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