Pictures from molly

A couple pictures from Molly: 1. the CAPing at the Multicultural event, and 2. another sunset over the North Arabian Sea

enjoy!

Multicultural day

So, hello again everyone! I am sorry I haven’t written in almost a week. I wish I had some excuse like I am so terribly busy and getting only 4 hours of sleep a night, but alas, that is not true.

Since my last post about the steak, I am yet again in awe of the quality of life onboard the Nimitz and how different this is from any other kind of ship I have been on.

Last night, we celebrated “Multicultural Day”. Nimitz, being quite the multi-cultural city of 5,000+ it was sure to be a good time. It started with a Captain’s Call where the CO talked a little bit. He talked about how excited he was to see the multicultural show coming up after the All Hands Call and so he started talking about how he was down on the Mess Decks, kicking off the show when he started talking to people about what kinds of acts they would like to see in the show. He said he had gotten a few suggestions of people he should invite up on stage to perform some sort of semi-embarrassing act (like when General Petraeus was here) such as the Electric Slide. So he starts calling about 20 people up to the stage. We all had no idea what he was calling them all up there and we were hoping that the Talent Show wasn’t going to be kicked off with another round of the Electric Slide. After a few minutes, he said he was going to give these people a chance to show all of their shipmates their best talents. We of course were like “where is he going with this….?” So he tells them all to close their eyes and hold out their hands. As the 20 Sailors eyes were closed and hands out, some of the Chiefs went down the row and placed in their hands a uniform shirt (depending on what kind of uniform they wear) with their next-highest rank insignia sewed on. The CO said something like “by the power appointed to me, you are all here by authorized to wear the rank of the next highest and assume all rights and responsibilities of that rank and receive the pay for your next highest rank starting today” It was REALLY cool. This is what we call a “CAPing” ceremony in the Navy- Command Advancement Program. Usually, Sailors have two chances a year to advance, from the March and September advancement examinations. Last week, we received the results of the September examinations and advanced everyone who was advanced through the normal process. However, Commanding Officers have the power to “CAP” a Sailor- basically decide that they should be promoted, regardless of what the examinations board results say. Obviously this is not an easy way to get promoted, and it certainly isn’t a “free pass”, CO’s only have a limited number to give away a year (on the frigate I was on, I think it was like 2 a year, obviously here on the NIMITZ, he gets a few more). So anyways, 20 people got spot promoted to the next highest rank, which was awesome and really really cool to see. They were of course totally surprised and it was such a cool way to advance them in front of 5,000 people all cheering for them.

Then we went on to the Talent Show. This was a talent show to put all talent shows to shame. Some of my favorite and most memorable performances were a guy from the South that played “Turkey in the Straw” on his “fiddle”, a Sailor of Native American descent who played his Native American flute, a few rap groups, a rock band, a girl who played the violin, a guy who played the alto sax, the USS NIMITZ’s own Gospel Choir (who knew we had a gospel choir?!?!) and the battle of 2 beat-boxers who opened his act by saying “I love Diversity. That’s why we’re all here, right? Diversity. I love Diversity because to me, diversity means a Jewish white boy from Minnesota can be the best beat-boxer onboard” It was absolutely hilarious and he had the crowd screaming and laughing and hooting and hollering. It was so great!

The night ended with a performance by the NIMITZ Salsa Team. They had ordered their costumes on the internet and picked up some black dress shirts and purple ties in Dubai, and the group of 5 guys and 5 gals performed a salsa dance (choreographed by one of DESRON 23’s own Chiefs who leads the salsa classes) that rounded out the talent show and had everyone on their feet. It was really quite an amazing performance. Despite loosing a few work hours to stand up there and watch the full 2 ½ hour show, it was really quite spectacular and I had no idea how talented so many of our shipmates were!

I am also working on making more friends and while I wouldn’t say any of them are my BFFs, I certainly am trying to get out there and meet more people. Last night I was sitting with my friend on staff at Mid Rats (Midnight Rations) which is a meal served from 11pm-1am. On a small ship, Mid Rats are whatever is left over from dinner or worse, lunch. On a big ship, Mid Rats is just a big of a meal as any (because some people legitimately use it as a meal if they work the night shift) and for others, it is a social hour, a way to end the night and hang out and talk. From the ice cream, to the espresso machine to the cooked-to-order omelets, all the breakfast foods you could normally imagine and a “fast food line” of hot dogs, fries and chicken fingers, there’s pretty much nothing you can’t eat at Mid Rats. My favorite is the movie-theatre style popcorn machine. I love eating popcorn at midnight! Anyways, I guess my friend Steve & I looked less anti-social than usual, because a group of 4 pilots came and sat down with us.

They were all jet pilots from this one F/A-18 squadron, and while most fit all stereotypes about F/A-18 pilots, they had us rolling in laughter with stories of port visit in Guam, how guys get their call signs and stories of people accidentally ejecting from their airplanes. It was such a funny meal and great to meet new people. I was practically crying I was laughing so hard from their stories. One of the guys was BRAND new to the squadron (he had just arrived there the day before!) and he was an ’06 USNA grad. So he JUST now (3 ½ years after commissioning) got to his first real squadron, and NOW his 8 year ticker of obligated service is beginning. This made me feel a little bit better because this guy has almost 4 years in the Navy! By the time I’m at my 3 ½ year point, I’ll be almost out!

Also, I think I might have met some people to help make my dream of sitting in a real jet plane and have my picture taken come true! I have always wanted to scurry up the ladder into one of the jets to take a quick picture but now I think I have met people that will let me do that! I offered to let them come into the Zulu module where we stand watch and sit in my chair in front of a large screen to monitor chat and take a picture, but for some reason, that didn’t quite seem so appealing to them J

Anyways, things have been looking up around here which has been nice. I’m just trying to quickly get through the next NINE days and take care of everything that I have to take care of before I get to see DAN!!! I’ll write in a bit about how the holiday season has been on the Nimitz.

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday spirit and gearing up for some good festivities. My fingers are crossed that everyone gets just enough snow to get in the spirit but not so much that your travel/holiday plans are messed up!

xoxo!

