U.S. warship sinks two pirate skiffs

"The USS Porter responded to a distress call from the merchant vessel carrying benzene, the officials said. Sunday's shooting took place in international waters, they said. At the request of Somalia's government, a second U.S. warship, the destroyer USS Arleigh Burke, is now shadowing the merchant ship inside Somali waters, the officials said."

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What is Recruit Training Command like today?

From All Hands TV

My dad looks like Chuck Norris

I was just looking at old family pictures and my dad sent me this one. I always knew he use to look like Chuck Norris, but this is Crazy

Ya gotta love the Marines

A good interview of Marine General Reinwald. Very funny. "FEMALE INTERVIEWER: But you're equipping them to become violent killers.GENERAL REINWALD: Well, ma'am, you're equipped to be a prostitute, but you're not one, are you?"

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The Importance Of Math In The Navy

I was always told that math was going to be important after school, but I never really realized that I would be using math for much of anything until I joined the Navy.

As an OS my job is to navigate, so we do tons of math. One of the more important things I do with math is finding the position of the ship. If shipboard electronic devices fail and we have no other way to figure out our position we have to use math operations to compute the speed of the ship and the distance traveled in a certain amount of time in order to figure out our position. One little mistake could cause the ship to go into a dangerous area.

Math is also used when trying to find the heading of the ship, the heading of other ships, fixing compasses and many other things. So, even if you don’t like math, or if you think “hey I am never going to need this in real life” think again, you never know where your life will take you.

Busy Day

Well today was a long day. I finished my 8th test for OS A school. Only a few more to go. I wanted to go to night study, but Navy Knowledge Online (the site we use for classes) is not working so they closed night study.
So, because of that I was just going to go on liberty and get some stuff at the NEX, but instead I had to sort mail because the guy in charge of mail for today never showed up. So after about an hour of that I am finally free for the day at 20:15 tonight. I am going to try to just relax for a bit and read some RSS feeds now. I will try to do a few more posts this week, depending on how busy I get.

Happy Birthday U.S. Navy!

On Firday October 13th 1775 , in Philadelphia, The Continental Congress passed the resolution that began the establishment of what is now the U.S. Navy.
"Resolved, That a swift sailing vessel, to carry ten carriage guns, and a proportionable number of swivels, with eighty men, be fitted, with all possible despatch, for a cruise of three months, and that the commander be instructed to cruize eastward, for intercepting such transports as may be laden with warlike stores and other supplies for our enemies, and for such other purposes as the Congress shall direct.
That a Committee of three be appointed to prepare an estimate of the expence, and lay the same before the Congress, and t contract with proper persons to fit out the vessel.
Resolved, that another vessel be fitted out for the same purposes, and that the said committee report their opinion of a proper vessel, and also an estimate of the expence."

Some good links
Orgin of the Navy - Wikipedia
CNO's Birthday Message

Top 10 Ways to Sleep Smarter and Better

There are lots of ways out there to beat insomnia, increase the quality of your sleep, and master the power nap. Today we've got our top 10 favorite sleep techniques, tips and facts.

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10 Commandments of U.S. Navy Damage Control (DC)

I saw this on a poster a while back and thought it was worth quoting.

1. Keep your ship water tight
2. Do not violate material condition
3. Have confidence in your ship's ability to withstand damage
4. Know your way around - even in the dark
5. Know how to use and maintain damage control equipment
6. Report damage to nearest damage control repair station
7. Keep personal articles properly secured
8. Practice personal damage control; protect yourself so you can protect your ship
9. Take every possible step to save the ship as long as a bit of hope remains
10. Keep cool, don't give up the ship.

General knowledge to know before joining the navy

Before you join the navy, or before you go to boot camp, it is a good idea to know some information so you will have a bit of a head start. This information is covered in the delayed entry program, but most people (including me) never bother in learning the stuff until forced to in boot camp.

11 General Orders of a Sentry
You will be required to quote all of these at random times throughout boot camp. You are expected to know this after the processing days (p days)

1. To take charge of this post and all government property in view.

2. To walk my post in a military manner, keeping always on the alert, and observing everything that takes place within sight or hearing.

3. To report all violations of orders I am instructed to enforce.

4. To repeat all calls from posts more distant from the guard house than my own.

5. To quit my post only when properly relieved.

6. To receive, obey and pass on to the sentry who relieves me, all orders from the Commanding Officer, Command Duty Officer, Officer of the Deck, and Officers and Petty Officers of the Watch only.

7. To talk to no one except in the line of duty.

8. To give the alarm in case of fire or disorder.

9. To call the Officer of the Deck in any case not covered by instructions.

10. To salute all officers and all colors and standards not cased.

11. To be especially watchful at night, and, during the time for challenging, to challenge all persons on or near my post and to allow no one to pass without proper authority.

RTC Maxim

I will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those among us who do.

