24JAN10

We are so close to being out of boot camp it is intoxicating.  Yesterday, as many of you heard with your phones ringing off the hook, we had our Off-Base Liberty.  Most recruits marched to the front gate and got in taxis towards Rio Grande (the only place with things going on, mid-winter).  The taxis dropped us off at a Super Wawa (the New Jersey version of the best 7-11 you’ve ever seen), and we peeled off in all different directions from there.

Recruits had a marvelous time wandering with their shipmates.  Some went immediately to the Walmart to buy prepaid cell phones; some went to buy coffee or soda or snacks; some went to the movies.  Every single recruit was, at some point during the day, accosted by someone and thanked profusely for their service.  It felt incredible to have that happen, especially since we haven’t really done too much yet.

People offered to buy you snacks, coffee, lunch, or any sort of candy you could want.  They were complete strangers, but “they love the Coast Guard here.”  Those were the exact words that came out of Petty Officer Vanover’s mouth minutes before we all left.  He was very right, and we all did not demand to pay for our own things.

Most people spent at least 2 hours on the phone, calling parents, spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, friends, fiancées, etc.

As we returned to the base, we had everyone get on line and muster.  Everyone kept it really locked on, and after we cleaned a little bit (in the best spirits ever) we hit the racks.

The next morning, we woke to “fire-fire fire” and yelling.  After a muster on the Parade Field, we had chow, and then switched into our Modified Bravos.  As we marched to the galley, everyone’s marching was straighter and more precise that ever.  It was the shirt stays.  They run from the bottom of your dress shirt to the tops of your dress socks.  They keep your legs and back at a certain angle to keep your shirt down, but it does make it harder to move (turns out to be a good thing).

This evening was a very different experience.  Petty Officer Giaccone sat down with us and held an open forum for questions.  People asked questions about the Fleet, about the training, about Company Commanders, and about Petty Officer Giaccone.  It was a true bonding experience.  Seeing that Petty Officer Giaccone could smile, laugh, and joke truly changed our Company’s perspective.  Petty Officer Giaccone released us back to the real world of training, and recruits acted with maturity and level-headedness.

The more and more our Company Commanders treat us like true non-rates, the better our Company pulls together.

25JAN10

This morning, we began the Week 08 schedule.  According to the paperwork, we are supposed to have reveille at 0530 and then chow at 0545.  If we had teleporters, this would all be no problem.  But we all have to take muster, brush our hair, comb our teeth, and get into whatever the uniform of the day is.  This takes about 20 to 25 minutes, depending on any number of variables.

This last week has been very bittersweet.  We all knew that it was only a few days until we graduate, but we were still very low from Petty Officer Garza’s speech about how disappointed our Company Commanders were with us.  We could just graduate, sure, but we’d rather do it and know that our Company Commanders think something more of us than, “What a bunch of jack-freaks.”

As Petty Officer Vanover capped us in our new ball covers, complete with a Coast Guard insignia (the symbol of a Seaman, being that none of us have ratings yet), he made an impassioned speech about how we were now really Week 08 and would be treated as Seaman in the Fleet.

Then he said how proud he was of how much our Company has grown, both as a team and as individuals.

This is the first time we have really been told, “You’re doing a good job.”  It deeply meant something to our Company to have a stated positive reinforcement of behavior.  With our now 5 achievement pennants adorning our colors (including the most important, a blue pennant meaning that our Company Commanders approve of us), we will try to make sure we are one of the few companies awarded the coveted Battalion Pennant from Senior Chief Wong during our inspection tomorrow.

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12JAN10

We have just passed two of three major hurdles in our recruit training.  One was an inspection by our Battalion Commander.  He is the most senior enlisted member on the base, except for the Command Master Chief.  Normally, since it is winter in Cape May, and generally colder than the inside of an industrial-sized freezer, we wear our Operational Dress Uniforms with the sleeves fully extended.  But if it were summer-time, we would have to put on our ODU with the sleeves rolled every time.

So, needless to say, if you all have been checking on the weather your recruit is standing around in, we have had exactly zero opportunities to wear our Operational Dress the inspection ready way.  We learned how to do the sleeves with Petty Officer Garza in week 03, but without practice, we were unable to do it properly.

Senior Chief Health Services Technician Wong, our Battalion Commander, was our inspector.  Naturally, all the recruits were stiff as boards in the morning and at chow.  Everyone was worried we’d fail.  We thought he would come abreast of someone, notice the one thing wrong, but not have enough time to deal with it.  Our hope was to pass, and we did. 

