Getting so close..

I got caught up on a lot of things today like shots and uniforms. And now I am going up to dental and just getting ready for the weekend. We didn't have our inspection, so that sucks. Next Monday is our personal inspection, next Wednesday our final physical, and next Friday our final test. Then Sunday is Battlestations and we are done!

Static Inspection

It's 8am and I have been up for 4 hours preparing for static inspection. Static is the one where they come in unannounced. The day turned interesting. To make a long story short, I called chief a petty officer twice in a row and it just went downhill from there. To try to break me I went to dinner separate from the division. I had just spend four hours personally redoing and refolding all lockers so they were perfect. And the trap was set =( A couple of hours later they asked if my section was set, 'Of course it is petty officer!' 'Are you sure Murphy?' 'Very sure!'

So this is the time I find out they passed out laundry. These guys were just casually folding their shirt and just throwing it into their lockers. ON TOP of my ironed stuff!!

Two more done..

So today was the last of firefighting training. Was pretty much fun to do. It culminated with the gas chamber. Having already done it in the Army, I was ready for it all, although it still hurt pretty bad. I get to sleep in until 5:30am tomorrow. I am siked!

Last 4am wakeup!!

One more 4am wakeup! I take my final two firefighting courses tomorrow and I do the gas chamber. Should prove interesting to say the least.

So much going on at once..

This has been a crazy hell day. In a good way though. We got to shine our dress shoes which turned out great. Then I had to help Petty Officer with Latin translations, and it was announced for Olympics that there is volleyball... which had little interest until I was made caption and now 19 people vying for 6 spots!

I found out I have to take my firefighting classes a week earlier than the rest of my division. There are 6 of us doing this and I am element leader. The bullshit is that I will not be with my division this week and then when they go to firefight next week I stay back for preparation for our last major inspection. Talk about a huge responsibility.

Sharp shooter..

It has been a crazy two days. I did awesome at live fire. Scored a 208 out of 240 which makes me a sharp shooter. Funny how it was my first time using a gun/pistol and I do well. There were 7 other sharpshooters and I expert.

Today we had our drill inspection. Overall we did great. We earned another flag and morale is pretty high overall.

Beautifully chilled rain..

Up at 4am and greeted by some beautifully chilled rain. So by 4:45am we were on the other side of the base, cold, wet and tired in a huge room that for some odd reason had 4 air conditioners going. We did our 9mm Beretta simulations. It was cool as I have never shot a sidearm before. Only rifles. I shot a perfect 48 for 48, but I'm not excited yet. The real thing is tomorrow and I am sure it will be much harder.

A great day!

Was up by 1:45am. I ended up ironing 4 sets of clothes for people in inspection. Then while polishing boots recruit after recruit kept asking me for help. So 4:00am rolls by and I have done 12 pairs of boots and its time to get up. Needless to say I was EXHAUSTED! So at 4:45am we were at the gym stretching for the PFA. I kicked ass! 96 sit-ups, 70 push-ups and my run was 12:04. So we come immediately back, eat chow, and have 50 minutes to prepare for our 2nd major inspection.

We got our summer whites tonight. They are awful! Milkman at best.

All over the place..

I think what I hate the most about this place are the extreme highs and lows we have to endure.

Last night we were really falling apart as a team. Screaming and yelling and although I won my battles a really bad side of me was seen by my fellow recruits. oh well.

Today we went to a fake ship. It really was a ship. Pretty cool. Being section leader I was in charge of getting the back end of the boat under way. So many new commands, so much new terminology, and shit I had no clue about I faltered a lot. I was not happy.

We spent all day getting ready for tomorrows inspection. So it was my turn for watch duty and sure as shit the OOD (Officer on Duty) came in for spot inspection. No clue what happened, but I nailed everyone dead on! Needless to say he actually went to chief to tell him what a hell of a job I was doing. We were the second to last compartment to be inspected and we were the only one in perfect condition!

Holiday Routine

It's Sunday! Holiday routine. Not sure what kind of day it's going to be though. We went to breakfast a little late and they were already out of my blueberry pancakes! It looks to be another beautiful day out. I can't wait to walk to church and enjoy much of it. Time to shower and shine boots.

Good day

Today was decent overall. It was beautiful outside too. Too bad we were marching in clothes and wasting away to nothing.


So today we had a practice inspection. It's the best I have ever done. Got my questions right and even made the petty officer's laugh. Then we did exercises and my knee held up really well.

