Groundhog's Day

Today is my 44th consecutive day at sea. Our last port visit in Greece seems like 44 years ago. And yes, even for a salty veteran, that's a good long stretch without dirt under your feet. The only dirt I've seen in quite a while is in the form of sandstorms that clog the demister pads (filters) for my gas turbine intakes. We have to wash them out every week during the carrier no-fly day and we fill the O4 level with mud, there's so much dirt in them. But 44 days is a while...long enough for Battle CHENG to grow an impressive Battle 'Stache. Even my mustache was beginning to become grumpy. It's time for a change.

(NOTE***I have not had access to blogger for the first few months of deployment...hence no entries since I arrived on HUE CITY in March or since I deployed in June.)

Rather than try to rehash the last few months, I'll just say we're here---here being 5th Fleet AOR, or for civilians, the Middle East. We've spent the last few weeks in the relatively cooler waters of the North Arabian Sea as our strike aircraft fly into Afghanistan to support ground troops. It's been nice. Inevitably we'll end up back in the Northern Arabian Gulf---counter-intuitively, it's hotter, much hotter and then there's that pesky Iranian problem. Yes, we see them all the time---every day is like a potential cover shot/story for cnn.com. We're always an episode away from the front page and doing our best to be on the right side of it all. It's exciting, fast-paced and mostly fun.

So what happens when you get over here? In two words, groundhog's day. Every day becomes the same---the watch routine, the food, the weather, the people, the grind. In my particular role, I'm the Force Tactical Action Officer for the Strike Group---in layman's terms, I'm in charge for a given 5 hour period, the CO's representative, to control the air space over here---Strike Group aircraft, coalition aircraft flying through the AOR---it's fun. You're constantly making calls, decisions---do I launch the alert aircraft off the carrier? is this or that aircraft Iranian/a threat? It's fun and different.

Then there's the Engineering thing...As Chief Engineer, this has been a challenging tour. New leadership challenges, people, older equipment, underfunding, no MPA, et cetera. It's been eventful, sometimes stressful, other times fun, and always keeps me on my toes. It's casualty central out here. If it's not an engine that won't start, it's a lube oil leak, or a fuel leak, or a fire, or a hole in a fuel tank or flooding...the passageway outside my stateroom flooded out just the other day. No kidding. 2-3 inches of sea water on the deck. My Engineers are working hard and I'm confident this department will head home from deployment a much better one than when it departed.

Always exciting.

Then there's home. 8000 miles away but always in the hearts and minds of 380 HUE CITY sailors. It's tough. Our deployment is very much in limbo as far as our end date...it could be as early as March 2013...or not. We just don't know. HUE CITY is caught up squarely in the vortex of a presidential election, federal budget funding for cruisers, and national policy in the Gulf---all have/can/and will continue to change our deployment return date. Until then, we humbly serve, and sweat for, this great Republic.

Well..i hope to be able to continue this effort if I can. We'll see if blogger cooperates in the future. It hasn't to date.

In the meanwhile it's a continual 24 hour cycle, not so much your conventional day, but rather blocks of time in  between watches. Block of time to read, workout (TRX), run, do paperwork, eat prison-like food, maybe catch a bit of a show or movie, tour my spaces, oversee the plant, do more paperwork, attend a few meetings, sweat, work, hit the rack, repeat. Groundhog's Day.

Speaking of which...the rack is calling my name.

Man it was a late day

So things are getting busy at work. I keep working later and later. There are structural cracks that seem to appear on an hourly basis. There are CASREPs out the wazoo. I'm managing a maintenance availability with multiple time sensitive repair jobs that MUST get completed prior to getting underway. Oh...and there's that big 'D' looming: deployment.

