Week 07

For Charlie-182, Recruit training is finally coming to an end. As of Sunday the 13th, we have four more days and a wakeup call until we graduate after eight long and hard working weeks at Cape May in preparation for becoming Coastguardsman. The anticipation in the squad bays is beginning to thicken as we become closer to getting reunited with our family and friends at home, and our first days at our first unit. Unfortunately Charlie is starting to focus more on the anticipation and less on being locked on recruits who are motivated and perfect examples for the junior companies. Nevertheless, week 07 was filled with good times and more practical training.

Monday was filled with an earlier wakeup call than what Charlie is used to (Yes, 5 extra minutes of sleep is a BIG deal to us), as well as First Aid and Response training with Petty Officer Strauch. He taught everyone how to properly react to medical emergencies and how to properly treat wounds. Afterwards we learned evacuation techniques and how to put a victim on a body board and properly transport them. Then Charlie learned how to properly administer Rescue breathing and CPR using state of the art CPR dummies. The day was concluded with personal time to make arrangements with everyone's first unit as well as cleaning and uniform maintenance.

The next two days were focused around Line Handling and personal inspections and the final Close Order Drill test. Tuesday began with an introduction to Line Handling, which is an integral part of the operation of vessels in the Coast Guard. Charlie learned how to throw a heaving line and properly attach lines and tie up to the dock. Afterwards everyone got dressed in their Tropical Blue dress uniform and was inspected by the Battalion Officer Lieutenant Cromer. He had a few critiques but was generally impressed with the results. Afterwards Charlie-182 headed down to the reviewing stand to perform their close order drill test for the Section Commander Chief Bou. Petty Officer Vedder, Charlie's Lead Company Commander, had hesitant thoughts on how Charlie's performance was going to be and was a little disappointed on what he saw from the group in the previous week. However, Charlie-182 pulled together and did an impressive job. Because of two slip ups, Chief Bou gave the company an 8 out of 10 but said he was very impressed and said we are where we are supposed to be. He also warned that since we are doing a good job we should be striving to raise the bar further and perform like this at all times.

Wednesday was the final practical for the Line Handling unit. On a rainy on foggy morning everyone set up in groups and demonstrated the techniques required for line handling on Cape May's mock ship set up. While they were doing this members of Charlie who were going to Patrol Boats or Small Boat Stations and had not qualified for marksmanship went down to the firing range to attempt at qualifying again. When they returned Seaman Recruit String had earned the Expert Marksmanship award with a score of 145. After the line handling practical was complete, Charlie cleaned up the Seamanship building and setup to compete for the Seamanship award. Competitions ranged from knot tying to line handling and heaving line throwing and finally Helm Commands. Seaman Recruit Mainhart came out on top and was awarded the Seamanship award. Congratulations to Seaman Recruits String and Mainhart!

After Seamanship Petty Officer George (the seamanship instructor) let us watch a video of life at sea on a 270 foot long cutter and answered questions on life in the Coast Guard. Later that evening all the males received another haircut, and the Drill and Ceremonial teams continued to work on their performances for graduation.

Thursday was another day to catch up on arranging Flights home and creating ID cards for everyone who didn't get one. Recruits flying to Alaska or Hawaii or Puerto Rico worked on getting arrangements for their vehicles to be shipped while everyone else made arrangements for household goods to be moved. Following this Charlie learned about the benefits and opportunities of the Work Life program, which is designed to help Coast Guard families and married couples in times of emergencies and crisis/domestic violence. Finally, Charlie went through training about preventing STD's and proper birth control method. Afterwards everyone was allowed to study for the Recruit Training Final test which was the next morning. While this was being taken care of, the drill team got to go down and become qualified on handling an M-16 rifle (even though they didn't even fire it), since they had been asked to participate in a 21 gun salute during an upcoming ceremony on September 11th.

