From the Company Commanders of Echo 182

From the refining fires of Training Center Cape May your new Guardian has emerged from a grueling training regimen, designed to challenge them far greater than many of them have ever been challenged before- both mentally and physically.  They have indeed accomplished a task that is not within the grasp of everyone.  It is always amazing to behold the transformation of the recruits from the individuals who stepped off of the bus the first night to the Guardians they now are.   They are still the same people today as when they arrived, but different as well.  When you see your loved one the next time, they will still be the same person who left you, now almost two months ago.  They will have many of the same mannerisms and quirks as before; however, you will also find that something almost intangible about them has changed.  As Company Commanders over the past 7 weeks, not only have we made a lasting impression upon your loved ones, but they as well have made a lasting impression upon us.  Your Guardians have not always been enthusiastic about every task which we assigned, but they have indeed adapted and overcame to meet these challenges with success.  Those rough gemstones who arrived off of the bus have been cut, polished, and shined.  They have enhanced the values which they had already possessed prior to their arrival, including Honor, Respect, and a strong Devotion to Duty.    I want to take this opportunity on behalf of myself and my fellow Echo Company Commanders to thank those of you who showed your loved one(s) the much needed support they received.  Our job is only made easier when the stresses which they encounter here, is balanced with the support of their loved ones at home.  I look forward to the opportunity to meet many of you, and wish you all the best.

-MSTC Reno (on behalf of the C.C. Cadre of Echo 182)

21 SEP 09

The second half of Sunday went exceptionally well.  We had our off base run as usual, only this time it was three miles long.  We ran deeper into town and wound up passing by the beach.  The senior company, Delta, had recruits dropping out of the run like flies; however, Echo Company prevailed.  Later on, after chow, Chief Stanton and Petty Officer Morgan had us pack our Seabags and we went for a march.  We marched down to the beach singing cadences.  It was incredible to see the ocean and for a few recruits it was their first time ever seeing it.  We had a drill to stack all of the seabags at one end and line up in a single file line, then pass them to the other end and restack them.  The purpose was to familiarize us with how to load and unload ship stores onto a cutter. 

Later, Chief Stanton had us all walk out to the water and take a tiny sip of the ocean.  She then told us to never forget that taste.  She reminded us that that is the last thing a drowning victim will ever taste.  It was an awesome moment that we all got to be a part of.  Shortly thereafter Chief Stanton read us an excerpt from Character in Action and BM2 Morgan told us a few stories of missions he was involved in during his career.  Overall this will most likely be one of the most memorable nights for us while training at Cape May.  Today, Monday, we spent the whole day learning about first aid and CPR.  The first half of the day was all classroom work, and first aid.  After Chow we went straight into practical training and practiced CPR on mannequins.  It was an informative day but wound up being very long.  You can tell the days are long and nights are never long enough if you walk into our squad bays after taps.  Many shipmates constantly call out phrases in their sleep and not quietly by any means.  One shipmate woke up the entire female squadbay about two hours after taps by yelling “Gangway Smallpox” multiple times in her sleep.  Other shipmates have been known to frequently call out their roster order numbers or shut responses to our company commanders.  These have definitely made for some comical moments and ad to the highlights here.

22 SEP 09

As we progress into week 7 we are finishing up with all of our tests.  Today we had another uniform inspection, only this time it was in our tropical blue uniforms w/ combination cover.  Our Battalion Officer performed the inspection and after all of our work on the uniforms he told us that we were “average at Best”.  After that, we really felt bad.  But after evening chow, we had our close order drill test.  Just minutes before our drill we were still feeling bad from the inspection, but Chief Reno ran us through a quick practice before the test started and it went pretty well.  The entire company was fearful that they wouldn’t pass and Petty Officer Morgan told us to just forget the events of the day and just pay attention to what was going on now.  Apparently we did just that.  Our Section commander who scored the drill routine scored us as a perfect 10 of 10.  It was the first time any of our CC’s had a company ace the test.  It was needed too.  Our company commanders made it clear that if we had not smoked that test that we would have been Incentively trained.  So we wanted to do well. 

