All supply officers going to small boys i.e. destroyers, cruisers and frigates are now required to take Helicopter Control Officer class. This class is fairly easy compared to my supply classes or even the classes I took at OCS. It consists of one week of training, in my class' case, four days. The goal is to provide the ground work training for landing helicopters and conducting vertical replenishment. Vertical replenishment is the preferred method for supplying ships while they are at sea. Otherwise two ships have to hook themselves together and transfer pallets via wires. This is tricky if not downright dangerous depending on the circumstances.
We learned what the responsibilities of each person involved in the process were along with the process of communicating with them. There are many details to consider before the helicopter even gets to the flight deck. The flight deck has to be swept and flight quarters called. Depending on the time of day lights need to be turned on in different colors and intensities. Communication needs to be established with the pilot, command and control and the bridge.
Once the helicopter comes within a certain range control is transferred to the HCO or tower from command and control (CIC). The helicopter has the option of showing different lights depending on their situation so the HCO watches for these. The landing location is lit up and the pilot must land inside a small landing circle on the deck. The pilot watches for the right deck light color to show, meaning he has permission to land. There is another color for stopping his engines. The ship is not allowed to alter course or speed during the landing process so communication becomes crucial.
Some of the other topics we covered included rules for the flight crew to follow like only approaching the helicopter from the sides and the using the right lights and paddles during day and night time operations. How to refuel a helicopter and emergency situations. Towards the end we participated in a simulated exercise to test our knowledge and skills. The last day of class we took an exam, luckily everyone passed otherwise there would have been a makeup exam for those who failed.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Flight out to San Diego
Upon leaving Athens, GA and after spending an afternoon with my family in Atlanta, I took a flight out to San Diego. After all my supply school training, I needed one more class before reporting for duty in Japan. Aside from the saltwater trip to Norfolk, VA I took in the middle of my supply classes, I had never been to a big naval base. Even then I was told what to do and where to go most of the time so I was eagerly anticipating this new experience.
My flight itinerary was set up for me, although I went through a lot of unnecessary grief on that aspect. My original itinerary had me arriving a few days after the old assistant supply officer was set to leave. I thought that might present a small problem! It was sorted out the day before my flight left, I guess it could have been worse though. They could have given me an itinerary the day of the flight, what a nightmare.
No problems with my flight to San Diego. One passenger from my flight did make a comment about it not being fair that military had to pay upfront for the baggage fees. Personally, I don't really care because it is refunded later on, just keep the receipts. That is something I have learned to be anal about. Get and keep all receipts, everything from hotels to tolls.
This was my first experience in using the USO services at an airport. I found them to be very courteous and polite. They were able to call a special shuttle that could go inside the base gates. I had access to a lounge while I waited, which was not long at all. I appreciated their assistance in making me feel welcome in a new city. I hope all airports have similarly helpful USO services.
My flight itinerary was set up for me, although I went through a lot of unnecessary grief on that aspect. My original itinerary had me arriving a few days after the old assistant supply officer was set to leave. I thought that might present a small problem! It was sorted out the day before my flight left, I guess it could have been worse though. They could have given me an itinerary the day of the flight, what a nightmare.
No problems with my flight to San Diego. One passenger from my flight did make a comment about it not being fair that military had to pay upfront for the baggage fees. Personally, I don't really care because it is refunded later on, just keep the receipts. That is something I have learned to be anal about. Get and keep all receipts, everything from hotels to tolls.
This was my first experience in using the USO services at an airport. I found them to be very courteous and polite. They were able to call a special shuttle that could go inside the base gates. I had access to a lounge while I waited, which was not long at all. I appreciated their assistance in making me feel welcome in a new city. I hope all airports have similarly helpful USO services.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Supply School Graduation
The last major event and celebration for any class at NSCS is the graduation ceremony. While certainly an important milestone in a Supply Officer's career, it is somewhat subdued when compared to the graduation from OCS. There are actually very few similarities between the two aside from the basic format and planning.
The lack of seriousness did not detract from the ceremony at all though. My class started playing all sorts of pranks on each other and the instructors. These were things I had not seen since high school or while I was a teacher. Tin foil and plastic wrap covered every inch of some unlucky individuals desks, balloons were found all over the offices and classrooms and certain coveted items came up missing from time to time. Items were "borrowed" from offices like mouse balls, pens, documents and cordless telephones. I was on the receiving end of one of the pranks but I would like to think I left my mark with a little stunt of my own.
My parents came into town for the graduation and ended up staying for about a week. It was nice to see them again, I had not seen them since starting supply school about six months back. I am unlikely to see them again for a good couple of years, unless they feel like visiting Japan. They are actually going to use my car while I am stationed in Japan since American vehicles are not allowed there.