Friday, September 11th rolled in and everyone took the Final test. The results were very exceptional and overall Charlie scored rather high. Bravo company began its graduation ceremony and Charlie had personal time again to make sure everything was squared away properly. After the conclusion and departure of Bravo-182, Charlie was officially the senior company on the regiment and had 07 days left. However Petty Officer Vedder believed Charlie was not working up to its potential and was operating unmotivated. So, doing what Petty Officer Vedder and company commanders do best he motivated us. Petty Officer Vedder opened the heavens and brought his almighty wrath upon Charlie, working them into shape and issuing out Incentive training and remedials that Charlie had not experienced in a long time. Charlie had indeed got a little used to being a little slack, and that would not stand with Petty Officer Vedder. That evening, Charlie marched down to the beach with their full sea bags and rucksacks, and Petty Officer Vedder turned the heat up. After an hour or two of crawling around in the sand and surf as well working on physical fitness, Petty Officer Vedder gathered the group together and explained why we have to act more motivated. He explained how the sea shows no mercy, and for awhile he stood there looking out into the sea while Charlie pondered his words and actions. By the end of the night, no matter how worn out or exhausted or dirty and wet and grubby Charlie was, everyone felt a warm flame in their souls as Petty Officer Vedder marched the company back to the showers.

While all of this was going on, the drill and ceremonial teams performed at a local court house for a ceremony honoring Patriot Day. The September 11th attacks occurred eight years ago, and surrounded by city officials and news crews and the public eye, the drill and color team valiantly honored the victims and patriotism of the nation. It was a true honor to be invited to attend the event and represent the United States Coast Guard.

Saturday blew in, and off Charlie went on to Off Base Liberty. Simply put, Charlie spent the day in Rio Grande, NJ eating and talking on phones and going to see movies. A good 12 hours of civilian life was a very special treat for Charlie, but it also reminded everyone that leave and graduation was also on the horizon.

Concluding the week on Sunday, Charlie got dressed in their Trop. Blue uniforms and stood watch during divine hours. Everyone cleaned and worked on ironing uniforms and shining boots. After lunch Charlie went on their final off base run through downtown Cape May. At the end of the day, the results of the Charlie-182 award winners were announced. Congratulations to all of the following award winners:

Honor Recruit:                  SR Hennessy

Academic Award:                 SR Hennessy

Most Improved Physical Fitness: SR Leonard

Physical Fitness Award:         SR Peach

Best Shipmate:                  SR French

Leadership Award:               SR Taitt

Manual of Arms Award:           SR Jolicuer

Expert Pistol Award:            SR String

Seamanship:                     SR Mainhart

This concludes Charlie-182's series of blogs. Charlie is on to Week 08 and the Guardian Challenge, to show the skills they’ve learned in the past few weeks. Charlie over the weeks has really grown into a family, and the time spent over the weeks with each other and the Company Commanders is something that will be in everyone's hearts for a long time. The next chapter in everyone's lives here begins with reporting to the first unit. Be it a cutter or a small boat station, everyone's lives are changing forever. Not just Charlie-182's lives, but the spouses and families of the recruits here. Some families will have to move hundreds of miles and get used to a completely different lifestyle, and this will be very stressful. Families will not be able to see their daughters or sons, and the gaps created by joining the Coast Guard is a trial in itself. That being said, please keep everyone in their thoughts as this next chapter is begun. Fortunately, the Coast Guard is a wonderful provider of benefits and services, and with that in mind Charlie-182 is in good hands. We will soon be on the eve of serving our country and honoring those who have served and fallen before us. We will soon become Guardians of the Sea and no longer be Charlie-182. We thank all of you for your support at home, and we especially thank our Company Commanders for teaching us and motivating us, keeping us safe and on schedule, and most of all, putting up with our jacked up actions and personalities. We look forward to seeing those who are attending at graduation.

And now, a new chapter begins in our lives. As the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard told a graduating company a few weeks ago, "The sea is a vast blank page, and you have been given the pen in your hands. Go and write your history."

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Week 06-

Charlie-182 is finally in the home stretch towards completing recruit training. In a matter of days we will be heading out into the fleet to fulfill our dreams and obligation to our country by serving as young men and woman of the United States Coast Guard. Six weeks have gone by, and now with 02 weeks to go, Charlie is feeling really proud...and a little worn out. Nevertheless, us here at Cape May are ready for the next challenge.

Week 06 was full of learning about fire fighting techniques and preparing for our first units. Last week, everyone in Charlie received their orders. Recruits are headed to a wide variety of locations; serving on large Cutters to tiny small boats or working on land, and from working in warm waters to icy rivers. Recruits are serving a few miles from home, and some thousands of miles away. Unit locations varied from Alaska to Puerto Rico, and Charlie-182 suddenly realized that in a few short weeks everyone would be headed to places they'd never been to, and they especially realized that they had to really bring the game on, since everyone here at Charlie will have to apply everything they learned and experienced at Cape May at their first unit. This is the real deal. Most in Charlie are excited, some nervous and some disappointed about their first unit, but the general feeling was "We're actually going to be in the real United States Coast Guard soon..."