25 SEP 09.

This week is moving quickly and our time at TRACEN Cape May is coming near to an end.  The company is doing great and everything we have been taught is pretty much second nature by now.  We have been given a lot of responsibility this week, from reveille and marching to chow alone.  We have been working hard all week to have our squad bay inspection, and it finally happened.  We nailed it!  Our scores were great.  We took our seamanship final and that went well.  Everyone passed and the class average was above a 90%, so we received yet another pennant.  Petty Officer Bechtler gave us his good luck /Farewell speech.  We had spend 60 hours with him as our Seamanship instructor and having him say good luck makes it start to sink in that we don’t have much to left.  Thursday morning we took care of Administrative tasks, preparing to report to our first units.  This morning we had our final, which everyone passed.  We made a trip to the armory and returned our pieces.  And later we had the Confidence (obstacle) course.  There was a series of hurdles to get over, some of the obstacles proved challenging for those afraid of heights.    We had a good time and many shipmates accomplished things they thought they could not.  We also received our Company Commander’s pennant, which is awarded when the company commanders approve of our performance as a company, and everyone is performing well.  Tomorrow is our off base liberty and everyone is excited to go out and see Cape May.

27 SEP 09

Less than one week left, so this will be our final entry in the log.  Yesterday we received our liberty from 0900 to 2045.  We were inspected in our uniforms by Chief Reno and once we were O.K.’d we went to the front gates of the base to the waiting taxi cabs.  Everyone went to Rio Grande for the day and hung out.  The most visited places were Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Sonic, The Rio Station, and the Movies.  We also went the new Hibachi Restaurant in town.  It was great.   It was so different being in public and we all found ourselves walking in step with one another and greeting civilians when appropriate.  The day flew by.  Many shipmates had civilians walk up and thank them for their service.  The time has come to end this blog, and we won’t be heard from again until we graduate.  Thank you for all your support!

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15 SEP 2009

We started Sunday Off pretty weak and our poor attitudes stayed with us on our second off base run.  It was our last 2 mile off base run as they only get longer from here.  After our run, Chief Stanton had the company sit on the quarterdeck and observe some of the lives that have been lost from our fellow military members during our duration at Cape May.  She asked us all to think about the importance of time and how every second matters.  After that we had another company meeting, recruits only, to attempt to motivate us from within.  It seemed to help, because Monday went pretty well for the most part.  We started off the day with class on Fire Fighting, and learned how to properly put on our Fire Protective Gear, and also how to use Fire Extinguishers.  After evening chow we picked up our tropical blue dress pants and Service Dress jackets from the tailor.  We all tried them on to ensure that they fit.  The entire company was really excited to see how professional we began to look.  The whole day we were moving quickly and working together; however, when we were dismissed to shower and change, we left the heads (bathrooms) in a disastrous state.  We left clothes and hangers everywhere.  We have a tendency to take 1 step forward, and 2 steps back at times.  After that stunt Chief Stanton did not even want to see or speak to us.  We decided as a company to not sulk about our error and to learn from our mistakes and move on. 

Tuesday morning went really well.  We had our practical training, which was our hands on work with the fire extinguishers and fire protective gear.  There was a drill where we each put out a small fire with a CO2 extinguisher.  After that, our Section Commander Chief Hampton, administered our Manual of arms test.  Passing our manual of arms test is not only a graduation requirement, but was also a requirement for on-base liberty.  We made a few noticeable errors; however, the company was in sync and moved with snap, and was awarded a score of 8 out of a possible 10.  We all knew we could have done better, but the important thing is that we all worked together and passed as a team.  We then headed to the Gym to have our first water fitness class.  It consisted of pushups, flutter kicks, and laps in the pool.  Later we went to travel class and were given our reporting date to our new units and details on getting there.  Last week Chief Stanton assembled the "Davinci Team", who will be responsible for designing our company shirts and sweatshirts- along with a painted ditty bag for each of the Company Commanders.  The preliminary designs are coming out great and we can't wait to see the finished product.  The next few days will be quite busy.

19 SEP 09

We have accomplished a lot this week, Wednesday we had our final firefighting class.  It focused on Hose Handling Techniques.  Our task was to quickly suit up, stay together, keep close to the ground and follow the hose to the fire.  The room was filled with smoke and it was hard to see or hear anything over our breathing due to the second stage regulators.  The hose had a lot of pressure; however, the force behind it was manageable. 