Since this was a summer graduation, we wore the summer white uniform instead of dress blues. There were about sixty officers graduating from my class in addition to a reserve class. First a Supply Corps Admiral gave a fairly standard graduation speech, I had heard several speeches during previous graduations by this point. Then some special awards were given to the top performers in the class. After that it was time to hand out certificates of achievement. As our names and billets were announced we walked across the stage to shake hands with the Admiral, receive a certificate and have our picture taken with the Admiral and Commanding Officer of the base. The majority of Officers in my class received billets on ships and the majority of the reserves received shore billets.
After the graduation had concluded, I introduced my parents to some of the instructors. We had a bunch of paperwork to fill out including a power of attorney since I am going overseas. We were able to leave early so my parents and I went out to eat. Most of us will be staying at the Navy Supply Corps School for at least a few more weeks before reporting to our individual billets. We are currently referred to as "stashers." Stashers are basically just paper pushers, we perform various odd jobs around the base until leaving for our billet assignments. This proved to be fortuitous since I was able to leave early throughout the next week and spend more time with my parents.
I am happy to report that I have finally caught up with important events. The next couple of posts should be in present tense or at least soon after. I say that because I will not report on ship or fleet activities as they occur. I have a responsibility as an Officer to keep such information classified.
The lack of seriousness did not detract from the ceremony at all though. My class started playing all sorts of pranks on each other and the instructors. These were things I had not seen since high school or while I was a teacher. Tin foil and plastic wrap covered every inch of some unlucky individuals desks, balloons were found all over the offices and classrooms and certain coveted items came up missing from time to time. Items were "borrowed" from offices like mouse balls, pens, documents and cordless telephones. I was on the receiving end of one of the pranks but I would like to think I left my mark with a little stunt of my own.
My parents came into town for the graduation and ended up staying for about a week. It was nice to see them again, I had not seen them since starting supply school about six months back. I am unlikely to see them again for a good couple of years, unless they feel like visiting Japan. They are actually going to use my car while I am stationed in Japan since American vehicles are not allowed there.
Since this was a summer graduation, we wore the summer white uniform instead of dress blues. There were about sixty officers graduating from my class in addition to a reserve class. First a Supply Corps Admiral gave a fairly standard graduation speech, I had heard several speeches during previous graduations by this point. Then some special awards were given to the top performers in the class. After that it was time to hand out certificates of achievement. As our names and billets were announced we walked across the stage to shake hands with the Admiral, receive a certificate and have our picture taken with the Admiral and Commanding Officer of the base. The majority of Officers in my class received billets on ships and the majority of the reserves received shore billets.
After the graduation had concluded, I introduced my parents to some of the instructors. We had a bunch of paperwork to fill out including a power of attorney since I am going overseas. We were able to leave early so my parents and I went out to eat. Most of us will be staying at the Navy Supply Corps School for at least a few more weeks before reporting to our individual billets. We are currently referred to as "stashers." Stashers are basically just paper pushers, we perform various odd jobs around the base until leaving for our billet assignments. This proved to be fortuitous since I was able to leave early throughout the next week and spend more time with my parents.
I am happy to report that I have finally caught up with important events. The next couple of posts should be in present tense or at least soon after. I say that because I will not report on ship or fleet activities as they occur. I have a responsibility as an Officer to keep such information classified.
Change of Command
Just as things were beginning to wind down in the training process at the supply base, we started to ramp up again for the upcoming Change of Command Ceremony. The current Captain was being assigned to a different command and we were assigned a new Commanding Officer. I am choosing not to use the names of other Officers, although if you want to know the names of senior Officers you could probably look them up online.
The old Captain was a great leader and fairly young compared to most Officers of his rank. He connected well with all the Officers on base and was actually stronger and faster than many of the younger Officers. I saw him as an excellent role model for us as we were preparing for our first billets. I felt comfortable asking him any questions and appreciated the advice he gave me.
Certain members of my class volunteered for various duties during the ceremony itself. Those duties included being escorts for VIPs, bell ringer, flag bearer, national anthem singer...etc. The rest of us were responsible for maintaining our formation during the presentation. At first this did not seem to be much of a problem but the weather would prove to be a fierce adversary.
We had a mock ceremony the day before and realized how much effort it was going to take to perform this perfectly. During the middle of the summer in Athens, GA, the temperature climbs well into the 90s a few hours after the sun comes up and then starts to get humid on top of that. We were required to stand at attention or parade rest for the entire length of the ceremony in our summer white uniforms.