Molly

Happy Birthday Lydia!

Today is Molly's mom's birthday. We want to wish Lydia a sweet and happy birthday! and thank her as always for being a wonderful mom/in-law :)

Great Steak Team Mission

So today onboard the NIMITZ, we had a cook-out. In the Navy, these are known as "steel beach picnics". Why you ask? Well, because it’s a picnic, we grill-out and eat outside and maybe play some music, toss around a ball, whatever. Just like you would on the beach. But alas, we have no sand onboard, so it is a "steel beach", since our ships are made out of steel. Got it? Ok, moving on.

So normally this is held on a Sunday, our "holiday" if you will. On a "small boy", such as the SAMMY B that I used to be on, we would have these cook-0uts once a week. Nothing crazy, but different people onboard would take turns cooking. The Chiefs one week, maybe the officers another, etc. Usually it involves flipping a few burgers, maybe grilling a few dogs.

Welll, that is some people's idea of a steel beach. Here on the NIMITZ, we like to do things a little over the top, take things one step farther. And here in the Middle East, the holy day is Friday; thus Friday's are our "no-fly" days.

It started back in about 2001 after we first went into Afghanistan. There was a man in Dallas, who was good friends with General Tommy Franks (you may remember him from the early wars). Well, this gentleman from Dallas also owned one of the best hamburger joints in the city. Consistently ranking the "Best Burger in Dallas", this guy is well known. Well, after the wars started after 9/11, the Dallas guy really wanted to do something for the troops. He kept calling "his friend"Tommy", asking if he could go to Afghanistan with him. Over and over again he asked. Finally, when he was about ready to give up, he said "well, what if I brought out 1,000 steaks with me for the troops?". It was an offer not to be refused. And thus, The Great Steak Mission was born. [www.steakteammission.org]

From their website:

Situation:
A. Friendly Forces:

1. Steak Team Mission: A group of Dallas-based restaurateurs and supporters capable of providing food and supplies for soldiers' benefit.

2. Steak Team Mission: A small team, some of whom are veterans, experienced and prepared to deploy to serve a home-cooked meal for soldiers anywhere any time....

B. Enemy Forces:

1. Bureaucrats: some folks may think this idea is unconventional, and they are right.

II. Mission:

Steak Team Mission deploys to prepare and serve up to 2,000 steak dinners with all complements to soldiers in harm's way to a remote, hazardous objective at a date and location determined by U S Army.

III. Concept of the Operation:

A. Commander's Intent: Do something kind for soldiers.

B. Scheme of Maneuver: Steak Team Mission will go anywhere by any means and would prefer to go where it is worst for soldiers.

C. Mission of Subordinate Elements: Food benefactors will supply Steak Team Mission with all Class I (food) for mission.

D. Coordinating Instructions: Steak Team Mission needs approval and transportation support to get from home to objective and back.

IV. Service & Supply:

A. Steak Team Mission can supply itself.

Since then, this guy has travelled all around the world, bringing with him a team from Texas and 1,000-2,000 steaks to troops serving all over the world. Well, about a year ago, he ran into Navy CAPT Monger in Djibouti. The steak guy told the CAPT his story, and the CAPT said "you know, I'm about to take command of an aircraft carrier in a year and we're about to go on deployment. How would you feel about bringing some steaks out to my NIMITZ Sailors?" The steak guy said "well how many steaks are we talking?" and the CAPT responded "oh, about 5,000 or so…" The steak guy was intrigued, but challenged, as he was used to serving for 1,000-2,000. [I heard this whole story because I ended up at a dinner table in the Wardroom with the steak guy]

Between this guy, and his corporate sponsors (American Airlines is one!), they figured out how to get 10,000 pounds of people, grills, supplies & 5,000 steaks from the great state of Texas all the way to the North Arabian Sea. 3 days ago, the advance team of grillers and equipment showed up, and the steaks came yesterday, in dry ice (like you would get Omaha Steaks) via the COD.

Today, we had a HUGE "steel beach picnic", complete with Grade-A steak filets, cooked any way you like them! We also enjoyed filet & bacon wrapped jalepenos (delicous!), cornbread, coleslaw and baked beans. It was a cook-out to put all cook-outs to shame.

It was also an epic day as I ventured up to the flight deck for the first time. I'd seen the flight deck from the Flag Bridge during our Strait of Hormuz transits, but it was at night and while no planes were flying. After almost a month of hearing planes crash over my head and only seeing sunlight during our port visit to Dubai, this was the first time that I had actually seen sunlight while underway and also seen the planes on the flight deck.

Overall, it was a great day. Other than that, it was business as usual- work, watch, studying, etc. It was pretty exciting though to have these people travel so far to do something so nice for us. And the steaks were DELICIOUS! (the only probably was eating them with a plastic knife!)

Here are some pictures from the day:

Here is the Admiral's plane that he flies sometimes. He is the one who is in charge of the ENTIRE strike group (remember, that's the NIMITZ, the air wing and ALL of the ships and air planes.

There are also some pictures of the F/A-18's, including me in front of one. Most of the other pictures are from the cook-out, pretty self explanatory. Enjoy! :)

The Great Steak Mission onboard the USS NIMITZ was as huge success and one that we are all very grateful for!

Pictures from Dubai

This is a picture of a typical gold souk in Dubai. All of the gold was 18 or 24K so it was a WAY more luminous (is that a word) shade of gold- very deep and ancient looking. Don't worry, Dan, I didn't buy anything….. I was waiting for you to come out ;)
These are the sand dunes that we went romping around in our Toyota Land Cruiser with the air out of the tires. I was mildly terrified- but what fun it was!

Here is me sandboarding. I only fell down once :) the sand was pretty thick, but the weather was soooo nice and warm! It wasn't too hot at all, but the sun was very strong

These were the springs that we went swimming in & the cliffs that we jumped off of. Brrrr the water was SOOO cold. I will have to bribe someone to hand over the evidence of me jumping off- I was definitely shrieking the whole way down!