The ceremonial drill team was formed in week 5, although a week later than normal, they are practicing away and making progress.  Their routine is coming together, and their focus is on mastering the moves they know.  Chief Stanton Taught a class called "Carrying forth the Legacy" which taught us some of the Coast Guard Traditions, and also made us aware of how we can help carry on our legacy.  Our military ID Cards were issued and recruits have been working on travel arrangements.  Many of our shipmates have received our welcome aboard messages from our new units, and are beginning to call our sponsors (mentors at our new units).  It is quite surprising how fast time is going by now and how much preparation is going towards departing from Cape may. 

Thursday night during evening cleanups we were all hard at work when we heard Chief Stanton shout, "Abandon Ship!"  It was a drill to enforce teamwork within the company.  Next we heard the vital information being called out, including the ships position, temperature outside and in the water, and if the natives were hostile or not.  We then hustled out to the Parade field to find our designated life raft.  We all had specified items which we had to bring, some brought flashlights and blankets, others brought water and pieces of paper that said food.  Once we were all present and accounted for, we marched around while keeping our life rafts informed us that there was a ship on the horizon and we had been saved!!!  It was a lot of fun, built up the company's morale and helped us work on our teamwork.  Friday morning was a hectic day.  We had graduation support detail this week, instead of marching like the past few weeks.  Tons of responsibility rested on our shoulders to be where we needed to be, when we needed to be there.  We had to hoist colors, set up for graduation, stand watch, and guide traffic.  For some, this was a nerve-racking experience.  This was because there were so many Senior Coast Guard Members around.  Following graduation, we were able to eat lunch with many Senior Chiefs and Master Chiefs that were in for a conference.  It was quite an experience indeed!  We had the opportunity to talk to them about the Coast Guard, their careers, and they also answered many questions we had. 

For most of the late afternoon though, Chief Reno seemed quite angry.  Much angrier than usual.  He kept building up that due to our poor discipline (which although improved is in fact, still lacking), he was going to incentively train us until we were nothing but a puddle of sweat.  Like no I.T. session we had ever had before.  Even though we all thought we conducted ourselves pretty well the past week and were perhaps a little confused on why we were about to have such an intense training session, we knew in the end we had to accept it.  So we ate evening Chow, went back to the squad bay for a quick head break, and got formed up for a promised long night.  Then Chief Reno began to march us off of the Regiment, and towards the water where the Coast Guard Cutters moor up.  We found our way down a very long pier, which happened to be covered in a lot of bird poop.  Once on the pier, from out of nowhere BMC Stanton and BM2 Morgan appeared.  Apparently Chief Reno's anger was a guise, which had definitely fooled us.  Our Company Commanders, led by Chief Stanton, proceeded to tell us how far we've come, and that we had in fact been giving a lot of effort.  They all told us that they were genuinely proud of us, as a 25 foot Response boat from the Coast Guard Station came motoring by.  Chief Stanton told us to take a good look at the boat.  It didn't take long for us to realize that our colors, the Echo flag, was flying on the boat.  The Response Boat then circled around a few times, and then they heaved our colors over to us on the pier.  We all rushed to our colors, which we have been working for, for so long.  We hoisted them on our Guideon and were ecstatic about it.  This moment made everything we have gone through so far in Basic Training worth it.  We then marched back to the Regiment singing cadence, which is only done by senior companies.  All in all it was a great day.

Saturday, this morning, is scheduled for a field day (Cleaning), and then we get to tour some vessels.  We also will get our on base liberty today.  We are set for another great day!

2Ø SEP Ø9

Yesterday Chief Stanton and Petty Officer Morgan marched us out to the pier to tour some CG units including the CGC DEPENDABLE, Ø3 87’s and the small boat station.  Given the size of our company we split into two groups and the recruits being stationed at small boat stations and Aids to Navigation Teams went with Petty Officer Morgan to the station.  Their tour included the 25’ foot response boat and 47’ motor life boat. Chief Stanton took the other half of the company to the 210’ cutter DEPENDABLE.  Both groups toured the 87’ patrol boats including seeing the galley, berthing area, and engine room.  A lot of things began to click as we took our tours and we able to ask questions.  A lot of things we had always wondered about why we do it and now we know.  We were then sent on our on base liberty.  Everyone jetted over to the exchange for much needed toiletries.  From there we broke off to one of our authorized places.  Those included the Harbor View which had pool tables, a juke box, video games and food like pizza, buffalo chicken and ice cream.  We were able to laugh a little and get to know one another.  We were allowed to make phone calls home or come back to the squad bay and work on our uniforms or study.  There was also a movie played in the Ida Lewis auditorium that a few recruits went to.  Our on base liberty was from 1530 to 2045.  Our liberty is a part of training to see how we will handle ourselves in uniform away from our CC’s.

