I got my letter!!!!

So today FINALLY I have gotten my letter from Derek. Update is he had passed his swim test,pushups and situps, he finished his 1.5 mile run in 10 mins 30 secs he got a 96 on his mid term and passed his seamanship test. That is truly amazing!!

Now how he got his colors word for word:
"Saturday July 25th we got our asses handed to us all day. one evolution after another. No one could figure out why we were doing any of it. At one point during the day 2 males from our company were caught sleeping in th bathroom and where punished all day and finally at 10:00 PM we went to bed dead tired. 2 hours later we where woken up at midnight andtold to pack our sea bags and form up outside. They said it was punishment for our shipmates sleeping, so we started marching in the rain for like 2 miles. Then our CC sent the 3-4 guys that where sleeping and goofing around back to the squad bay and we kept marching to the beach. We dumped our seabags on the sand and started doing push ups and crunches. He then told us to get on our stomachs then to get up and face away from the water so we did and where standing there for a few minutes. We then heard our head CC scream " ABOUT FACE!" we turned around to the pitch black water and the other CC's took their flash lights and put them on our head CC who was in the water up to his knees holding out company colots aka flag and screamed " IF YOU WANT YOUR COLORS COME GET EM!!" We all ran down to the beach into the water fully dressed up to our waists and grabbed our flag!! Single greatest moment ive had here at boot camp so far!!! They dont just give their colors they hace to earn them and it feels good"


Truly amazing I got goosebumps!!!! I am so happy for him and his squad. Sounds like they are doing an AWESOME job! 22 more days and he will be back home as a United States Guardian.

Week 4/Monday July 20th- Sunday July 26th

Monday, 2ØJULØ9
What a day! Week four started off with a bang as we woke up to another mile run. Everyone seemed to be on pace to make the required time for our physical test later this week. We ate breakfast and then split up into two groups; one half went to the range to learn marksmanship, while the other half attended class. The class was on Commitment and our Lead Company Commander challenged us to grow each day and to be better than the day before. The class also focused on heroes such as Douglas Munro who was a Guardian that placed himself in direct fire so that a squad of Marines could escape from the Japanese forces at Point Cruz. He drove a landing craft with only a small mounted gun on it and held the position long enough for all the Marines to evacuate. He was shot and killed at the end of the withdrawal and is the only Coast Guard Member to receive the Medal of Honor. His last words, “did they all make it out,” showed concern not for him, but for the Marines he was saving. Yankee-181’s eyes were opened a lot wider as this type of honor, respect, and devotion to duty is expected of us. This definitely makes us feel important, knowing that our shipmates and the public will expect this type of commitment from us. As new members of the Coast Guard we have huge shoes to fill…. HUGE! We had another cleaning evolution followed by incentive training. By the time we leave boot camp we will all be professional cleaners. The second half of the group then went to our marksmanship class. Of course safety was highly stressed to the maximum and beyond and we were warned countless times of the consequences of not following the strict guidelines. We hope to be the only company on the regiment to meet the requirements to earn the marksmanship pennant. So far, our chances look good. Since the first half of our class shot at a qualifying rate of seventy percent only a few of us need to pass to attain our goal. Tomorrow we will finesse our shots and hopefully ease our squeeze towards that award.
Goodnight, YANKEE - 181

Tuesday, 21JUL09
Today started off with literally a BANG! We went straight to the firing range after morning chow and put into practice everything we learned last night in our Marksmanship class. Just like the other half of our company who had their chance a few days prior, we implemented our proper safety techniques, dawned our eye and hearing protection, stood at the ready, aimed, and FIRED! One could say that being at the firing range is a lot like being at Boot Camp itself. Those who didn’t know what to expect and were maybe a little scared at first, dove right into something new. Once they finally understood what was going and got the feel of things, their final attempts hit the target. Then there are others who were overly confident and considered themselves to be experts, but within seconds it was clear that they needed to be humble and re-taught. Hopefully at the end of Boot Camp, we will feel as accomplished as we did today. As a whole, Yankee-181 had a qualifying score that was enough to earn us the Marksmanship Pennant. We are now the only Company in the entire regiment to hold this honor. No other company has done did this since April of this year. Excited whispers of our accomplishment quickly spread through our halls as we filtered back into our squad bays. We kept the noise to a minimum but the abstract excitement was deafening.
We have started to become “new” adults in week four of training. It is evident that this is expected of us as our Company Commanders are giving us tasks to meet on our own. This on its own tells us that we must be showing some sign of responsibility. It is evident amongst ourselves as well, as we actually follow orders even in the rare moments when we don’t have the presence of our Company Commanders. I think some of us are only behaving because we think that they are the bushes watching us, but given the rate we are going, we should be done with that frame of thinking real soon.
Goodnight Yankee-181.

