Chest Candy

As part of being an enlisted sailor we have the opportunity to earn a warfare qualification. I am on a surface vessel so I have earned my Enlisted Surface Warfare Area qualification. I wear a special pin on my dress uniforms indication I have completed the necessary requirements. Essentially, you learn about every part of a surface ship. The weapons, the communications, supply services, damage control procedures, water production, plumbing, how the ship runs, among so many others. I earned mine last deployment and I couldn’t have been more thankful when it was over!!

As some of you know I talk a lot of about the helicopters we have onboard.  We have 2, a flight deck, and 2 hangers. We do a lot of flight operations and it is a large part of our daily activities. Because of this, it was decided that we would get an opportunity to earn our air warfare pin! This is pretty uncommon for destroyers so I jumped the change to earn some more ‘Chest Candy’. So far, I have actually found it more interesting than the surface material. They have given us a very tight schedule to complete, but the air department has been gracious with their dedication to teach us all about their world….totally asking for a ride!

Started a book! A novel about a plaque….shocker, I know. Also, creeping into my anatomy coloring book and flashcards. Establishing a routine with built in ‘me time’ is essential to survival on deployment. I need to keep my mind busy. I have made the mistake of not doing so and it is detrimental to my mental state onboard. Nothing will wear me down faster. Card games or board games with my work center are a new thing to this underway for me too.  Among our favorites are ‘Exploding kittens’ and Telestrations…

Look forward to posts with a brighter attitude. I am really working on not complaining and I think I have done a pretty good job. At least, better than I have in the past.