Last night I was up until 1130 finishing some notes for the qual I’m going after, and tonight was three hours of training on fundamentals. Which ever way it goes, I’ll have it before we get back from all of this madness, mayhem, confusion, and stepping stone short of a cluster. Interesting stuff that they are trying to plan out here to get these different doctors, active guard members, and NGO on shore. Too bad I want to post this and the server is down for reboots…..

Breakfast starts at 530am until 7. The hot coffee helps to get started. So if your actually up at those hours you can pick up your hot breakfast, ranging from eggs to order, omelets, hash browns, hard boiled eggs…. Sometimes you might get a pancake that actually tastes like pancakes. Haha sounds tasty don’t it??
Then the ever famous cleaning stations begins at 0745 until 0830, and people are out and about in the spaces they own through out the ship making sure things get a good wipe down. That is about a normal morning.

You know an interesting comment came up the other day, and for us Navy folks it’s all normal everyday living for us, but some of the things that our Non-Government Organization were talking about… Why am I not in an Officer Stateroom, and how do you expect me to sleep in this coffin rack? People who are getting a real taste of military life who have been use to their beds at home for many years are now getting a real taste for our day to day living. Although I’m sure the change for them was huge, but what you will learn to adapt to brings a new insight on things they will never forget about. I’ll have to go take a picture of a rack onboard and stuff some random Joe Smoe in it. >=) Lucky for them, they get to eat with the officers onboard and do their laundry upstairs where the a/c is and not down stairs where the us enlisted Joe’s do ours.. It’s a bit hotter down there.Our NGO’s are the civilian part of the mission from different volunteer organizations that do medical treatments and training. I mentioned most of them a few blogs ago.
On local news stations in Norfolk, Va; San Diego, Ca; Mayport, Fl and many other places you will see footage of family’s on the pier as they watch their loved one’s leave for the enduring and what seems to be the never ending Six Month deployment cycle to some random place over sea’s. With over 330k active duty personal, over 102k ready reserves there is currently almost 40k of those personal on deployment cycles right now on over 155 different ships around the globe.
And there is a certain amount of pride that will always go along with all of this. Both from the active duty members, their family, and friends. As silly or funny as it might sound… There is no place like home. I remember a video once done and I’m not sure by whom, but the music behind it is from 3 Doors Down – When I’m Gone. If I get to go ashore again, I’ll have to hook up the Wi-Fi and look for it on Youtube, but some really amazing footage from places covered in sand, to airports as they are welcomed back home, to the same pier they departed from.