Senior Chief Wong told us that he was impressed by how well we had starched and ironed our uniforms.  Our Company Commanders were also pleased.  We got good marks from them; even our hard-liners were pleased with how well we had turned out.

Our next hurdle was the Manual of Arms Test.  We were worried as a few of our number were new to the Company, and could have used a bit more practice, but in the end, it all turned out alright.  We kicked that test to the curb.  Our Section Commander, OSC Heinzman told us that we were one of the best tests he had done in a long while.

After all of our Company Commanders had each congratulated us on the discipline and pride we had just displayed, the Company floated around on Cloud 9 today.  It was a great day (a very rare thing a boot camp), and all of us are planning our On-Base Liberty and the 10/10 we will get on the Close Order Drill test next week.

16JAN10

So much has happened this week it’s hard to know where to begin.  But let’s start with the fact that Tango did 10,000 times better this week than last.  After knocking it out of the park on our Manual of Arms test (our Section Commander, Chief Heinzman said he would put us up against Week 08 Marines), we proceeded on a generally high plateau for multiple days.

With the Manual of Arms Test out of the way, we knew in our heart of hearts that our Company Commanders were proud of us.  We sang cadences, we were congratulated by all three of our Company Commanders, and we were praised for having the self-discipline, work ethic, and team work to come together, snap-to in a military manner, and generally put on “the best Manual of Arms test Chief Heinzman had seen in quite a while.”  And, to add to our joy, we knew we would get to have on-base liberty on Saturday.

This info put a bounce in the step of Tango.  The next two days were spent in heavy Admin mode.  We all got our first military IDs (CAC Cards), and then spent head and water breaks comparing pictures and complaining of how awful we thought our nose, forehead, hair, etc. looked.  It was generally amusing and in good nature.  There was a lot of, “You think yours is bad; check this out!”

We also had an incredibly interesting set of Seamanship classes this week.  Petty Officer Stoltz was in full force this week teaching us the basics of firefighting.  It is incredibly important for every Guardian to know not only how to fight fires, but why fire acts the way that it does.  We covered the “dry” material first and then learned about all the gear that you actually fight the fires in and with.

Petty Officer Stoltz and a crew of Damage Controlmen spend Wednesday and Thursday testing both Port and Starboard sides.  We would line up in groups of about 10, then, “Fire, fire, fire” (possibly the first time that phrase has been stimulating since boot camp began).  We then put on full coveralls, flash hoods, and oxygen equipment.  There was a time objective to meet and shipmates all over helped each other out without any prompting.  That is becoming the norm in Tango.

After we had all our gear on, we lined up, right hand on the shoulder in front of us and plunged into a smoke-filled room.  Once you were directed to your hose, groups of 3 would transit down the hose, break the bail, and begin fighting a simulated fire.  Instructors called for various degree angles (90, 30, or Straight Stream) and rotations.  Each recruit switched and fought the fire until we had doused it.

As an added bonus, Port Side was privileged enough to be given a lesson in pipe repair by one of the Damage Controlmen present.  Petty Officer Bechtler showed us how to wrap a broken pipe with a cast-like material, with a metal Jubilee clamp, and with a piece of rubber and some marlin (hemp line).  The group was pretty fascinated with the intricate detail of the work that we might end up getting the chance to do if we get stationed on-board a cutter.

Thursday afternoon was Tango Fight Club.  We finally got to do pugil sticks.  And even Captain Thomas, the base Commanding Officer, stopped and watched us for a little bit.  Her comment to Petty Officer Vanover was, “Wow, you got a lot of rage in this company.”  We might be very proud of this.

The pairings were essentially done by weight.  If that meant that one of the girls had to fight one of the guys, so be it.  And many of our shipmates surprised the crap out of the rest of us with their spontaneous tenacity.  Each of the Company Commanders took a corner; you either had Petty Officer Garza or Petty Officer Vanover as your personal coach.  As recruits stumbled away from the battlefield, the two corners echoed with calls of, “You got ‘em.  Just stay low, and jab.” “He’s getting angry.  You’d better bring it.”  There was a lot of yelling, surprised inhales and exhales, and general good nature.  This was possibly the single greatest bonding experience we have had with our Company Commanders.  To have them, quite literally, in our corner meant a lot to many of the recruits.