If I am nice, dan will also post the pictures of me when I discovered that the Mall of the Emirates had YOGABERRY! And one of me with my new 'do :)

Other than that, I am just so so so so excited to see Dan in less than 3 weeks! I can hardly contain my excitement- what a treat mid deployment. We also received some information about the rest of our port visits (all different from what I earlier thought) and let's just say I am SO excited. It almost might make up for this 8-month deployment. I am glad that I "joined the Navy to see the world"

And just for fun, when we're not playing around in Dubai, here's what our actual mission is- launching planes to send over the beach to provide close air support to the troops on the ground in Afghanistan. Enjoy! Love, M

Dubai (from Molly's perspective)

Hi Everyone!

Sorry for my WEEKLONG hiatus that I took from the blog! Last Monday-Thursday we were in the United Arab Emirates- DUBAI! Since then, I dulfully got back into the underway routine and have been busy with a myriad of things, which was why I was hadn't written.

So Dubai- wow- where to begin? It was INCREDIBLE! Hands down, one of my most favorite port visits (and given that this is my THIRD deployment, I can start to rank them all). I left completely exhausted and semi-broke, but it was worth every minute and penny! We spent 2 full days exploring the city- walking and walking and walking. We checked out three of the cities largest malls (one of which, is the largest mall in the WORLD, with 600 retail shops when it opened & 1200 planned eventually). One mall had a ski resort inside and one had an ice skating rink. This led to the realization that Dubai's motto is (or probably should be) "Dubai: Proof that money can buy you anything, including the stuff you don't need- like a ski resort. In the desert". I was fortunate to have 4 liberty buddies (not all at once, anywhere from 1-4 depending on who was on duty, etc, but still, 4 cool guys that I get along with, and while it wasn't the same as hanging out with girls, it wasn't bad and we were all good travel companions.

It was so cool just walking around and seeing the malls- we probably spent maybe an hour in each one (and only purchased over-priced authentic American Starbucks Lattes :) but it was interesting to see the over-the-top-ness of the malls. They were also over the top decorated for Christmas, which was funny, given that we were in a Middle Eastern country.

We also spent 2 afternoons walking around the gold souk and the "Iranian Market"- which was the spice souk. I helped a guy pick out and try to barter for diamond earrings for his wife (but unfortunately the "I give you special prices" just weren't special enough) and bought dates and Arabica coffee beans. I even told the spice guy about the kind of medium-spicy curry that I like and he made me a mix of all kinds of middle eastern spices to make the most perfect medium-spicy curry. It looks kind of like sand art. I can't wait to get home and cook it!

Other than that, I didn't do any more shopping. Our first night there, we discovered (thanks to Scuba Steve's Dubai tour book) a bar that was part of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel- a hotel RIGHT next to the Burj Al Arab (the big 7-star sailboat shaped hotel). The bar was called 360 degrees- it was a little island that you had to walk out to (or "buggy" aka- golf cart out to, if you were lazy, we just walked-- the walkway took you past the marina where the sheik moors his private yachts when he's not using them) and it got a full circular view of Dubai and you were practically RIGHT at the base of the Burj Al Arab. It was there at 360, amidst the most gorgeous and wealthy ex-pats, that I discovered my love for hookah (or "shisha" as they call it in the middle east). Over the course of the 3 days, we smoked cherry, strawberry and mint hookah. The mint was my favorite- almost therapeutic for your throat :). It was SO incredible, sitting on these white fabric cushion-y couches, smoking hookah & gazing at the Burj Al Arab- I felt like I was on the travel channel. We definitely did NOT fit in with the rest of the clientele but we paid the bill like everyone else (however, we opted out of the $500 bottle service). It was definitely up there with the rooftop bar at our hotel in Athens on our honeymoon which overlooked the lit-up Acropolis at night. The only thing that would have made it that good was if Dan was there instead

.… bringing me to my next point- I was good this year & Santa is granting me my Christmas wish- DAN is coming to DUBAI in between Christmas & New Years. I am over the moon ECSTATIC and can hardly contain my excitement! But more on that later.

So we spent 3 nights smoking hookah, drinking overpriced drinks and looking at the most gorgeous scenery.

The 3rd day there, we did an MWR tour, which was sand boarding. We drove like an hour into the desert and then the drivers let the air out of the tires a little of their land-rover looking cars and we bounced around in the sand dunes- it was awesome/terrifying and I squealed all the way! Then we went sand boarding, which was fun/I was terrible at it. I have some pics that I will email Dan tmw & maybe he will post. Then our drivers took us on another long drive (to OMAN!) where we went swimming in this fresh water pond. I was annoyed b/c it was a "campsite" which apparently in the middle east, does not include a restroom so I had to hide behind a bush-looking thing to put on my swimmy suit (do you know how hard it is to find a bush type thing in the DESERT?!?) and then the water was FREEZING and to get in you had to jump off of this high cliff (ok, it wasn't high, maybe like 20 feet- but still).

By this point I figured, heck, I came all the way to OMAN. Got half-dressed behind a bush. Walked a mile to the fresh water. Climbed up the cliff- darn it I'm going to jump. So I did! It was great fun but there are some funny pics from it. I will obtain from my friends & email to Dan also. So short of the story- stand by for more pics from our last trip to Dubai.

I also got almost SEVEN inches of my hair cut off. It's something I've always wanted to do, cut my hair short enough to the point where I can't wear it up in uniform, but rather can wear it down (uniform regulations say that it has to be above the bottom collar of my uniform). I was always too scared but then I saw all of these girls on NIMITZ with such cute, short hair. But now, I figure, if I hate it- who cares- I have 4 months for it to grow out! So I walked into a hair salon at the Mall of the Emirates, sat down and said "go for it!" The lady said that she had cut the hair of many, many girls from "the big boat" that weekend. I LOVED it when I walked out- it looked SO cute. Now I am not so into my new 'do since I don't have a hair dryer, it's just kinda left up to its own devices (I tried to buy one in Dubai, but they're on a different voltage system so it wouldn’t work on the carrier). I am not-so-patiently waiting for my hairdryer to arrive in the mail (thanks Mom!) However, I know that it is going to look super cute once I can blow dry it. I am going to get a few more inches cut off when I go back at the end of the month (gasp!) because after that we have a LONG time underway & I don't want to risk that awkward in-between stage. Don't worry Dan- it will look good, I promise!

