of the questions of whether we could really do this or not.  We all missed family, friends, and the comforts of home.   Some of us have had the additional burden of battling sickness, injury, and the “Cape May Crud.”  But, now we’re gaining some confidence, coming together as a team, and getting used to things like 0530 “fire alarms.”  We’re looking forward to the future and take comfort in watching the graduating classes ahead of us.  We know we can do it, we just keep push, push, pushing on!

Alfa - 183      

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