Fire fighting training began on Monday, with a class on basic fire terminology and the science behind fires and how to extinguish them. After everyone had a basic understanding of fire fighting, Charlie headed down to Goff Hall on Tuesday morning to learn about fire extinguishers and how to suit up properly. Everything got to take a fire extinguisher and learn the proper methods for identifying and reporting a fire on a ship, and then how to extinguish it. Yes, we actually put out real fires (though they were small and very well contained), and the experienced gained made Charlie realize how likely a simple accident can occur and how ready we have to be. Asides from fire extinguishers, Charlie learned how to don a SCBA tank and breathing mask, as well as a fire helmet and fire suit/boots. Charlie also learned how to handle a fire hose and spray water into compartments and spaces on a ship. With this basic introduction, it was time to put everything to the test. The company was split up on Wednesday and Thursday and while one half went to go take care of Admin things, the other was at Goff Hall. The fire fighting practical was basically a culmination of the last several days. Recruits had to rush into a dark and foggy room, suit up in a fire suit then rush and put on the SCBA tank and breathing mask and top it all of with a red fire helmet. Then Charlie got to the ground and crawled over into fire simulator. It was dark and simulated smoke shot out everywhere making visibility limited. As soon as everyone found the end of the hose we picked it up and sprayed into the compartment with the simulated fire. After the fire was put out everyone rushed back out and took off all the gear.

This was probably the most intense realistic simulator and real life situation recruits had been through so far at Cape May. It was really something that Charlie-182 might encounter in their future Coast Guard career, so everyone left with an important "wake-up call" about the real life dangers and accidents.

While half of Charlie was learning about fire fighting, the other half was being issued their military identification card. Having an actual card with our picture on it saying that "Yes, I work for the military" was another reminder of how close Charlie is to graduating and working in the Coast Guard. Recruits also got in touch with their first units. Everyone here is making travel arrangements to get home and to get to their first unit. Charlie also learned about the G.I. Bill, and the educational opportunities and benefits available to them as a Coast Guardsman. We here in Charlie are very blessed to have such a wonderful amount of opportunities available to us, from being able to earn bachelor degrees underway to having 36 months of college paid for.

Also throughout the week, Charlie-182 learned how to properly maintain and wear the dress uniforms of the United States Coast Guard. Although the company commanders disagree, everyone looked in the mirror with a sense of pride as they wore their "Dress Bravo" suit jacket and necktie. Probably the general thought among the recruits was "Yeah, I look good", but everyone was wearing a uniform of the United States Coast Guard, which in the mirror was yet another reminder of how close Charlie is to being out in the working Coast Guard.

Probably the biggest achievement was on Tuesday. For weeks Charlie-182 has been working on their Manual of Arms, which by definition "is used to demonstrate teamwork and instill pride in the company." Standing at attention, recruits have to perform drill movements with their piece (A demilitarized rifle) and maintain a uniform execution of movements. Petty Officer Vedder saw a lot of potential in the early weeks of recruit training, and his motivation and teaching brought Charlie to the final demonstration of everything they learned. Charlie formed up in front of Chief Bou and performed their Manual of Arms test. After the test Chief Bou gave some advice and critiquing, and concluded that Charlie should earn a 9 out of 10. This made Charlie very proud of themselves and their shipmates, but it also made Charlie excited since by passing the test they were allowed On-Base liberty the following Saturday.

Now, those at home should know that Charlie-182 aren't just sitting around. Since Week 01, recruits have been working hard on physical fitness. Charlie goes to the gym every week several times to work out with weights and to work on core strength. Every few days Charlie runs a mile or two (or better yet, in the company commander's opinion, 3 miles). As a whole everyone is starting to feel stronger and more flexible. Many of the recruits who were struggling in the early weeks of training with meeting physical fitness standards passed their tests and grew a lot stronger. The whole company is motivated by our company commanders, who are always at our side working out with us or behind our backs trying to get us to push harder and reach the finish line.

The culmination of all the physical fitness would eventually lead to some friendly company competition on Thursday- pugil sticks. Pugil stick fighting is where recruits suit up in protective gear and joust in a "ring" with padded sticks. Charlie was given a chance to let out all of the stress built up in the previous weeks and bash it out against each other. Everyone had a great time and fought hard.  Petty Officer Vedder thought everyone looked like 13 year old girls at a slumber party pillow fight but Charlie still had a great experience with mock combat.

