Thursday, February 26, 2009
Pictures!
Dan mailed me a DVD full of pictures and also a few video clips. There are 963 pics (I cut out about 400 of them, just duplicates, too blurry, dark, etc) so I'm not about to put them all on here. You can check them out here: http://picasaweb.google.com/jan2009ocspics/ They are in 2 albums because each one can only hold 500. I'll get the video clips up shortly!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
2.23.09
Dan called tonight so this is a compilation of things he told me tonight and e-mails over the past few days.
The OCs had a big test yesterday. It was one of the 4 must pass tests in order to graduate. If they want to go afloat they had to score a 90+ or passing was 70. Dan got an 84. So while we can't say we're disappointed he won't be going on a boat, he was hoping for a little better for his academic average. Today he passed his survival swim test with 100/100. He told me over the weekend what all it involved, but it was a lot and I can't remember. 12 minutes worth of swimming, diving, picking up bricks, etc. He also had his flight school interview today. It went well and they seemed to like that he is interested in fixed wings (there is a shortage for fixed wing pilots in the CG right now). We're still a month out from billet night so keep your fingers crossed! Dan said he put a package in the mail to me yesterday that contains all of the pictures and videos taken so far as well as a calendar of their tests, etc for the rest of the time there. Hopefully I'll get that sometime this week and will post what I can.
The OCs had a big test yesterday. It was one of the 4 must pass tests in order to graduate. If they want to go afloat they had to score a 90+ or passing was 70. Dan got an 84. So while we can't say we're disappointed he won't be going on a boat, he was hoping for a little better for his academic average. Today he passed his survival swim test with 100/100. He told me over the weekend what all it involved, but it was a lot and I can't remember. 12 minutes worth of swimming, diving, picking up bricks, etc. He also had his flight school interview today. It went well and they seemed to like that he is interested in fixed wings (there is a shortage for fixed wing pilots in the CG right now). We're still a month out from billet night so keep your fingers crossed! Dan said he put a package in the mail to me yesterday that contains all of the pictures and videos taken so far as well as a calendar of their tests, etc for the rest of the time there. Hopefully I'll get that sometime this week and will post what I can.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
2.18.09
Dan sent an e-mail tonight along with a few more pictures.
He is re-thinking the original plan we had for his dream sheet. As of now, this is how it stands...
1-Flight School
2-Gulf Strike Team (Mobile)
3-Sector Prevention St Pete
4-Sec Prev Mobile
5-Sec Prev Jax
So basically GST jumped from towards the bottom to the top. He says it would be a great resume builder and he's going to talk to his advisor and see what she thinks. Lists aren't due for a while yet, so there's time for more changes. He told me to do some research and let him know what I think, so that's what I've already started doing.
Dan says...
--pics deleted--
He is re-thinking the original plan we had for his dream sheet. As of now, this is how it stands...
1-Flight School
2-Gulf Strike Team (Mobile)
3-Sector Prevention St Pete
4-Sec Prev Mobile
5-Sec Prev Jax
So basically GST jumped from towards the bottom to the top. He says it would be a great resume builder and he's going to talk to his advisor and see what she thinks. Lists aren't due for a while yet, so there's time for more changes. He told me to do some research and let him know what I think, so that's what I've already started doing.
Dan says...
I de-briefed my OOD duty day finally yesterday, and Chief said I did a god job, and I got pretty decent marks for it so I am happy.
--pics deleted--
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Pictures from Dan
Today when Dan called I asked if he could send some more pictures. Apparently even though the camera he is using is USCG issued for security reasons they do not allow the pics to be transferred to the computers with a USB cord. Thankfully one of the guys (who I'm friends with his wife) has a laptop. So they transfer the pics to the laptop then burn CDs to upload to the USCG computers.
--pics deleted--
--pics deleted--
Friday, February 13, 2009
Shopping List
The shopping list came out today! But it was released pretty late in the day. Dan called for just a few minutes to give me his top choices. They should have an electronic copy soon which he'll send on my way.