I have watch on Monday and then our second Physical Fitness Assessment takes place. The REALLY awful thing is it is at 4:45am. How are we supposed to do well that early?!

Doing well

Everything seems to be going fine. We had a zone inspection and I seem to have done well. I rewrote all of chiefs reports and they received perfect scores. Lets see how that affects our relations. Knowing him it won't change much. But its all good. I am doing what I need to do and doing it well. I am not here to take away from any of these young guys looking to go far.

Stretching..

I did end up heading to medical for my knee today. As a result they just gave me stretches. So we'll see how much that helps.

New look..

Well, after yesterday my knee is feeling it today. They were pretty cool about it and let me get ice without a medical chit.

I got a haircut today as well. Unlike the Army where they just shaved us every time. Here they gave us a high and tight.

Another long day..

Someone messed up in the store today and was kicked out. Then marching back two recruits were busted talking and got street hits. We got the silent treatment from chief the whole way back. We stood at attention for a few minutes and he came out of his office, slammed our front door shut and yelled, 'strip to PT gear!' We got wasted for an hour and a half straight. Needles to say, my knee was devastated! Only four more weeks to go!

Sundays are great..

I am beginning to really like holiday routine on Sundays. We are the first to eat at 6am. Then when we come back its our only free time given to us for the week. Breakfast is usually blueberry pancakes, yogurt, fruit, muffins and juice. Knowing I don't have to PT, I gorge myself.

Sundays are also the only days we get to take our time in the shower. Instead of the 10 minute shower and shave, we get a 'hollywood shower'.

I have mastered shining my boots. It has taken me three weeks, but I have finally found a great method. It takes four layers and 15 minutes in between each layer, but they come out really nice! Ok, off for my hollywood shower and then to Buddhist temple.

Beautiful day..

Finally have some nice weather here. We aren't outside that much and we are sick of the snow. The only drawback is the fact that its a beautiful day and we are stuck marching and getting yelled at.

We are PT'ing a lot and my knee is holding up.

Looking good..

So boot camp has been going ok. It's weird being with 86 other guys. I have made some really close friends, as expected.

As another recruit said today, 'Murph, you are pretty damned cool for an old guy!' LOL. I realized I have a JCrew sweater that is older than some of these kids. Been more places than almost all of them. And yet, here I am like all of them just trying to survive.

We got issued our dress blues and dinner dress uniforms today. Looking good! =)

So close..

Totally bummed. We took our first written test and if we scored a perfect 50 we got a 30 minute phone call. Of course I got 49/50 ... stupid C-2C greyhound planes!

More pain..

I finally got that tooth extracted. So I spent all morning at the dentist, and then all day in bed bleeding again.. I am saving my pain pills for the hard running day. So I have added some torture to myself.. but in the long run will be better off..

Another good day..

We had our first major (we have a total of 3) and I scored 4.7 out of 5. Anything over 4.6 is considered an A. Then to top it off we had In-house PT... and something clicked in my knee. I mean literally no pain.. it is finally getting stronger!

The life of a division leader..

While I was leading a study group my section got rowdy today and wouldn't shut up. When they realized which section it was, my heart sank. Sure as shit I got wasted for 45 minutes. The whole time she lectured everyone on what she expects from the division leaders. Every time someone did anything wrong I had to start over. Then of course some tried to come to my defense to say I was teaching. So she changes tactics and calls everyone I was with. Mind you, they are not the brightest. Every question they got wrong I had to start over.. which made them more nervous and get more wrong. Thank god she went around the whole group and they did great. A few wrong, but in the end they made me proud.

So, needless to say, I was pissed when it was done. But the coolest thing happened. One of the other leaders came up to me and said 'hang in there Murph. You are the heart of this division.' Holy shit, that floored me.

Dentist again

I spent all day at the dentist today. Yes you heard me, the dentist yet again. It seems I became a bit of a case study for them. In the end nothing major happened. One of my teeth in the front is failing, so Tuesday I go back for a root canal. I also got my mouth casted for a tooth.

Laundry again. As section leader I have to go through and fix all folds. 40 recruits times 6 pairs of underwear. Holy Shit Batman!

Long day..

Today was long. A word fight broke out at 4:45am not even 10 feet from me. By the time it was quiet I couldn't fall back asleep. So, I got up and had an early shave, made my rack and started to study. Here I was proud I was so ahead of the game. Of course they come in early and we have to strip everything for surprise inspection. What a waste!