Come Friday, Charlie got the opportunity to represent the general public at Alpha-182's graduation. Recruits were tasked with security and door holding for families of Alpha-182. Everyone looked sharp and performed their tasks well. After that Charlie went for a run and spent the rest of the day cleaning and working on uniforms.

Saturday finally arrived, and that meant two things- operational tours, and on-base liberty. Charlie-182 marched down to the piers and got the opportunity to visit the Coast Guard Cutter Dependable and also Station Cape May. Everyone got to see what their first units would be like, what kind of equipment and people they would be working with, and ask any questions about Coast Guard life. Everyone had a great time, and it was outstanding to see what real life in the Coast Guard is like. After operational tours, Charlie was awarded on-base liberty. For a few hours, recruits called home, went to the exchange and buy junk food and candies and soda or head up to the harbor view club and relax to a jukebox and eat pizza or cheeseburgers. There were arcade games and pool tables and big screen tv's with football games on. Later in the evening, a movie was shown at the auditorium. Overall it was a nice break from the intensity of recruit training.

Sunday ended week 06 with divine hours. Charlie-182 is operating more and more on its own without it's company commanders, so we had to wake up on our own and go to chow on our own. Charlie developed a heightened sense of pride knowing that the company commanders trusted us to perform on its own. After several hours of cleaning and working on uniforms (Charlie is beginning to really get the knack of shining boots and ironing uniforms) the company merged with Bravo to become: Charvo company. Off they went with Charlie and Bravo's company commanders into downtown Cape May for an off base run. Along the streets civilians and locals lined up to watch and cheer everyone one with thank yous and "Keep it up you're almost there!" Such advice was very motivating as Charvo ran on and sang cadences.

Overall, Charlie has been pushing hard. While at Cape May, everyone must stand watch, which in the Coast Guard is a very vital aspect. Here at Cape May we only have to stand one hour watches (A watch is basically where you maintain a military presence to ensure the safety of your ship, property, and shipmates), while in the fleet we stand four hour watches. However, recruits only get 5.5 hours of sleep here if they stand watch, and having to wake up at an odd hour has been messing with sleep schedules. As a result a lot of recruits are very fatigued in the daytime, but their shipmates push to ensure everyone is awake and operating safely and respectively. Recruits are still getting over colds and the Cape May Crud, and a good amount of recruits had their wisdom teeth pulled, so it's been a soft struggle to keep up with the pace of recruit training. Still, Charlie's spirits have grown stronger, and with the realization that we have two weeks left, recruits are working harder and pushing harder towards being locked on. Regardless of sleep and sickness, Charlie must overcome everything. The Coast Guard tackles hurricanes and drug runners, and Charlie-182 must be ready to face those challenges. Charlie has finally realized that, and is doing their best to answer their calling as future men and women of the Coast Guard.

What's next for Charlie-182? More practical training with first aid and CPR, as well as seamanship and line handling. There are more inspections lined up and we must pass our Close Order Drill test, which is the ultimate demonstration of uniformity, comprised of marching and movements. If we pass this, we not only get further respect of our Company Commanders and the regiment, but we will be awarded Off-Base liberty. Despite the epiphany of having two weeks left, Charlie must realize that as they get every reminder of how "We're almost in the Coast Guard", we're also being reminded that we really need to step our game up and push strong to the very end. Hopefully Charlie won't lose steam and slack off, but with two weeks left, anything can happen. And in two weeks, Charlie-182 will become working members of the United States Coast Guard.

Week 05 started off better Monday was the company's first time the color detail raised colors (the national ensign) for the whole regiment to see and did awesome. We got to fight in Pugil Stick bouts, that is where we hit each other with padded sticks, don't worry we had head gear, padded chest vest, and groin protection. NO ONE GOT HURT. It was fun and let us blow off steam.  We also learned how to speak on a radio and learned the phonetic alphabet (Alfa, Bravo, Charlie etc...). On Tuesday we got our dress uniforms so now our sea bag is complete. We also learned the difference between Port and Starboard the hard way at night. The highlight this week would have to be Wednesday, we ate cupcakes provided by forming company for completing a rigorous bike workout and then received our colors. This is the honor for a company to receive. This lets the regiment know that we are a senior week in training. If we have another war games we will finally have colors to hold and defend this time around, watch out Bravo and Delta. We also got our orders to know where we are going for our first unit. Friday a lot of shipmates wanted to cry as we went for more shots, this time we got the Small pox shot and the Yellow Fever Shot and more. It was a painful morning. We marched proudly with our new colors in Zulu-181's graduation. This week we also learned how to look up information about our units and got to call home to tell our families where our next journey will take us in the Coast Guard. We thank all our families for their support. We ended this week with a shipmate coming in the squad bays with flashing lights as if a bomb was strap to them, one squad bay had to pretend they were hit with shrapnel and the other squad bay had to rescue them. This taught us team work and damage control. We also went on a 2 mile off base run which was refreshing and nice for the change of scenery. We started to become as one and have done a 360 as a company. We are all proud of ourselves and hope you all are too. DOWN HILL FROM HERE!

