Boot camp: Survived!

[Admiral Squish]

Hey, there, folks, guess who's back? 'Tis I! For the last two months, I've been completely out of the loop, for the singular reason of being locked away in one of the busiest times of my life. Naval boot camp. I tell you, it was rough. But I survived, and I'm back online, at my new a-school. Fun, fun, fun! But that's beside the point. Basically, I'm here to fish for praise, and maybe answer some questions. So, post away!

[TRM]

Congramatulations on the survival!
Was it tough? Did you nearly drown? :smalleek:

[Thanatos 51-50]

Hey, there, folks, guess who's back? 'Tis I! For the last two months, I've been completely out of the loop, for the singular reason of being locked away in one of the busiest times of my life. Naval boot camp. I tell you, it was rough. But I survived, and I'm back online, at my new a-school. Fun, fun, fun! But that's beside the point. Basically, I'm here to fish for praise, and maybe answer some questions. So, post away!


Welcome Aboard, Shipmate!
What A-School are you attending?

Also, feel free to PM me about any questions - I'm rapidly approaching my two-and-a-half year mark in this fine Navy, and would be glad to help you out any way I can.
~AG3

[wxdruid]

Congratulations on joining a branch of the military. Have fun out at sea. :smalltongue:

[Tarnag40k]

Congratz man, A lot of people I knew left for either the marines or the airforce already, a couple more in the next month or so.

[Destichado]

Oorah!

Congratulations on your survival. :smallwink:

[BlueWizard]

Welcome back.

[RTGoodman]

Congrats on the achievement, and thanks for serving!

[Felixaar]

Good work! In honor of your acheivement, I will not make any jokes about homosexuals in the navy!

Cause there's nothing wrong with that.

[Gem Flower]

Congratumalations! You have a great achievement to your name!

[pendell]

Hey, there, folks, guess who's back? 'Tis I! For the last two months, I've been completely out of the loop, for the singular reason of being locked away in one of the busiest times of my life. Naval boot camp. I tell you, it was rough. But I survived, and I'm back online, at my new a-school. Fun, fun, fun! But that's beside the point. Basically, I'm here to fish for praise, and maybe answer some questions. So, post away!

*High Fives Admiral Squish*

They wouldn't let me in 'cause of asthma, but I'm proud of you. Well done!

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Ilena]

If i had to join any branch of the military, it would be the navy, i would like the airforce as well but we dont really have one really here, but congrats!

[de-trick]

i salute u in ur pride in your country

[Icewalker]

Very nice. I wouldn't've lived through that.

Few questions: did the training involve diving, ie scuba?

Why'd you go? Patriotism? College support?

[Thanatos 51-50]

<<Please note, my answers are outdated by two years. I assume Admiral Squish is en route to his A-school and his internets are highly sporadic>>

Answer: Navy Boot Camp does NOT involve SCUBA. It does, however, include a pencil-dive off a high dive. They push you if you hesitate. There are trained instructers around to assure you do not die. If you are starting to drown, they will remove you from the pool and "teach you" to swim.
I knew how to swim, so I can't comment on the process.
All thats required for the minimal (third-class) Swimmer Qualification is to swim the length of the pool using any stroke you desire.
As a lazy jerk, I used primarily the basic backstroke.

From there, one can choose to take the Second Class qual, which involves 200 (IIRC)m in four different strokes (Foward Crawl, BBS, Breast stroke and Combat Stroke, IIRC).

I assume SCUBA/Underwater Diving training would be covered in their respective A-schools.

[AngelSword]

Congrats, Squish! You realize this opens you up...

For a...

COIN CHECK!!!
http://store.nwtmint.com/images/products/1220__big.jpg

Send me a PM when you get a chance. I'll have something for you.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Congrats, Squish! You realize this opens you up...

For a...

COIN CHECK!!!
http://store.nwtmint.com/images/products/1220__big.jpg

Send me a PM when you get a chance. I'll have something for you.