Overall, it was awesome. We rode by bus, taxi and (the still-being-built) Dubai monorail. We walked and walked and walked. We bartered and fought off hoards of people trying to sell us fake watches, fake purses, fake iPhones (what good is that?!), we ate schwarmas and smoked hookah and took pictures and walked some more and it was AWESOME. I can hardly WAIT to do it all again with Dan!!! EEEEEEEEE! I have the best husband ever :)

Alright, well that's about it for Dubai. We're back underway, out supporting OEF & the troops on the ground in Afghanistan. So far, we have flown 9,660 hours in support of OEF. We provide 30% of the close air support and airborne command and control. Ok, so I personally haven't flown any of them. But whatever. So far, I am really enjoying it. I mean, it's still deployment. It still sucks being away, esp this time of year (I mainly get depressed when I log on facebook and see how much fun everyone is having with family and friends and good holiday cheer) but as deployments go, I enjoy the mission and I really enjoy carrier life. There are a lot of things I miss about a "small boy" but overall this is much more enjoyable. Even Nimitz has a little bit of holiday cheer- people have sent us stockings, trees, Christmas lights, etc. speaking of, the amount of care packages that I receive has been QUITE the topic of conversation in the office (they're just jealous :). I am so grateful to receive so many wonderful packages from family and friends and the new quote in the office is "so, lesson learned here is we should have joined a sorority!" since a majority of my magazine/puppy chow/random do-dad packages have been from Chi Omegas. So thank you all family & friends- I love everything you send and am SO grateful for them!

Other than that, my new habit is studying for the GRE's. So far, so good. I have only gotten through one section (Math, substitutions) but I got 14 out of 15 questions right on the practice section of that portion of the math section so I am feeling enthusiastic to try it again tonight.

Well, that's all for now. I'm sorry I didn't write as much in the past week, I will pick up my every other day/every 3rd day starting now.

Thanks for following!
Love,
M

Dubai

So Molly wanted me to let everyone know that she is still alive and well and she apologizes for not writing in awhile. Her ship pulled into Dubai recently and she was having too much fun to write a blog post. While there, they saw the "7 star" hotel and checked out lots of malls including Ski Dubai (pic below), which was recently featured on The Amazing Race.

They're pulling back into Dubai later this month and Molly has been trying to convince me to come visit. At first I thought she was crazy, but then I thought about it and looked at flights and decided "what the heck!" So I booked a flight to Dubai and will see Molly for her deployment midpoint!! The rest of the Desron staff thinks I'm crazy but Molly is pretty certain they're just jealous :)

Unlike my excursion to Panama Ciy last year, this deployment port visit is not a surprise, so no worries about talking to Molly about it!

Dan

SHE SAID YES!!!

She caught the bouquet, he caught the garter- now he sealed the deal! Rachel is

ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!

Billy popped the question this

Thanksgiving weekend while in Virginia. Congratulations you two- I could not be more excited and overcome with joy for two of my most favorite people in the world. (And I can’t wait to hear the rest of the details!!!) Looking forward to celebrating in a few months back in San Diego. I am literally skipping around the office with excitement. We are already looking forward to the big day!!!

Random musings...

So last night, we were in the middle of a very important Straits transit. I spent the first half of the transit on the Flag Bridge, which is where our staff manned up a 2^nd watch team. We normally stand watch in a part of the ship’s combat direction center that we call our “module”. However, for the transit, we manned up a second watch team up on the Flag Bridge so we could more easily identify any possible incoming threats and maintain better visual on the situation and control the helicopters that we had working for us.

It was my first time anywhere farther up than the level that our module and our office and my stateroom are on (the O-3 level). The flag bridge is up on the O-8 level, right below the ship’s navigational bridge and the “Tower”- where all of the incoming and outgoing aircraft are managed from (pretty much like the air traffic control town that you see at any airport). The Flag bridge means that it is part of the Admiral’s staff- and it is complete with some plush-looking Captain’s Chairs for the Admiral and his COS (Chief of Staff). The Admiral’s chair also has a pull out keyboard and monitor so he can access both unclassified & classified internet from his chair. The bridge even has a treadmill and stationary bike so he can work out while watching the ship navigate through the water and stay up on the bridge for better situational awareness (he had an elliptical up there too, except the ceiling was too low for an elliptical and he hit his head; now the Admiral’s elliptical is right outside of our DESRON office)

For the transit, the CS’s (culinary specialists) made a HUGE bowl of popcorn and some homemade pizza- YUM! The Flag Bridge (normally empty during non-tactical situations), is apparently the perfect place to watch flight ops from, as it overlooks the forward part of the flight deck and usually no one is there (the Admiral can watch Flight Ops from the Tower). As part of the DESRON staff, we use the bridge as our 2^nd watch station when we need eyes on the situation (vice eyes on just a radar screen of the situation). I haven’t been up there yet during the daytime yet, but next time I hear the planes crashing over my head, I will mosey up there to check it out. So get excited, Tiger Lydia & Tiger Liora- you’ll have a perfect spot to watch flight ops from during Tiger Cruise :)

So there I was; it was nighttime and we were about to do a transit so no flight ops were going on. As I looked across the sprawling flight deck at the F/A-18’s and the EA-6B’s and the helicopters and various other aircraft, my eyes fell on a jet right below where I was standing. Aircraft traditionally have the names stenciled on the side of the pilot, any back-seaters, and the aircrewmen that flight in the plane. I saw that this particular F/A-18 had the name “LTJG Matt someone-or-other” stenciled on the side. Looking down at my own LTJG insignia and my SWO pin, I thought to myself “somewhere on this boat, there is a guy with the EXACT same rank as me… probably got his commission within a week or so of me… and here he is, flying JETS off of an AIRCRAFT CARRIER and dropping BOMBS on Afghanistan. And what do I do? I move boats. Sometimes, I navigate the boat myself. Sometimes, I tell other people how to navigate it. Right now, I spend most of my time with my face 6 inches from a computer screen, reading multi-colored excel spreadsheets that track various certifications and ships’ readiness. And this guy flies JET PLANES off of a floating flight deck. Where did I go wrong in my career?!” It’s not like I’m a young 18-year old Deck Seamen who feels like all they do is chip paint and clean things. No, me and this F/A-18 pilot have similar backgrounds, both matriculating up through some sort of commissioning program with the same amount of time of active commissioned service.

