So the Curtis Wilbur has spent the last month in port, not a lot of interesting things to say about activities on the ship, which is why I have not posted anything as of late. My ship is undergoing SRA, which is a repair and refurbishing cycle. There was one point when we were the only ship left in Yokosuka. I had mixed feelings when most of the fleet deployed to South Korea and left us behind. On one hand life at sea is rough but on the other I would like to be contributing to the cause. The other ships "borrowed" our parts and people for their missions and we were left to cover for them.
For several weeks up to the holiday leave period we were practicing drills at the crack of dawn. Every other day we had group PT sessions, I did not mind the PT sessions too much but the drills were getting on my nerves. The drills are meant to simulate emergency and battle conditions. There are different procedures for flooding, fires, smoke, and chemical and biological attacks. On land, if any of these things happen you would be best advised to leave the area. On a ship in the middle of the ocean, you do not have that option. Every person on the ship is trained in basic damage control and expected to use it. We are all issued gas masks and assigned roles during each emergency condition.
Many of the members of the crew reached their transfer dates and left the ship. Likewise we also had many additions to the crew. One of my people in the sales division transferred back to the states and was replaced by a guy straight out of boot camp. Getting him trained is going to be an experience. Sitting down with him and talking about his life and expectations, I realized this was the first of many interviews I would be doing. I have been to a number of interviews in my life but never as the interviewer. To me that represented a step forward in my development as a leader. I am still able to learn something new on a daily basis, there is so much expected out of Officers.
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