First choice is obviously flight school, but if those fall through here's what we're looking at (in no particular order)
Sector prevention (The Prevention Department consists of three divisions. Inspections Division manages and oversees the regulatory and inspection aspects of the Coast Guard’s safety, security, and environmental protection responsibilities for vessels and facilities. Waterways Management Division controls aids to navigation; safety and security zones; Regulated Navigation Areas; ice breaking; and VTS and AIS. Investigations Division initiates inquiries into marine casualties, pollution, boating violations, and assessment of civil penalties.)
-St Petersburg
-Jacksonville
-Mobile
-Miami
District Miami and Command center duty
Sector response (The Response Department addresses SAR, pollution, and all hazards via its Incident Management Division. Enforcement Division enforces all laws and treaties and carries out PWCS enforcement activities, such as armed boardings, vessel escorts and security zone enforcement. This division works closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement and sister agencies within the DHS to respond to and mitigate the impact of maritime threats.)
-Jacksonville
-Miami
-Key West
Gulf Strike Team in Mobile (The GST is one of 3 Special Teams that make up the National Strike Force. It is a vital national asset comprised of a unique, highly trained cadre of Coast Guard professionals who maintain and rapidly deploy with specialized equipment and incident management skills any time to any place or hazard.)
First choice is obviously flight school, but if those fall through here's what we're looking at (in no particular order)
Sector prevention (The Prevention Department consists of three divisions. Inspections Division manages and oversees the regulatory and inspection aspects of the Coast Guard’s safety, security, and environmental protection responsibilities for vessels and facilities. Waterways Management Division controls aids to navigation; safety and security zones; Regulated Navigation Areas; ice breaking; and VTS and AIS. Investigations Division initiates inquiries into marine casualties, pollution, boating violations, and assessment of civil penalties.)
-St Petersburg
-Jacksonville
-Mobile
-Miami
District Miami and Command center duty
Sector response (The Response Department addresses SAR, pollution, and all hazards via its Incident Management Division. Enforcement Division enforces all laws and treaties and carries out PWCS enforcement activities, such as armed boardings, vessel escorts and security zone enforcement. This division works closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement and sister agencies within the DHS to respond to and mitigate the impact of maritime threats.)
-Jacksonville
-Miami
-Key West
Gulf Strike Team in Mobile (The GST is one of 3 Special Teams that make up the National Strike Force. It is a vital national asset comprised of a unique, highly trained cadre of Coast Guard professionals who maintain and rapidly deploy with specialized equipment and incident management skills any time to any place or hazard.)
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Pics and e-mail news
Just received an e-mail from Dan. Here's a blurb from it...
--pics deleted--
Today was career day. A whole day in the class, but nothing was testable. They invited in a bunch of officers from a bunch of different career fields to talk. Two cape cod falcon pilots were among the speakers. Then we had a very relaxed evening reception where they and our instructors answered questions and were nice and helpful. It was almost surreal in a way. And there was a cash bar too. I had a beer, I won't lie. Anyway, it was a nice, but surreal day.
--pics deleted--
Small update
Monday Dan had OOD duty. Late that night he sent me a brief e-mail saying his day was very long and so far hadn't received any demerits. Then Tues morning he sent me another quick one, about 5:30am just saying he was in the watch office waiting for everyone to come back from morning work out and had gotten about 3hrs of sleep.
Last night he called, just for about 5 minutes. He had a ton of paperwork stuff to do because of OOD but got it submitted and today he was scheduled to meet with the guy who was in charge while he was OOD to go over his performance. Hopefully not get any demerits along the way!
Not much to report on but thought I'd pass that little bit along.
Last night he called, just for about 5 minutes. He had a ton of paperwork stuff to do because of OOD but got it submitted and today he was scheduled to meet with the guy who was in charge while he was OOD to go over his performance. Hopefully not get any demerits along the way!
Not much to report on but thought I'd pass that little bit along.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Phone call 02.08.09
Dan made his weekly Sunday morning call today. I got a short e-mail from him last night saying he would be calling.
Friday they had a test and he scored an 88, so he has an 89 average. He said he's in the upper part of the class.
The camera he was assigned to take photos with is missing the cord to upload them to the computers. He thinks the one he has in his car will work so later today he's going to try to get it and upload some pics. If he has a chance he'll send them on and I can put some up.
