Graduation

I am currently on a Northwest flight headed to Minneapolis. We were delayed a bit out of Providence but it could have been worse. I have officially graduated from Officer Development School and it feels pretty good. The graduation ceremony was alright. We struggled marching with the live band there but most people in attendance didn’t seem to notice. Standing at attention or parade rest for that long was quite a challenge but we all survived. It was really weird saying goodbye to people in Hotel. Some I will see in 2 weeks at NJS but most I will probably never see again. We spent so much time together and went through so much…what do you say to these people? We mostly just wished each other luck and said “see you in the fleet.” Didn’t seem like enough.

This whole experience has been incredible. Looking back on it and thinking about how scared I was in the beginning and how that changed into confidence as time went on, I do think I have changed for the better. I feel like I can say, “I am an officer in the Navy” and stand tall while saying it with pride. We learned a great deal of info about the Navy in our classes, but I think we learned even more about ourselves. There were certainly times that I wanted to quit and go home, but we pushed on and we all made it through. I think pretty much everyone can say that they are proud of what we accomplished and that they are better people as a result of going through what we did in the past 5 weeks. Its hard to believe that those going through OCS are not even half-way done and still have seven weeks to go. It should get easier for them shortly, but still.

After I checked out, I went to the Tennis Hall of Fame with my parents. Dad and I played on the grass courts for an hour. It certainly is much different than regular surfaces but we had a great time even if our longest rally was only about 5 strokes. The museum was nice but I’ll have to go back during NJS to appreciate everything there.

At the airport, a lot of people from my class were there and so we all hung out for a bit before going our separate ways. Gardner from India company was flying to Minneapolis as well and I was able to get both of us bumped up to first class so we got to relax a bit on the way back.

Now I will be home for a while before heading back for NJS. I’ll be spending a lot of time with Teresa, but I’ll see some other friends as well. It should be a nice break before the next round of training. For now, its time to relax.

Last few days

Today, I reached the point where I say to myself, “Its time to get the f out of here!” I’ve learned a lot in my four weeks here so far but the introvert side in me kicks in about now and realizes I’m ready to go. Everyone else gets giddy; I get annoyed.

That being said, I had a good weekend. We were allowed to put on civilian clothes for the first time and it felt great! I did Burns a favor on Friday by taking her duty shift so she could go to a concert at some bar in town. Saturday I went to Boston with Rosenlund, Moody, and Nochisaki. It was a great time and just so nice to get off base and out of town. We went to the USS Constitution, a few stops on the freedom trail and the Fours for dinner (Sports Illustrated ranked it the number one sports bar in America).

Sunday was mostly just email and football. Vikes lost in overtime, so that sucked. I’ve gotten pretty close with some of the people here recently and I hope that carries over. NJS should be interesting since some of us from ODS will be together again in a much different setting.

This time Friday and I will be home…hard to believe. Oh, before I go, I should talk about our latest pool experience. We simulated swimming away from a sinking ship and I hated it. My lifejacket made it harder to swim and I kept getting kicked. Three more days!

Few More Days

I realize that it has been quite some time since I put up a new post. I've been trying to put up some old entries in my journal but realized that even those are way behind schedule too.

The past few weeks have been very busy but good. I've learned a lot and there are now only a few days left before I head home for a bit. I'll be leaving here Friday at 5:30 on a direct flight to MSP and then I'll be there for about 10 days before heading back out to Newport for Naval Justice School. After that, I'll be heading out to Bremerton, WA and my first duty station.

Even though ODS has been challenging, its been very rewarding as well. This is more than just a job. Its a complete lifestyle change and they really do a good job here to teach you about the responsibilities that you are now undertaking and what it means to be an officer in the Navy.

Some of the highlights included the Buttercup. This is a simulation of a ship that gets hit by a torpedo and is leaking. Your team must patch all the holes and stop the water from filling the compartment or else you fail. Needless to say, we all got REALLY wet. The water came up pretty high but our team actually did pretty good. During the second run-through our team leader "died of a heart attack" and I actually took command. I started barking out orders and had this really weird adrenaline rush. I think we did good though.

This past weekend, we got to wear civilian clothes for the first time in four weeks. You never realize how good it feels to put on your own clothes until that ability has been taken away. Some of us went up to Boston on Saturday and we took a tour of the USS Constitution, stopped at a few sites along the Freedom Trail, and walked around and ate dinner at the Fours, the number one sports bar in America according to Sports Illustrated.

