Thought you were in trouble didn’t you?  That is the thought for a lot of sailors who are out in the fleet.  When you are walking down a passage way, and from behind you hear the word “shipmate”, more than likely you will think you’ve done something wrong, or those who are out in the fleet will think that.  Those who have not yet reached the fleet, and are either in DEP or in boot camp are unaware of the context shipmate is used out here.  Those in DEP hear the word shipmate from your recruiters meaning “Welcome to Our Navy”, while in boot camp you hear those words from your RDCs meaning “You are now a sailor,” when you complete battle stations and receive your Navy ball cap.  Out in the fleet, it has come to mean “You are jacked up.”

Somehow the Navy has let the word shipmate turn negative, and I believe that to be true.  Actually, the first time I heard it used in a negative context was when I reached A school and by the Chiefs.  If you were talking in the passage way, forgot to take off your cover indoors, or caught falling asleep in class, the word shipmate came from his mouth followed by “why are you jacked up?”  It wasn’t the term itself, but the tone of voice it was used in.  The majority of the time it was in a yelling manner and no one wanted to hear it.

From A school to this ship, it is still used the same way.  Many sailors consider it a curse word and feel disrespected when being called a shipmate because of how it was used to them and others.  I have a buddy in particular who tells me to fuck off every time I call him it.  It has got to the point that I do it to piss him off. More…

So I had all of my gear on the ship and made my way up to radio to grab my Ipod out of my backpack. When I walked into the shop, I was told by one of the first classes, who was on duty, that I was able to keep my barracks room. My response, “I just finished moving all my stuff out of the barracks.” Obviously not everyone first impression of good news, but I was still confused on the whole situation.

The person simply known as Mike left a comment on my previous post, Moving To The Ship, telling me that I should talk to the CMC about it, which I did. He is the head honcho in charge of the Homeport Ashore program, and is the one who gave the order to move the E-5s out of the barracks. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who talked to him. Usually after the frocking ceremony, he sends out his email telling all divisions to have there E-5s who live in the barracks move out, but this time he looked at who had rooms and how much space was available. He saw that he had plenty of room available even if those who advanced remained, and made the decision to keep us there. He did an all E-5 call today to explain his decision in doing this, and obviously those who advanced last cycle weren’t as lucky as this cycle.

At the all E -5 call today, the CMC made a good point. There is the right thing to do, and follow the Homeport Ashore instruction that says E-5s are to leave the barracks after being frocked, and there is the leadership thing to do, which was to see if leaving the newly E-5s in the barracks would affect those who were eligible for a barracks room and an E-4 and below.

Navy's Service Uniform

The Navy’s Service Uniform will now be available for purchase at the end of July.  Of course, it will be a slow push and only certain areas will be able to purchase at first.  At three month intervals, more areas will be able to purchase the new uniforms as they roll out in a new area, and the first place to purchase these new uniforms are Great Lakes, IL, and California.

Apparently there are both positive and negative thoughts to the new uniforms.  The positive is that it will clear a locker full of white and blue uniforms with a single service uniform.  The negative, the ability to distinguish the khaki community, and that a khaki uniform was to be earned rather than just given to.  I have no real opinion on the uniform. Okay, from reading the post over again, I obviously have an opinion on the new uniforms.  I do agree with both sides, but really to me it is just another uniform.  I don’t plan on wearing the uniform until I am told to, and I won’t argue it.

I have put in orders to San Diego, and since that will be one of the first areas affected by the uniform switch, more than likely I will have to switch over when I get there, so long as the command enforces it.  I will miss wearing my rating badge to identify what rate I hold, but now I won’t have to spend a lot of money to update my rank with the collar devices.  What does suck though is all of the money I have already put into buying and updating the uniforms I already have.  The allowance to purchase these uniforms are definitely not adequate enough to buy these.  It won’t be until two years after the roll out that the Navy provides the necessary allowance to buy these things, so I will hold on to my whites and blues as long as necessary.  All of my uniforms are up to date, so there is no sense right now to buy new ones. More…

I now have a new reason why I dislike the Navy. I do have other reasons, but this one so far has topped them all.

The ships based out in Yokosuka have a liberty card program for those who are E-4 and below and demonstrate the ability to qualify in certain areas of the ship. Once qualified, and having spent three months on the ship, you are eligible for a blue card and overnight liberty. Those new to the ship are given a green card and are not allowed overnight liberty. The biggest incentive to getting your blue card is the chance to be given a barracks to live in on base when the ship is in port, known as the Homeport Ashore Program. As long as you remain a blue card and keep a tidy room, you remain in the room until you reach E-5.

