Two Week Recap

Well, another two weeks has flown by and I'm diving headfirst into my fifth (I think? I've lost track of the weeks) of training here in New Jersey.

Week Three:

Week three was a continuation of the small arms course. We spent most of the week sitting through awful powerpoints over anti-terrorism and how to defend against a hostile threat to the ship. We were drilled over the use of deadly force and the limited circumstances we could use it in.

What we were all waiting for was Friday. Thats when we got to shoot each other! We were divided into teams of 6 and took turns running scenarios where one team were terrorists and the other good guys. We used in a burn house (a simulated house used by firefighters to train putting out fires)  to defend/attack. The 'terrorists' would be positioned inside the house while the 'good guys' had to form a plan and attack and take over the terrorists. The weapons we were using were Beretta 9mm and firing 'simunition'. It was a real gun, capable of firing live ammo, but instead we loaded bullets with soap tips that exploded on impact. That way we weren't harmed.  We were also wearing heavily padded suits and full face masks for protection. Unless a round it your hand, you could hardly feel yourself getting shot.

I was point man on all our scenarios, first in the door. This means I got shot.....a lot. But I was also able to get my fair share of shots in on the opponents. We ran 4 scenerious, with each team playing good guy/bad guy twice. The fifth and final scenario was the best. We were given permission to do anything we wanted. My team were the bad guys, so we barricaded doors and set up ambushes for the good guys to be funneled into. We also took off our day-glow crossing guard vests which identified us as bad guys. Meanwhile, the good guys were given the go ahead to do anything as well (each team didn't know the other could do anything). So we had to quickly change plans when they started coming in doors and windows we weren't prepared for. It was lots of fun. Its not everyday you get to shoot that annoying coworker that just pushes those buttons!

Anyways, as fun as it was, we still learned a lot about how to defend and attack against opposing forces on ships, something I really hope I never have to do. I'll let the Marines deal with that stuff.

Week 4:

Well, the fun and games of guns are now over and behind us. Time to roll up the sleeves and get to work. Week four covered first aid and survival, something that has been pounded into our brains day in and day out for the last four years. Never such a thing as too much training, right?

Mon-Thru days were brutally dull power points. Its like they are testing the human limit to stay awake and tolerate painful presentations. We went over everything from cuts and cpr...to what do if you are bobbing in the water after your ship sinks. I wish there was something exciting I could report, but there isn't.

On Fri we went nearby to Ft. Dix joint forces base to use their pool. There had to demonstrate proper use of immersion suits (a.k.a. gumby suits), life jackets, and life rafts.  The gumby suits are big red suits that are designed to keep a person warm in cold/extreme cold water after abandoning ship. While they don't prevent death from occurring, they certainly buy the user more time while waiting for rescue...ranging from 50-80% more time than without a survival suit. We had to get in the water and form chains and huddles that we would use as a group in real world situations. We did the same thing with the life jackets.

For the life rafts, we had to right an upended life raft by climbing on it and pulling on straps. Then once righted, we all (we took turns doing this with teams of 6) got in and practiced what we would do if this was real. Paddle from danger, set a sea anchor, take sea sickness pills, assign duties, etc, etc.  It was a nice change of pace from the classroom, and we got to have some fun in a pool!

So now I'm in week 5. We are doing the Chemical, Biological, Radiological Defense Officer course. We get to learn about all the goodies like nerve gas, blood agents, weaponized small pox, and sorts of goodies that will really mess a person up and how to defend against them. There really isn't much you can do to defend against them except wait it out in a way that is specific to the attack. Then you gotta put on some fancy suits and go and super clean the area. The main thing used to cleans is HGH mixed with a bit of detergent. HGH is like super strong bleach. A few drops of it and it can burn straight through your arm. It's crazy potent and does a hell of a job getting rid of chemical and biological agents. This is one of the most important classes we are taking here.

It is a whole lot of information to absorb at one time, and its one of the few things that are having us perk up and keep the drool from running. We do this all week and then come in on Saturday and stage a mock attack and defend against it and clean up after it. Its stinks we have to come in on Saturday, esp since its a 3 day weekend. It would have been nice to fly to Dallas this weekend. But, at 40 bucks an hour of overtime all day, I'm not complaining to much!

Thats about all I got. On a side note, MSC is putting mates out on ships as fast as they can get them through training. A few people cycled back to the pool over the last few weeks and all are now on ships, waiting around in Virginia for only 2 weeks or less. Its kinda exciting and a little unnerving that I could be on a ship as a 3rd officer in 5 weeks from now! I'm not too worried, I'm gonna be awesome!

Thanks for reading!