Catch Up

Here I am during Family Day on the ship. In the backround is George Washington aircraft carrier. She did a flight show for our 92 guests.



During our command picnic, we set up summo, bouncy castle, and a paintball-like area. Attendance was poor, due to it being after liberty. But us new guys were there having fun, mostly because we would be cleaning up at the end. Here is Kyle Bolton and I showing good sportsmenship before I destroyed him. He won big glove boxing however.



The LASSEN was the only ship on base hosting people. We had a line around the block. People litterally fainted from heat exhaustion to get onboard. Us new guys had to work the event, so we stood there getting hundreds of pictures taken with us. Here, locals pose with our firefighting equipment.




Bryan Wogerman, Me, and Kyle Bolton.





This is one of the entrances to the base during Friendship Day. I was quickly told not to take anymore pictures. I failed to capture one of the many ladies in a kamono.





A dance competition in the local square. This troop was waaaay too old for the competition. There were serious dressed judges sitting in the back, American Idol style. My favorite act was a group of girls dressed in orange down vests, ski goggles, and biker gloves. I don't know who won, the rain drove me out.





ENS Kyle Bolton, getting into the spirit in Kamakura. Pres Obama recently visited Kamakura. There are photos for sale of him eating green tea ice cream.

Photos-a-plenty

A very unimpressive shot of the Okinawa pier. We stayed there just long enough to sweat through a t-shirt.


Here we had a massive shooting day. We shot everything. We put a big red inflatable ball in the ocean and took turns shooting. Even midshipmen got a go.


Our VLA shoot. First one on the LASSEN ever.


Here we are doing RAS drilling with the Japanese destroyer, Harusami. I got to conn while driving 200yrds away.




We went to a Hiroshima Carp game while in Kure. It was the majoy league team in the area. Bunts got standing ovations.


Hiroshima Castle



We had the local special Okonomiyaki in Hiroshima. Pancake, cabbage, bacon, egg, green onion, cooked in front of you.






Miyajima Island was awesome. Full of tiny tame deer and temples.

First One Under My Belt

I am back in Yokosuka after my first deployment. A deployed ship not actively engaged in mission seems to train constantly. We did maneuvers, drills, weapon shoots, and took on midshipmen. Even though we weren't in battle, or even creating a presence, our main mission was to train. On the surface, there is little to do besides drive the ship from point A to point B. But everyone is always busy, around the clock. Constant drills, constant training.

The large task ahead of me is getting qualified. There are more than 20 different qualifications to get my surface warfare pin. Such as Small Boat Officer, Damage Control, Officer of the Deck, SWO engineer, etc. Some take a day to get, others take a year. Each qual requires different signatures to mark that you know/ can do a certain part of the job. There is no set schedule or program to get you qualified, it is up to you. It requires studying, pestering people, and good timing.

Apart from getting qualified, I'm learning how to run the CE division. Basically, I am relaying info from the command to our electricians, doing tons of paperwork, getting signatures, and doing admin for my division. At first, my involvement in everything has been a "UI" role where I am shadowing someone, taking notes. But now
I'm standing my own watches, conning the ship.

Conning has been fun. My second day at sea, I was conning the ship solo, during helicopter operations. So far I have conned during a sea and anchor, during flight ops, doing Drive Ex with a Japanese destroyer (in formation, doing synchronized turns), during RAS practice with that Japanese destroyer (driving up close along side to get supplies), and during torpedo avoidance. I did a Big Bird, which was tons of fun (going full speed, making sharp turns to confuse torpedoes).

We made stops in Okinawa and Kure. We were only in Okinawa for a couple of hours. We were in Kure for three days though, and we spent most of our time in Hiroshima. We got to visit Miyajima island, the most beautiful place I've been yet. Pictures are coming soon.

House Hunting

Right now I live on the ship, in overflow berthing. Woof. The Navy gives a generous housing allowance (the Japanese gov't gives our Navy money to do this to stimulate the local real estate), so finding a place is not particularly limited by cost. Last night I was in Yokohama, an awesome city to the north, about a 30 min train/ subway right away. It is extremely nice, plus the nightlife is way better than the Honch, the local scene in Yokosuka (real divey). The only reason not to live in Yokohama is that it is so far away. But some people do. I am looking for something closer, a nice area and really nice building, with other navy people, with nice scenery. Everyone is very helpful with advice, but I keep forgetting where they suggest because its Japanese words. Basically, I'll have to get a place really fast when we return from my first deployment, and I'll probably have to settle.

Speaking of Japanese words, it is amazing how well some of my fellow officers know Japanese. They fall in love with the country, keep doing tours here, and before you know it they are awesome at speaking it. Right now I am too busy learning my Job to really dive into Japanese, but it is high on my to do list. It is really awesome to see other officers use Japanese to Japanese. Its a door opener.

