Yeah, HSL-51 isnt sending a det out with us that I am aware of. You will probably be on shore with plenty of time to see the sights and a few flights. Thats how it worked when I did my aviation cruise with 51.
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Summer Cruises
- Thread starter raptor10
- Start date
I got my info today, HSL - 45 first phase, sweet...
You forgot that the troublemaker ends up hooking up with the hottie upper-classwoman.
I'm glad I never saw that movie.
I'm glad I never saw that movie.
AllAmerican75 said:You forgot that the troublemaker ends up hooking up with the hottie upper-classwoman.
I'm glad I never saw that movie.
Nah he doesn't... or maybe sorta at the end they lead you to believe a relationship might form... I don't remember.
And I regret seeing that movie. Girlfriend liked it though... go figure....
DanMav1156 said:
Huh, well just make sure you don't piss off the prior-enlisted 1st Classman, who starts out hating your guts, but because you're so tenacious, and you remind him of himself, takes you under his wing and mentors you into the bestest Midshipman there is.
At least Plebe Summer only lasts a few weeks, I get to enjoy five months of the Ratline.
NROTCMemTIGER said:
did my 2/c last summer w/ CV-63 and it was freakin sweet! We went from Sydney to Guam, and it was definitely the best 3 weeks of my (short) naval "career" (so far.....). I went flying w/ HS-14, saw just about everything that there is to see on a CV, and got to see 2 different countries at both ends. My ONLY recommendation would be to have your quals done....this is no joke, as I had the opportunities to fly w/ both VAQ-136, as well as VFA-102, but couldn't b/c as a 2/c cruise mid I had no quals to speak of. The CO of the Gauntlets said that he couldn't believe that they had sent me out "there" w/o them....."Roger that sir....I most definitely agree" sums up my sentiments. Still, a very cool cruise and I met lots of cool people. I highly recommend going down to the "Jet Shop" if you get the chance (which you will) to watch an engine break in (or whatever the technical term for that is). Ask to go out and stand by the engine when they do the burner lights.....its insane, and you can touch the turkey feathers with your bare hands if you have the balls to get that close
Oh yeah, just found out that the 2 tentative 1/c aviation cruises that I may get are 1) HSL squadron in North Island, or 2) VAW squadron in Pt. Mugu. Pretty much up to me and my buddy who is also doing his 1/c as to which one either of us goes on. Any advice on this??
MIDNJAC said:did my 2/c last summer w/ CV-63 and it was freakin sweet! We went from Sydney to Guam, and it was definitely the best 3 weeks of my (short) naval "career" (so far.....). I went flying w/ HS-14, saw just about everything that there is to see on a CV, and got to see 2 different countries at both ends. My ONLY recommendation would be to have your quals done....this is no joke, as I had the opportunities to fly w/ both VAQ-136, as well as VFA-102, but couldn't b/c as a 2/c cruise mid I had no quals to speak of. The CO of the Gauntlets said that he couldn't believe that they had sent me out "there" w/o them....."Roger that sir....I most definitely agree" sums up my sentiments. Still, a very cool cruise and I met lots of cool people. I highly recommend going down to the "Jet Shop" if you get the chance (which you will) to watch an engine break in (or whatever the technical term for that is). Ask to go out and stand by the engine when they do the burner lights.....its insane, and you can touch the turkey feathers with your bare hands if you have the balls to get that close
Oh yeah, just found out that the 2 tentative 1/c aviation cruises that I may get are 1) HSL squadron in North Island, or 2) VAW squadron in Pt. Mugu. Pretty much up to me and my buddy who is also doing his 1/c as to which one either of us goes on. Any advice on this??
Any suggestions for those of us who have 2/c cruises on carriers this summer? Other things to do/see/ask about?