After a generally good day on Friday, recruits were bubbling over for Saturday and On-Base Liberty.

The first thing everyone did as they signed out was head immediately to the Exchange to buy necessities such as candy, ice cream, soda, beef jerky, chips, crackers, and chocolate and pig out for a number of hours while laughing, telling stories, and finally getting to know some of our shipmates for the first time.  Ever since we got here, many of us have been so locked on, that we never allowed ourselves to come to terms with the fact that many of our shipmates are, in fact, cool people.  People whom we can tell jokes and laugh with, and people that we will enjoy to have as our colleagues as we leave the intensity of boot camp for the far-more relaxed fleet.

After the exchange, we went to the Harborview Café to play pool, eat fries, hamburgers, buffalo wings, and soda, and play video games.  However, many people just sat around with their shipmates and talked over a meal.  Normally, in the galley, the greatest amount of talking over breakfast, lunch, and dinner is, “Shipmate, could I get 2 napkins.  No wait, 3.”  But today, we were able to use the generally social task of eating to get to know people that we have been curious about for nigh 07 weeks.

Some people went to the movies after that (the base played Star Trek at 1900) and some called home.  The night ended well as everyone came back, stayed locked on (even though none of our Company Commanders were there), and field dayed (cleaned).  Thankfully, we were finally able to buy some Lysol so here’s hoping the spraying of chemicals burns away the Cape May Crud.

As we head into Week 07, Tango is confident, calm, collected, and capable.  And, honestly, it looks this time like we might actually stay that way.

31DEC09

Tonight is New Year’s Eve.  Probably, most of our families and friends are at parties, clubs, parades, fireworks shows, or engaged in other various frivolities, but all of us in Tango-182 are pretty much business as usual.  That means we still have zero self-discipline, we bounce when we march, we arrive late for watch, and, in general, we anger our Company Commanders, to the breaking point every. single. day.

Apparently, we are completely incapable of figuring out even the simplest things.  Today, we spent 30 minutes crossing our zeros because one member of our company forgot this morning, and another forgot after an incentive training session.

On the plus side, all of us have gained at least 05 pound of muscle.  We can hold our hand in the air for a good 20 minutes, or hold the sniper position with our pieces for at least 15 minute.  But with all the incentive, you’d think something would sink in.  But not in Tango.

There is one thing keeping us going.  And it’s super awful, unsportsmanlike, and anti-teamwork in every way imaginable.  Very few will admit it, but many of us will be extremely excited to see a number of our recruits head off to R.A.M.P.  Most of us try as hard as possible to be squared away, and are tired of those same 10 shipmates that won’t or just don’t get it.  We just want them gone so that maybe, just maybe, when our Company Commanders look at us, they won’t see a bunch of chickens running around with their heads cut off, they will see young men and women trying to be a part of something greater than themselves.

Maybe they are right, and there’s no integrity.  At this point, it’s hard to feel hope or confidence in the Company with our leaders so disenchanted with us.  Every time someone messes up, it’s no longer, “It’s OK, Shipmate,” it’s, “Of course, there’s always someone.”  If it’s not this guy, it’s that guy.  If it’s not required knowledge, it will be failure to hold the push-up position or that picture in the rack or that non-pressed uniform.

We truly are a mess.  R.A.M.P. probably wouldn’t even fix us.

Our Company Commanders are in a position to take care of us, but first, we have to take care of ourselves.

03JAN10

Yesterday, we learned two time-honored military traditions: colors and hitting each other with large sticks.

Colors was fascinating.  It is very graceful.  Hearing the national anthem, snapping to attention, and rendering a hand salute feels like the natural thing to do.  All the recruits stand straight as arrows, locking their knees in an attempt to appear as militaristic as possible.  The sense of pride and dedication is palpable in the air.  We have an assigned colors detail now that begins hoisting and striking this week.

Our other expedition was in a field where Theodore Roosevelt would be extremely proud.  Although, Petty Officer Vanover would prefer us to speak loudly, or maybe just yell, and carry a big stick.  We were learning all the basics of pugil stick fighting.  There’s a red end and a black end, and if you hit your opponent with the red end 3 times, you win.  Petty Officer Vanover had the entire Company stand in a huge rectangle and slowly advance upon each other swinging large dowels in various moves.  As we watched him demonstrate the moves, most of the recruits were just glad we wouldn’t have to fight him.  Fighting our fellow recruits will be enough of a job for us to handle.

