AUF
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] April 14 It kind of bothered me that here we are on the high seas and we can board vessels not in our own territorial waters. What if somebody could do that to us?...
View ArticleThe Support in Port
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] April 15 A long time ago, in a Central American port far, far away…not really, but can’t be more specific about our location or when we were there due to...
View ArticleLiberty, liberty, liberty!
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] April 16 [a long time ago in a Central American port far, far away continued…] The Captain has signed the new liberty policy but has decided not to implement it,...
View ArticleTac Numbers
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] April 19 They’re on every bulkhead in every compartment of this ship, they’re on doorways and light fixtures and valves. When we have a fire drill the affected...
View ArticleUnderway Again
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] April 17 Everyone was supposed to be back on Munro by 8am the day we left and they were. “Thank you all very much for being here on time,” the XO said at quarters...
View ArticleJust a Job
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] April 18 In the five and a half years since coming on line, the USCG Hitron program has interdicted over $8 billion dollars worth of illegal drugs destined for...
View ArticlePapa Doc
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] April 20 He started out in the Air Force as a nuclear weapons specialist. Not that much of a segue to corpsman on Munro, is it? HSC Gene “Papa Doc” Mason joined the...
View ArticleSnapshots
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] April 21 The night I had my tac epiphany I also ran into MK1 Dan Thorpe, our FOWK (Fuel Oil and Water King, still my favorite underway job title) and MK3 Barry...
View ArticleFood
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] April 22 Friday night, between the blog and prepping for my underway writers’ workshop, I worked through dinner, Mexican Carne Asada, the gift of FS2 Lee Schob’s...
View ArticleDC PQS
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] April 23 One day I was in the wardroom and PO Karl Griffin and YN3 Dottie Davies were taking their basic DC PQS test. I asked Karl how he thought he did. “I think I...
View ArticleLive Fire on the .50 Caliber
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] April 24 “I don’t ask my people to do anything I wouldn’t do,” Chief Greg Colvin says. There is a pronounced twinkle in his eye, but on the evidence I have to say...
View ArticleLE Training
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] April 25 At 0900 this morning Munro’s LEO (Law Enforcement Officer) ENS Dan Schrader pipes boarding team members to the hangar deck for LE training. Today, it’s...
View ArticleRepair Locker 3
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] April 26 Wednesday after lunch LTJG Josh DiPietro’s voice came over the pipe to announce General Quarters Condition 1 on station training. “Do not set material...
View ArticleAsk the Chiefs
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] April 27 Yesterday I had lunch in the Chiefs’ Mess, and for the first time in two patrols learned that the Chiefs’ have their own motto: Ask the Chiefs. One of the...
View ArticleThe Four to Eights
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] April 28 Chances are you go to work in the morning at 8am and knock off at 5pm, with an hour off for lunch. The Coast Guard stands watches. We stand watches on the...
View ArticleThe Most Fun You Can Have With Your Clothes On
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] April 30 The preflight brief consists mostly of what to do A) to stave off disaster, and B) if disaster strikes. Put on fire retardant jumpsuit, PFD, Kevlar vest,...
View ArticleCombat
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] May 1 On this patrol, it got so I knew who worked in Combat because I didn’t know who they were. I don’t have clearance for CIC, so I couldn’t go down there and...
View ArticleMrs. Dipietro’s SAIL Class
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] May 2 Pam Dipietro is LTJG Josh Dipietro’s mom. Back in Scotia, New York, Pam teaches a SAIL class. “S.A.I.L. stands for Students Active In Learning,” she says....
View ArticleUnderway Writers Workshop 1
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] May 5 There were initially sixteen students in what I called my Underway Writers Workshop. I confidently expected that number to drop by half after the first class,...
View ArticleUnderway Writers Workshop 2
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] May 6 Lookout SN Dennis R Gordon III 1120. I have been on watch for five minutes. It feels like three hours. The ocean rocks the 378 like a cradle. Water against...
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