CommodoreMid said:
a few suggestions:
1)DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY get out on the flight deck. Day, night, good weather, bad (if you are so lucky). If you talk to the guys in the shooter shack--yellow shirts--they will most likely be willing to hook you up. There was nothing cooler than standing out there as a middie on a black night, approaching a squall line, getting sprayed with JP-5, asphalt, saltwater and standing right next to the guy in the little manhole as he fires a Rhino tanker off into the darkness (full burner was the norm at night for these guys, as I observed it, reportedly because of the extra weight....don't know if there is any truth to this, but they were impressive that close). It is so loud up there that you won't be able to hear yourself talk, but if you keep your head "on a swivel" its a lot of fun....just watch out for the E-2's that like to sneak up on you (its unbelievable how quiet those turboprops can be in the midst of the wind and all that background noise)
2) Sort of continuing from the previous suggestion, make sure that you go back to the LSO platform. Not a whole lot that those guys can tell you will make sense, but its interesting to watch and listen. Close your mouth though, or you will be eating little bits of asphalt when the first jet comes aboard....
3) Watch everything from Vulture's Row....it really puts the whole traffic pattern/organization into perspective from that vantage point. Also, you can really make sense of whats happening on the flight deck.
4) Go to CATCC.....the sort of approach control for the ship. I had an awesome 1/C PO who basically explained everything there was to know about her job, and I really felt like I learned something there. Got to observe as the squadron reps (who sit in the back of the room, on standby during their watch) worked to troubleshoot a Prowler with some sort of in-flight malfunction. Also got to listen as they all took bets on whether it was going to be a "cherry" or a "spider" recovery, and whether the nugget Rhino pilot from VFA-whatever was going to make it on the 4th pass. Interesting stuff
5) Go on the bridge during an UNREP...its pretty interesting and odds are, you will see the captain scream at somebody. No seriously, it will make you appreciate the SWO's. Drive the ship....its like a terrible Cadillac w/o power steering, but its pretty cool anyhow.
6) Talk to everyone that you can.....see what people do in their job. I saw a lot of random cool things that I can't even begin to list here, just by walking around like a dumb-a$$ sea tourist asking people to let me watch them do stuff. Don't get in their way if its obvious that they are overly preoccupied, but you can usually find someone who is just chilling on the sidelines (so to speak) who will fill you in on whats going on.
7) Try to get down for the sea and anchor detail in the forecastle and watch what goes on. It is a really hot and sweaty job, but it is a good thing to see. Just don't start crying like one of the mids in our group....
8) Don't get so drunk on your first night of liberty that you are too sick to walk around exploring the next day. Chances are that you will go to someplace you haven't been before, and just because liberty-buddy x is twice your weight and is giving you crap about it, doesn't mean that you should ruin the rest of your time ashore by trying to out drink him
That's an abbreviated list of everything that I would recommend, and I have a couple more suggestions about what NOT to do:
1) DONT walk around the ship being a dick to the enlisted sailors, expecting to get special/prefferential treatment because of your midshipman rank. Honestly, you will likely be called "sir" by a lot of people who don't know what to call you (I had a Master Chief call me sir for example)....but don't let it go to your head...you still don't have the rank. It really pissed me off to hear one of my fellow mids complain that he had to wait in line for the ship's store with the rest of the sailors, while officers were free to come and go into the store as they wished.
2) Which leads me into DONT #2.....if you need to get liquid body soap (because all you packed was a bar that is quickly disenegrating in the humidity), don't ask the question very loudly in front of anyone else in the ship's store. And if some random F/A-18 pilot does give you $hit, a simple "no, I don't need a louffa with that" will suffice.
3) Some of the sailors will try to mess with you.....not many, but I guarantee there will be a couple of immature guys out there that will try to get a rise out of you. Don't fall for the bait, and don't let them irritate you. I had a really good time overall, but I still remember one guy in the mess line that really pissed me off.....and the best thing that I did was just totally ignore whatever comment he had made. The guy shut up pretty quickly, and I ended up getting the last piece of pineapple upside down cake, so I think he got his....
MIDNJAC said:
You know what is truly important in life! Impressive