20 June, 2008

AAR

Update: Overview

I am happily exhausted.

Amazing. It was absolutely amazing.

So... What is life like on an aircraft carrier? Apparently Lex's words are nearly as good as the real thing. Almost. Still, I'll feebly stumble around attempting to describe it to you all after I've had some sleep.

As to the rest of it... It was a typical Fuzzybear adventure, of course! I charmed a 30-year Warrant Officer, frightened the youngsters, and disarmed the Captain by coining him right back before I slipped out the door. Unfortunately there was also the dark side of Fuzzybear Adventures...

"We've never had to delay a DV Embark for 3 hours due to weather (or the SECNAV) before."

Oh, and the Navy is definitely going more corporate these days. They can lose your luggage, too. On the return trip. When it includes your camera. The new one. With every last memory card you own. And we won't even mention what else was in that camera bag... [update 6/27/08: Found!]

Heh. The PAO said the ship is "at near General Quarters" and the interior of the C-2 we returned in is being literally taken apart. Oh, and that has never happened before, either.

It's one of those laugh/cry moments.

But I learned the answer to something I've always wondered about: how in the world do sailors manage to sleep in berthings directly below the 3-wire or the blast shield?!

Exhaustion. Pure exhaustion.

I never knew one could grin so big while being soooo exhausted...