This coming Friday the shopping list comes out. It's basically a list of all available jobs for his class to pick from. But Billet Night isn't until March 26th so we'll have plenty of time to research and come up with our 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc choices (1st obviously being flight school). He had his flight physical this past week. The Officer flt phys is different than the Enlisted one. He passed it just fine though. Tomorrow is the deadlines for the memos to be turned in requesting flight school, but he already turned his in. He feels pretty good about his qualifications compared to many of the others who are interested but there are about 20-25 who do want flight school.
The class put in a request to be granted 1 cell phone call next Friday to go over the shopping list with their spouses instead of 90 people trying to use 4 pay phones. He said they could possibly keep the privilege but usually it's not granted until later.
Mail runs don't get made every day. It's based on the duty officer and what they say so sometimes it'll be several days inbetween receiving any mail even if it's there they just can't have it.
He hasn't had much time for e-mails or anything, but said after tomorrow should have more time available. (Steve, he said he got one from you this morning and would try to reply but still had stuff to do first). Tomorrow he will be standing OOD Duty (Officer of the Day). Basially means he'll be the top OC in the barracks. While their everyday uniform is the usual ODU, he will be wearing the Bravos because he's OOD.
This coming week's class schedule looks like it is mostly geard to a career week type of thing. They will be learning different Officer career paths so they know more about them when the shopping list comes out on Friday.
I think I mentioned before how Dan said he was drinking coffee in the mornings. He said they're also allowed sodas but it usually isn't available in the mornings.
His cold is mostly gone and he's feeling better. He sounded good also. Landon and Logan both spoke briefly with him too in the beginning of the call. That's about all from today!
Friday they had a test and he scored an 88, so he has an 89 average. He said he's in the upper part of the class.
The camera he was assigned to take photos with is missing the cord to upload them to the computers. He thinks the one he has in his car will work so later today he's going to try to get it and upload some pics. If he has a chance he'll send them on and I can put some up.
This coming Friday the shopping list comes out. It's basically a list of all available jobs for his class to pick from. But Billet Night isn't until March 26th so we'll have plenty of time to research and come up with our 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc choices (1st obviously being flight school). He had his flight physical this past week. The Officer flt phys is different than the Enlisted one. He passed it just fine though. Tomorrow is the deadlines for the memos to be turned in requesting flight school, but he already turned his in. He feels pretty good about his qualifications compared to many of the others who are interested but there are about 20-25 who do want flight school.
The class put in a request to be granted 1 cell phone call next Friday to go over the shopping list with their spouses instead of 90 people trying to use 4 pay phones. He said they could possibly keep the privilege but usually it's not granted until later.
Mail runs don't get made every day. It's based on the duty officer and what they say so sometimes it'll be several days inbetween receiving any mail even if it's there they just can't have it.
He hasn't had much time for e-mails or anything, but said after tomorrow should have more time available. (Steve, he said he got one from you this morning and would try to reply but still had stuff to do first). Tomorrow he will be standing OOD Duty (Officer of the Day). Basially means he'll be the top OC in the barracks. While their everyday uniform is the usual ODU, he will be wearing the Bravos because he's OOD.
This coming week's class schedule looks like it is mostly geard to a career week type of thing. They will be learning different Officer career paths so they know more about them when the shopping list comes out on Friday.
I think I mentioned before how Dan said he was drinking coffee in the mornings. He said they're also allowed sodas but it usually isn't available in the mornings.
His cold is mostly gone and he's feeling better. He sounded good also. Landon and Logan both spoke briefly with him too in the beginning of the call. That's about all from today!
Friday, February 6, 2009
E-MAIL!!!!!!
Dan just sent me an e-mail! They earned them this week, yahoo!!!
He says to feel free to flood his inbox! OC.OCSNEW41@uscg.mil is the e-mail address.
He said he would try to send some pictures this weekend once he gets the right cords to upload the pics. Also on Tues when he called he mentioned he hadn't gotten to write a letter this past week to anyone (even me). But hopefully with e-mail communication will be more frequent and with everyone!