Anyways. I’ve never met this guy (call sign “Gooch”, as evidenced by his call-sign also carefully stenciled below his name), and I probably never will. It’s just crazy to think that during both myself and “Gooch’s” limited time in the Navy (2.5 years and counting…) I have spent probably 3x as much time away from my family than he probably has his. This is my 3^rd deployment… Gooch is probably earning his first “sea service ribbon” for 90 day spent away from homeport. I probably have more sleepless nights standing watch on the bridge of a ship, overlooking a dark ocean going nowhere than he has hours flying his sweet air plane. And yet, he flies jet planes (insert Top Gun theme song here) off of this ship. And I, am a SWO.

Where did I go wrong? Sigh. Alright, well, I’d better go; somewhere, deep in the abyss of my email in-box, there is probably a color-coded long range training plan that needs careful critiquing. Or perhaps it’s a certification extension message that needs editing. Just another day as a SWO. My friend Gooch, he just caught the #3 wire right above my office.

General Petraeus Visits!

Hi everyone! Happy Black Friday! So if Dan carefully followed my very detailed instructions (which I’m sure he did :)), below you can see links to a few articles about our Thanksgiving- we’re FAMOUS! Yes, General David Petraeus, the 4-star Admiral who commands CENTCOM which overseas both the Iraq & Afghanistan wars, joined us for the past two days on the Nimitz. If you read the article, you can learn a little bit about what he did but here are some of my own stories. Also, apparently if you google “Petraeus Nimitz Thanksgiving”, there are already 5 pages of media coverage. The San Diego Union Tribune flew with the General from DC to cover the story. (Article here)

After almost a week of getting the ship ready (every day, a different portion of the ship had to get painted, at night, the floors were stripped and waxed and hours of cleaning stations a day later) General Petraeus arrived onboard via the COD. Here is a picture of the COD that he arrived on. This isn’t that exciting, except it does a good job showing the plane that I arrived on, too!


Then he did a reenlistment for about 20 Sailors and awarded a few warfare pins for Sailors who had passed their boards. General Petraeus got to ride in an F/A-18, which he later talked about how exciting it was. Someone had written on the side window of his plane the follow message:

“General Petraeus, Things to do Before Lunch:

* Run 12 miles
* Do 500 push-ups
* Win a war or two”


He is an avid runner and a huge fitness guy too. This morning he wanted to do a run on the flight deck with some Sailors and a few days ago they solicited names for people that wanted to run with the General this morning. The one prerequisite? You had to be able to keep up with the General’s preferred 6 minute mile!! He later donned a chef’s hat with his 4-stars on it and served up our Thanksgiving meal.


I didn’t really have any interaction (I didn’t go to his Thanksgiving meal or obviously fly in the plane or get reenlisted or anything) with his events during the day but did go to his nighttime All Hand’s Call in the hangar bay.

It was SUCH an incredible speech! It was supposed to be a speech and a chance for us to ask questions, but apparently, at the last minute, he changed it. Most of you remember, our friend Jay-Z was supposed to make a Thanksgiving appearance. Well, apparently due to some rules for MTV sponsorship (I guess we would have had to endorse something which was against our policies), Jay-Z didn’t show up. I guess word of the canceled Jay-Z concert got to the General and he decided that he would err on the side of humor for his speech. He told us that Jay-Z had gotten in touch with him and that he needed to step it up for us in his absence. Then, the guy working the microphone/speaker system cued up Jay-Z’s “P-I-M-P” song as the General cocked his new Nimitz ballcap to the side like a rapper. He turned the first half of his speech into this variety show, calling on people in the audience he had met throughout the day. He even brought some guys up on stage to beat box and rap. Then he had a group of “people over 40 who remembered when the electric slide came out” to come up on stage and they did the electric slide. Yes, I have video footage on my camera of General Petraeus doing the electric slide- hilarious!

Then his speech got serious but it was such a good speech, he truly seemed humbled to be there and it was unbelievable how personable and genuine he seemed. Given that he is one of a few people in between our CO and the President, it was great to see how much he could relate to us and what an incredible leader he is. We should feel very grateful to have someone like him leading the charge. He later gave CENTCOMM coins to anyone who had been on sea duty for 2 ½ years after 9/11- well, I just hit 31 months of sea duty this month, so I got in line (albeit a very LONG line) and got to get a coin and shake his hand. SUPER cool.

Overall, a very cool Thanksgiving. Well, that is all for now. Look forward to hearing how everyone’s Thanksgiving was and to everyone traveling these next few days- safe travels to you! I am very much excited about our port visit soon and will be sure to write all about it after we leave.


Love,

M

Other articles on General P's visits can be found here:

• http://www.nimitz.navy.mil/

• http://www3.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/nov/26/general-p-marks-holiday-sailors-nimitz/

• http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/story/General-Petraeus-Surprises-Crew-of-the-USS-Nimitz/yRmA09vRMkG8zQudgn-Nqg.cspx
• http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=49891
  

Thanksgiving on the Nimitz

….soooo, a Happy (Eastern Standard Time) Thanksgiving to all! Today was a day like most others; woke up, did a little work. I ate a mid-morning large breakfast to save up for our meal at 1600. I did a little more work, bought my ticket for an MWR tour in Dubai (a half day sandboarding/sand dune tour, which should be pretty cool). Then I got a good work out in. Despite my initial fear of running on treadmills, with our lack of ellipticals (only 3 onboard!) and very few opportunities to run on the flight deck, I had to suck it up. I did 30 minutes, alternating between a decent jog (for 5 minutes) and very brisk walking at a very high incline (for 5 minutes). It was actually a great work-out and probably works more muscles than just straight running, it’s my new fave.