Graduation is Friday morning and we have a lot of practice to do in order to get our marching to a level where we don't completely embarass ourselves. Its actually a lot harder than it looks and if one person is out of step, the whole thing falls apart.

I don't really know what else to say about the ODS experience. Its been such a roller-coaster, but I've met some amazing people and done some things that I never thought I would do. Its been one of the most challenging things I have ever done, but I really do believe it has prepared me for what lies ahead in my career as a naval officer.

Anchors Aweigh!

New class and Buttercup

Today was an odd day. For starters, a new ODS class started today, Kilo and Lima. Its weird to see them because we know exactly what they went through and what they are going to go through. I try to see how they're doing though and re-assure them that they can do this.

Today we had the Buttercup, a simulation of a ship that has been struck by the enemy and is now leaking. The morning session was spent learning about the equipment, how we were going to operate it and also getting an overview of where things were on the Buttercup. After that it was time to run drills. On the first one, I was assigned to the I-patch team which was responsible for repairing a leak that shot upwards. We got it fixed but forgot to leave our post with two hammers so we had to do it again. We eventually got it and I guess we saved the ship.

The second time around I started out on the K-patch team. Our job was to stop water from coming in the door and flooding the compartment. The investigators didn't see it until the separate hatch it was in was nearly full of water. So, when we went down we had to hold onto the pipes above. We were then told to get out so they could pump out the water. As we were standing on the deck I noticed our leader was lying down for some reason. Apparently they told her she was dead. Whether that was planned or not, I'll never know. Some of us looked around to see if anyone already had, or was going to, take command. When nobody did, I volunteered and just started barking out commands. Things seemed to go pretty smoothly and everyone said I did a really good job. It helps that my voice can be heard over the noise of the Buttercup and the chaos of everyone moving around and shouting.

We had PT in the afternoon even though India was not back from firefighting yet. We had a 20-minute run and then Sr. Chief informed us that someone broke the cell phone policy again and that India's Division Officer told someone that one of our members brought food into King Hall, another violation. We ended up going to the Pit, not so much for the violations but for not handling it amongst ourselves. It sounded like the reason we had brought food in was that one of our members was sick. It didn't matter though, since we ended up in the sand.

Firefighting is tomorrow and I'll probably sweat about 5 pounds off of me. Then we have more PT scheduled...woo-hoo!

Off base adventures

This weekend we were able to go off base for the first time. We had to do so in our whites though which presented several challenges, mainly keeping them clean. The city of Newport is very nice, but very expensive as well. A beer cost about $5.50 each and my pasta dish was about $18. We were told beforehand that most of the servers don’t like the Navy people because they are known to be bad tippers. So, we wanted to try and change that. The only problem was the service was so bad that they didn’t deserve a good tip. It was a vicious circle. After dinner we bar-hopped for a little while before eventually finding a place where a bunch of our classmates were already at. I left around 10:00 and spoke to Teresa for a while. Unfortunately, I fell asleep while I was on the phone with her…whoops!

Yesterday, I went on the cliff walk. It’s a long hike that takes you along the coast and you can see a lot of old mansions. Oh, one thing I forgot to mention about the whites is how people react to us. We got a lot of weird looks, some thanking us for our service, and even the occasional car full of girls honking and telling us we were hot. It’s an odd feeling, but it does make you realize that you are always watched and always judged. But getting back to the cliff walk. We actually went into one mansion called the Breakers. This was the summer cottage for the Vanderbilt family and it was enormous. We found out that they only used the place for 6-8 weeks each summer…what a waste. I can only imagine what their main house in NYC was like. The tour was fun and our guide used to be in the Navy as well. We had dinner at the O Club later and I chose to call it a night after that and talk to Teresa for a while. A number of my classmates went to a Blues Bar in town though and I guess they were a big hit in their Navy whites. Hopefully they all acted appropriately.

Today was all about football though. We went to a sports bar that broadcast most all of the games, including the Vikings win over Atlanta. There was only one other Vikes fan there and he was really annoying. It was fun but I’ll probably just watch most of the games from the O Club since the beer and stuff will be cheaper.

Tomorrow we have the Buttercup. It’s a simulator that helps us with ship salvage. Its supposed to be a lot of fun so I’m really hoping it lives up to the hype.

The halfway point

We passed the halfway point the other day and its one of those times that you think, "wow, we're halfway done," but the very next thought is, "we're only halfway done...ugh." In my experiences though, the second half always goes quicker.