He says to feel free to flood his inbox! OC.OCSNEW41@uscg.mil is the e-mail address.
He said he would try to send some pictures this weekend once he gets the right cords to upload the pics. Also on Tues when he called he mentioned he hadn't gotten to write a letter this past week to anyone (even me). But hopefully with e-mail communication will be more frequent and with everyone!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Phone call!!! 02.03.09
I got an unexpected call from Dan tonight!!! Apparently he had a 2nd phone card there so used even though he used the other one on Sunday he could call again. I wasn't expecting a call at all since I just put a new card in the mail yesterday (for some reason the old one wasn't letting me recharge it).
It was a somewhat brief call. He said since I asked him to call more when he had 15min until taps he decided to give it a try. We basically discussed the boys and how they were doing. I told him tonight we did our pizza and movie night that we used to do once a week for the first time since coming down here. Talked briefly about graduation plans. He got a lot of mail yesterday. It seems to go in spurts even though I mail them out usually every other day. He didn't get a chance to write on Sunday, but I reminded him to write others besides just me so maybe soon he'll get a chance. He's hoping they'll earn e-mail this Friday but only time will tell.
That's about all for tonight!
It was a somewhat brief call. He said since I asked him to call more when he had 15min until taps he decided to give it a try. We basically discussed the boys and how they were doing. I told him tonight we did our pizza and movie night that we used to do once a week for the first time since coming down here. Talked briefly about graduation plans. He got a lot of mail yesterday. It seems to go in spurts even though I mail them out usually every other day. He didn't get a chance to write on Sunday, but I reminded him to write others besides just me so maybe soon he'll get a chance. He's hoping they'll earn e-mail this Friday but only time will tell.
That's about all for tonight!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Phone Call 02.01.09!
Dan called this morning! We talked for a good 20 minutes again like last Sunday. We ended the call because there was 1 minute left on the phone card. I got him a new one last night though (for some reason I couldn't recharge his, he may have given me the wrong info from it).
I took a few notes this time, so hopefully I can do a better job remembering what all was discussed.
There are now 87 people in the class and 91 people began. 1 went home due to family emergency but will be attending the next class. 2 were sent home because of weight issues. The 1st person gone was the female from Cape Cod that got picked up. No one could really believe she was accepted in the first place though so it didn't come as a huge shock.
Dan is 1 of 3 photographers for the class. He was issued a camera and has to have it with him all the time to take pictures of what is going on. Once he gets email he will be able to send pictures. I will be certain to post any that he sends my way! There is also a videographer for the class, I talk with his wife quite a bit.
He gave me a breakdown of their typical schedule.
5am-wake up
Workout
6am-back to shower, get dressed
6:40-formation and breakfast
7-back from breakfast (so only 20 min to get everyone in formation, food, and once everyone is seated they can eat)
7:15-inspection
7:30-11:30-class
lunch
12:30-4:30-class
dinner
30 minutes to cleanup
study phase 1-silent desk work or computer lab
Drill for 1 hour. If it is sunny they will go outside for it.
9-9:30-Study Phase 2-Where they can iron, shine boots, write letters, make phone calls, etc
9:30-10-Taps 2-Continute tasks from Study Phase 2 but may also shower
10-Taps
He said he has right at 100 demerits which is about the average. They hand them out in chunks like 15 or 25 at a time, so he hasn't gotten in trouble 100 times. Yesterday he received 15 because some of the members of his group were late for something so even though he was on time it's a teamwork thing.
There are 3 platoons in the company and he is the 3rd guy in his company. He holds the flag and is also incharge of sorting mail. His is in the lead academically and they've also won 2/3 drill competitions. On Monday they had their first test and he got a 90 and said he thinks that is right about par with everyone else but can't say for sure.
This past week they did a type of corporate teamwork training. He said they all had to use each other's first names which threw everyone off but it was a nice change up in what they had been doing.
Next week his memo requesting flight school is due and he is planning on working on it today. A pilot from ASCC had given Dan a copy of his memo that he wrote before Dan left to give him a guideline of what to do and what worked for him.
