Well this has been an interesting week. It's getting really hot outside, at the moment it's 0100 in the morning and it's still 80 degrees out. We had a vertrep earlier this week and after the end of it my cranial liner was soaked. Later on the night the ship went dark and dirty, that means we lost complete power. It only lasted about 30 minutes but it was interesting. Everything went off line, light, computers, the 1MC, you name it we lost it. I was in the deck office when it happened, playing on my laptop. It was the only item to not lose power.
The next day we had a couple of MK-5 patrol boats give a our scat team something to aim at. Of course since they belonged to us we made sure that the weapons were unloaded. After the SCAT drills the patrol boats gave pony rides to the crew, This lasted from 1400 to sunset. When they got thirsty we rigged up the hose reel on the helo deck to give them a sip, boats that is not people. At last check people didn't perform as well as boat when filled with JP5. I didn't go for a ride till the last couple of rides partially out of indignance, I'm a driver not a rider. But also because I get Whiney when it's hot out. It is a trend that I've noticed building for awhile, I try to shut my mouth but eventually it will come out. I think it's pent up frustration that seeps out when I'm preoccupied with being uncomfortable.
We had a gun shoot this week, Shotguns from the fantail. I've been due to requal for as long as I've been on this vessel but never got around to it. mostly it was because of laziness, I mean I would have to go all the way to the fantail - WHINE WHINE -. This time I didn't feel like doing anything else so went to blast some ocean. Before we got to shoot we had to go through our brief. We were expected to combat load and regular load. Combat load is drop the shell through ejection port and rack it home, regular is just load up the mag and pump. The guy before me looked scared stiff of the darn thing, I thought it was just jitters one gets when they first experience the kick of the recoil but gunner said that he was just plain scared of guns. I could remember the days when I first fired a shotgun. All I could remember was the shock of the recoil into my shoulder. I was only vaguely aware of pumping the gun, if one isn't ready for the kick it could be a little scary.
Today I got my second NAM, yeeeeeaaaa. It was for the work I put in as Workcenter supervisor. I remembered to shave, and I shined my shoes. However I neglected to iron my coveralls, and prior to the award ceremony I had flight quarters. Normally one doesn't worry about ironing coveralls, in fact to some it would seem a little anal. But Coverall's are the unform for underway, and when they come back from laundry they look like they've been rack press. When I say radk pressed I don't mean folded neatly and place into my rack locker. I mean wadded into a ball and shoved under my mattress. When I was at flight quarters I discovered one of the filler nets were still down from yesterdays MK-5 refueling details. So I climbed into the nets on either side clip it back on. What I didn't stop to realize was that the sand storm that we constant drive through, almost like rain squall back home but not as refreshing, coats everthing. As I climbed onto the net I got dirt marks on my knees, and butt. BMC asked me if I got my coveralls from a particularly hygenically challenged individual. Then when the Capt. goes to present his award to me I forget to salute him. I just looked at him with a dumb expression on my face. Then think that maybe he needs me to lift my pocket a bit to receive my medal. It wasn't until after he went to the next guy that I realized my mistake. The first thing the guy next to me did was pop tall and salute.