The last few days have been much easier on our bodies.  The reason is, our Company is finally beginning to act as a team.  Since New Year’s Day, it appears that the whole Company has suddenly figured out the “shut up and do what they tell you” part of boot camp.

We have been fruitfully rewarded for our actions.  Today, we received our colors.  What this means is that our Guideon is no longer a plain stick.  It now is adorned with the Tango Flag, which is red, white, and blue stripes.  This is an honor of the highest degree, and today, as we marched behind our colors for the first time, we looked better than ever before, 20 knot winds and all.

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29DEC09

Air rushing from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure is, in theory, a fascinating principle. When that phenomenon affects Cape May, the results are disastrous.

The wind chill for the last few days has been putting the temperature somewhere between 10 and 15 degrees colder. “This is Coast Guard weather!” we are always reminded. Honestly, nearly everyone in our company loves when it is pouring rain or crazy windy. It’s why we joined the Coast Guard. Everyone else is trying to get stationed in Hawaii.

Still, learning how to shoot in this weather proved more than a little difficult for Tango Company. This week, after the company was split into two sides (Port and Starboard) each group was taken down to the range to learn to shoot the SIG SAUR P229 .40. Nearly everyone in the company had shot a gun before, but the Gunner’s Mates in charge of us had their own set of safety regulations that everyone had to abide by.

All of us valiantly stepped up to the firing line and proceeded to fire 5 magazines at the targets. No need to qualify as marksman here, just to shoot the entire course safely. Good thing, too. On our first try, many recruits would not have hit the broad side of an elephant at 20 yards. Perhaps that is an exaggeration. Broad side at 25 yards. We slowly got better, and about 20-25 recruits even qualified. Many were within 6, 3, or (perhaps most frustrating) 1 point of qualifying.

One of our recruits stepped up to the line and fired 145 out of 150. SR Johnston is our only Expert Marksman. It’s a good thing she’s so nice, or we’d all sleep with one eye open.

During the last few days, both sides of the company have had their first official pictures taken in their dress uniform. Well, part of it. We marched to the Uniform Distribution Center where we took off our Operational Dress Uniform tops and donned the dress shirt, jacket, and covers. Everyone looked really sharp in these uniforms, but continued to wander about halfway in full dress, and halfway in Gortex pants. The effect was disconcerting, bordering on hilarious, but due to some sort of application of self-discipline, Tango was able to keep it together.

The whole week, the threat of R.A.M.P. (Recruit Attitude and Motivation Program) has loomed over Tango Company. 10 people are supposedly on “the list.” It remains to be decided if they will actually go, but not everyone is worried. We would probably do a lot less incentive training if they were in R.A.M.P. As awful as that is to say, everyone honestly feel that way. Some people are just not trying very hard to get squared away, and don’t care how much pain the rest of us are in because of it.

By week 5, maybe the motto of Tango Company will change from “Because this is Tango, and we do whatever we want,” to something more promising.

31DEC09

Tonight is New Year’s Eve. Probably, most of our friends and families are at parties, clubs, parades, fireworks shows, or engaged in other various frivolities, but all of us in Tango-182 are pretty much business as usual. That means we still have zero self-discipline, we bounce when we march, we arrive late for watch, and in general, we anger our Company Commanders, to the breaking point, every. single. day.

Apparently, we are completely incapable of figuring out even the simplest of things. Today, we spent 30 minutes crossing our zeros because one member of our Company forgot this morning, and then another forgot later even after an incentive training session.

On the plus side, all of us have gained at least 05 pounds of muscle. We can hold our hands in the air for a good 20 minutes or hold the sniper position with our pieces for at least 15 minutes. But with all the incentive, you’d think something would sink in. But not in Tango.

There is one thing keeping us going. And it’s super awuful, unsportsmanlike, and anti-teamwork in every way imaginable. Very few will admit it, but many of us will be extremely excited to see a number of our shipmates head off to R.A.M.P. Most of us try as hard as possible to be squared away, and are tired of those same 10 shipmates that won’t or just don’t get it. We just want them gone so that maybe, just maybe, when our Company Commanders look at us, they wouldn’t see a bunch of “derelicts,” they would see dedicated young men and women trying their hardest. Maybe they are right and there is no integrity. Our Company Commanders are here to take care of us but first we have to take care of ourselves. Happy New year, welcome to 2010.