The guests present included prominent members of the community, a 4 Star Admiral, Chief of the Supply Corps, past Commanding Officers of the base, and various Officers and family members. It was definitely an intimidating atmosphere for a young Ensign. The importance of this event was highlighted by the fact that this would be the last Change of Command Ceremony to occur in Athens. The new Captain will be the first Commanding Officer at the new supply school when it moves to Newport, RI.
I was proud to be a part of this event, equally so that it went so well. To be perfectly honest, by the time it was over I was making a bee line for the water bottles lined up by the side. One Marine and two Officers fell out of formation during the ceremony and these were the same individuals who had just completed OCS or marine boot camp. I would have been among them had I been forced to stand out in the sun for much longer. This is not something I will be forgetting anytime soon!
The old Captain was a great leader and fairly young compared to most Officers of his rank. He connected well with all the Officers on base and was actually stronger and faster than many of the younger Officers. I saw him as an excellent role model for us as we were preparing for our first billets. I felt comfortable asking him any questions and appreciated the advice he gave me.
Certain members of my class volunteered for various duties during the ceremony itself. Those duties included being escorts for VIPs, bell ringer, flag bearer, national anthem singer...etc. The rest of us were responsible for maintaining our formation during the presentation. At first this did not seem to be much of a problem but the weather would prove to be a fierce adversary.
We had a mock ceremony the day before and realized how much effort it was going to take to perform this perfectly. During the middle of the summer in Athens, GA, the temperature climbs well into the 90s a few hours after the sun comes up and then starts to get humid on top of that. We were required to stand at attention or parade rest for the entire length of the ceremony in our summer white uniforms.
The guests present included prominent members of the community, a 4 Star Admiral, Chief of the Supply Corps, past Commanding Officers of the base, and various Officers and family members. It was definitely an intimidating atmosphere for a young Ensign. The importance of this event was highlighted by the fact that this would be the last Change of Command Ceremony to occur in Athens. The new Captain will be the first Commanding Officer at the new supply school when it moves to Newport, RI.
I was proud to be a part of this event, equally so that it went so well. To be perfectly honest, by the time it was over I was making a bee line for the water bottles lined up by the side. One Marine and two Officers fell out of formation during the ceremony and these were the same individuals who had just completed OCS or marine boot camp. I would have been among them had I been forced to stand out in the sun for much longer. This is not something I will be forgetting anytime soon!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Orders Reading Ceremony
About a week after the class turned in their top billet choices it was time for an Orders Reading Ceremony. This ceremony was different from all the others I have been a part of so far. It was far less serious and somber, instead there was an air of excitement and optimism. Several members of my class had spent a long time setting up a power point presentation that would be the primary focus of the event.
During orders reading each Officer in the class first had their name called out. They stood to be recognized and were then given their future billet. The caveat to this process was the pictures and captions that were coming up on the power point slides. My classmates went out of their way to embarrass their fellow students as best they could. Mine turned out to be one of the better ones. When my billet came up (one of the last since my name starts with a "W") I learned that I would be serving on board the USS CURTIS WILBUR DDG-54.
There was a long celebration that night in town, where we had the chance to let loose a little and talk with instructors and staff. It was a great opportunity to interact with everyone outside of the base without worrying so much about rank and customs. Most, if not everyone, got the billet they were anticipating so spirits were high all night.
Orders Reading is one of the major highlights at the Navy Supply Corps School but classes are not over yet. There are still several months of classes left to finish. One of the major hurdles to climb is finding the motivation to continue studying for class. Class rank ceases to have any importance so Officers must find a way to intrinsically motivate themselves. I found a new challenge in this approach because there will not be any direct competition on my ship. It will be up to me to perform my duties in the best possible fashion.
During orders reading each Officer in the class first had their name called out. They stood to be recognized and were then given their future billet. The caveat to this process was the pictures and captions that were coming up on the power point slides. My classmates went out of their way to embarrass their fellow students as best they could. Mine turned out to be one of the better ones. When my billet came up (one of the last since my name starts with a "W") I learned that I would be serving on board the USS CURTIS WILBUR DDG-54.
There was a long celebration that night in town, where we had the chance to let loose a little and talk with instructors and staff. It was a great opportunity to interact with everyone outside of the base without worrying so much about rank and customs. Most, if not everyone, got the billet they were anticipating so spirits were high all night.
Orders Reading is one of the major highlights at the Navy Supply Corps School but classes are not over yet. There are still several months of classes left to finish. One of the major hurdles to climb is finding the motivation to continue studying for class. Class rank ceases to have any importance so Officers must find a way to intrinsically motivate themselves. I found a new challenge in this approach because there will not be any direct competition on my ship. It will be up to me to perform my duties in the best possible fashion.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Class BIllet List
From the moment I started classes at the Navy Supply Corps School, my thoughts were always on the future billet I would be filling. As I mentioned before, the Surface Warfare Officers chose their billets straight out of Officer Candidate School. All other officer communities require specialized training before choosing billets. I had been able to piece together a few of the more likely openings by looking over past billet lists from the previous two graduating classes but that was not much to go on.