Thanksgiving Dinner was pretty good- it was set up Sunday Brunch style. There were SO many huge turkeys- and they were carving it right there on station, and you could ask for white or dark meat! There was also a huge ham and a huge roast- yum! The stuffing wasn’t too shabby, nor were the green beans, although they definitely weren’t fresh. The usual disappointments included the mashed potatoes (from a box) and gravy (once powdered) and the pies (pre-made, no fresh whipped cream). In their defense, mashed potatoes would be a cumbersome dish to make for 5,000+ and it would take an awful lot of turkey drippings to make real gravy. Overall though, the Supply Department clearly put a lot of work into it and it was much appreciated. And the turkey really was quite phenomenal. Normally I just eat enough to be slightly full but I decided to go all out and go to town. Plus I sat at a big table with DESRON folks and we actually had an hour and a half meal together.

Now I feel ridiculously gross. The problem was, all of the food had a lot of sodium in it, since most of it isn’t fresh and mostly processed/frozen. Now, 3 hours later, I feel like I am stuck in the middle of a desert, parched as a cactus! Blech!

After dinner, I did “United Through Reading” which is this program that is funded by the USO. You can read a children’s book (they have a bunch you can pick or you can bring your own) and they video tape you reading the book. They send the DVD and book home to your children (or anyone you want)… since I (obviously) have no children yet, I filmed “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” for my niece Alexandra. I sent her the stuffed caterpillar last year so I am excited for her to receive the DVD of me reading the book. It was really fun- I even got to “talk” to her before and after and say a few words. It’s seriously an awesome program, all totally free, and you can do one a month while on deployment. So special J

Alright well I am off to bed (a lot of people went to bed early tonight so they can get up in the middle of the night to watch football, crazy I know!) so I am going to go in search for some water and then lots of good sleep! I am really excited to tell you all about our special visitor we had for the holiday- I will write lots more tomorrow and it should be a good one!

Thank you all so much for reading, following, sending me emails and all of the love and support. I am so grateful for each and every one of my family & friends today!

Also, a little bit of Navy, specifically DESRON 23 history for you today…

In the early morning hours of 25 November, 1943, Captain Arleigh Burke and 5 destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 23 intercepted and attacked 5 Japanese destroyers in what would become his most famous victory, The Battle of Cape St. George.

The 5 destroyers were AUSBURNE (his flagship), CLAXTON, DYSON, CONVERSE, and SPENCE. The squadron was limited in speed to 31 kts due to an engineering casualty onboard the SPENCE (one of reasons ADM Burke received his nickname 31-kt Burke).

During the battle, the Little Beavers sank 3 Japanese destroyers and damaged another without suffering any damage themselves. It was one of the more lopsided victories of the war. It was also Thanksgiving Day.

To all Little Beavers, be proud of your rich heritage and have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Turkey Day!

Well, here we are, on Thanksgiving Eve. My 2nd Thanksgiving in a row spent on deployment, albeit this one on a bit of a bigger ship. Honestly, it doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving at all and I keep reminding myself that it’s tomorrow. I’m not sure why I feel the need to keep reminding myself though, other than to depress me, really. Nothing special going on tomorrow, it’s a “fly day” which means regular work day. I guess even the insurgents in Afghanistan don’t stop for Thanksgiving so nor do we. I think there is a special Thanksgiving church service, and the 2 spinning classes are 2 hours (vice one) in case you eat too much processed turkey and fake, powdered mashed potatoes, you can sweat off the extra calories. We only take Friday’s off from flying. Not that any of it really matters to me since 1) I have nothing to do with flying and 2) we don’t have any morning meetings (all of our staff/work meetings are in the afternoon) so I guess technically I could sleep in forever any day, but since I’m not on the watchbill, I get up at 0600 and work normal work day lengths. Sometimes I stop mid-afternoon to work out before dinner, sometimes I work up to dinner and then work-out after dinner. Either way, I feel like I should put in a decent 8-9 hour work day/day since I am not supporting the watch rotation. I feel bad too, because my nature as a SWO is to be on the watchbill, but now I am making it a point to spend 2-3 hours there in the afternoon depending on our meeting schedule to at least start learning the ropes & getting assimilated into the mission.

So, since my last lame-o lunch that I had, things have been going better. I am working on lurking around the office at times when I know people might be eating so I can hopefully leech onto their lunch group. Also, I discovered Wardroom III, the downstairs, more “formal” Wardroom which I originally shied away from because they all made it seem like it was more stuffy and uptight. Actually, I could see how if you had group of cool-dude pilot friends, you would prepare the laid-back social climate of Wardroom I/II but for the rest of us traditional SWOs, Wardroom III is the one for me. It is where mostly “ship’s company” (aka- people assigned to the USS NIMITZ vice the Air Wing or Flag or DESRON Staff) eats and so it is more SWOs. Anyways, I’ve had 2 lunches and 2 dinners there and have met a lot more people. I have been eating usually with one of our SUBOPS (submarine operations guys) and our AirOps (the guy who had my job while I was on ABOT, call sign “T-Rex”, yes, like the dinosaur, because he has short arms. No seriously, like REALLY short arms. He does a mean T-Rex impression. It’s hilarious). Our AirOps, being a pilot (“Green suit”) seems to know everyone and thus I have met some more people. Not met as in “oh my gosh, my new BFF, let’s hang out in Dubai”, but at least enough to remember their name/face and say hello if I saw them in passing. Maybe even I might ask to join them at a meal if I were to brave Wardroom III alone.

Hmmm so what else. Other than learning my job (which, I love. Being a Staff Training Officer is the PERFECT job for me; the only thing I don’t like is the fact that I never got a real turnover from the guy who had my job last, he left in July before they deployed, so I don’t really have a great handle on things. Luckily, I’m picking up the best I can). I am not as much into the standing watch thing, but that’s to be expected, I never really like standing watch.

