Once I got comfortable traveling around base, I started walking around town. Japan is one of the safest countries in the world, and they are very tolerant of Western cultures. The same can not always be said of other Asian cultures. Yokosuka has been built around the naval base and the food and music is designed to attract the attention of Americans. Knowing Japanese is not required, many of the dishes served by restaurants are represented by elaborate 3D models in the windows. I tried sushi and enjoyed it along with a special type of rice. Using chopsticks is much more difficult than it looks! Luckily in most places they do not require the use of them.
Getting around Japan by car is a nightmare so traveling by train is usually the fastest option. Many of the roads have expensive tolls that need to be dealt with. Walking and riding bikes are also popular. I stayed in Yokosuka at first just to get a taste of the cultural norms and familiarize myself with the area. It is fairly easy to get lost in Japan.
Some Ensigns heard about an Oktoberfest happening in a neighboring town and wanted me to join them so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to ride the trains and see a little more of Japan. The thought of having German beer in Japan was too intriguing to pass up. I was the only one in the group who knew German, several of them could converse in Japanese so we had all our bases covered. It was easy to pick out the Americans in the crowd by the size glasses they chose. You had about a half dozen different size glasses to fill. The largest glass could hold a liter of beer, so most Americans were going with that. The Japanese were choosing the smaller size glasses. If you turned in the glass at the end of the night, some of your original purchase was refunded.
I would love to travel to Tokyo and Mt. Fuji at some point. The big hurdles are finding enough time to do it and finding someone else to travel with since we need to travel in pairs. I hear the Cherry Blossom Festival is a must see as well.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Settling In
For the first few weeks after becoming the Assistant Supply Officer, I was focused on learning as much as I could. The ship stayed in port the whole time and that gave me much needed time to adjust to life on board ship and around the base. Yokosuka Naval Base is not all that large as far as naval bases go. It is much bigger than the one in Athens, GA though. I learned to get around the base by either walking or riding a shuttle.
I started to learn the names of my shipmates, especially officers. They started to introduce me to some of the procedures and events that occurred on a daily basis. There are several important functions on the ship; Officer's Call, meals in the wardroom, and Duty Section Turnover being among the most important. Officer's Call takes place every morning at 7:20 and the plan of the day (POD)is discussed by the XO. This plan was distributed by email the night before giving everyone an opportunity to read and/or print it out. Officer's and Chiefs are then given the opportunity to emphasize or add points to the plan. The Officers and Chiefs are then responsible for passing down that information to their divisions.
Meals in the wardroom can be intimidating at first. Once you master the general formalities and ordering process, eating a meal becomes a little easier. The most important formality is to ask permission from the senior Officer already seated at the table. I managed to mangle that one a few time before getting it down. I do still prefer eating in the general mess though, because then I am one of the most senior individuals. Every sixth day, it is my turn to be in a duty section. I am not qualified to fill any position as of yet so most of my time is spent under instruction also known as "UIing." There are various duties or watches that need to be filled ranging from standing watch at the gate and quarterdeck to manning the bridge and damage control. My main duty will be Officer of the Deck on the quarterdeck.
After a few weeks I stopped getting lost trying to find offices and people around the ship. Then I learned to slide down the ladder wells, this is a much faster way to climb down. After a Chief took me aside and told me to stop it, I then learned it might not actually be the best way. I even started to learn when to duck so as to avoid hitting my head on the bulkheads and pipes. This was a source of much entertainment to the crew. I am glad I did not choose a submarine now!
I started to learn the names of my shipmates, especially officers. They started to introduce me to some of the procedures and events that occurred on a daily basis. There are several important functions on the ship; Officer's Call, meals in the wardroom, and Duty Section Turnover being among the most important. Officer's Call takes place every morning at 7:20 and the plan of the day (POD)is discussed by the XO. This plan was distributed by email the night before giving everyone an opportunity to read and/or print it out. Officer's and Chiefs are then given the opportunity to emphasize or add points to the plan. The Officers and Chiefs are then responsible for passing down that information to their divisions.