Wednesday, 22JULØ9
There was one thing on everybody’s mind at the start of week four, and that was our physical fitness assessment. Some of us were excited, some of us were dreading the moment, and most were worried. But when the time finally came, Yankee – 181 strutted its stuff as only a handful of us did not pass. We started with pushups; males had to complete 29 and females 15 in one minute. Once the requirements were met, we formed back into line to start the sit up portion. This time, males had to complete 38 and females 32 within the same time frame. Then the big moment came and we all set up on the track for our one and a half mile run. All the morning workouts were about to be put to the test. The starting whistle blew and all of our training, hearts, and pride kicked into gear. Our company commanders added on to our drive to pass the running criteria with their own way of expressing encouragement… “MOVE FASTER!” and “RUN!” Seeing the company commanders as we ran promptly put into our minds that we better pass and not ever have to do this again during our time here at Cape May. That in itself was enough motivation for those who did not train as much as they should have. The sweat would not stop pouring from our pores. Even after our showers, our bodies were still heated and perspiring like there was no tomorrow. However, we are glad to say that the majority of us passed. Unfortunately, those who did not will begin remedial training with the gym instructors first thing tomorrow morning to fix any areas that they were weak in.
If the physical assessment wasn’t enough of an obstacle, we were introduced to the confidence course after our assessment. Our eyes grew huge with fear as we thought that we were going to run through this monster of an obstacle course. We all thought this was going to be the definite end of us. Imagine the silent sighs of relief for the pain in our legs and arms as we only had to focused on the rope climbing section. Our company commanders demonstrated the proper technique and we did our best to mimic the movement. We won’t come around again until week seven when we take on the entire course though and we should be ready for that. Week four is definitely a tough peak to get over but since we are halfway through it, we will continue to push…and we will push hard!
Goodnight, Yankee - 181.

Thursday, 23JULØ9
Today was by far one of the most exciting days we had since we first arrived at the recruit training center in Cape May. This is because we were able to make a big step towards our future careers with the Coast Guard and pick our top twelve units for out “Wish List.” Like kids in a candy store we surveyed our options and reviewed every small boat station, cutter and district. The list we created today will be given to head quarters where a detailer will look at our choices and try to match them with the needs of the Coast Guard. It won’t be another week until we get our orders, but it was a big moment for us. While making our list, we kept in the back of our minds the advice from our lead company commander. He explained to us that as young adults, we should seek new adventures and new places to call home. He was not trying in any way to get us to leave those we loved behind. Instead, he helped inspire a few of us to spread our wings a little bit. When the time came for us to finally put pen to paper, we just followed our hearts and we are now waiting and hoping for the best. We will be happy to serve our country anywhere the Coast Guard needs us, but we are anxious to know where we will be in just four weeks. We were probably a little too anxious though because the rest of the day we did not focus on our assigned tasks. Knowing we would have a rack inspection and that our squad bay would be surveyed by our Section Commander, very little effort was made to square it away. Since all three squad bays received failing grades, we returned to our hall for the consequences. Our Company Commanders had decided to clean for us…there way. It was like a tornado tore through an oil spill, which passed by a pig pen, before landing in our squad bays. (Pretty much like our rooms back home). The worst thing of all is that we knew better and looking around at the mess that we essentially created, we vowed to never let ourselves and our company commanders down again. We look forward to a restful night in our clean rooms with dreams of our next destination and the ability to call home and share it with our loved ones.
Goodnight, Yankee - 181

