My "nuclear journey" thus far.....

[Higgs]

Congratulations!

[yota]

Got to love hold company. It has been 5+ months since I last stepped foot into a classroom, with no real end in sight. Prototype hold in Ballston Spa is ridiculously easy though and there are plenty of fun things to do to pass my time- even with the NY winter looming. Maybe one day I can update this post with an NEC attached to my name! 

[LaFeet]

Keep up the hard work and great attitude while waiting for and during prototype.   The real test is waiting for you out in the fleet.

Good luck and thank you for your service

[yota]

Prototype, day 1. Bring it on, Rickover!









(Hoping I don't eat those words for the next six months. I hate the taste of crow!  )

[Marlin]

Prototype, day 1. Bring it on, Rickover!
(Hoping I don't eat those words for the next six months. I hate the taste of crow!  )

Four and twenty Blackbirds baked in a pie..

Blackbirds: genus Turdus 

Good luck 


 

[Higgs]

Prototype, day 1. Bring it on, Rickover!









(Hoping I don't eat those words for the next six months. I hate the taste of crow!  )

Good luck and have fun brother.

Watch out for silver painted pipes.

[Chimera]

Prototype, day 1. Bring it on, Rickover!

As I remember it (Class 69-3), Prototype was much more interesting than the school-house phase.

[Roll Tide]

As I remember it (Class 69-3), Prototype was much more interesting than the school-house phase.

69-3!!!!!!!!
That was when it was a one-room schoolhouse!

[Chimera]

69-3!!!!!!!!
That was when it was a one-room schoolhouse!

I'll have you know we had two rooms.  The other room was where we kept the sodas and corn nuts.

[LaFeet]

I'll have you know we had two rooms.  The other room was where we kept the sodas and corn nuts.

... and the out house too???

[yota]

I'm still here, but have missed the past three days, along with the chance to get points this morning (on a Saturday) due to an automobile accident. To make a long story short, my roommate hit some black ice on the way into work around 0445 on Wednesday morning, sending us out of control and backwards into a very solid tree at ~30mph. He received four staples to close up the hole in the back of his head from busting out the back glass with it, and I am having some fairly serious back issues now. Muscle spasms in my back and narcotic pain killers along with muscle relaxers mean that I am now approximately 6-7% DINQ and may possibly go more into the hole due to upcoming medical visits pending my recovery time. This is NOT how I pictured my prototype experience going.

[GLW]

I'm still here, but have missed the past three days, along with the chance to get points this morning (on a Saturday) due to an automobile accident. To make a long story short, my roommate hit some black ice on the way into work around 0445 on Wednesday morning, sending us out of control and backwards into a very solid tree at ~30mph. He received four staples to close up the hole in the back of his head from busting out the back glass with it, and I am having some fairly serious back issues now. Muscle spasms in my back and narcotic pain killers along with muscle relaxers mean that I am now approximately 6-7% DINQ and may possibly go more into the hole due to upcoming medical visits pending my recovery time. This is NOT how I pictured my prototype experience going.

Yet another Navy POV goes to Ed Loya's,....

How many of those POV's have I scavenged for parts over the last 29 years?!?!?!?

The world may never know,....

But it does seem that smashed up POV's are all too often a part of the nuclear journey through NPTU West Milton.

[drayer54]

But it does seem that smashed up POV's are all too often a part of the nuclear journey through NPTU West Milton.

Lots of southern boys learning the tricks of the road on those backroads from Saratoga. I remember some pretty steep dropoffs and some quick turns on that road.

We had a guy with a big truck and some chains who never caught crap for being late...

[Starkist]

They have a VERY good physical therapy ward at that branch medical center. Make sure you are using it as much as possible. They enjoy handing out flexeril there, if thats what you are using, make sure you only take it when you need to. Lastly, get with your advisor and ask him for help to get you caught up.

Lots of southern boys learning the tricks of the road on those backroads from Saratoga. I remember some pretty steep dropoffs and some quick turns on that road.

We had a guy with a big truck and some chains who never caught crap for being late...

Kid from my class died on graduation day .

[yota]

But it does seem that smashed up POV's are all too often a part of the nuclear journey through NPTU West Milton.

There have been several that I know of already up here and this has been a surprisingly mild winter so far.

Lots of southern boys learning the tricks of the road on those backroads from Saratoga. I remember some pretty steep dropoffs and some quick turns on that road.

We had a guy with a big truck and some chains who never caught crap for being late...

Oddly enough, while I may be from the south (North Carolina), my roommate who was driving is from Minnesota. The sad part is, I don't think we ever stood a chance in this instance because of how bad the ice patch was and the fact that it was located in a sweeping left hand curve going slightly downhill. The really strange part is that we had not seen ice anywhere before the one we hit, and it was ~35F when we left the house according to my Sony Dash. We simply came around the corner and there it was. We will be avoiding that little cut-through from 9P on Saratoga Lake to 9 from now on though.

They have a VERY good physical therapy ward at that branch medical center. Make sure you are using it as much as possible. They enjoy handing out flexeril there, if thats what you are using, make sure you only take it when you need to. Lastly, get with your advisor and ask him for help to get you caught up.

Kid from my class died on graduation day .

