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We were each paired up with another MIDN and assigned a running mate. Our running mates were officers who volunteered to be like a "mentor" for the week. They gave us tours the first day and answered all our questions. We also got the chance to spend time with them while they were on watch up in the bridge. My running mate, Ensign Smith, was awesome. She went through ROTC and has been on the USS Stockdale for approximately just over a year. We got along great and I appreciated her advice.
For the first three nights, at 1845 right after dinner we had a mentoring session with either the CO, the XO, or the DH (department heads). They each shared their advice and answered our questions. We normally don't have any questions though, which always made for a really awkward silence, but there's only so many questions to ask. It was great to actually have time with the CO and XO though, it means a lot for them to take time out of their busy schedule for us.
After mentoring we always had movie night in the wardroom. I don't know about the other MIDN, but I thought it was pretty special to hang out in the wardroom. It's usually a place reserved only for officers, but the fact that they let us dine in there, watch TV and movies, and be waited on by the enlisted was quite an honor. We're only midshipmen after all... I always made sure to thank the enlisted that waited hand and foot on us (when we're not even really officers, but they treated us like we were because it was their job). They worked their butts off for us and I didn't want them to become resentful. The first night they even served us warm chocolate chip cookies right out the oven. They were pretty much heaven (even comparable to my own cookies, a tough cut to make).
On Thursday we went through an UNREP (underway replenishment). An UNREP is where our ship lines up with the supply ship and they connect these giant fuel lines. Sometimes they'll transfer food and supplies and whatnot, but since we were only away for 4 days at that point, we only needed fuel. It took quite a while to get it all together, but once we were actually side by side with the other ship, it was a really cool experience. At least for the first 20...30 minutes... I sat on the flight deck with a few of the guys to watch it. I know the other MIDN were wearing vests and helmets and were forced to watch it from a deck above us, but my small group just didn't go... and luckily we got better seats with no helmets :)
Another cool thing to note was that the Battle of Midway anniversary was this past week while we were underway. In memorial, we had "reenactments" of the battle where the person over the intercom would be screaming BOOM TORPEDO HIT and giving us minute updates as if we were going through the battle. It was cool at first... but after a while, the announcements got annoying. Also, there was a memorial held on the flight deck where the CO gave a memorial speech. Unfortunately this happened while Colleen and I decided to take a nap in the afternoon... We were sleeping when MA1 Stark came in telling us the CO wanted everyone out on the flight deck. We both were in our skivvies, so it took us a solid 15 minutes to get ourselves together. By the time we got out there it was almost over, so we just watched from the doorway instead of interrupting. They threw little ribbons with the past sailors names on them into the ocean which I thought was really special too.
One of the many evolutions we did this past week was also an ASW torpedo defense. They revved the engine up to 27 knots (max speed is 30 knots) and we made sharp and quick left and right turns. The trail behind us looked like a giant squiggly line, but it actually made for a really fun ride!
When I was told I'd have a lot of downtime, I really underestimated the statement. I literally had all afternoon for downtime everyday. After lunch, we didn't usually have anything until dinner at 1730. I usually took a long nap in my rack, but one afternoon I read The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Personally, I didn't like it, but I can't start a book and not finish it. I sometimes journaled and wrote a few letters, but usually it always ended up with me sleeping.
Continued in part 3....
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