Friday, 24JULØ9
We started the morning off with a one mile run around the parade field. The mile was not all that bad compared to the mile and a half that we ran two days prior for our physical fitness test. The coolness of the morning might have been what helped us, or maybe it was all the training our bodies have endured over the past few weeks, but either way, we went into chow refreshed and ready for our midterm exams. Strict rules were given before sitting for the test and we all abided by them. It was either we followed the rules or get reverted a week. So of course, we followed the rules. When the test forms were passed out, silence took over the room until seventy five minutes later it was all over. The test covered all the classes that we have attended so far. It was open book so all our extensive notes and organized handouts came in handy. We were a little nervous because we didn’t know what to expect but once we read the very first question we realized we had it all under control. After our midterm, we all felt pretty confident as we headed to the galley for lunch. So confident that we stuffed our faces and forgot about our gym class that was to immediately follow. In gym class we lifted both the weights of our gym equipment and the weight of our fully stretched stomachs… up and down, left and right, and even in circles. The training is doing us good here at Cape May, as no one gave up their lunch. But who would give up fried rice, lemon baked fish, pies, and cakes over a couple hundred pounds of work? Not Yankee, that’s for sure! After gym we headed back to our squad bays and received our test scores. We all passed with high scores and the majority of the class earned grades of 94% or better! With the midterm and all our other week four test behind us, it still isn’t yet safe to say that we have completely gotten over the top of the hill, because a lot can happen in one day.
Good night, Yankee – 181.

Saturday, 25JULØ9
Today was a beautiful Saturday here in Cape May until word of an F-3 hurricane was sent through Yankee’s squad bays. We were ordered to quickly get ready for transportation to a new destination north of our current location. All eyes were worried but we stuck with our discipline senses and got to packing. We all packed up every single item into our sea bags and piled them outside in their designated spots. We also packed pretty much everything that wasn’t stationary. We were waiting outside Healy Hall for our transportation when we received word from our company commanders that it was just a “false alarm.” Then we had to do what anyone would guess, move every single item back up to our squad bays and not only that, but we were to have our squad bays inspection ready in what seemed like an impossible time objective. That was more than enough time though as we used our teamwork and self discipline to get our spaces squared away. Immediately after our inspection we once again packed all our items from our racks into our sea bags, however, this time it was not for a storm of any sort, but rather for a human conveyor belt. It doesn’t sound that bad until you do this with about seventy or so bags. It took a lot of teamwork and commitment to get through this…We got through it just fine! We said goodbye to the midpoint of our training here at Cape May the old traditional way…Lots of exercise! We did a bunch of remedial training to help us move with a sense of urgency and teamwork. The company commanders want to make sure that we go into the last half of training with at least those two items in hand.
Goodnight, Yankee - 181

Sunday, 26JULØ9
The story behind today’s blog began ten minutes before Sunday even began. What happened next seemed like a scene straight out of a movie. Today we received our colors. The story is a good one, that we will never forget, and no I am not going to tell you it now. There are just some things about boot camp that can only be described in person, by a person who was there, so I save this story for your loved one to tell you after graduation. We carried our colors home and felt invincible as we cited “The Guardian Ethos.” Our spirits were now filled with pride of being one step close to being member of the United States Coast Guard.
Looking back at everything we went through this morning, and all the emotions that ran through us, we see now that it was a necessary evil. Our company commanders had to break us down in order to build us up. We had to see our faults and learn how to overcome them. Receiving our colors and being able to not only walk around as a junior company on the regiment, but as Yankee – 181, was by far the most memorable experience we have had so far during our training. Into Week five we grow.
Goodnight, Yankee - 181

