Aurora Division Ship’s Log – 2012
30 December 2012
AURDIV Bivouac 2012, Hoover Forest Preserve, 17NOV- 18NOV12
This was one of the several that I have done. What made this one different was the amount of activities that were accomplished. There was actually more done, from a scavenger hunt to capture the flag, in that weekend. It taught teamwork and leadership which are very important skills to learn which will benefit people in their adult lives.
PO1 Kevin Claus , NSCC
29 December 2012
USNSCC Engineering Training, NAVSTAGRTLKS, 14JUL- 22JUL12
This training was pretty much a crash course in naval engineering. They first talk about the primary mission and safety. After the safety briefings, there were classes on brazing and welding. We got to take home brass sculptures from that. Then came the fun part of the training: the fire trainer and the “wet” trainer. The wet trainer is pretty much a sinking ship. It took a few tries, but we actually stopped the ship from sinking. We then walked through the mock cruiser and frigate engine rooms to see what it is actually like to be in one. At the end of the week, the commanding officer of the engineering common corps took a picture with us in one of the mock steam engine rooms, and we were able to keep those.
If you want to get your hands dirty, you are going to want to take this training.
PO1 Kevin Claus , NSCC
16 November 2012
USNSCC Petty Officer Leadership Academy (POLA) NAVSTA Norfolk, Virginia, 05-11 August 2012
During POLA, we had classes every day to learn how to be a better leader. This training was mostly classwork, teaching us everything from the fundamentals of being a leader to the history of the Sea Cadet Corps. At the end of the week, we had a total of about 40 hours of classroom time. In addition to the Cadets who staffed this training, we also had a Midshipman from the Naval Academy come over and staff. On Friday night, the Midshipman led us on a motivational run around base before graduation. This is a good training to attend if you want to become a better Petty Officer.
PO3 Joshua San Diego, NSCC
16 November 2012
USNSCC SeaBee Training, National Guard Training Center, Marseilles, IL, 07-21 July 2012
We got to do a lot of hard construction work in and around Marseilles, such as building a sidewalk and taking down an old train station. In addition to construction, we got to learn combat skills such as land navigation, room clearing, and IED awareness. We had a couple of actual Navy SeaBees and Marines as our instructors. Every Tuesday and Thursday, the whole battalion would go out swimming to a pool in town. For PT, we got to do a confidence course near our barracks. I had a lot of fun during this training and I’d highly recommend any cadet to do this training.
PO3 Joshua San Diego, NSCC
16 November 2012
USNSCC Marksmanship Training, Camp Ripley, Minnesota, 30 July - 07 August 2011
I went to Marksmanship Training in Minnesota. For the first few days, we learned about M16 use and safety in classes. We got to use FATS simulators as well as live fire when it came to shooting the M16. We had three Marines come over to instruct us on how to improve our shot. In the mornings, we would always do PT before doing our main activity. I would recommend this training to any cadet who wanted to earn a Marksmanship Ribbon and learn how to safely operate an M16.
SA Joshua San Diego, NSCC
16 November 2012
USNSCC Recruit Training, RTC Great Lakes, IL, 17-26 June 2011
Along with other cadets from our division, I attended Sea Cadet recruit training at RTC Great Lakes. On the first day, I was assigned to Division 003. I was one of the few in the division who already memorized the 11 General Orders, Sailor’s Creed, and other information, so the RDCs told me to help teach them to other people in the division. Each day, we would wake up at about 0500 and go to sleep at 2200. Our division learned many things from the experience such as survival at sea and shooting an M16 rifle. In the end, we all learned to work as efficiently as a team and carry out orders.
SA Joshua San Diego, NSCC
28 October 2012
USNSCC Electronics Training
This was not a favorite training, I thought that we would be in the hands on lab the entire time learning about the naval electronics training, but we actually only had one day in electronics training - we were on a computer working on making motherboards and rigging them to turn on a light bulb/buzzer. They merged our training with gunners mate training because of the low enrollment. We got to shoot different types of guns. We did a lot of marching and PT exercises.
SR Jesus Salazar, NSCC
28 October 2012
USNSCC Seamanship Training Underway Aboard YP-671 Manatra
This was the most amazing experience so far. I actually got to experience travel at sea! We sailed to three different ports - Grand Haven, MI; Manitowoc, WI and Muskegon, MI. In Grand Haven we were able to meet the Coast Guard staff and hang out at the station - we learned about their jobs and what they do. During liberty here we got to hang out in the town like the locals. In Muskegon we were able to go into a submarine that was on display at the museum, during liberty we got to walk around the town and eat at an ice cream shop. We spent the Fourth of July here and got to see the fireworks. In Manitowoc - the town was very empty, not much to do. This appeared to be an industrial town. We visited with the Coast Guard here and got to go on their boats and actually went on a ride with them. We learned how to heave lines and rescue people, during our training our Coast Guard hosts received a call that they had to investigate a small boat and we had to go down into the hull and watch/listen from there for our safety. They issued a ticket to the other boat for speeding in a no wake zone. We then drove alongside a huge barge that used coal to power it. We were so close that I actually touched the barge! During liberty here we ate pizza and hung out on the ship. We actually worked the boat, taking turns steering the ship, we took turns doing watch, it was so hot that we slept on deck at times. We practiced rescues & disaster simulations. The most exciting part was when we were in the middle of Lake Michigan we got to jump off the boat into the lake. It was so hot that the water felt so good.
