Upon reporting to my ship on 21JUN04, I have been learning through a fire hose. After being on board only 10 days, the USS Cole's Main Propulsion Division Officer. I am responsible for the maintenance of the ship's 7 Gas Turbine Engines along with all of the equipment in 4 engineering main spaces, and the 31 sailors that work hard to keep the division ready. I went from college finals to major responsibility in less than a month, and even though it is very challenging, I am being rewarded with a more vast understanding of the Navy in a shorter time than I ever imagined.
ENS Michael Horr
Nuclear Power school is progressing well. It's set at a high pace as in only a few weeks we've covered over a semester's worth of material. Fortunately I'll be on reduced hours after next week. The last few months have been very hectic. Whether at dive school or here in Charleston, I've typically been working 70 to 80 hour weeks. It's definitely been a steep learning curve. From day one in Panama City until even now I've been tasked with a variety of collateral responsibilities including conducting GMT for enlisted students and proctoring E-5 and E-6 advancement exams to name only a few. The best advice I have to pass along to Midshipmen is to be prepared to have responsibility thrown upon them with little warning or training. Developing a good sense of safe versus unsafe and right versus wrong will serve them well and help them gain respect among their very technically proficient enlisted sailors. As one of only three officers in my dive school class of 38 students, I was designated as OIC of two small craft and responsible for diving and medical equipment for 38 students and 7 instructors. Fortunately I had exceptional sailors to help things run smoothly.
I hope all is well in Blacksburg. Please give my regards to the rest of the staff and Captain Snyder.
ENS Adam Scott
I reported to Texas 3 months ago after graduating from Dive School in December and am currently attached to the Mine Warfare Training School until I get to my ship. So, I have yet to really get my feet wet (so to speak) in the Surface Navy. However, being as undermanned as they are my ship already has me working. They sent me to Search and Rescue Swimmer School last month and I have been going in on duty days so they can rush me through some quals.
Anyway, what I really wanted to ask you was if any fellow Hokies are looking at EOD as a possible service selection. The community is evolving so quickly, and the pipeline is totally different now than it was just 3 months ago. If you know of anyone who has selected or is thinking about selecting EOD feel free to give them my e-mail, I would be happy to talk to them. I hope everything is going well in Blacksburg!
ENS David Wiltshire after completing his first solo flight at IFS.
