Happy New Year!!!
As one of the first people in the world to ring in 2011, I’d like to wish you all a Happy New Year.
I am currently just west of the International Date Line, so the 2011 started about 16 hours before New York City and 19 hours prior to the West Coast! No kidding—probably one of the first 4000 humans to wish each other a Happy New Year!
At midnight here on the 31st, I was fortunate enough to be manning a .50 cal gun mount and when we saw the starburst flare off the beam of the aircraft carrier, all the .50 cals on the starboard side of the ship opened fire! Tracers every five rounds sailed off into the dark ocean or bounced off the flat sea into the night. Pencil flares briefly lit the sky as another barrage of guns were shot. Truly a unique way to start the new year!
After a hectic December, and November, and October, and…you get the idea, I am ready for some routine…fortunately, nothing we do here on the USS CARL VINSON allows us to get into a routine. I say “fortunately” because the dynamic nature of the things we do allow me to stay focused and aware of the need for new ways to approach new problems!
The past year has been a whirlwind: moving back to California over Christmas of 2009, and then immediately going on deployment from Norfolk, VA to bring the carrier to its new homeport in San Diego. I missed my family but was called upon to help others in the wake of the Haitian earthquake. We were the first big ship on scene only a few dozen hours after the quake. It was nearly two more weeks before any other major assistance with helos or ships arrived. I was tasked with creating the plan and scheduling the disaster relief efforts for dozens of helicopters on the deck of the VINSON and from the other ships in the Haitian gulf. After several weeks, two small deck carriers arrived with a complement of US Marines to
The rest of the trip around South America was exciting and eventful—a quick stop in Rio where I spent a full 24 period as the Command Duty Officer preparing the ship for and executing a flawless reception for hundreds of Brazilians. We conducted endless days of distinguished visitor (DV) operations the rest of the way around the continent. Two interesting visits were groups from Chile. One day, nearly the entire Chilean equivalent of our Joint Chiefs of Staff visited with a former Vice President of Chile…the very next day a group of Chilean 5th Graders flew out—talk about a difference in levels! Peru gave me the opportunity to meet some great people and spend a day with some friends from the boat on an EPIC mountain bike ride from the desert peaks in the Andes to the shores of the Pacific…a 6 hour van ride to the start point…and nearly 11 hours of downhill riding (into the night with a full moon) before reaching the coast! Wow…
A few weeks later, I was ecstatic to get home and be with loved ones! The rest of the summer was spent preparing the ship for this deployment…that meant some long hours, two months at sea for training, and countless inspections and certifications from different organizations… A little time was dedicated to helping friends launch a new business and seeing that grow was a blessing. I am so grateful to have such an amazing group of people around me!
At work, one of the biggest hurdles was called INSURV…a complete top-to-bottom inspection of the ship. We did very well due to the hard work of everyone on the ship…a true “all-hands” evolution. A few more training events and a week or so spent moving to a new house in Spring Valley—just inland from downtown San Diego. This brought me to Thanksgiving in Phoenix and a few days later sad ride to the ship to say goodbye for several months as I left on deployment.
We spent December off the coast of Southern California for our “graduation” exercise—in which the Navy shaved 5 days off the normal schedule (but made us do nearly all the same events) so that the evaluators could get off the ship and be home for Christmas. We sent them away and headed west. Christmas near Hawaii afforded me the time to actually spend a day without working 16 hours…and actually watch a movie!
That pretty much brings me to today! I miss being with family and friends, but know that we are out here to support the US dedication to providing help to those who can’t help themselves. A few months in support of our interests in the Far East and Mid-East, I’ll be home soon enough! Until then, I plan on working hard…and keep a blog of my adventures here on the boat…check it out at:
One of my jobs is to create the air plan (essentially the flight schedule for the ship)…and a key element of the air plan is the cartoon. Every night when people get the air plan for the next day, the first place most look is the back page…just for the cartoon. Some days, it is a little tough to come up with an amusing comic…but sarcasm goes a long way!
1 comment:
It sounds like you've had you hands busy in all sorts of things this past few months. That Mtn bike ride would probably be hard to beat. Can't wait to hear more about what you're doing. The guys miss having you here to ride with. We've all gone to big bore adventure bikes... KTM of course. Take care
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