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13 SEP Ø9

Week Ø5 has been pretty shameful for ECHO company.  But first, lets touch base on Sunday of last week.  We had our first off base run.  It was also our first company run in formation.  It was approximately Ø2 miles just outside of the base.  We learned how to sing cadence as a company while our company commanders took turns singing their own cadences.  It did not take long before we noticed civilians coming out of their houses to watch, wave and take pictures as we passed by.  For many of my shipmates this has been their favorite experience thus far.  Shortly after the run we practiced for the Sunset Parade.  The parade was similar to how we are during graduation. The only big difference was we had our pieces.  Overall, we did a good job.  Fast forward to Monday morning.  The first day of week Ø5.  It began with our pugil stick matches.  It was one on one, three rounds and the recruits with more strikes or blows wins.  We were able to cheer on (professionally) and encourage our shipmates.  There were some really great fights and some not so great ones but overall it was a good time and a good confidence builder.  Later on in the day we went to Seamanship for a Radio/Telephone Procedures class and practiced communicating over the radio properly.  Tuesday morning we were issued our dress uniforms and it took approximately Ø3 hours to have them issued and fitted properly.  We have seen senior companies in later weeks of training wear them and we were all itching to finally receive them.  Wednesday is where things began to get sour.  We had a uniform inspection performed by our Battalion Commander, Senior Chief Wong.  We had 24 discrepencies which wasn’t too bad for such a large company but 1Ø of those were faults on behalf of the females for their hair, which really disappointed and ticked off Chief Stanton.  After the inspection we rushed to chow and then over to Seamanship for our midterm and a personal flotation device drill.  We don’t know our overall score  from the test however, we were told it was the highest our instructor had seen.  None of that mattered though.  For when our CC’s picked us up from Seamanship we were in trouble.  Before heading to chow earlier that day we were all in a hurry and did not stow some of our gear correctly (we were being lazy) and the squadbays were not up to Chief Stanton’s standard.  Any progress we made earlier in the week  was now gone.  We let our CC’s down and they could not even be happy about our inspection or Seamanship exam.  It was time for us to pay!  That became the extent of Wednesday night.  Thursday turned out to be an exciting day, we received our orders to our first units.  Some recruits couldn’t be happier with where they were being stationed while others were down right miserable upon their future destination.  Some units have multiple shipmates being stationed together so their experiences with each other will surely not end here.  We were told that “week five takes a dive” because once recruits get their orders they have a tendacy to think it’s official and training is over.  That mentality is completely wrong yet we can see it is taking effect on some of our shipmates.  Although few and far between we continue to lose more recruits.  Friday morning we received our small pox vaccine and we practiced our manual of arms for a while.  Then our long night began with Chief Reno and Petty Officer Morgan, with various drills to test our self discipline, stamina, and teamwork and left us both physically and mentally exhausted.  Saturday morning we got to meet with our mentor, LT Hannah.  We were able to ask questions about anything  however most of us asked about our new units.  Following we had a field day where we did lots of cleaning.  In the midst of the field day Chief Reno noticed some racks did not have their locks on Ø and initiated a rack inspection.  He found dirty laundry in 25 recruits personal dity bags.  For a week Ø5 company to have this is insane.  Of course we were incentively trained for this.  We have our Manual of Arms and Close Order Drill Tests coming up so we were given time to practice.  Some of us have made five minute phone calls home pertaining to our travel arrangements.  If we do well this week and do well on our MOA test we will receive on base liberty Saturday.  Week Ø6 is right around the corner and we still have not earned our colors for our guidon so that is our focus this week.