Meals in the wardroom can be intimidating at first. Once you master the general formalities and ordering process, eating a meal becomes a little easier. The most important formality is to ask permission from the senior Officer already seated at the table. I managed to mangle that one a few time before getting it down. I do still prefer eating in the general mess though, because then I am one of the most senior individuals. Every sixth day, it is my turn to be in a duty section. I am not qualified to fill any position as of yet so most of my time is spent under instruction also known as "UIing." There are various duties or watches that need to be filled ranging from standing watch at the gate and quarterdeck to manning the bridge and damage control. My main duty will be Officer of the Deck on the quarterdeck.
After a few weeks I stopped getting lost trying to find offices and people around the ship. Then I learned to slide down the ladder wells, this is a much faster way to climb down. After a Chief took me aside and told me to stop it, I then learned it might not actually be the best way. I even started to learn when to duck so as to avoid hitting my head on the bulkheads and pipes. This was a source of much entertainment to the crew. I am glad I did not choose a submarine now!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Turnover
After getting a good night's sleep I was ready to start the turnover process with the current Disbursing Officer or Assistant Supply Officer. This would turn out to be another busy day. It would also be the only opportunity for me to pick the brain of a Disbursing Officer who had run the same office I would be taking over the next day. Normally, the process is completed over the course of at least a week.
Generally speaking, the most important aspects of a turnover are accounting for on hand currency and sales inventory. I was able to do a count of currency but did not have the time to perform an inventory. This decision would haunt me later on. Luckily, the records he showed me and left in the office are quite good. They have already been critically important in showing me how to perform various tasks. He set me up as well as could be expected from a one day turnover. I was able to contact other Assistant Supply Officers in the area and they have been of immense help in straightening out the transition.
As for being the Sales Officer, I count myself extremely lucky to have a chief to learn from. It will give me time to lock down disbursing procedures before moving onto sales. When I am ready to start leading the sales division, I have an experienced person to learn from at a much slower pace.
I later started to find out what pieces were still missing from the whirlwind turnover. I needed to register for certain disbursing programs and transfer accountability to my name. This involved many different email and phone conversations, as well as different signatures on various forms. I was also introduced to the sales division personnel for the first time. Perhaps the most frustrating part about the short turnover was in learning common ship schedules and duties. It was taken for granted that as an Officer, I knew them. I had not been on the ship long enough to have much idea of what was going on. I will go into more detail on these experiences in blogs to come.
Generally speaking, the most important aspects of a turnover are accounting for on hand currency and sales inventory. I was able to do a count of currency but did not have the time to perform an inventory. This decision would haunt me later on. Luckily, the records he showed me and left in the office are quite good. They have already been critically important in showing me how to perform various tasks. He set me up as well as could be expected from a one day turnover. I was able to contact other Assistant Supply Officers in the area and they have been of immense help in straightening out the transition.
As for being the Sales Officer, I count myself extremely lucky to have a chief to learn from. It will give me time to lock down disbursing procedures before moving onto sales. When I am ready to start leading the sales division, I have an experienced person to learn from at a much slower pace.
I later started to find out what pieces were still missing from the whirlwind turnover. I needed to register for certain disbursing programs and transfer accountability to my name. This involved many different email and phone conversations, as well as different signatures on various forms. I was also introduced to the sales division personnel for the first time. Perhaps the most frustrating part about the short turnover was in learning common ship schedules and duties. It was taken for granted that as an Officer, I knew them. I had not been on the ship long enough to have much idea of what was going on. I will go into more detail on these experiences in blogs to come.
Friday, October 15, 2010
The USS CURTIS WILBUR (DDG-54)
On the same day I arrived in Japan, I saw my ship for the first time. I was taught in supply school that first impressions are extremely important. Your uniform needs to be pristine before you report to the ship. Well, so much for that advice. I showed up in the same civilian clothes I had been wearing on the plane. The problem boiled down to a lack of turn over time. We needed to start transferring authority and duties right away since we only had two days before I was scheduled to take over. Jet lag is no excuse in the Navy.
The USS CURTIS WILBUR is one of the oldest destroyers in the US Navy but that fact doesn't deter the crew or missions the ship is assigned. Equipment may break a little more often and systems go down from time to time, more on that later, but we have a job to do. A month before I reported the ship was the first to arrive on site where the South Korean warship had been sunk. It remained sitting on top of the wreck for weeks keeping a watch on North Korea.