Due to Labor Day being on Monday, this was a shortened week. Having an extra day this weekend was great, but it also meant that we were swamped for the other days. The class schedule this week was brutal and we were in class for 8-10 hours on Tuesday and Wednesday and while the topics are important for us to know, they can also be fairly dry. Oh, one other thing about the Navy: it LOVES powerpoint!

During class, its funny to watch people get sleepy. We don't get a ton of sleep here and all of the teachers understand this. During class they tell us to stand in the back if we start to get tired and as the day goes on, you see a lot of peple standing back there; sometimes over half of the class.

After last week's performance on our tests, when a little over 20% failed (scored less than 80% on the test), we tried to hit the books a little harder this week for our cumulative exam. Luckilly everyone passed and we were able to talk during meals. Prior to this we were to keep quiet and just look straight ahead...tougher than it sounds and kind of akward.

The week also included me getting some x-rays on my back. They showed that my back goes slightly out of alignment at the bottom, but its not really a serious condition or anything like that. Just something I have to deal with and take care of if things get worse. They did give me some Motrin, and that has definetly helped a lot.

Today was our whites inspection. Summer whites are not exactly my favorite uniform to wear because essentially they are a magnet for dirt and they are very easy to see through. India company's Chief Campanella was our guest inspector and he brought along of his fellow chiefs. They yelled at us quite a bit to make sure we were all standing perfectly still with our eyes looking straight ahead. In the end, inspection went fine I guess and I got my knowledge question right ("Chief, the seventh general order of a sentry is: talk to no one except in the line of duty.")

During drill practice, we began to fill posts for graduation. We held auditions for Battalion Commander and I gave it a shot, but was not named a finalist. Everyone said I did a great job so that made me feel pretty good. I was a little bit bummed, but life goes on.

In the remaining time we have here we will go through some leadership training. I'm actually kind of excited because I'm hoping that I will be given the opportunity to prove myself in that time.

This weekend we actually get to go off base and we are all very excited about that. If we do go out, it has to be in our summer whites so people are already packing the tide sticks to take with them. I would like to go to Boston, but it sounds like people want to do that next weekend instead. Sunday is the first game for the Vikes and I'll be looking for a bar that will show that game.

Two weeks left...I can kind of see the light.

Observations about OCS from an outsider's perspective

Before I go any further about my experience at ODS, let me just say that the people going through Officer Candidate School (OCS) are insane.

For those who don't know what OCS is, let me try and explain. The school I go to is Officer Development School, or ODS. With the exception of Nuke Boy, we are all Staff Officers. That means we are more supportive and advisory than anything else and we will never be in command of ships or squadrons or anything like that. The people going through OCS are trying to become unrestricted or restricted line officers. These are positions that can be in command of ships, and are much more involved with mission planning, intel, etc... They are the ones who wear stars on their sleeves and shoulder boards while I will have the JAG Corps insignia instead. OCS is a 12-week program (mine is 5) that used to take place in Pensacola, FL. It recently moved up to Newport to be part of Operational Training Command Newport (OTCN). The class that lives above us started at the same time we did and is the first here at OTCN.

But getting back to my main point: they're insane. They appear to be up at all hours of the day, doing pushups, shouting or getting shouted at, wearing odd clothes and those who wear glasses have to wear ones that are given to them by the military and they are not what most people would call attractive. We see them mostly in the chow hall and that is a sight to see. Not only do they control what they eat and drink, they control HOW they eat and drink. To watch them all at once bow their heads, pick up a spoon, put food on the spoon, put food in their mouth, chomp, chomp, chomp, all at the exact same time...there are really no words to explain how creepy it looks.

When we first got here, they were mostly wearing these green jumpsuits that looked they came from the local prison. I understand that they are not supposed to be comfortable and this is mostly training for if they get captured, but its hot outside and I can't imagine working out in those and having the energy to move let alone shout commands like they have to do.

I did see one of them in sick call the other day and he looked like walking death. I felt so bad for the guy but it was obvious that he wanted this very badly and he wanted to serve his country in the best way he could. He told me a little bit about what they are going through and it took quite a bit of effort to not let my jaw hit the ground. All of us at ODS have a tremendous amount of respect for the people going through OCS. I mentioned that to the guy and he really seemed to genuinely appreciate hearing that.

No matter how bad we think we have it sometimes, they have it 10 times worse. They are truly amazing to watch and I just hope they survive the training.