Week 3/ Sunday July 12th- Saturday July 18th

Sunday – 12JULØ9
Divine hours to recruits at Cape May are like planned weekends for civilians after a 1ØØ hour work week – they come slow and disappear quickly. However, given strict time restraints on literally everything from what seems like 1Ø minute showers, 6Ø seconds to move Ø2 decks and roughly 3ØØ feet, to 2Ø minute meals and 1Ø minute breaks. We recruits have all learned to appreciate in a much more profound way. The Ø5 hours were not wasted, as letters were written, church was attended, studying was not rushed or part of an exercise (and we really studied). Simply beautiful! Then, just like that long awaited weekend, divine hours came to an abrupt and sudden end. The slow flow of peace sped up 1Ø fold. ..then 1ØØ fold! Immediately after lunch, the appreciated “time” would not go by fast enough. As sweat, in the words of our Company Commander, “covered us like rain.” Holding a 1Ø lb piece at a forty-five degree angle for approximately 2Ø minutes is by no means easy, especially now after of sitting and standing quickly in a repetitive movement. Although we were as tired as a contestant from the television show “The Biggest Loser”, we all felt a huge sense of pride in our company name when we were told to recite it. As our dying voices shouted with new life “We are Yankee 181!” We are hopefully headed in the right direction now as we go into week Ø3 of training with new transitions such as addressing personnel by their rank in the correct military manner, instead of just the common “sir” or “ma’am”. We look forward to the coming days of week Ø3 and all adventures or challenges that it will bring. Two weeks down, six more to go. Wish us luck.

Monday - 13JULØ9
Today we had a case of the Mondays. Maybe it was because we began security watch and had to patrol all hours of the night, or because we up’ed our half mile run to a full mile keeping at the same pace, but we were definitely pretty out of it. Even our required classes today seemed overwhelming as we learned about harassment and the Coast Guard zero tolerance policy towards discrimination. When our Company Commander picked us up from class for chow, we were stuck in a rut and didn’t sound off, didn’t meet uniform standards, couldn’t keep in step, and unfortunately the list goes on as we started the evening off on the wrong foot. To get us back on track, our Lead Company Commander brought us all in the squad bay with our Coast Guard manuals and we read in unison a passage about discipline. It explained that discipline can be defined in many ways…but having the right attitude and being proud of your duty, your station, or military uniform is a reflection of respect and acknowledging that we are getting a square deal from them. For many of us this concept really sank in. So later, when our Lead Company Commander was showing us something as simple as shining our boots, it dawned on us that we have a lot to learn so we need to get our act together so the real training can begin. Tomorrow is a new day, so let’s see what happens in week Ø3.

Tuesday – 14JULØ9
After a night full of mishaps on Monday, we were sure getting worked in the early hours. However, Tuesday came rather smoothly for Yankee-181. We awoke and started the day with an ironing class where our Company Commander, Petty Officer Sutton taught us how to properly square away uniforms. Moms would definitely be proud of us. Next we marched over to the gym where we learned and participated in survival floating. This was an important lesson because it is necessary to be Semper Paratus (always ready) even for worse case scenarios. We were given “Mustang” suits, which were like jump suits that float and given two minutes to put them on correctly so we could practice in real time. Jumping into the water and being able to lay on our backs was sheer bliss and probably the one and only time that we will be able to relax in Cape May. Yet the reality of this lesson and the drills we completed could someday save lives. After chow we had a Manual of Arms class which is a series of drill movements done with our piece. These drills are more for show and competition; however, they still hold a high level of discipline and military bearing. It’s going to take a lot of practice before we can execute a “parade rest” or a “left shoulder arms” as sharp and polished as our Company Commander. It’s becoming clear that all our extra incentive training is no one’s fault but our own. After two weeks of sweaty discipline people usually start clicking together to solve the problem. We have already figured out what the problem is. Now we just need to click together and apply the solution.

Wednesday -15JULØ9
With our physical fitness test looming right around the corner we started the day off with another mile run. It was a great indicator of how well we could do when the actual test comes around. A few of us were getting pretty worried at the results. Especially after being shown the proper techniques for the push-up and sit-up portion and completing a mock one minute trial for each. Needless to say, when it was time to go to the gym for the Cybex machine workout we all focused a little more on building our muscles and completing all three reps at our maximum weight tolerance. After we refueled our bodies at chow, we headed to the classroom where we learned about the original five services that merged to form the Coast Guard, and how each blend together to ensure that we are truly Maritime Guardians. Since we are a smaller branch of the Armed Forces it is easy to see why only a small percentage of Americans can understand the full scope of what we do. But many of us were inspired by all of the possibilities to serve our country. The Coast Guard may be the best kept secret of the five military branches but we are so proud to be “in” on it and to be reminded of why we are training here at Cape May. Another class that we had today was about advancements within the Coast Guard for enlisted and commissioned officers. We were honored and surprised to have our Training Officer, Commander McMahon speak with us. He had a lot of insight through his own personal experiences as an enlisted member, Warrant Officer, and Commissioned Officer in the Coast Guard. We can’t believe he would take time out from his day to talk to us and he gave us a lot to think about as we begin to map out our careers with the Coast Guard.

