For the record: This past FTX was the best i’ve ever been on. In addition to our tours of the USS Oklahoma City and the USS San Antonio, we stayed abord the USS Iwo Jima for two nights and got a familiarization tour of NECC. We were given near free reign to explore the vessle and mingle with the skeleton crew. I got an in depth tour of the engine room by two seamen on duty.
By far the best part of the weekend was the NECC tour at Little Creek. We were taken on Sea Arc 34’s by a riverine squadron. This meant a high speed demonstration of the manuvering capabilities of these boats while we stood on the gunner’s deck. I managed to hold on ok, slipped once or twice, but one of the rats on our craft lost his grip and nearly flew off the deck at a 40kt 180 turn. They also showed us all the equipment they use for EOD, diving, and communication. The seals showed us their obstacle course, and we got a demonstration of the fleet’s drug and attack dogs. Pretty awesome.
School is becomming more time demmanding which is cutting into my sleep. Teachers are wrapping things up for the semester and giving lots of tests over the next four weeks. I’m excited for the summer, because i’ll be doing research then hitting the water for training with the Navy. Should be a good time. Ring figure is approaching, and we’ll be ordering our rings soon.
Here’s a link to the class website with our ring:
Ramblings of a Cadet 