Then, we had our first PFA (physical fitness assessment). For the most part I kicked ass, 65 push-ups, 91 sit-ups and a 13:20 1.5 mile run.

So much in so little time..

I am getting pretty tired. We seriously train for about 16 hours straight. There is so much they want us to learn in so little time.


Good news is I passed my swim qualifications with highest marks! One down!

A Decent Day

So overall it was a decent day. Chief made me division leader. Sounds really cool, but in the end I am nothing more than a glorified babysitter. BUT, it's cool nonetheless.


Chief more than made up for it though. Just after dinner he told everyone to get out our phone cards and started handing out phone chits. Then, he dropped a bomb. 'Recruits, here is how to fill out the slip in front of you. In the date put April Fools! Now, don't say I don't have a sense of humor..'


It's my turn to iron. Yeah, you heard it correctly. We iron EVERYTHING.. even underwear! Later.

Titles Mean Everything

I cannot even begin to describe my last two days. Yesterday morning the chief of our divisions walked in and I totally screwed up and called him Petty Officer. WAY BAD! He throws me out of the office. Not even 30 minutes later go by and he calls me into his office to teach me something, and the first thing out of his mouth is 'Son, I am going to f*ck your shit up.' Lets just say, I was let go from Yeoman, stripped of rank, and forced from my bunk to the very back because he didn't want to see my face.. it has to get better.

Not so young anymore..

Not as young as I used to be.. 68 sit-ups, 54 push-ups and ran a mile and a half in 12:10, but I realized as I was passing many that there were about ten guys who lapped me, twice!

Careful What You Wish For

4 days gone. I guess the one idea I had about this being easier than Army has changed. Physically the first 48 hours they were the same. From leaving MEPS to my first chance to sleep was about 42 hours. Unfortunately for me, I stood out being competent and was chosen to help check in the next 3 buses that arrived. So, while my division slept I had the pleasure of seeing partially into why RDC's hate us so much. How someone could mess up counting 4 pairs of shorts is beyond me. How someone could mess up counting 4 pairs of shorts three times is ludicrous!

Otherwise, bootcamp is exactly what I wanted. This is all mental. If you pay attention to detail they will leave you alone. If not, they are all over your ass.

I made Yeoman.

Out of time.


Peace to all.

Day 1 - "Hundreds of billion of people..."

Finally!

Yes after 3 days of in processing I am finally shipping out. I got my grade, I got my job, I am at the airport. This was for sure a Herculean feat by any measure.

Three days ago I was informed that they were not accepting my high school because my diploma was written in Latin. Because they were not accepting my high school I couldn't receive my college credits. I was bumped down to an E1. Because of this I couldn't get my rate either. It was a frustrating day to say the least. 10 hours of waiting that I will never get back. I can tell you however, all of my time in the Army is no longer considered wasted. I am indeed more patient for life's trivialities and things you can no longer change or understand.

Its nice to know that logic has been lost on ALL branches of the military. :)

Two days ago things were looking up. I was back home and was able to take care of several more things around the house including seeing Beth, talking to my daughter, and squaring away other functions of my life that needed taken care of. I made calls to all of my schools and made sure that EVERYTHING that came out of my recruiters mouth was true and binding. I swore to memorize even more of the general orders but that didn't happen.

Today, it has all come to fruition. I walked in and was greeted with smiling faces and a resounding "Murphy you're all set." I was happy that I was all set, I was sad in the fact that people at MEPS are on a last name basis with me. Everything else has been a whirlwind. Absolutely a lot of hurry up and waiting, watching videos that only someone with a frontal lobotomy could produce, and saying goodbye to loved ones.

The highlight of the day was actually a speech from the Colonel at MEPS. Today I was made realized that "hundreds of million people in the US and possibly hundreds of billions of people in the world" are depending on us. I hope he realizes his mistake later. But I also realize with his rank everyone will just nod and laugh on the inside and he will be none the wiser. But he also made some incredible points. And now I am better prepared for the most common question asked of us in the armed forces...

"Why did you join...?"

The Colonel reminded us of the most simple fact that none of us think about. We have a constitution. This is true. But in reality it is just a piece of paper. It cant defend itself and it cant enforce itself. It can only continue to exist under two VERY important conditions. The first being that the Constitution derives its power from the WILL of the people and those who choose to follow and abide by it. The second condition is that we have an armed force to protect these people to continue their will. This is where we fit in. I found this to be a very poignant statement. One that I will definitely think about and ponder on later.