Thursday – 16JULØ9
“I will never forget that I am an American fighting for freedom. Responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free.” This is the first line from the code of conduct, article six, and an excellent reminder to us of what were training for and the duties we may someday fulfill. We learned all six articles today and watched a film which highlighted prisoners of war from all military branches. These brave soldiers explained the relevance of each article and how it related to their time behind enemy lines. Heaven forbid we ever find ourselves in that same situation as the soldiers in the film, but at least we know what is expected of us and that we will never surrender our allegiance. The class also opened the eyes of many young recruits to the realities of the world around them. After chow, we headed to seamanship class. Very interesting! We are excited to know that there are many more to come as we need to understand our way around the cutters (ships) that many of us will be serving on. Today’s class focused on terminology of all the little parts that make a Coast Guard vessel work so that when we get to our first unit and someone asks us to go to the bow we don’t bend over and curtsey but instead head towards the front end of the vessel. We also learned today that we will be participating in tomorrow’s graduation ceremony. YANKEE-181 looks forward to marching at the next graduation, the next graduation, and the next because it helps us look forward to our own. We can almost see the tip of the mountain peak.

Friday – 17JULØ9
This morning was strange to wake up to our shipmate’s voice instead of a whistles, yelling, and a siren or two. Later, our Petty Officer Durrant walked into our squad bay and gives the order to shower, iron our uniforms and get “pretty” for the graduation ceremony. We were given more than enough time to get ready and with our boots polished, uniforms squared away we stood in marching order looking like a million bucks! But as we marched on the field we felt like a billion! Being a part of the ceremony lifted our spirits and solidified the pride we have in our chosen careers. The drums of the band set the cadence for our steps and with each “boom” as the crowd gave sincere applause. Even though there was a little bit of salt in our sugar soup this day our Company Commanders made sure to add the needed sweetener. Next we got underway to what has so far been our favorite class here at Cape May, seamanship. Today’s lesson was a little more hands on because we dealt with short ropes. We learned about all the different types and characteristics of ropes and the five basic knots. Our instructor who is a Damage Controlman gave us insightful learning tools to help the process of memorizing the information a little bit easier. After evening show we learned about the Coast Guard’s Honor Guard, Precision! Precision! Perfect precision! As they tossed their rifles around with movements which take hours on end to perfect and for the entire motion to be in sync. The Drill Team and Honor Guard pride itself on perfection; seeing it in action left no doubts. The session was for recruiting purposes and several of our shipmates that met the requirements stayed behind to get answers, and possible even sign up. As usual, the night ended with a cleaning session then snacks and prayer… All the little things that we “Yankees” looks forward to in the evenings. The squad bays should be a lot quieter since we are moving to a more mature stage in training.