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Ø2 SEP Ø9

We have hit the half way point through basic training.  Monday was an exciting day as we got to spend all day at the range for marksmanship.  We practiced safe shooting procedures with P229 SIG .  We had time objectives, for example 12 rounds in 12 minutes at 25 yds and rapid fire at 15 yards which was Ø6 rounds in 12 seconds.  We were all scored and were able to compare with our shipmates.  Monday and Tuesday the company was split into two groups and we had a Colors class.  Two colors teams were selected by our CC’s  who will be responsible for raising and lowering the flags several times while here in training.  Chief Reno showed us the 21 count manual of arms which walks us through all of our positions with our piece.  We are all starting to learn how to handle our piece and let it work for us.  Wednesday we had our Physical Fitness assessment.  It consisted of 1.5 mile run, pushups, situps, and a sit and reach test.  To graduate basic training and to qualify for certain responsibilities out in the fleet you have to pass.  Later on that day Chief Stanton talked to the company about our “dream sheets” that we would be filling out the next day that help the detailer decide where they are going to send out into the fleet.  She told us a little about her career and the paths she took to get where she is today, which we all enjoyed.  She allowed us to ask questions about our potential first units while she pushed the operational units, especially cutters.  Everyone is getting very antsy to find out where we will be stationed.  It sounds like we will be finding out next week. 

Ø4 SEP

This week has been filled with many classses and events but it has proven to be very challenging for the company.  Last week we were working well together, however, this week has been somewhat of a train wreck.  Our motivation has dropped  as some of our shipmates are not giving 100.  Today was our second march in graduation, this time for Alfa-182.  Our CC’s said that we looked a lot better than last week, which is always a good thing to hear.  This morning we had our mid term and if the companies average is above a 90% we receive our first pennant for our guidon.  Our average was 94%!  We also all signed up for the blood drive which gives us our second pennant.  After chow Chief Reno marched us around the regiment and told us about the history on many significant landmarks present here.   We have been trying to get into an evening routine for uniform maintenance, showers and cleanups, with a little bit of mail time.  Uniform maintenance is something we all look foreward to so we can all look good in our uniforms around the regiment, however, it is a privelage and when we are not moving quickly enough, which has been the case lately, we don’t get that time. 

Ø6 SEP

Well, if there is one thing ECHO company is good at it is disappointing  our Company Commanders.  Yesterday we had another rucksack inspection.  It was not too bad, some recruits had a few unauthorized items such as garbage or dirty laundry but things took a turn for the worse when we had an inspection on our uniform pockets.  We are only authorized Ø3 items in our left breast pocket yet many recruits had various items stowed in various pockets.  It is small things we are not picking up on that really bother our CC’s.  We were informed that we would be having a random squadbay inspection sometime this week by our Section Commander.  We failed miserably.  It was the worst inspection that any of Chief Stanton’s had ever had.  We are losing more recruits from the company for disciplinary reasons. This is called reversion.  Six this week!  And we have a few more shipmates that will be reporting this week to a new program they call R.A.M.P. for Recruit Aptitude and Motivation Program for some “extra attention” that will either get them up to our CC’s standards or they will go back a week in training.  As far as our training is going, we had a class on Pugil Sticks Saturday morning to help build our confidence .  On Monday we will battle each other.  We will be geared up, however some shipmates are becoming nervous because they have never fought someone before and the object is to strike your opponent with force and score points for certain strikes.  Sunday we will be participating in the last Sunset Parade of the season.  They open the regiment up to the public to watch it and the companies march with their pieces and observe evening colors.  We also have a off base run today but no one really knows what that will entail. 

ECHO-182

HISTORIAN LOG

WEEK Ø3

24AUGØ9

Today marks our first day in week Ø3.  We are definatley keeping busy.  Many of us are coming down with colds also called “the Cape May Crud”.  Within a day or two the domino effect had taken place and the colds spread.  We were timed on a run to see how we are progressing for our Physical Fitness assessment coming up next week.  It went pretty well for the most part.  We also had our core strengthing class today and we seem to be doing better than last week.  We had a brief introduction to our piece nomenclature and are looking forward to more.  On the disciplinary side of things we had a drill to remind us to use military time, slash our zeroes and sign in and out of the company correctly.  As of tomorrow we will have another company come in to Cape May and although there is already one newer company than us we will really have to step up our game since we will be senior to two companies who will look up to us.

