*note: This was the first post on my other blog site. This was posted around July, so obviously it's historical. It's kinda of the beginning of where I was. 18 years in the Atlanta Area, 4 years in Boston, and now San Diego.
"It has been a month and 2 weeks now since my Ensign bars were pinned on me and almost a month since I reported to my first ship, an Arleigh Burke class destroyer. It’s kind-of interesting seeing my friends relax for the last time for the summer while for me, the past month and a half has been nothing short of a fast blur. Between May 23 and June 13th, admin paperwork, moving paperwork, new apartment paperwork, ID Card paperwork…you get the idea, has sort-of been my life. Somehow during that time, I managed to move from Atlanta to San Diego and set up my apartment.
My CO (commanding officer) told me in an e-mail that I needed to be ready to hit the “deckplates” running. She was right. My ship is currently preparing to go through an INSURV (Inspection Board and Survey) inspection. For those who don’t know what it is, it is a VERY DETAILED inspection of the ship and its equipment. This inspection is a big deal. Simply put, if the ship fails, the Commanding Officer, Executive officer, and some Department Heads will be fired. That’s a lot of sudden leadership changes. The work schedule will be worse afterward and life in general will suck (we’re already working close to 14 hour days and weekends as well…it’ll get worse if we fail INSURV). Although I’m not responsible for anything right now, I can feel the stress and frustration of the sailors around me. I hope and pray that we can make it through.
Right now, I’m just trying to get my qualifications done….there’s a ton of them.
for the next few days, i’ll catch you guys up on how life was up til’ now.
Most of us are truly sailing in the sea called life now. God please be our navigator."
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