SR Jesus Salazar, NSCC
28 October 2012
USNSCC Recruit Training, Great Lakes, IL
The entire time at this training we got to experience actual Navy Recruit training - doing the same exercises that adults who join the Navy do. The responsibility given to me during watch and failing to secure because we didn't realize someone had entered the barracks made me think of how important it is to keep my fellow shipmates safe at night - having so many people depend on me for their safety was very surreal. Fun activities that I enjoyed - competitive cleaning - how fast we can make our beds and clean the entire barrack - the winner received a huge BRAVO ZULU. Swimming was really fun too. The Fog in the pool was to simulate a mission drop and we had to swim through it to get to the boat in the middle of the pool.
SR Jesus Salazar, NSCC
19 October 2012
USNSCC Maritime Interdiction, Portland, OR 6-15 July 2012
This training is worth the distance. It is my favorite training that I've ever been to so far in Sea Cadets. Right when we arrived we had our lunch at the Coast Guard base's galley and then it was onto our PT qualifications which we all passed. We stayed at the dorms of University of Oregon. During our training we learned takedown techniques, basic MMA, pressure point locations, room clearing, and pistol marksmanship. We also got the chance to rescue a dummy from the freezing waters of the Willamette River while on board a Coast Guard Defender class boat. Towards the end of our training we witnessed a change of command ceremony of the USCGC Bluebell. Overall it was a challenging yet fun training. I made many friends there and I'd recommend it to any able cadet.
PO3 Alexander Feltes, NSCC
8 October 2012
USNSCC 50th Anniversary Ceremony, Washington, DC 6 October 2012
September is United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps month. This September was special in that it is the 50th Anniversary of the Naval Sea Cadet Corps. I was privileged to be invited to the ceremony in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Navy Memorial. The Guest Speaker was Vice Admiral Richard W. Hunt who is currently the Director Navy Staff. Other speakers included Randy Hollstein, National Chairman, US Naval Sea Cadet Corps, Mr. Phillip L. Dunmire, National President Navy League of the United States. Dr. Vincent W. Patton, III, Ed.D. also spoke. He is currently with Homeland Security and a former Master Chief Petty Officer of the United States Coast Guard and former Sea Cadet. The Master of Ceremonies was James E. Monahan, Captain U.S. Navy (Retired) and currently Executive Director, Naval Sea Cadet Corps. There were 14 Divisions present including League Cadets. Weather was perfect and the ceremony was great.
LTJG Robert Mayer, NSCC, Commanding Officer
29 September 2012
USNSCC Marksmanship Training, Fort Custer, MI 11 August to 18 August 2012
The marksmanship training taught us about fire arm safety and correct shooting methods. We had P.T every day at 05:30. Everywhere we went we carried a rubber m16 that looked and weight just like a real m16. We went to the simulation range everyday to practice our firing. We fired a m16A1 or a m4 carbine for an assault fires. And we also shot a 9mm handgun.
In Marksmanship we did more than just shoot guns. We had to clean our barracks 24/7. Whenever we had free time we had to clean, polish shoes, or straighten our beds. We had hourly night watches to protect the barracks for any instructors or for officer. We had to remember our 11 general orders because the officers would ask us constantly. Over all the training was a good experience and I would recommend going to Fort Custer for a training.
Cadet Dmitry Yeremin, NSCC
29 September 2012
USNSCC Recruit Training, Great Lakes, IL 8 June to 16 June 2012
When I arrived at Great Lakes I was a little intimidated by the officers and the barber shop. The very first thing we did was line up so we could be checked in for our division. Next we got our haircut. Most of us were scared to get our heads shaved.
Later we showed up at our designated building. We emptied our sea bags to check if we have all of the requested equipment. The showers were divided into sections by forward and bow. Swimming was our first task and lesson. We learned what types of inflatable boats they use for survival reasons.
The second task was the personal fitness test. We did pushups, sit up, and a mile run. The next task was the docking and lining operation. We got the chance to do it ourselves. The fifth task was my favorite. We got to shoot a M16A1 at the range. I was a little bit disappointed that there was no blowback on the firearm. The last training was the fire fighting. We got to use a real fire fighting water hose.
We also had four inspections. They were personnel inspection, marching inspection, rack inspection, and the area inspection. Over all the training was an enjoyable but much disciplined experience. The food was perfect and it was very clean. The officers taught us a lot about folding and marching. I would highly recommend going to Great Lakes for boot camp.
Cadet Dmitry Yeremin, NSCC
10 July 2012
USNSCC Scuba Training, Eureka College, IL 24 June to 01 July 2012
I attended scuba training. We had PT each morning for an hour. Every morning we had classroom until lunch time. After lunch we had pool time. We practiced everything we learned In classroom. Friday and Saturday we went up to a quarry were we had our final test for scuba. During that training we also had emergency first responder training. We spent Thursday working on it. Each night we had book time where we worked on our end of the chapter assignment; we had two chapters each night. One of the perks of this training was we had our own rooms. The people were great, we all had a good time together and learned a lot.
SA Kayla Hayward, NSCC
6 January 2012
USNSCC Master At Arms, NAS Lemoore, CA 12-25 June 2011
Training with actual Navy MAA’s was really fun. MAA’s are the Navy’s Military Police but they are also active in counter terrorism. We learned basic self-defense, shoot or no shoot situations, and a variety of takedown techniques. During the training I dislocated my kneecap but I didn’t let that stop me from continuing to participate in the PT and swim qualifications. It was a really fun training and I’d recommend it to anyone.
SN Alexander Feltes, NSCC