3Ø AUG Ø9

This has been a good week but we are glad to see it end.  It has been filled with many new and exciting events.  Early this week we had a survival float class where everyone had to don a Mustang Suit and we learn a few survival techniques, one solo and the other as a small group (Ø3-Ø6).  Some recruits described floating  in the water as what they would imagine floating in space would be like.  On the academic side of training we learned about the history of the CG and some of us were unaware of the CG’s involvement in every major war and conflict.  We also learned about many significant people and their roles.  We learned about vessels and aircraft and how to distinguish them.  Another important class we had was the Military Code of Conduct.  Most recruits took this class to heart and developed a new respect for all military members, past and present.  Not all of our classes are taught by our Company Commanders, however we are taking a liking to those taught by them more than the others.  They don’t just read out of the book, or lesson plan. They elaborate and include experiences they have had and pertinent information that will help us in the fleet.  They teach a lot more than what is in the lesson plan.  Thursday night we practiced for ZULU-181’s graduation and Friday we, along with other weeks of training, marched behind them.  This will take place every Friday for us until we graduate.  It felt good to see a the graduating company  and have their families cheer them and us on.  Saturday we spent all in Seamanship class.  We had practical learning and tying Ø5 different types of knots.  We learned to distinguish synthetic from natural line and line made from different materials.  We had a helm simulator exercise which tested our ability to receive an order, execute it and properly respond.  Essentially, it was similar to a video game where you are in charge of steering a ship.   After spending all day in Seamanship class the entire company really came together and started working as a team.  Most of the week was extremely rough and we felt it from our CC’s and the remedials they had us do to correct our deficiencies especially for our lack of self discipline and being dirty!  We were told that night that we were sounding off louder than ever before and then we really started to get revved up and in gear.  We met time objectives and the night just went smoothly.  We had group incentive training session on the parade field with Ø4 other companies that was very motivating.  We were trying to be louder than anyone else when responding and counting our repetitions.  In part, a few reasons we may have found how to start working together is we have had a few recruits reverted back a week in training this week (Ø2 just today) for various reasons.  And we see how easy it is to lose our place in this company.  Our CC’s allowed the squad leaders to hold a meeting with the company, just us, the recruits, to talk about our struggles and what we needed to do to fix them.  Whatever the reason, we finally are figuring out how to work together and hope we can keep it up.  We hear next week will be very busy.

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 19AUGØ9

We are finally in week Ø2 after a long weekend forming our company and being picked up by our Company Commanders.  We seem to be experiencing troubles meeting our time objectives.  Trying to get 86 people to work together as a team is proving to be challenging.  Some things such as marching go well one minute and then a complete disaster the next.

21 AUG Ø9

Well, we have been told the phrase, “the days drag on but the weeks fly by here in basic training.  All we know right now is the days sure are long!  Yesterday we were issued our pieces  and found out some of them were actually used in WWII.  Many of us felt very honored to be able to train with these pieces from history.  (Although we were all shocked at how heavy they actually were!)

We continue to fail almost every…..well every time objective we are given and it seems to be bumming most of us out.  And boy, do we pay for it!  When it comes to marching we learned a few new movements and one went really well, the other was terrible.  We have had a lot of informative classes and we are learning some important Coast Guard information.

23 AUG  Ø9

Today is Sunday and we are all very grateful because we have some personal time, also known as Divine Hours from Ø8ØØ-13ØØ.  This is our time to catch up on tasks from the week, study, write letters home, and go to the chapel if desired.  We are beginning to get the hang of working as a team by helping each other out where needed, whether it’s making our racks, pressing uniforms, or shining boots.  Yesterday we had a good team building exercise.  As we progress in our training we are getting to learn more about our Company Commanders and what each of them has to offer.  Our Lead Company Commander, BMC Stanton is very tough by fair but we all see it’s because she cares about her service and wants us to be the best.  Chief Reno is very witty so we are constantly being challenged to keep our military bearing around him.  He does however know how to keep us disciplined.  Petty Officer Morgan is very stern.  Each one of our Company Commanders have shared a few stories already that are both motivational and encouraging and we all can’t wait to hear more through training.  We are now venturing into week Ø3 and one of our responsibilities will be standing watch.

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