Nobody coin checks, anymore...
Okay, so I don't hang around in bars, so I've never been subject to a coin check...
But, I do have a coin from the former chairman of the JCoS. My coin is bigger than yours! :smalltongue:

[wxdruid]

And I probably have a few more than either of you...:smalltongue:

(to many to scan...)

[Thanatos 51-50]

Hold on - lemme think:

General Pace from his tenure as Chairman of the JCoS...
Commander Destroyer Squadren Fifteen, under Commadore Montgomery...
Strike Group Oceanography Team Yokosuka Japan (I also own a plank)
Regional Legal Services Office Japan
Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit, Keesler MI.
And... thats about it...

Yeah, I only have a couple coins.
But I like and collect them - seriously! I needs Moar Challange Coins!

[wxdruid]

Listing them in no particular order...

JEFX 2000
DFAS-OMAHA
two 9-11 coins
OIF/OEF 763rd Expeditionary Recon SQ, Al Udeid AB, Qatar
22d Operations Support SQ, McConnell AFB, KS
Vice Chairman, JCoS, Admiral Edmund P Giambastiani
40th Airlift SQ, 745th Expeditionary Airlift SQ
2 numbered coins - OIF coin from Anheuser-Busch
Multi-National Force-Iraq
20th Operations Support SQ
Chief of Weather coin
379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Al Udeid AB, Qatar
607th Weather Squadron, Camp Humphreys, South Korea
Al Udeid Honor Guard coin

[AngelSword]

::fetches the camera:: Here are the ones I don't carry with me.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/AngelSword/DSCN0158.jpg
Top Row: CCMS coin of the Air Combat Command, Commander's coin of the Air Force Material Command, CCMS coin for the 42nd Air Base Wing
Middle Row: CCMS coin for the Headquarters Standard Systems Group, Squadron coin of the 24th Training Squadron at the Officer Training School, Commander coin of the Electronic System Command, 1st Sergeant coin (presented as a going away gift by my 1st Shirt when my retirement took effect), Commander coin of the 42nd Air Base Wing
Bottom Row: NATO Allied Command coin for Operation Shining Hope, Enlisted Heritage Hall coin, 737th Training Support Squadron coin, unreleased Headquarters Standard Systems Group "Air Force Ball" coin, Operation Enduring Freedom coin (presented as a thank you by my friend for helping out his wife while he was deployed), [obscured] USAF Chaplain Service "Fishbowl" coin
Along the Base: 320th Basic Training Squadron coin, USAF Judge Advocate Group coin, USAF JAG 50th Anniversary coin, OLVIMS "Death Squad" coin (my first office was kinda odd), CCMS coin for the 42nd Air Base Wing

(Being on a drill team makes acquiring coins a simple thing).

[wxdruid]

I have a few more, but they aren't very impressive...

So...AngelSword wins this round, :smallcool:

[Thanatos 51-50]

Well...
Wel...

You've all been in for much longer than I have!

[AngelSword]

I have a few more, but they aren't very impressive...

So...AngelSword wins this round, :smallcool:

Huzzah! Though, despite having some high ranking coins, I value some of those "lower" coins on the rack more than others.


Well...
Wel...

You've all been in for much longer than I have!

That's the thing. If you're in long enough, you'll be able to outcoin anyone eventually. :smalltongue:

[wxdruid]

It'll be 14 years in the Air Force in November. 14 long years, with fewer left to go.

Some of my more interesting coins came from friends I met in the desert.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Congrats on finishing boot camp!
So, a little bird told me there was a coin challenge here.

I have a coin with the five-star flag of George C. Marshall on it... only it's not from him, it was from the George C. Marshall Award Seminar :smallredface:

A friend of mine has a "Combat Bagpiper" coin he got from a civilian contractor (firefighter) who played the bagpipes every day at Retreat at a Convoy Support Center in Iraq.

And then there was the time an 82d Airborne brigade commander had five of us to give coins to but he only had four coins. So he said he'd get me one later. But he forgot. :smallmad:

But I have to say my favorite isn't really a coin, it's a keepsake keychain/fob thingy I was given - from the Romanian "Black Wolves" infantry battalion.