Speaking of my job, my position is CE Division Officer, CE DivO. I work in communication electronics. There are communication electronics EVERYwhere on the dang ship, so we own a lot of equipment. It is a very technical department, opposed to the deck or nav. I will basically do paperwork for repair and admin stuff for the people in my div. There are 18 people in the div, one of the biggest on the ship. It will be a challenge to grasp, and I've already been told in a couple of months I will be moved to the CC div to be the CommO, communications officer. Woof.



Back to Yokohama, we were there for a Wetting ceremony. We were saying goodbye to two LTjg's who were leaving the ship. They briefly gave a welcoming to me, the newest in the wardroom. The party was paid for by those who got promoted - they put their first promotion check into throwing a free party for the wardroom. We had it at this American bbq place called the Taproom. The XO and CO where there, and most the JO's. Around 20 people in all. I am so lucky to be on the LASSEN, the wardroom is very tightly knit, which is not the case for all ships. Everyone has been really welcoming and friendly. I can only hope to achieve the level of friendship I can see in the others in the wardroom.

Two Things

I've discovered two things: one is the explanation of why so many Japanese wives. Let's put aside the cultural explanations of why so many navy men end up with Japanese wives, that conversation I know nothing about. What I have observed is that most people who marry a native are usually not on their first marriage. Maybe they have kids with the ex American wife, and that Japanese women provide younger, better looking women than he would otherwise get in America. Basically, you can reach out of your league with Japanese women for some reason. I hate to say this, but when a sailor gets married and has kids right after joining he navy at age 18, the marriage will take a miracle to last. But tons of people do it, like everyone. So when you're first navy marriage ceases, start the Japanese one!

The other thing is about being the newest Ensign on the ship. Everyone will know that you are the newest ensign. This is obvious in the wardroom, but enlisted will know too. Some first class even knew that I had golf clubs sent to the ship even though I had not introduced myself. Again tonight, I had a sailor from the Lassen come up to me at the rec center and say hello, had never seen him before. With this type of fame, first impressions will carry. So don't have your first impression be golf clubs that show up before you do.

Biggest Man in Town

Today on my Sunday off, I went to the town of Yokosuka for the first time. Technically it was my first time in Japan because bases are US soil. Yoko has about 400k people - not too shabby. Once off the base, Americans thin out and you are surrounded by swarms of Japanese. Old, young business, school age, it has it all. One great thing about Yoko is that it is not too cramped. It has only a handful of tight building street, but the rest is pretty open, with hills in the back of the main district. I walked through a rose garden area across from the Navy docks where old artists would be sitting on stools water coloring the roses





Here is a view of the shopping center from a distance. I walked in, than walked immediately out. Shopping centers are perhaps the place where I feel most foreign. Massive amounts of color, japanese writing, advertisement models with extreme eye contact - they are a trip.



One of the highlights was walking down a side street that was obviously preying on American tourists. "Urban clothes", kareoke bars advertising beer pong, and knock off military fatigues littered this street called "Robuit st." (I think??) Luckily, I saw this gem, too bad it was closed.



Here was another indoor/ outdoor shop strip



Yokosuka seemed to have an interesting musical theme. There where storm drain with trumpets in the medal work, and multiple statues with this gentlemen playing with his shirt off at the train station.



During my stroll through Yoko, I might have been the biggest person in the city. There were taller, but none with my 210lbs. Maybe some other american sailors I saw were bigger, but I was def in the top 99%.



Overall, Yoko is clean, yet pretty run down. The natural beauty is its strenth, not the infrastructure. I only saw one homeless man, where in any other metro center in the world there would have been tons in that tourist shopping center environment.



Going into town is extremely invigorating, even if it is in the tourist trap for military personel (double whammy).

Fresh Meat

After watching the dingy drive away without me Friday morning, I had to report on Saturday, when the Lassen would dock in the pier. I watched my ship slowly pull in, deck crew in parade rest. After getting within a couple of feet, the mooring lines where placed, and bridge to the quarterdeck was installed by a crane. I was watching this happened with all of the Navy wives and toddlers, with gift baskets and high heels. The young wives get particularly dolled up, while the older ones with multiple children wear t-shirts.

Here is a picture of me and the LASSEN pulling in...


After a LTJG named Johny met me, we lugged my three heavy bags onto the ship. Every officer seemed to be expecting me, everyone extremely friendly. I am the newest officer, thus the fresh meat of the wardroom. After admin processing, urinalysis, and a chat with the captain, I moved my stuff down to overflow berthing, where I would be staying until I got a stateroom.



Cramped, yes, extremely. At least it is not on a submarine. Because it was a weekend, the ship cleared out, and we were left to go to liberty until Monday. On the way out, a briefly got lost trying to escape the ship. The rooms are in a labyrinth of steep stairs and heavy doors. It will take quite some time for me to navigate the small amount of the ship I have been in so far. I can imagine while underway not seeing the sun for a couple of days. In true ensign form, I will most likely have to be escorted around for a couple of days.

Anyway here is an interesting shot of the base. Large cliffy hills with lush vegetation. This picture is of the swimming pool at the rec center.



I'm still working on my scenery picture skills.
That is all for now. I am about to drive into the Yokosuka city for the first time to explore. More pictures to come.