Back on board after some island hopping

Sorry I missed putting an entry in yesterday. I had the pleasure of a quick 27 hour trip to the US territorial island of Guam. Here’s what I wrote last night…

0054, 5 Feb 07

A good day

As I write this, I'm sitting in the dark on the seventh floor of the Marriott Hotel in Agana, Guam. My CO is sleeping on the other side of the room, as I soon will be as well. When I woke up this morning, I was still on the ship. Needless to say, it's been a good day. We flew here this afternoon to do some over-land low level training. The Air Force has a base here called Anderson AFB. At AAFB, the Navy has a single helicopter squadron, HSC-25, who fly the MH-60S. They are hosting us while we're here. Unfortunately, there was no room at the bachelor quarters on base, so we had to make alternate arrangements out in town--thus the Marriott. It's tough to make sacrifices like this in the name of training.

I get giddy when I think about it, actually: I'm off the ship for about 27 hours, I got to see a place I've never seen before--a little tiny island in the middle of the Pacific, I got to fly all over it and do NVG landings tonight, sleep in a nice bed with NO ship noises, see a friend from Pax River I haven't seen in 2 years, go for a run on dry land, maybe catch some of the Super Bowl-but I could watch pretty much the whole thing if I cared, AND the Navy is paying me per diem to do all this. And best of all, did I mention I'm off the ship for a day? I'll give Janell a call in the morning, which is pretty cool, except that figuring out the time difference can be a challenge. Guam is the easternmost part of the US--they say the the sun first rises on the US in Guam. I have to subtract 18 hours from the time here to figure out what time it is at home. It's easier to just add 6 hours and subtract a day.

You may be wondering why I'm typing this next to my slumbering skipper. Well, to save a little money on the travel costs, we are all sharing rooms--and since I'm the senior guy other than him, I get to stay with JT. The day went really smooth right up to the point where we were checked into the hotel, and ready to go grab some food before it got too late (it was already 2300 on Sun night, so I guess by most definitions, it was already too late). As we all met down in the lobby, we soon learned that one of the JO's bags had disappeared and all he had to wear was a soaking wet flight suit (soaked with sweat and with the down pour of rain that had just blown through). It took nearly 45 minutes to track down his bag--the only one with a name labeled on the outside, mind you-- in another JO's room. Very frustrating. By this time, it was after midnight. Most of us were just to tired to go out.

JT and I found a nearby mini-mart and picked up some quick snacks for dinner and hurried back to the room. A little sliced cantaloupe, a blueberry muffin, and some sliced cheese later, here I am--exhausted but still eager to write about the day's adventures. Janell was right when she told me she had become "addicted" to blogging. I really enjoy recapping a few highlights from the day, especially when I know it helps me stay connected with home. I wish I could be posting this live, but the internet connection in my room here costs $8/hr. Sorry folks, but you'll have to get the tape-delayed version of this one. All right. Time for some sleep.

And now, here are my musings from today

Rather than write a whole bunch about what happened today, I thought it would be best summarized with about 12,000 words… One thing, though… it is very disconcerting to wake up in a comfy hotel room, with a view of a tropical beach, then go for a beautiful run along that beach, then only a couple hours later, here I am sitting back in the ready room on a big grey boat. My one epiphany today was that the emotions evoked by a view of the ocean have more to do with where you are viewing the ocean from than with the actual scene being viewed. I see lots of ocean every day out here, including some pretty awesome sunrises and sunsets. But seeing them from the ship is just not the same as having sand between your toes, lush green mountains behind you, and the thought of a steak dinner waiting for you once the sun has set. Granted, I didn’t get to enjoy any of that on this trip (other than wet running shoes and mountains in the background), but the truth still holds. Maybe I’ll get that steak next time. OK, here are the pics…

Waterfall in the jungle on the south end of Guam

Loosefoot 615 landing at the Northwest Area in Guam

615 Departing the landing zone

Loosefoot flight departing the zone

Cliffline just north of Anderson Air Force Base, Guam

Coral reefs below the cliffline

Enjoying the view on the way back to the ship

Right Gunner’s ready to go.

Not the usual scene from the cabin (about 1500 ft up).

Sunset from plane guard station

I thought you had the controls!

Self portrait shortly before landing.