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.