I got a quick introduction to some of the Officers and crew, most of them were off ship since it had just completed a long sea tour. I had a tour of the ship and saw the Disbursing Office were I would be spending the majority of my time on board ship. I consider myself extremely lucky to have my own office, space is at a premium on warships. There are only four people who have their own offices on a ship; the CO, XO, CMC and Disbursing Officer. I also have two computers when the majority of people are lucky to get access to a computer for a few hours a day.
The only sour note of my first day on board ship was learning that I would be sleeping in the berths since all the staterooms were occupied. This is not really a big deal since I will spend most of my time in my office anyways and will probably move high enough in seniority to earn a stateroom in a few months. I still have access to the wardroom and officer country whenever I want. Needless to say it was an exhausting day, and I really needed a good nights sleep by the time I got back to the Bachelor's Officer Quarters.
The USS CURTIS WILBUR is one of the oldest destroyers in the US Navy but that fact doesn't deter the crew or missions the ship is assigned. Equipment may break a little more often and systems go down from time to time, more on that later, but we have a job to do. A month before I reported the ship was the first to arrive on site where the South Korean warship had been sunk. It remained sitting on top of the wreck for weeks keeping a watch on North Korea.
I got a quick introduction to some of the Officers and crew, most of them were off ship since it had just completed a long sea tour. I had a tour of the ship and saw the Disbursing Office were I would be spending the majority of my time on board ship. I consider myself extremely lucky to have my own office, space is at a premium on warships. There are only four people who have their own offices on a ship; the CO, XO, CMC and Disbursing Officer. I also have two computers when the majority of people are lucky to get access to a computer for a few hours a day.
The only sour note of my first day on board ship was learning that I would be sleeping in the berths since all the staterooms were occupied. This is not really a big deal since I will spend most of my time in my office anyways and will probably move high enough in seniority to earn a stateroom in a few months. I still have access to the wardroom and officer country whenever I want. Needless to say it was an exhausting day, and I really needed a good nights sleep by the time I got back to the Bachelor's Officer Quarters.
Traveling to Japan
I knew this was going to be a rough day all along so I thought I was prepared. In some ways I was, in others I wasn't. The first leg went fine, I took a flight from San Diego to Seattle. I found the USO after lugging two fifty pound seabags, plus another slightly smaller duffel bag and laptop half way across the airport. I had a good five or six hours to cool off before getting my tickets for a military flight to Japan so I grabbed some food and relaxed.
Now the problems started happening, first I had airport officials telling me I didn't belong on the flight even though I had orders and a flight itinerary to back up my claim. After a long discussion with several of them and just short of me starting to make some calls to officers in the middle of the night, they decided I really was on the flight. Then I got stuck behind someone trying to get an x-box through security. Mental note, not a good idea to stick that much metal in a carry on bag. It was driving the airport security nuts. Once I got to the right gate I still had a few hours to wait since the flight did not leave until around 1am.
The military flights have definitely improved from years past. They no longer use military cargo planes with bucket seats. The flights are chartered from commercial airlines and they leave the middle seats empty. We made a stopover in Anchorage, Alaska, so I can check that one off my list of states to visit. It was cold, enough said on that subject. From Anchorage we went on to Yokota Air Force Base in Japan.
After a fairly quick processing at the base where we had our orders and/or passports checked, we picked up our bags and boarded a set of buses depending on our destination. I boarded the bus bound for Yokosuka and waited while everyone was accounted for. The ride to the naval base took forever, evidently there was a holiday on the day we arrived so traffic was a nightmare. Not that traffic is ever all that light in Japanese cities on any day. My sponsor, the current Assistant Supply Officer was there to greet me when we finally arrived at the base. It had been a long day unfortunately it wasn't over yet.
Now the problems started happening, first I had airport officials telling me I didn't belong on the flight even though I had orders and a flight itinerary to back up my claim. After a long discussion with several of them and just short of me starting to make some calls to officers in the middle of the night, they decided I really was on the flight. Then I got stuck behind someone trying to get an x-box through security. Mental note, not a good idea to stick that much metal in a carry on bag. It was driving the airport security nuts. Once I got to the right gate I still had a few hours to wait since the flight did not leave until around 1am.