I have been in the barracks room for well over a year now and have gotten quite comfortable there. Just recently I was promoted to E-5 and last week I was told that I have to move out of the barracks. Unfortunately I am unable to live out in town because the Navy wont pay for it. I have less than a year left on this ship and don’t qualify for housing allowance. Now I have to mail all of my shit home and move back onto the ship. Did I expect this to happen? I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this because of what I have accomplished with this tour and how much time I have left…8 months. Too bad the Navy does not think the same and are quite alright with throwing a senior sailor back on the ship with almost nothing but clothes, dvds and a laptop. Well, that is what I plan to keep of the items that reside in my closet.  And I know what you’re thinking…why don’t you move in with someone?  Well the majority of people that have houses out in town are either single and don’t want a roommate or already have roommates.  The last thing I want to do is burden someone who is living well by them self.

One of my buddy’s that just checked off the boat not too long ago went through the same thing. I kind of made fun of him for it and now I get my comeuppance. I just hope I don’t turn out as bitter as he did. We’ll see in the not so distant future.

Can’t wait to leave Japan!

I am upset with what I saw in the Navy Times today.  Apparently some of the Midshipmen at the US Naval Academy feel that the noontime payer is “coercive.”  They contacted the ACLU and now has been blown way out of proportion.  Pardon me, but a speech done once a day to boost morale in one’s life doesn’t seem like anything that would offend anyone.  Yes, it is directed towards God, who not a lot of people believe in this day and age.

For one of the Midshipmen:

Over time, the officer’s feelings on the issue evolved. For her first two years at the school, she came to attention and pretended to pray. Only in the last two did she stand at parade rest and wait the prayers out.

“It became really frustrating to decide what to do, whether to play along or have to stand out,” she said. “I was worried that people would think differently of me if I chose not to participate. I have to imagine that there are a lot more midshipmen out there who won’t speak up for themselves because they don’t want to stand out.

“It is very naive to say you won’t be judged. Everybody can see you, and there is a lot of pressure to conform. There is a lot of peer pressure.”

What she did here was set herself up.  She made people believe that praying was okay and deep down she didn’t want to do it.  Had she been comfortable with herself and let people know what she really felt at the beginning, no doubt that anyone would have thought differently of her, except that it was not something she did and that’s how she was raised, and people have no choice to accept that.  The fact that she went along with it so that she not be looked at differently made her out to look like she didn’t respect the thought of her peers, and that they wouldn’t have respected her. More…

Being in Japan has made me quite homesick.  Actually, I’ve been homesick since I left the US to be stationed out in here and everyday closer to leaving builds my anticipation to one day wake up for work to look out the window and see the California sun.  Maybe I am late on this feature, but Google Maps offers a Street View version of your destination, and as the feature explains it, you get a view from the street level and a full 360 degree view of everything around.  Not every location has been mapped out, but a good majority of what I searched was able to come up with images of the surrounding location.

Well the first thing I decided to look up was pretty obvious.  I searched home and surely enough, I got a picture of the front porch.  Now it only shows you what is on the street, and does not take you into your home, because that would be an invasion of privacy.  As much as it sucks to know that I have a long time before I can be standing on that porch, it’s good to know that the next time I am home sick, I just have to search for it and places around to feel as if I am there already.

No matter what though, nothing can compare to images than the physical ability to be at any location.  At least I have something that helps dealing with not being at home.  Maybe other Sailors that are homesick can use this to help them out as well, to view home with out having to be there.

What was just another Japanese port visit turned into an actually exciting time in Kure; well at least I had a pretty good time out here. Unfortunately, a lot of people on the boat didn’t make the best of it and either stayed in local Kure or went to the bars in Hiroshima.

The picture shown is what was the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, now known as the Genbaku Dome, or A-Bomb Dome located in Peace Park in Hiroshima. It was the closest building to withstand the blast, only 150 meters away from the Hypocenter. It has been left in its entirety as a reminder of what happened August 6th, 1945 and in hope to one day abolish all nuclear weapons. I took a tour of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and what I saw was unbelievable. Though very graphic, it emphasizes the effects of nuclear weapons from clothing, homes and but importantly, the human body. It definitely was a slap in the face view of what could happen if a nuclear event ever happens again. Even worse, the amount of power from Little Boy is nothing compared to what is being used today. In all seriousness, the fact that the city was able to recover from everything that had happened, the Japanese that survived are truly a remarkable people. More…