Sailors Creed

I am a United States Sailor.
I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America and I will obey the orders of those appointed over me.
I represent the fighting spirit of the Navy and those who have gone before me to defend freedom and democracy around the world.
I proudly serve my country's Navy combat team with Honor, Courage and Commitment.
I am committed to excellence and the fair treatment of all.

List: The 40 coolest free applications available on the Internet

The 40 coolest applications available on the web, ranging from office applications, image editing, video playback, operating systems and plenty more.

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SMPlayer

When I got my new laptop last week my dad told me about a new media player that came out while I was in boot camp. This player is called SMPlayer and uses MPlayer as an engine so it can play most video formats without the user needing to download all of those annoying external codec's. The coolest part about the player is that it's able to remember the settings for each file it plays, so if you stop watching a video in the middle and close out then open it back up later SMPlayer will start you off right where you stopped. SMPlayer is light, easy to use, and customizable.

Learning and training at RTC

The Navy's Recruit Training Command (boot camp) today is more a mental test than a physical one. Recruits have classes almost every day while they're there. These classes include how to identify threats, basic line handling, fire fighting, basic seamanship, naval history, first aid, navy ships aircraft, rank recognition, Uniform code of military justice, firefighting, and watch standing.

Along with having these classes recruits also have to learn their 11 general orders of sentry, anchors aweigh, and the sailor’s creed. One of the biggest mental tests the recruits go through happens every time the Recruit Division Commanders make them fold and stow or clean. This is to help them learn attention to detail. This will be the most important part of boot camp.

As for Physical training, the recruits run every few days on an indoor track, do B.A.S.E.S.or ( Balance Agility Strength Explosion and Stamina ) is a weekly exercise routine which incorporates shipboard required skills with aerobic and strength training each Saturday. This consists of a bunch of different exercises in a small amount of time that the recruits rotate through. The exercises include a short run, push ups, jump rope, squats, and a few weight lifting exercises.

Other PT will consist of, sit-ups push-ups, sharks, windmills, and arm circles.

Navy Boot Camp

I finished Navy boot camp back on August 10th, it was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be, I think the hardest part was establishing teamwork in the division. There are so many different people from all over the U.S. and the world, not everyone is going to get along with each other. We had people yelling at each other and never getting along. We didn't really even start to come together as a team until about week 6.

One thing I really had a hard time getting use to was being bossed around and getting yelled at. I didn't take any of the yelling personally, because I know it is the job of the recruit division commanders to turn us from normal people into sailors, but still, being woken up each morning by yelling and having it continue throughout the day becomes stressful.

With that said I would like to give some good hints on how to deal with Navy boot camp. (although some of these will apply to Army, Air Force, and Marines.

1. Don't be sensitive
Don't take things that are said to you personally while in boot camp, even if it's by another recruit. All that does is cause you more stress. If a recruit division commander (RDC) yells at you for something just respond with "aye aye petty officer/chief" or "yes petty officer/chief". If another recruit yells at you just ignore them. If they are trying to correct you just listen to them and correct yourself.

2. Teamwork
Learn to work as part of a team. In order for a team to form everyone has to be able to have an active roll. Don't separate yourself from the others and don't let others become isolated from the group. If you see someone that isn't quite part of the team then have them help you with whatever the current task is. Another part of this is never leaving a shipmate behind. If someone is having a hard time with folding or running or push up, or anything else, then help them! I had this guy next to me at boot camp that really sucked at folding his shirts and pants. Every night I would help him with folding and make sure everything in his rack locker was organized correctly.

I believe the most common things people struggle with are swimming, running, folding, and making racks.

3. Never give up
If you give up you will never get anywhere. Just keep trying and seek help from your division (teamwork!). When you're doing the 20 minute run and you feel like you can't go anymore just keep trying. That only lasts for a little bit then you get more energy. Just slow your breathing down, and keep your current speed.

4. Take advantage of Holiday Routine (Sunday)
Every Sunday you get about 5 hours of free time. Take advantage of that. Take a break; write letters, go to church, get to know other people in your division. Letters were very important to me in boot camp. They are what kept me going. I made my dad write to me every day and I was able to respond every Sunday.

5. Attention to details
Pay attention to what you're doing. Do exactly what you're told, don't assume the RDCs mean for what they say to be interpreted a different way. This happened a lot in my division.

6. Sleep when allowed
When you're allowed to sleep actually take advantage of it, don't stay up talking to other people, you can talk at other times, use your sleeping time to regain your energy and rest. This will help A LOT.

7. Eat healthy
The galley's at boot camp offer a large variety of foods, make sure you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. (The galley will have a salad bar in it too.) Balance you meals out make sure you have a little of everything. Here is what I did in boot camp.
1 - meat
1 - cup of milk (not before running or PT)
2 - fruits (usually a peach and a banana)
2 - vegetables (whatever they had as the main vegetables and a salad)
2 - grains Usually a roll and one of the things in the main line.

My Laptop

I got my laptop the other day and I just got connected to the internet. I am going to try to do some posts later today. Right now I am in the process of setting things up on my laptop.