So, after two days at school I’ll be returning to camp and standing watch. Since there are only two ITs the Commo has asked us to stand up a watch from 0800 to 2400. The other IT and I have divided that into two eight hour watches. He’s standing the 0800 to 1600 and I have the watch from 1600 to 2400. Of course, because of the amount of work that needs to get done, I’ll probably start working at 1200. Funny thing is, I love it. I really enjoy what I’m doing. I don’t like some of the scheduling and planning or lack there of.
I really learned a lot in the school that we just completed. I contacted the guys at Expeditionary Warfare Training Group Pacific (EWTGPac) as soon as I found out we were headed into the Gulf. I asked them for in depth training on the radios that I knew would we likely be asked to use in the Gulf. The Master Sergeants at EWTGPac are awesome. Not only did they teach us a whole lot about the radios we will be using, they also taught how to get them talking to the radios that other units and services (Seabees, Army, Marine Corps) commonly use. Very valuable training. It was really great stuff.
We have another day of training coming up next week. This time to learn the details of NAVMACS II. NAVMACS II is the message routing and handling software that we use. Similar to email but with several added layers of complication.
The weather down here has been really nice. I think we’ve had maybe one day of rain since I’ve been down here. I really wish I had my surfboard and some time to explore the surfing down here. I expect I’ll get a better chance to investigate the surfing down here when we demobilize in the fall.
The base where we have set up our training camp is also where the SEALs conduct their training. It’s always interesting to see them come out and train. We’re given strict orders not to take pictures or stare at them. One week when a new class of SEALs was going through their final week — called hell week — I heard the bell ring five or six times. That was five or six guys who came within days of succesful completion and could not finish. I feel for those guys.
Last night I talked with my family using iSight and iChat. Great stuff. It is really nice to be able to talk with and see my family. So far I’ve been able to get together with my family every two weeks. I am beginning to wonder what it will be like when I final go over the horizon and can’t be with them for six months. That will be a long time.