Somebody once told me that the Zoomies call coins "RMOs - Round Metal Objects." Is that true or was I completely fooled?

[wxdruid]

Round metal objects? I hadn't heard that one before.

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

Out of curiosity, where was boot camp for you, Great Lakes?

[AngelSword]

Round metal objects? I hadn't heard that one before.

My recruiter used that once when I popped in on his DEP group, and found someone doing the Recruiter's Assistance Program. I coin checked her, she failed, and the recruiter went on a rant about how they were not coins, but "Round Metallic Objects," and how you should never call them coins.

Yeah, he was messing with them.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Out of curiosity, where was boot camp for you, Great Lakes?

The ONLY Navy Boot Camp is Great Lakes, unless I missed the memo.

And they're coins.:smallyuk:

[Admiral Squish]

... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? I have never heard of a coin check prior to this moment in time. I am vastly confused.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Whe you get to your first command, or if you get the chance at your A-School, buy a coin, and keep it in your pocket.
This way, you'll never have to buy anyone a drink. If they slam their coin on the bar, present yours immediatly.

Someone else will probably be typing up a detailed explanation, including a link to the origin of the coin check, so I'll let them get it.

[AngelSword]

Just a link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenge_coin) to the wiki page on the subject.:smalltongue:

[EmeraldRose]

People totally still do coin checks. Usually when there is a bar bill to be paid up :smallamused:

I keep finding coins in random boxes as we unpack, though they mostly belong to our son now...I think they are slowly making their way into his treasure chest.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Okay - nobody has ever coined me, I shold say.
'Course, I don't drink, and stray away from bars full of Sailors, if I can help it.

[Phae Nymna]

Hurrah! May you ascend to the rank of Admiral post haste! DO you intend to be a career officer or what?

[Admiral Squish]

Honestly? No. I just wanna serve my four years, and move on. If I REALLY like it, I can hang on for longer, but I can't stay away from my lady for that long.

[Thanatos 51-50]

I ask again - whats your prospectie rating?

[wxdruid]

I've been coined at work before. At work it's not over alcohol, but over sodas or similar.

[Admiral Squish]

I'm an ET. Electronics Technician for you non-navy people.

[Logic]

Congrats on surviving serving! A friend of mine told me that Basic Training is the most fun he ever had, that he never wants to do ever again. I think this is the best explanation for it.

I have been in the Air Force for 5 years now, and have friends from other services. I am told that us Air Force folks coin check more frequently than the other services.

My most impressive coin is from The CotJCoS, Admiral Mike Mullen. (It says "Mike" on the coin.) A coworker of mine has one from two different CotJCoS, one from Pace (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pace), the other from Mullen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Mullen).

I don't have a scanner, nor do I have my Chairman's coin on me. I usually keep my unit coin in my uniform.

[Flying Elephant]

Did you have to take ermm... financial somethingorother? My grandma teaches it.

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

The ONLY Navy Boot Camp is Great Lakes, unless I missed the memo.

Fair enough. I know for a fact there are 4 or 5 army boot camp locations. Logically, it makes sense that there are more than one navy boot camp locations, say one on either the west or east coast perhaps. I've never heard of anyone going anywhere else, but that doesn't mean there isn't one.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Fair enough. I know for a fact there are 4 or 5 army boot camp locations. Logically, it makes sense that there are more than one navy boot camp locations, say one on either the west or east coast perhaps. I've never heard of anyone going anywhere else, but that doesn't mean there isn't one.

There used to be one in San Diego, and one somewhere in Florida, if I recall correctly.

Apparantly, this reason is why the highway exists in their prospective towns aren't numbered.

Also - I've now started carrying my COMDESRON15 coin around.
Thanks, guys. :smallannoyed:

I have General Pace's CotJCoS coin. Its heavy and pentagon-shaped!:smallbiggrin:

[Admiral Squish]

Did you have to take ermm... financial somethingorother? My grandma teaches it.
Just finished yesterday, actually. I was taught by Ms. Gosh.