Billet night will be the night they return from the Eagle cruise. It is in mid-March but Dan couldn't remember off the top of his head the exact date.
Soon they will be buying their swords and dress whites. Today he's going to the BX to buy some new pants, his current ones have gotten too big. He knows the 1st week he lost 3 pounds but isn't sure since then but it's obviously been a bit if he's needing smaller pants already.
Landon didn't want to talk to Daddy but Logan was very eager too. He heard Dan's voice on the phone and started saying "Dada Dada Dada" and reaching for the phone. He misses everyone but is happy it's already February. Can hardly count May as him being gone since I'll be up there and seeing him a few days before grad anyways.
I think that's about all! He won't be able to call again until he gets the new phone card so if he gets a chance it won't be until the end of the week or weekend.
Adding a few hours later...Oh yeah, almost forgot, he said they earned caffeine on Friday! So in the mornings he has been having a cup of coffee with breakfast. Neither one of us have ever been coffee drinkers. We have a coffee pot only for when we have company lol. I told him not to go changing too much on me :)
I took a few notes this time, so hopefully I can do a better job remembering what all was discussed.
There are now 87 people in the class and 91 people began. 1 went home due to family emergency but will be attending the next class. 2 were sent home because of weight issues. The 1st person gone was the female from Cape Cod that got picked up. No one could really believe she was accepted in the first place though so it didn't come as a huge shock.
Dan is 1 of 3 photographers for the class. He was issued a camera and has to have it with him all the time to take pictures of what is going on. Once he gets email he will be able to send pictures. I will be certain to post any that he sends my way! There is also a videographer for the class, I talk with his wife quite a bit.
He gave me a breakdown of their typical schedule.
5am-wake up
Workout
6am-back to shower, get dressed
6:40-formation and breakfast
7-back from breakfast (so only 20 min to get everyone in formation, food, and once everyone is seated they can eat)
7:15-inspection
7:30-11:30-class
lunch
12:30-4:30-class
dinner
30 minutes to cleanup
study phase 1-silent desk work or computer lab
Drill for 1 hour. If it is sunny they will go outside for it.
9-9:30-Study Phase 2-Where they can iron, shine boots, write letters, make phone calls, etc
9:30-10-Taps 2-Continute tasks from Study Phase 2 but may also shower
10-Taps
He said he has right at 100 demerits which is about the average. They hand them out in chunks like 15 or 25 at a time, so he hasn't gotten in trouble 100 times. Yesterday he received 15 because some of the members of his group were late for something so even though he was on time it's a teamwork thing.
There are 3 platoons in the company and he is the 3rd guy in his company. He holds the flag and is also incharge of sorting mail. His is in the lead academically and they've also won 2/3 drill competitions. On Monday they had their first test and he got a 90 and said he thinks that is right about par with everyone else but can't say for sure.
This past week they did a type of corporate teamwork training. He said they all had to use each other's first names which threw everyone off but it was a nice change up in what they had been doing.
Next week his memo requesting flight school is due and he is planning on working on it today. A pilot from ASCC had given Dan a copy of his memo that he wrote before Dan left to give him a guideline of what to do and what worked for him.
Billet night will be the night they return from the Eagle cruise. It is in mid-March but Dan couldn't remember off the top of his head the exact date.
Soon they will be buying their swords and dress whites. Today he's going to the BX to buy some new pants, his current ones have gotten too big. He knows the 1st week he lost 3 pounds but isn't sure since then but it's obviously been a bit if he's needing smaller pants already.
Landon didn't want to talk to Daddy but Logan was very eager too. He heard Dan's voice on the phone and started saying "Dada Dada Dada" and reaching for the phone. He misses everyone but is happy it's already February. Can hardly count May as him being gone since I'll be up there and seeing him a few days before grad anyways.
I think that's about all! He won't be able to call again until he gets the new phone card so if he gets a chance it won't be until the end of the week or weekend.
Adding a few hours later...Oh yeah, almost forgot, he said they earned caffeine on Friday! So in the mornings he has been having a cup of coffee with breakfast. Neither one of us have ever been coffee drinkers. We have a coffee pot only for when we have company lol. I told him not to go changing too much on me :)
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