The military flights have definitely improved from years past. They no longer use military cargo planes with bucket seats. The flights are chartered from commercial airlines and they leave the middle seats empty. We made a stopover in Anchorage, Alaska, so I can check that one off my list of states to visit. It was cold, enough said on that subject. From Anchorage we went on to Yokota Air Force Base in Japan.
After a fairly quick processing at the base where we had our orders and/or passports checked, we picked up our bags and boarded a set of buses depending on our destination. I boarded the bus bound for Yokosuka and waited while everyone was accounted for. The ride to the naval base took forever, evidently there was a holiday on the day we arrived so traffic was a nightmare. Not that traffic is ever all that light in Japanese cities on any day. My sponsor, the current Assistant Supply Officer was there to greet me when we finally arrived at the base. It had been a long day unfortunately it wasn't over yet.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Enjoying San Diego
I had the weekend off after my class ended so I started looking for things to do. I quickly discovered the San Diego Zoo and Sea World. The real deciding factor was the discounted prices for military. To be more specific admission to both places was going to be free for all members of the military. I decided I could not pass up the opportunity to see both worldwide attractions. For five bucks you can get an all day pass to ride the San Diego public transportation system, this was also a very good deal that I could not resist.
I went to the zoo first. At one point in time the San Diego Zoo was the largest in the world. I am not sure if that still holds true today or not. I had been to the Indianapolis Zoo quite a few times growing up near there and taking field trips and behind the scenes tours. The San Diego zoo was of course, different in it's own ways. I loved seeing the koala bears and pandas, and they had some interesting bears and cats that I had never seen before in zoos.
The next day I decided to go Sea World. This was a little more out of the way since the zoo was right outside the city and Sea World is on the coast. What stood out at Sea World were their amazing shows. I went to a sea lion show where the sea lions imitated popular people and shows like American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. Then I saw Shamu perform in his show, that was an awesome experience. I took most of the rest of the day exploring the park and looking at the exhibits. Sea World is a bit more touristy than the zoo. Some of the exhibits like the shark tanks were awe inspiring but others seemed somewhat small and a little diminished. I saw one last show before I left and it centered more on interaction between people and animals. It incorporated divers and trapeze artists as well as birds, dolphins and whales. It is really impossible to describe everything that happened during the show and something you need to see several times to catch all the details.
Visiting the parks was a great way to relax before my flight out to Japan early the next week. I was glad I was able to find the time to get out and explore the city. I wish I had a few more days because there are so many other places worth exploring. Next time though, I am wearing copious amount of sun screen, I got really badly burned for about a week afterwords.
I went to the zoo first. At one point in time the San Diego Zoo was the largest in the world. I am not sure if that still holds true today or not. I had been to the Indianapolis Zoo quite a few times growing up near there and taking field trips and behind the scenes tours. The San Diego zoo was of course, different in it's own ways. I loved seeing the koala bears and pandas, and they had some interesting bears and cats that I had never seen before in zoos.
The next day I decided to go Sea World. This was a little more out of the way since the zoo was right outside the city and Sea World is on the coast. What stood out at Sea World were their amazing shows. I went to a sea lion show where the sea lions imitated popular people and shows like American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. Then I saw Shamu perform in his show, that was an awesome experience. I took most of the rest of the day exploring the park and looking at the exhibits. Sea World is a bit more touristy than the zoo. Some of the exhibits like the shark tanks were awe inspiring but others seemed somewhat small and a little diminished. I saw one last show before I left and it centered more on interaction between people and animals. It incorporated divers and trapeze artists as well as birds, dolphins and whales. It is really impossible to describe everything that happened during the show and something you need to see several times to catch all the details.
Visiting the parks was a great way to relax before my flight out to Japan early the next week. I was glad I was able to find the time to get out and explore the city. I wish I had a few more days because there are so many other places worth exploring. Next time though, I am wearing copious amount of sun screen, I got really badly burned for about a week afterwords.
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