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Week four started as every other week before. The company split which is where half the company when to the range and shot live fire. And the other went to other classes. One of those classes was Colors class where we learned how to raise and lower the national ensign. We had our individual pictures with Coast Guard Uniform and got to see where other companies took their company photos to help us give an idea of where we want our picture done. Wednesday we took our Physical Fitness test. Males had to run the mile and a half in 12:51 do 29 pushups and 38 sit ups.  Females had to run in 15:26 do 15 pushups and 32 sit ups. A lot of people failed and now have to attend Physical Fitness Enhancement every morning Monday through Friday at 0530. Thursday we got to pick where our next journey will take us in the Coast Guard. We got to pick four districts that we would like to go to and then three picks from those districts. We were told by our company commanders to think of what we want to do as far as our career and pick somewhere that our parents and/or ourselves could never afford to send us to see. A lot of people picked places they thought would be cool to see. Friday morning was the turning point to realization of the half way point. We took our Midterm tests, everyone in the company passed. Some of the company got the opportunity to start doing flight physicals for those that are interested in Aviation rates in the Coast Guard. We also participated in Yankee-181 graduation and marched in front of their family. Friday night we also played war games with Alpha and Bravo companies on the regiment. It was a team building exercise to teach us how to work as a team.  It resembles to capture the flag. We built forts around our halls were we reside while we are here in training and took hostages and captured the other companies colors. It was fun and a good lesson. Saturday morning we learned the moves that we will use in Pugil Stick training. Pugil Stick is where we hit each other with padded sticks to help us learn confidence with confrontation. Sunday we worked on our Ranks and Rates and Manual Arms, Sunday night we had our first off base run. We ran two miles around the city of Cape May with Bravo Company and go to sing cadence. It made us feel good running through the neighborhoods and having people come out on the porch cheering us on as we ran.

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Charlie-182 entered its training phase with a week of ups and downs. Week 3 was full of class work and physical conditioning for preparation for the physical assessment test, which everyone needs to pass in week 4. By now, Petty Officer Vedder, Petty Officer Stamos and Petty Officer Moon expected Charlie to start acting as a team and begin to really show heart and military bearing. Unfortunately this would only occur half the time.

Week 3 was a week full of class work. Charlie company learned about things that a new recruit would be exposed to in the military such as ID cards, GI bill, military code of conduct, leave and liberty, ethics and sexual harassment prevention, the missions of the Coast Guard and how to properly advance once we are in the fleet. We also learned about Coast Guard history.

Charlie spent a lot of time getting close order drill down and working on their manual of arms test.  On Tuesday everyone donned a large float suit and had to jump in the pool and float for 5 minutes in a rescue position. Charlie also worked on physical conditioning, and a lot of recruits who initially felt nervous about their physical assessment began to feel a little more stronger and confident. On Thursday everyone participated in a 10 mile life cycle (stationary exercise bike) run. Charlie was joined by their company commanders "riding" alongside them, as well as Captain Thomas (the TRACEN Cape May commanding officer) and Lt. Cromer. It was really motivational to see people out there with the recruits riding hard.

The week culminated with seamanship classes, where Charlie learned about vessels, units and aircraft, as well as deck structures and terms and the different types of line and the knots used in the coast guard. Charlie also got an introduction to operating the helm of a ship.

By the end of week three, Charlie began to feel a little more confident and the majority of the recruits were acting like young men and woman who are transitioning into the United States Coast Guard. Time objectives were being met and uniforms were looking sharper. Charlie-182 still has a little more work to do before its company commanders can trust the company to act with complete military bearing, but with only 33 days left in training, Charlie will have to work a little harder to gain that respect.

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