Other than that, I’m just trying not to get lost. I only really know one way to go anywhere, which means it is probably taking me a lot longer to go anywhere than necessary. I still haven’t seen sunlight since last Thursday when I checked onboard.

My favorite thing about the Nimitz is the exercise facilities. So they’re not actually that great or nice (actually ABOT was probably better b/c at least you could run and not just on the treadmill). There is a room called the “gerbil gym”- I think because it is a long room flanked with 30+ treadmills literally RIGHT up against each other so we all look like a bunch of gerbils running side by side and not getting anywhere. There are also 2 gyms with just weights but it gives off that “prison-yard aura” (except inside, not outside). There is a “Khaki Gym” way back aft on the level that I live on, it’s about as big as a small hotel gym- one elliptical, 2 treadmills, a bike and a few weight machines, it’s pretty small and usually all full.

There is also a small room with 12 cycling bikes; there is a cycling class twice a day three days a week. The instructor is our “Fit Boss”, a civilian, who is in charge of everything related to fitness. She’s really great and has a lot of enthusiasm. I took the cycling class and did 24.5 miles in an hour- it was a great class! Today I took my first yoga class, which is offered twice a week in the evenings. It is all the way forward on the ship, 2 decks below the flight deck, in this big room where the anchor chains are. Deck Division just did a lot of painting in there so it reeked of paint, which was kinda gross. It was a very good class though, highly recommended to this girl I sat next to at dinner who is a pilot but is doing a tour as a part of the Nimitz’s ship’s company. There were a little over 30 people in the class, probably ¾ girls, but definitely enough guys that you wouldn’t feel awkward if you were a guy taking it (I mentioned this to one of our SubOps who has now decided the way to meet girls on the Nimitz is to go to yoga). A lot of women officers too, probably about ½ and ½ which is a good ratio, considering there are much fewer female officers than enlisted. Obviously, yoga’s not exactly the most talkative environments to meet people, but I feel like after awhile I will start to recognize people. I took the class this evening after 2 miles on the treadmill in the “gerbil gym” and what fun it was! I only wish I hadn’t flown out here so I could have brought my own yoga mat!


The most interesting part? 15 minutes into the class they started a new launch cycle and we were right under the flight deck on the last part of the ship that the jets are on before they leave the edge of the ship. Nothing messes up your breathing mid-downward dog than the roaring sound of a jet-engine sounding like it is exploding right in your ears as the ground beneath you shakes. THAT will definitely take some time getting used to!

Well, that’s all for now, folks. Off to bed. I’m just hoping tomorrow flies by (ok, for the sake of everyone at home enjoying real turkey and mashed potatoes with their families, I hope it doesn’t fly by) but I’m just ready to push through another holiday and keep on rolling.) I am going to lay off the facebook because seeing people’s messages about going home and being with family is too hard to hear about (but everyone reading, I am thoroughly looking forward to hearing about your Thanksgiving- and pictures too please!!!!)

My goal is after Thanksgiving, whenever I get a chance to mosey outside and maybe get some pics of the planes, to burn them to a CD to post. Sorry that it is more difficult for me to post as frequently, but my goal is every other day, at least for the first few weeks while this is all new and fun! Thanks for continuing to follow throughout the holiday season & I look forward to hearing from everyone :)

The Lunch Line

So today at lunch I found myself literally in the middle of the most embarrassing/awkward/lonely situation ever. I was sitting (by myself, as usual) at one of the 2 tables that are normally “DESRON tables”. As usual, lunch consisted of the usual “hot dog station” (or at least that’s what I call it since there is habitually a hot dog choice, a brat-looking choice, and a sausage/peppers/onions choice and buns, beans, chili, etc (that’s in the fast food section- dan you would love it J) and my favorite- crinkle cut French fries. There was also the normal food section- corn, canned asparagus (yum?), rice, mac & cheese, some sort of fried pork patty, some sort of turkey looking meat, mashed potatoes (powered, from a box, as usual), gravy and the usual “20-kind of chicken”. (like the Chinese buffets that we used to go to when I was a kid that we called “20-kinds of chicken”, so is the Nimitz Wardrooms. Every meal consistently has a chicken tender looking choice, friend chicken and chicken wings. So much chicken! (that’s not what we have every day but that’s the type of foods we have in the hot line)

None of this was any too appealing to me, except the brilliant idea from my Pennsylvania-Dutch upbringing- a plate of French fries and a bowl of once-powdered/boxed brown gravy- YUM :) (that was a serious yum, not a sarcastic one)

So I sit down at the table (by myself) with my French fries & gravy, thinking that nothing will comfort me like this combination of delicious-ness. Well, of course, as luck would have it, a few minutes later someone (and by someone, I mean a cool cat in a green flight suit) asks if they could take one of the chairs at my table (there are four chairs at every table, but rewind to middle school when you would try and take as many chairs as you could from tables that weren’t using them so that you could squeeze all of your friends at a table- heaven forbid you couldn’t fit you and your 10 BFF’s at one small round table meant for 4-5.) So of course I give a little laugh and tell him that he of course can take it, not like I need 3 empty chairs. So a few minutes later, someone else asks me if they could take another of my remaining 2 empty chairs. I sigh, and of course say ok, kinda hard to argue/hope that I just might have 2 friends come join me (I don’t even have 2 friends on the Carrier, must less 2 that might randomly happen to sit down next to me).

Then it hits me- it’s the fries & gravy. Everyone must be so weirded out by me eating French fries dipped in gravy that they don’t want to sit by me. Yes, that’s it. Molly’s weirdness once again gets in the way of making friends. It’s just like 6th grade all over again, except this time the “cool kids” aren’t wearing Nike tee-shirts but rather green flight suits.

So there I am, me, my plate of French fries and bowl of gravy and empty chair. Then, some kool kat F/A-18 pilot comes up and asks if he can take my one remaining, lone, empty chair. I sigh, and make some lame joke like “I dunno… there are so many people rushing over to sit with me…” He obviously didn’t get my lame SWO humor and kinda gave me one of those looks that the cool kids gave me in 6th grade (with the raised eyebrow and all). So I say, “haha, nevermind go ahead”.