Memorize, memorize, memorize

When we first met Senior Chief Boyd, one of the things he did was toss a bunch of small green note pads on the floor and told us to each grab one. That notebook has basically become our bible. Everything we are told to memorize, we write down in that notebook and we are told to memorize A LOT. So far, I have memorized the Sailors Creed, The Code of Conduct, The 14 Characteristics of Leadership, Part of Anchors Aweigh, and General Orders. That probably doesn't mean a lot to most people, but trust me, it's a lot to memorize.

We basically take every opportunity to memorize this information. While we are waiting in the hall for our next evolution (basically the next thing on our agenda) you'll see everyone looking at their notebook, moving their mouth as if they are saying the passage to Sr. Chief, or looking skyward for some divine intervention to help them remember the 11th General Order.

And how do they get you to memorize that information? Fear. If you don't memorize it, your whole company fails and you worry that you have to go to the pit (an old sand volleyball court that scares us all to death after being in it once already). LT Brewer walked down our hallway with all of us at attention and got about six inches from some people and told them to give the definition of endurance, bearing, or tact. Needless to say, it can be a little intimidating.

I will say that it is amazing how much of it I remember. My short term memory has started to fail me as I get older but for some reason I've been doing pretty well with the information we have. However, once I get Sr. Chief or LT Brewer looking me dead in the eye and asking me to repeat them, it gets a little tougher to remember.

Beginning of ODS

Okay, I have a little bit of time so let me see if I can get some updates going here.

As you may recall, I received my orders to report to Officer Development School (ODS) only two days prior to when I needed to be there. Needless to say it was a mad scramble to get my apartment all packed and everything done before leaving on that Sunday. With the help of Teresa and my parents though, we got everything done. The highlight of those few days was finding out that I will be going to Bremerton, WA once all of my training is done. It is right outside of Seattle and I think it will be a great fit!

So onto that Sunday. My flight was supposed to leave around 1:50 I think from MSP with a layover in Detroit before eventually landing in Providence where I would take a shuttle to Newport. Unfortunately it was raining and for some reason one of the runways at MSP was shutdown (never did find out if the two were related). To make a long story short, I was supposed to get into Providence at about 8:00 and I didn't get in until shortly after 11:00. The shuttle didn't leave until 12:00 and after taking what felt like the longest shuttle ride in history, I made it to my room at 2:00 a.m. Monday morning. Keep in mind, we were supposed to be up at 5:00 and I had heard rumors that we were going to be woken up at 3:30. Welcome to ODS. Oh, I forgot to mention that they gave us these jumpsuits to wear that were pretty hideous and made it really hard to go to the bathroom.

After waking up my roommate and figuring out that everyone had pretty much been there since Saturday, I lied down on my bed and couldn't fall asleep at all. I got out of bed at 3:30 and waited outside with everyone else, just making out the outlines of faces and trying to stay awake. The first day was basically just administrative stuff and people telling us about all the different policies, how to stay safe, and that sort of thing. We also got our t-shirts and shorts that are known as PT gear (physical training). We would wear these for almost a week before actually putting on our official uniforms. I'll try to get some pictures up in the near future showing me in my wonderful gear.

The next morning we heard a loud voice coming down the hallway telling us to get out of bed and into the hallway. This turned out to be our Division Lead Chief Petty Officer, Senior Chief Boyd. He proceeded to shout at us and tell us what we were here to do and how he would kick our butts if we screwed up and all sorts of stuff. Not a lot of it registered because I was so tired and just couldn't stay with it. We were then introduced to our Division Officer, Lieutenant Brewer. He joined suit and yelled at us, telling us that we were not worthy of wearing the same uniform as him and that we would have to earn his respect and everything that we do here. It was pretty clear that this was going to be a tough road ahead and we were just getting started.

So that was the start of ODS. I'll try to write more later today or this weekend!

Matt

2 Weeks Down

Good morning everyone,
Today was the first day that I was able to get internet access and actually speak to the outside world. I will write more later, but I wanted to let everyone know that I am doing fine. This has certainly been a challenging two weeks but has been very rewarding and I'm learning new stuff every day. I will be coming home on either the 21st or the 22nd of September and then I'll be coming back out to Newport about a week later.

This weekend we have a lot of liberty (free time) but we are restricted to staying on base. That's not all bad because the base is just HUGE! Anyways, I have a bunch of work that needs to get done so I will write more later. Thanks to everyone for your support and giving me the strength to get through this. The first couple days were a bit rough, but I'm doing much better now.

Go Navy!

Matt