Teaser Tuesday
Some of you may remember a ridealong I did with the US Coast Guard back in 2007, on board USCG cutter Munro. During which time you may also recall I blogged daily underway, on such adventures as the...
View ArticleFirst Day Underway
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] Friday, March 16 Hello Danamaniacs, Coasties, friends and family! Once again I write from on board a Coast Guard cutter underway. Man, I love my job. Last time it...
View ArticleLessons for the Day
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] March 17 A little before nine a.m. I felt the ship turn hard right rudder, so I went up to the bridge. We spotted a fishing boat on the radar. The captain says that...
View ArticleSteel Beach
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] March 18 In the back of the bridge is a stack of cardboard boxes. This morning the captain materialized in the middle of ENS Dan Schrader’s OOD (Officer of the...
View ArticleBoots on the Ground Research
[Luncheon speech for the Poisoned Pen Conference, July 13, 2012] Sometimes research is easy. When I lived in Anchorage my house was right under the traffic pattern to the seaplane base of Lake Hood....
View ArticleTraining Environment
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] March 19 XO Steve Rothchild says our forecast is 4 to 7 foot seas. That’s been our forecast ever since we left port. I look over the side and I’m no expert but I’m...
View ArticleOh boy, boat ride!
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] March 20 Today a fishing vessel would not respond to our hail so we sent a boat over to talk to them. We see gear in the water and it’s smaller than your average...
View ArticleBig Gun Go Boom
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] March 21 Big gun go boom. That pretty much sums up the morning’s activities, a drill on the 76-millimeter gun mounted forward. To give you perspective, the casings...
View ArticlePollywogs and Sea Turtles
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] March 22 Last night I spent a couple hours in the galley with PO Nicole Steele, the night cook for Munro. She has invited me down to make rolls, so I present myself...
View ArticleOpSec Day
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] March 23 Some days I won’t be able to write directly about what we’re doing because of operational security. Today it’s not so much what as where. Keeping the bad...
View ArticleGood Boat, Bad Boat
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] March 24 I got a tour of the 76 this morning, conducted by GMC Chief Greg Colvin, the 76 being the big gun that went boom the other day. It can fire four different...
View ArticleSnoopy and Sea Showers
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] March 25 We’re on strict water conservation, and so are restricted to sea showers. The first morning I heard this pipe I didn’t know what it was, so I filled the...
View ArticleDrill Card 4
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] March 26 Holiday routine today, and after the last two days they needed it. Steel beach and fish call on the fan tail, comfort food on the menu, mac and cheese,...
View ArticleBox Ops
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] March 27 Box ops. I feel like I’m back on the Bering. Only warmer. We’re the cop on the beat today. I see PO Timothy Myers and SN Chris Susalis on the bridge often....
View ArticlePort Call
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] March 28 Recently we made a Brief Stop for Fuel/Brief Stop for Logistics (BSF/BSL). CWO Tony Parker, our supply officer or Suppo, bought a bunch of $5 phone cards...
View ArticleHazard to Navigation
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] March 29 We came upon a floating refrigerator. (It seems to be a trend, as this is the second floating refrigerator of the patrol.) This naturally constitutes a...
View ArticleSCAT Drill
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] March 30 Prior to refueling the helo, the bridge crew guesses how many gallons it will take to fill ‘er up. I remember this from the Alex Haley, it was and is a...
View ArticleNo Reveille
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] March 31 When I was up in the bow last night I saw thunderheads developing off our stern, and this morning they paid off with thunder, lightning and rain. At 0730...
View ArticleA Day Off
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] April 1 A real day off – the first since the ship left San Francisco 20 days ago. No drills, no go fast alerts, no fishing vessels who might be smuggling migrants,...
View ArticleAll Engineers, All the Time
[from the stabenow.com vaults, 2007] April 2 It’s 94F on the bridge. It’s 120F in the engine room. See the photo of PO Warren Grimes next to the thermometer if you don’t believe me. I got the...
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