Well, it’s been a year since I’ve posted, and I want to say thanks to all the mariners on this site, you all have been very helpful in my endeavors becoming a sailor. I can’t extend my gratitude enough!
Well, last year at the end of February I had applied to MSC and got the job offer for Supply Utilityman the last week of June. I was greener than a leprechaun on St Patrick’s day. No sea experience or training what so ever, but was ready for anything and eager to get out to sea.
New Employee Orientation covered a ton a material in a very short amount of time. I’m glad I took notes, and have a spiral notebook full of them. There was a diverse mix of us, Old Salts, Ex-Navy, Academy Graduates, Newbies, Knuckleheads, and even an ex-MSC employee. I hung out with the Ex-Navy crowd as the seemed to “know it all”, and for the most part, they did.
Training in New Jersey was very informative, hands on and complete. I’m glad I brought some old clothes for damage control, as they were soaked in nasty, August pond water that had a slight smell of diesel fuel. They were tossed in the trash as soon as that was over. I liked fire fighting and Fall Protection the best. I even got RFPNW class in, very handy as I wanted to cross over to the deck dept. The UNREP class went very quick and I’m glad I took notes as I was a Signalman on UNREP assignments. If you go there that time of year, the yellow jackets (bees) are very aggressive. I got stung once, and several others did as well.
I spent about 3 weeks in the pool at Norfolk. It was nice to be getting paid during the duration of training, NEO and in the pool. I went out and got some new clothes, a knife and a flashlight. The hotel wasn’t too bad either. It just takes a bit of adjustment.
My first assignment was on the USNS Laramie, an Oiler. I had to fly to Djibouti to meet up with it. I had a 14 hour layover in Frankfurt Germany. Wish I had gotten a hotel room, but toughed it out at the terminal. Djibouti is a 3rd world country where the average temperature is around 107 degrees, well, the do have a base and a five star hotel, but the rest of the place looked like a refugee camp. At the airport, some guy holding a sea service clip board walked off with my passport when I finally realized he wasn’t my ships agent. Some how, some way I got with my ships agent, and I was able to get it back. Outside the airport and man and young boy offered to carry my bags to the van, I reluctantly allowed them to do so and when my gear was packed in the back, the had their hands out, and the smallest bill I had was an American twenty. They had to make their month, if not their year. Driving the streets was like driving in a war zone, barricades everywhere, and we were all over the road in moderately heavy traffic. When I got to my ship and my stateroom, I blew a huge sigh of relief. I got checked in, took a shower and slept at least 12 hours.
Then it was time to get to work. It took a good two weeks to get into the flow of things, but once I knew what to do and what was expected, I excelled every chance I got. I also let the Chief Mate know that I was interested in going to the deck department. He said he was going to make that happen. I worked from 6:30am to 6:30 pm serving in the mess and cleaning various areas of the house. I was signalman during unreps and even got the opportunity to hook up cargo pallets to seahawk helicopters.
In my off time I’d make it up to the bridge for the 8-12pm watch. Spend time on lookout with a former 3rd mate, who was demoted to AB (long story). He was cool and full of knowledge, always testing my wit and watchstander knowledge. When I finnaly understood the helm commands, it was my turn to relieve the helm. It took a little while to get it down, but it wasn’t long before I was better then the OS on my watch, keeping her pretty damn steady.
After a couple months and a week, and 25 full watches under my belt, I was relieved as an SU and temporarily promoted to OS. Not a huge raise in pay, but a great step in the right direction and a huge boost to morale.
So all I had to do is wait for a OS to get his watch book signed off and I would relieve him. Well, it took a while, so in a nutshell, I’ve been a day worker on deck since my promotion. Chipping, grinding, painting, mooring and all that fun stuff. Learned how to tie a few knots. Even got to clean out the JP5 and DFM tanks. Woo Hoo! lol. At least it was nice to get a couple weekends off, but I love the overtime and hazardous cargo pay.
Now my tour is coming to an end as we head to the yards. If I go back to the pool, I guess I have to be an SU all over again. I’m hoping my request for deck training is approved and maybe I could take some leave. I did put in for a perm promotion as an OS, but won’t know for a couple months end of March at the soonest. All I know is that it will all work itself out in the end and I gotta do what I gotta do. I’ve made the most of it so far, and I’m sure I’ll be an AB before I know it. It’s still a toss up if I want to become a Bosns Mate or 3/O, however I will cross that bridge when I get there.