I will most likely be going to branch medical on Monday to see what I need to do in order to get better. I'm not going to lie, the rest and Flexiril are definitely great at keeping the muscles from locking up, but I know that it's not a long term plan to help me recover. I was really hoping to avoid being rolled out of my prototype class (and I still may be able to with hard work and support from the command), but I also realize that qualifying takes second seat to my long term personal health in the grand scheme of things. I can deal with bumps and bruises, aches and pains pretty well, but from knowing others with back issues, I know this is nothing to shrug off and try to "tough guy" my way through. Once a person loses their back, it's gone and simple daily living takes on a whole new twist.

[GLW]

.....Oddly enough, while I may be from the south (North Carolina), my roommate who was driving is from Minnesota. The sad part is, I don't think we ever stood a chance in this instance because of how bad the ice patch was and the fact that it was located in a sweeping left hand curve going slightly downhill. The really strange part is that we had not seen ice anywhere before the one we hit, and it was ~35F when we left the house according to my Sony Dash. We simply came around the corner and there it was. We will be avoiding that little cut-through from 9P on Saratoga Lake to 9 from now on though.........

non-quals should never be allowed to drive 9P, it should just be a rule, and none of you should be allowed to rent places anywhere on or near Antioch Road either,....

and oh yeah, I see plenty of Yankees in the ditches and medians too, flatlander snow birds can get a little tricked up in the hill country every bit as much as the sunshine boys,....

I never understood why with all the nanny state control the Navy has over you guys that they never insisted your POV be inspected prior to winter and be checked to be winter tough,...

I always enjoyed the fact that at NY prototype you were allowed to be an adult more so than at maybe any other command in the NNPP, but then, I never had a problem asking the locals how to prepare best for winter driving and then getting with the program,....

from the picture it looked like two wheel drive and two sand tubes for traction, if so, not quite enough for Saratoga County,....

studded tires are a pain, but well worth the extra $15 per tire,....

blizzaks or comparable rule even better,...

too late now though,....

most important of all, back injuries can become such a chronic pain in the neck,....

I never had one, and I'm thankful every day,...

you're nuclear journey thus far just got icy eh?!?!?!?

[HydroDave63]

Or perhaps this will show that some sort of a Dyncorp/Aramark contractor run "hostels" or "dorms" supervised by shore billet "resident advisors" from NAVSEA08 [hey, I have JUST the O-4 in mind ]  would be a far safer proposition.

[yota]

As far as driving on 9P, we don't have much of a choice since that's where we live, right next to Snake Hill about half-way down the east side of the lake. The truck is/was 2wd, yes. There was about 700lbs of sand in the bed before the accident- it all slid out when we hit the tree and the tailgate came off. Unfortunately, my truck is in the shop right now having some transmission issues worked out. Once it is finished, we will have 4wd in the form of a Tahoe with good tires to get around in. All the sand and studded tires in the world won't save you from a patch of solid ice though. The most difficult part about finding suitable housing in this area is that there is no way of gathering meaningful input about the area when you are in Charleston and you pretty much are limited to internet browsing and hoping for the best when it comes time to find places to live. Luckily, I'm not directly under a lease contract and can move at any time if needed- food for thought and something I may consider if it becomes too much of a hassle getting to work.

[yota]

Staying up all night on a swings to mids transition. Still chugging along and I am 75% complete with prototype at the S8G plant here. I've only stood one watch so far, but have 6 more scheduled this week. Finally, I can see my NEC as a small light in the distance getting brighter every day.

For anyone considering this path, be warned that it is a long and arduous journey but I still wouldn't trade it for anything so far!

[Starkist]

Staying up all night on a swings to mids transition. Still chugging along and I am 75% complete with prototype at the S8G plant here. I've only stood one watch so far, but have 6 more scheduled this week. Finally, I can see my NEC as a small light in the distance getting brighter every day.

For anyone considering this path, be warned that it is a long and arduous journey but I still wouldn't trade it for anything so far!

Long and arduous? You're just starting!!! 

 
Ahh the 15 days of "SWIDS". Gotta love it. :p  good luck on your board!

[Higgs]

You haven't seen long and arduous until you've done two license classes in a 4.5 year period. Just saying.

[Fermi2]

You haven't seen long and arduous until you've done two license classes in a 4.5 year period. Just saying.

Or having to spend 27 months getting a license you could have obtained on your own in 9 months

[DLGN25]

Winter in Saratoga Springs and ice an snow.

A shot from the appartment in Balston Spa.


I drove that little red car from Oct-May in 1967.  No chains, no snow tires, just what the car had when I drove it there form Vallejo.

Oh, during that winter it did snow a lot and got to -40 for a week or so.

Sorry to hear about your accident.  When I was there (D1G), those injured in accidents, if they could not recover in a reasonable time, were held until the next class came through.  Those who fell behind a bit, had to work a lot harder (even site restricted).  Those who did not met these requirements spent their time in the fleet.

Glad to see you are doing well.

[GLW]

Winter in Saratoga Springs and ice an snow.....

So are you pushing the '54 '53 Chevy or vice versa?

u keep gettin older the closer look,...

[DLGN25]

So are you pushing the '54 '53 Chevy or vice versa?

u keep gettin older the closer look,...

The Chevy did not run, and yes, at times I do feel as old as dirt...

I disliked my entire time in the Nuke Navy, I found my time in OE Division on a DDG much more rewarding.  Had they dropped my NEC, I would have probably stayed in, but when the orders came to go to the Big E, that was the end of it.

That said, I am glad I was a Nuke.

My memory of Saratoga Springs was beer, Skidmore girls, behind in quals and site restricted, beer and Skidmore girls...  Strangely enough, I did finish high enough in the class to be offered instructor, which I turned down.  Go figure.