Saturday, March 31, 2007
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.
Friday, March 30, 2007
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!
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
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.
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.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
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!
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!
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
“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
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
Monday, March 12, 2007
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.
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.
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 | USN |
| Basic Reconnaissance Course | 12 weeks | Little Creek, VA | 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.
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