So there I am, me, and my empty plate of French fries, an empty table and no other chairs. Obviously my weird choice of food is not going to repel any more friends (since I have no chair for them to sit at even if they wanted to). So I decide to indulge in a 2nd plate of French fries and gravy. I was careful though, to leave my jacket on the back of my chair, lest some aviator ray-ban toting green suit with a “I’ve flown 100 hours in my sweet F/A-18 patch and I make sure all the ladies know it” decides he would like to take my chair too. I mean, I still have a LITTLE dignity left, but if I came back from the lunch line with not only no friends but not ONE single chair at my table, it would all be gone.

I eat my 2nd plate of French fries in gravy, feeling rather dejected and lonely, and like every green suit’s eyes are glaring into the back of my neck, thinking 1) who really is that friend-less and 2) and more likely, when is that SWO girl going to get up so we can have her chair. I scarf down my now less-than-comforting food and leave. Sigh.

Alright well, hopefully that painted a decent picture of “How I Survive the Wardroom” on a tri-daily basis. Actually, bi-daily; by giving up breakfast I was able to recover some amount of dignity by only looking uncool twice a day. I am now back in the comforts of our warm office, a converted ammo storage space, as I listen to the kool kat F/A-18’s crash over my heads while my nose is buried in some sort of color coded training and readiness excel tracker, surrounded by my fellow SWOs. Ahh comfort :)

Brunch on the Nimitz

Hi family & friends! Since the last you heard from me, I was stumbling off the COD carrying a bag of my own puke, I thought it would be a good idea to let you know what I am up to!

I’ve been here for just about 48 hours now and it is really hard to keep track of days & times! I am now 12 hours ahead of CA & 9 hours ahead of the East Coast but since I don’t have skype, it is not so much of a problem to know what time it is back at home. However, we do have the ability to call home sometimes, thanks to an “outside line” we have in the office; it is just like dialing from North Island, the carrier base in SD (unfortunately we aren’t that close, since if we were on North Island, I could see my apt from there L ). I was able to call Dan this morning to talk for a few minutes. That was really nice and I will probably try and do that once a week, especially on “holiday routine” morning since the office is pretty empty. Some people talk to their families almost every day!

Well, let’s see, in 48 hours I have found my way around quite well! I can easily maneuver between my stateroom, my bathroom, the office, the Wardroom, (one of the) gyms (yes, there are FOUR!), and the ship’s store. I haven’t gotten my cash card working yet but I am looking forward to getting a waterbottle so I can carry water around. I wish I had thought to bring my UVA or Chi Omega one, but alas I have not. I still can’t find the flight deck or the airplanes yet but I figure in about a week I will crave sunlight (there really is no need to ever leave the O-3 level that I live on) and will venture out to find fresh air. But when you hear the planes (and the trucks and the elevators and the chains and the catapults and the traps) like JFK just relocated over your bedroom, I really have no desire to go anywhere closer to them. I don’t know what is going on up there, but I am convinced an F-18 is going to land in my rack if I’m not careful. Luckily, I have the bottle rack to allow me an extra layer of defense should the F-18 make it through the flight deck.

I still jump whenever something bangs around over my head- it is UNBELIEVABLE how loud it is! In order to watch a DVD on my laptop, I have to wear headphones, even though it is turned up as loud as it is! It is also very cold in my stateroom so I wake up in the AM with a pretty sore throat from breathing in cold recirculated air. My mom sent me this super awesome set of purple flannel sheets with my initials monogrammed in brown and a matching brown fleece blankets with a purple monogram- not only are they very pretty and I love them, but they are also perfect since it is so cold. I actually have a gray fleece blanket and my red/blue fleece blanket UNDER the brown one!!!

This morning, we had the Hotel Nimitz (that’s what they call the Service Department) Sunday Brunch. Apparently every other weekend (or whatever day is the “holiday routine”, sometimes Friday, sometimes Sunday depending on UNREPs and “no fly days”) is a LAVISH brunch. If you gave me bottomless mimosas & a view of the SD Harbor, I might have believed we were at the Hotel Del!

It runs from 10am-1pm. There is a smoothie bar, where a guy makes real fruit smoothies, a real Belgium waffle station with all the fruit & topping fixin’s, a large carved roast sitting under one of those red lamps on a big wooden board where a guy cuts you a slice however you like. There is also big silver warmed serving trays of pancakes, sausages bacon, eggs, potatoes, gravy, ANYTHING you can imagine. And apparently, the past few weeks haven’t been “that good”- whatever that means; I was totally floored! Plus there’s the usual cookies, chips, snacks, teas, coffees, fruit, salad/sandwich bar. There are 3 main seating areas that make up Wardroom I/II and they take one of them and turn it into a big buffet. They even dim the lights and turn on the regular side lighting and had real candles. I am NEVER going back to a Frigate; that’s for sure!!!

Other than that, I have been very busy with the Battle E stuff, but feel like I have a good grasp on everything. I am not on the watchbill yet due to needing to get all of the Battle E submission in line but it really doesn’t take that much time, at least I don’t think. It was pretty disorganized but I feel like I have it really under control. I haven’t worked out yet so I think I’m going to try that out today.

I am trying to make new friends; mainly I just talk to the people on the staff. Like high school, everyone sits at certain tables in the wardroom (which, is the size of a cafeteria!), I know the 2 tables that the DESRON sits at and I try not to sit at the same table when everyone is wearing green flight suits) Other than that, I’m not really sure there is to meet out there other than for polite conversation “hello, how are you”

Oh, and if you don’t mind, could everyone who’s reading this (or at least people that would like to converse with me via email), could you please send me your email address? I am used to having it from in my gmail but this is my new account and so I have NO one’s address saved & I can’t log into google to get it L). So, if you could just shoot me a quick email @ molly.laufer@cvn68.navy.mil, just to say hi & so I have your address, that would be MOST appreciated. If you want to send an even longer email and tell me what you’re up to, that would be great too but I would just love to have a copy of everyone’s address. Thanks :)

Miss you all, hope all is well!
Love,
M