So...you are asking yourself, how are you writing so much? Welcome to the Navy. I had to be at MEPS at 5am, to leave MEPS for the airport by 12:30, so I could be here to leave at 8pm tonight. Welcome to the military. For all of you about to join or thinking about it. This is the life. It wont change. The military, especially ours, is a BEHEMOTH and it moves for no man. Be patient, take it in stride, and let all of the shit you come across out here day in and day out roll off you like water off a duck. If you don't you will NEVER be at ease and you will become mired in your own filth. This is the best advice I can give you having never been in the Navy ;)

On a positive note I just found out that we are going to be the FIRST official cycle that will use the new 800 million dollar system for Battle Stations. This will prove to be awesome. Eight weeks to go.

Hoora!

“Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again.”

I have been lucky enough to be able to travel pretty extensively over the last few years. But this last trip really hit me pretty hard. There I was traveling down a dirty road in the middle of Tahiti to see the largest water falls on the island. In my backpack, between my camera, gear, lenses, ipod, cell phone, and laptop I had about 10,000 dollars worth of, lets face it, non life essentials. One of the houses, if you dare call it that as it was nothing more than plywood on cement bricks off the ground with a tarp covering it, had a family of nine living in it. It was a empathetic photographers dream, a cornucopia of heart wrenching pictures all over the place. I didn’t snap one. My attention drifted to the kids (of which there were 7 living in this house) playing soccer with a ball woven together from strips of palm fronds. Going through my pictures from that day I realized I didn’t even end up taking pictures of the waterfalls.

One of the benefits, which I came to realize is also the worst part of being a photographer, is that we literally rape (the classical use of the word btw [link]) people, cultures, landscapes, moments, even emotions. What do we give back? What do we do for these people? There are the rare photographers who actually do give back like [link] But why aren't there more of us like him?

I realize now that this was the moment my life had its epiphany and I needed to do something about it. I decided to fuse a passion, a dream, an ability, and the will to make it all happen in due time. I have decided to join the Navy and signed up for a surgical trauma program. My intent is to learn as much medicine as my government will teach me for free, and actually I get paid the whole time. When I graduate I will have a large enough savings to get my boat that have dreamed of, and I will sail the world taking pictures BUT I will also target those areas that get the littlest and thus have the greatest need for healthcare. I will be able to give back to all of which I have taken from. I have already set the wheels in motion to start a tax shelter for people to donate items that I will need. Total time for everything will be five years.

The cons of course will include, time away from my daughter, thanks to our wonderful fucking ignoramus of a leader time spent in Iraq or Afghanistan, I will be shot at, it will be rough both mentally and physically, and of course the limited ability to take pictures.

But in the end…what I gain and will be able to do with my life…will be, as the stupid commercials go, priceless.

But as with all good things, or in my case mediocre things, must come to an end, or in my case a pretty long temporary hiatus. This has been an interesting community for me for a good amount of time. I have received and hopefully given so much inspiration I have little or no clue where to even begin. Suffice to say though…if you inspired me you were told about it. Not to worry though…if you didn’t hear from me I probably learned from you what not to do

Pipeline For My Schools

As many of you are aware I am going for specialized training to become a Corpsman. In Fact if things go exactly as I hope I will be a part of one of the most specialized medical practitioners in the world. Think of a unique blend of a highly trained Marine and a doctor.

Once I complete 8 weeks of boot camp and then 14 weeks of Corpsman school, here is what my schooling looks like.

Course	Length	Location	Branch
Field Medical Service School	7 weeks	Camp Lejeune, NC Camp Pendleton, CA	USN
Basic Reconnaissance Course	12 weeks	Little Creek, VA Coronado, CA	USMC
Basic Airborne School	3 weeks	Ft. Benning, GA	USA
Combatant Divers Course	8 weeks	Panama City, FL	USMC
ARC Diving Medicine Course	3 weeks	Panama City, FL	USN
Special Operations Combat Medics Course	24 weeks	Ft. Bragg, NC	USA
Special Operations Medical Sergeant	22 weeks	Ft. Bragg, NC	USA

It will be challenging and I am sure the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. But the good news is, unlike anything else I have shot for the moon on, if I fail at any point then I can go back to being a regular Corpsman with the Marines and still do something I love. For once this isnt an all or nothing situation for me.