Saturday – 18JULØ9
Today was amazing! We had our first hands on experience at the helm of a Coast Guard cutter. We each had a turn at piloting the vessel through lightning, strong winds, 1Ø foot seas, and land nowhere in sight… Of course, this was all computer simulated and in reality we were safe inside the air conditioned classroom. You didn’t think the Coast Guard would let us steer a billion dollar vessel after only three weeks of training did you? Maybe after week four! In addition to our fun time at sea we also learned the five basic knots; the square knot, bowline knot, clove hitch, slip clove hitch, and the round turn and two half hitches. We were given the whole entire afternoon to master them. It was a chance for all the previous boy scouts, girl scouts, boaters, and eagle scouts to show off their skills and help other novice line tiers a.k.a. their shipmates. Our ability to work as a team showed a side of the company that needs to continue to shine strong. By the end of the class we were given tests on all the new knowledge of the day and passed with flying colors! Sure, they won’t let us anywhere near a real ship just yet, but they can definitely trust us with some rope! On our way back to our hall after evening chow we were quizzed on general knowledge (ranks/rating, eleven general orders, and chain of command). It was apparent that we needed additional remedial training with some incentive training added in so Petty Officer Giaccone gathered us for some thorough learning. Learning their way is pretty motivating to get things right! We walked away stronger and smarter with the help of this training session and the wise insight of our Company Commander on how to better memorize the information.
That about sums up this week; send mail, send love, send prayers and send well wishes as we are sending them back to you. Until next time-YANKEE-181

Starting Week 2

Week Ø2 – Yankee-181
We can’t believe it has been over a week since we arrived here to begin recruit training. We have been going non-stop since we arrived with work outs in the gym, classroom lessons, and trying to obtain some sort of military bearing. Our bad habits of our previous lives seem to get in the way but our Company Commanders make sure that we receive plenty of incentive to get it right. I am sure that by now they are beyond frustrated that the two things we shout the loudest before each task, “Discipline” and “Speed” are the two things that we lack the most right now. Talking and moving around seems to be our biggest vices, as we can’t seem to comprehend the position of attention. But, we are confident that we can put it behind us especially with the help of letters and good news from home to fill our minds and help us get squared away. The Chaplain greets us with current events and headline news each week. Already we have come a long way from where we were when we arrived but we have a long, long way to go until we fully transition into a company that excels in teamwork, leadership, and most importantly, one that lives the Coast Guard Core Values of “Honor, Respect, and Devotion to Duty.”
A new day begins… This morning started off exceptionally easy (for the first five minutes) as our Company Commander did not wake us up with what seems to be our usual incentive training session for moving slow, or what not. Instead we awoke to a quieter, calmer voice with orders to line up in our marching formation. Our steady paced march was a warm up for a short run on the track. A few hours later we found ourselves in the gym for a work out that included weight training and cycling. When noon chow came around (lunch) we were ready to eat. After chow, little did we know the fun was about to begin. Nervous recruits did what nervous recruits do best… mess up! And messing up only encourages our Company Commanders to do what they do best, “encourage” us to do better! The day quickly fell apart for Yankee, as we continue to blindly lead the blind. All we need to do as we close week two of training is learn to move fast, and work, think , and move as a team, oh and listen to our Company Commanders!
Saturday of week Ø2 is hard. We ended today with sore muscles and crammed full brains. So far, this has been one of the hardest days for us here in Cape May; we worked our bodies to what felt like the physical breaking point. Amidst all of the madness of the day, we had a chance to meet our Company Mentor who talked with us, and helped answer some questions we had about our time here thus far, and what to expect in the weeks to come. The day ended as it usually does, everyone tired, ready to hit the rack, and with the option for everyone to participate in a prayer. We look forward to much needed rest and divine hours tomorrow.
Week Ø2 humbled us and reveled to us faults both individually and as a team. For some, these faults are physical, for others attitude or motivation. We had our swim test this week, and the handful of us that did not pass will be attending remedial swim at Ø53Ø each morning Monday thru Friday. Speaking of remedial instruction we have received much of it this week including remedial rack making, sounding off, classroom procedures, which is helping to whip even the worst of us into shape. Putting our rack together one item at a time takes more out of you that you would expect. Not only do we have these physical hurdles to endure, we have to overcome mentally, as we struggle to pay attention to all the little details (which seem to matter the most) and follow directions. We learned very quickly that there are remedial instructions for this too! We have had to have remedial instruction on signing out of the company, slashing our zeros, and writing in capital block letters because some us can’t seem to get this…
We still have several weaknesses but have been told that there are some things that we are doing well. We are trying to learn and overcome, prevail and win. It is hard, for most of us this is the hardest thing we have ever been through, but we can’t quit, and won’t stop until we are standing there at graduation, shining, knowing that we gave it all we had.
Until next time,
YANKEE-181