WEEK 6

Monday of week six was the beginning of one of the more exciting weeks in Coast Guard boot camp here in the Cape May Training Center. We started off the week with a class on the basics of firefighting with Petty Officer Gehrke. In that class we learned the basics for firefighting and how to walk fire lines and get dressed down into the proper firefighting equipment. Later that evening we learned how to wear our dress uniforms properly so that when it came to our off base liberty and graduation we represented the Coast Guard with pride.

Tuesday was the day that half of the company got what we all wanted, while the other half had another class. Our firefighting practical! We had four minutes to get dressed out into our firefighting equipment consisting of a flash hood, fire boots, and a fire suit. Then we hustled into the SCBA(self contained breathing apparatus) room and had six minutes to put on the SCBA, air mask, helmet, and gloves. From there went in to fight the "fire". We were placed in a dark room, red lights on, loud radio playing, and smoke coming from where the "fire" was. We were watched carefully by two instructors and instructed on how to do everything properly so that if we were to ever be placed in that situation on a cutter or small boat we would be ready to react quickly and efficiently.

Wednesday the firefighting group went to classes and the classes group went to firefighting. The classes were very important classes. One of the classes was career counseling and the Montgomery G.I. Bill. And the other class was where we went to the administration building to get issued our I.D. cards and get caught up on our travel arrangements.

Thursday was a great day for the company. We got to go off base with host families to enjoy a nice thanksgiving away from the regiment! Many kids got to go back to their host families homes and enjoy a nice home style thanksgiving including a great meal, football, and using the phones and internet to connect with friends and family.

Friday was a very calm day. we had our small pox vaccine review, and luckily there is no outbreaks in Oscar-182.

Saturday was another day that the whole company was looking forward to! On base liberty! But before we could go on, on base liberty we had to have our operational dress uniforms inspected so we looked nice and crisp on the regiment. On base liberty consisted of most people going to the exchange to get food and drink and whatever they may have needed in the squad bays. Then we could either go call families or friends using the pay phones or go to the Harbor View club. At the Harbor View club we played pool, listened to great music, and finally had a reprieve from the galley food! Then we had the choice to either return to the squad bay for the rest of the night or go to a movie at the Ida Lewis Auditorium. The movie playing was Transformers 2 so needless to say almost the whole company opted to go to the movie.

Sunday was just like any other Sunday. Wake up and go to chow, return to the squad bays and clean until 0800, and then carry out divine hours until 1300. After 1300 we went on our off base run and it was nice because we were finally running in the week seven spot, which means only two more weeks to go!

Well that's it for week six, hopefully you'll tune in for week seven!

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09Nov09

Week 4 has officially begun with a bang as Oscar Company hit the shooting range. We learned how to shoot a .40 caliber pistol, which for some of us was our first time ever handling a firearm. Some of us performed well enough to get a marksmanship award, and many of us qualified to carry a firearm in our future Coast Guard duties. In addition, we also took our portraits, which provided us a taste of the pride we will feel on graduation day. To add to our feeling of excitement, we are all looking forward to filling out our dream sheets this week, which will finally be our outlet of where we wish to serve this great nation.

13Nov09

There are few people in life that use themselves to save the lives of others. Coasties are exactly these kinds of people, however. As our fourth week comes to a close, almost everyone in Oscar Company saved three lives this week by donating blood to the American Red Cross. It was a great feeling as we all joined to save lives and protect the innocent, and in only our fourth week of basic training we have already begun to fulfill this mission. Apart from our pride in donating, however, we have also had a fair share of struggles this week. Oscar Company experienced our first round of squad bay inspections, which unfortunately were mediocre at best. Teamwork is essential to our success, and although we are working as a team, we were shown how we can improve greatly. Despite our failures in the squad bay this week, week 4 came to a close with our midterm exams, which everyone passed with high scores!! Several people even received perfect scores, which proves Oscar company definitely does not lack in knowledge. We are all looking forward to starting our fifth week which will provide us with our first assignments--a clear picture that graduation is around the corner and Oscar company will graduate as a team with pride!!

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02Nov09

We are now into our third week and are getting into a routine. We were issued our pieces, which are demilitarized M1 rifles. We have also been learning about the G.I. Bill, sexual harassment policies, and various other aspects of our Coast Guard careers. We are meeting most of our time objectives now, which is a big improvement compared to our performance so far. Swim remedial has also started for those recruits needing extra help with swimming, which means waking up an hour earlier in exchange for becoming ready for the swim physical test. Most of our days are filled with classes, marching, practicing movements with our pieces, and of course, chow which provides a much needed morale boost for Oscar Company.

06Nov09

Time flies fast as our third week is slowly winding down. Our third week has found us extremely busy. Swim remedial is well underway for those recruits needing the extra help. The entire company has started learning about basic seamanship, which involves learning sea navigation and the various parts of vessels. We have also learned different knots and techniques with line. In addition, the Honor Guard gave Oscar Company a visit this week. We all looked at the Honor Guard class with respect and we were all very impressed, but only a few of us met the minimum requirements to apply, particularly the height requirement. Those of us that met such requirements and have the desire to be a respected member of the Honor Guard applied and are striving to be competitive applicants for this respected position. Oscar Company also saw an increase in dental appointments this week, as many of us have started getting our wisdom teeth pulled. It's all okay for Oscar Company, since the dental staff ensures we receive the best care in our recovery. We are all very excited for the coming weeks as we are beginning to feel like a team. We are no longer individuals, we are Guardians in training and we all can feel it in the air. Most of us are already thinking about graduation as we are considering what we will write on our dream sheets next week. As week three winds down, we are all looking forward to our fourth week in Cape May, and as a team we are ready for our coming challenges.

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20 October- 29 October

Week 02

From our very arrival at the airport until now in our second week, we have been super busy like a hive of bees. We came as 96 individuals and over the past week have formed into uniformed Coast Guard recruits. Through many fire drills and scrambling to learn and complete the recruit tasks, we are becoming 96 team members collectively making racks and learning classroom materials and of course doing intense IT. It has been a long indoctrination week but we are up for the week ahead.

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