We assembled in an auditorium where copies of the list were passed out to everyone and several elements of the list were explained. Honestly, I was so focused on the list, I did not pay much attention. The list was broken down into two columns, one column by platform type (destroyers, cruisers, subs...etc) and the other by homeport (Norfolk, San Diego, Mayport...etc). Since I had not paid attention to the explanation, I originally thought there were twice as many billets as students in the class.
Each supply billet list is specifically tailored to the interests of a class. There were a large number of students interested in submarines, so accordingly quite a few billets were on subs. Originally, I had thought hard about serving on board a submarine but the idea of being the only Supply Officer there and consequently a department head scared me a little. On any other ship, excluding mine sweepers, there are several Supply Officers and the department head will be at least a Lieutenant. On my first sea tour, I knew I could benefit from working with a more experienced officer. Many Ensigns were surprised by the lack of carrier billets, there were only a couple of positions, previous classes had more opportunities on this platform. That is the way it breaks down sometimes; based on the needs of the Navy.
The first Saturday after receiving the list, we met as a class to pick our top billet choices. This was done primarily by class rank. The top student could choose any billet he wanted. The second best student could chose any billet except for the top student's choice and so on. This arrangement was called a "gentleman's agreement." I was ranked right in the middle of the class so I planned several strategies. I had no interest in either Pearl Harbor or San Diego so I eliminated those homeports along with submarine billets. I had no interest in large deck ships so those were eliminated as well. First and foremost, I had decided I wanted an overseas billet. If at all possible, I wanted a billet on a cruiser. Cruisers have three supply officers as opposed to two on a destroyer. Based on those two goals, there was only one possible choice. I did not end up on the cruiser but did get my second choice and the last billet out of Yokosuka, Japan, the USS CURTIS WILBUR, a destroyer. My next choices would have been close between a destroyer in Mayport, Florida or a cruiser in Norfolk.
The billets were essentially set after the gentleman's agreement, although the choices were not confirmed until written on a form and turned in. The anticipation and sense of uncertainty were killing several people in my class, including me. If someone near the top of the class changed their billet choice then it would have a ripple effect on everyone lower in rank. The air was rife with rumors and speculation all week, right up to the Orders Reading Ceremony.
We assembled in an auditorium where copies of the list were passed out to everyone and several elements of the list were explained. Honestly, I was so focused on the list, I did not pay much attention. The list was broken down into two columns, one column by platform type (destroyers, cruisers, subs...etc) and the other by homeport (Norfolk, San Diego, Mayport...etc). Since I had not paid attention to the explanation, I originally thought there were twice as many billets as students in the class.
Each supply billet list is specifically tailored to the interests of a class. There were a large number of students interested in submarines, so accordingly quite a few billets were on subs. Originally, I had thought hard about serving on board a submarine but the idea of being the only Supply Officer there and consequently a department head scared me a little. On any other ship, excluding mine sweepers, there are several Supply Officers and the department head will be at least a Lieutenant. On my first sea tour, I knew I could benefit from working with a more experienced officer. Many Ensigns were surprised by the lack of carrier billets, there were only a couple of positions, previous classes had more opportunities on this platform. That is the way it breaks down sometimes; based on the needs of the Navy.
The first Saturday after receiving the list, we met as a class to pick our top billet choices. This was done primarily by class rank. The top student could choose any billet he wanted. The second best student could chose any billet except for the top student's choice and so on. This arrangement was called a "gentleman's agreement." I was ranked right in the middle of the class so I planned several strategies. I had no interest in either Pearl Harbor or San Diego so I eliminated those homeports along with submarine billets. I had no interest in large deck ships so those were eliminated as well. First and foremost, I had decided I wanted an overseas billet. If at all possible, I wanted a billet on a cruiser. Cruisers have three supply officers as opposed to two on a destroyer. Based on those two goals, there was only one possible choice. I did not end up on the cruiser but did get my second choice and the last billet out of Yokosuka, Japan, the USS CURTIS WILBUR, a destroyer. My next choices would have been close between a destroyer in Mayport, Florida or a cruiser in Norfolk.
The billets were essentially set after the gentleman's agreement, although the choices were not confirmed until written on a form and turned in. The anticipation and sense of uncertainty were killing several people in my class, including me. If someone near the top of the class changed their billet choice then it would have a ripple effect on everyone lower in rank. The air was rife with rumors and speculation all week, right up to the Orders Reading Ceremony.
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