So I lamented the muggy hot ship. I loathed my full afternoon of admin and meetings and topside preservation. I walked to my car disgusted at the time: 1723. Then I heard my mentor and FARRAGUT CO's warning: "Dan, what type of hours are you working over there? You're not working OLD FARRAGUT hours are you?" an obvious reference to the psychotic hours that were routine on my last tour. Where I was up before 5am daily, actually dressed, shaved, and sitting at my desk working by 0545, and if I left before 2000, then it was a PTL day. Oh, and there was that whole 5 months leading up to INSURV when worked 7 days a week and lost my soul.

My point? Life is good. I'm missing my Engineers, my fellow Department Heads and close friends in FARRAGUT, but I'm grateful and loving the change of scenery...and pace of HUE CITY. A new ship. A new set of colleagues. A new Engineering Dept that is mine to lead, mold and serve.

I'm getting ready to deploy. I've barely seen my family since the New Year. I'll soon miss them for well into 2013. But I'm the damn Chief Engineer in the most formidable damn warship in the whole damn Navy. I'm about to take 70 Sailors down range. It's an honor..I love it.

I'm the luckiest man in the world.

Oh, and it's pretty nice getting home while it's still light and tucking all three kids in bed EVERY night, even if it's but a brief pause before deployment.

Like I said...life is good.

Oh yeah...comments are welcome!!!

A New Beginning

So what happened to my blog?

Well, as it turns out, early 2000s internet explorer web brower does not support blogger loading...I'm sure the next IAVA push from CSO will fix that bug...yeah, right.

So I have checked into my next command. I checked in March 9th, got U/W March 12th and was gone for two weeks. On March 16th I relieved one of my best friends, Steve Henz, as the Engineer Officer, aka, the Chief Engineer, "CHENG", in USS HUE CITY. It's been a whirlwind few weeks full of casualties, a missile shoot, and now a brand new Commanding Officer.

HUE CITY has been a blast so far. I feel confident in who I am as an officer and have been able to implement processes that took me 18 months to develop in FARRAGUT. Day 1 I knew what I wanted and how to get there. HUE CITY is older. In short, a lube oil leak, a starter air cooler, a charlie fire, a ground in the electrical distribution system...these have been routine. However, the plant has a simplicity to it that is much appreciated. Even if the solution to a problem isn't an easy one, the cause is easier than FARRAGUT, where much of the gear was a little too integrated, with multiple ratings having a hand in a piece of equipment, or proprietary gear made for DDG99 that no one but the manufacturer could touch. That doesn't exist in HUE CITY.

Steve has left me a plant operating well. There are plenty of areas to hone and make better, but to see where the plant is from 18 months prior, I have to take my hat off to him. He inherited a plant in disarray and made it work. I will do my best to guide the men and make it great. Thanks, Steve.

Life is good right now. I'm enjoying a nice promotion. I'm enjoying sweet time with my family. But duty calls. I will soon be heading off and won't be coming back for a LOOOOOONNNNG time. Like, I'll see you sometime next year long time. That's what I do. I don't know how sometimes. I don't always know why. But I know this is what I'm meant to do. I know there are 70 men and women who are counting on me to lead them into harm's way. I miss my family. I've been gone since January....I'm here 2 weeks then gone for a month plus...then home BRIEFLY...then gone gone. When all is said and done, I'll spend most of about a 15 month period apart from Joy and the kids.

It's hard. This will be the first full deployment with kids of a cognizant age in tow. And boy are they aware, especially Aiden. Lots of drama already when I came back from a 2 month school in Newport and took off for an U/W 3 days later. They KNOW I'm gone...I miss them, too.

I stand resolved, though. I'll get through this. They'll get through this. This is my job. My country asks me to serve and I want to faithfully follow my new Captain downrange. I will.  There are repairs to be made, preservation to be done, PMS to complete, training to conduct, battle drills to execute, and lots of i's to dot and t's to cross before we sail over the horizon.

Mission First, people Always.

Lastly, during this past U/W we shot a standard missile. It was the most awesome event I've witnessed in my career. We drilled and practiced and rehearsed our firing script and conducted comms checks with the other units in our strike group...the drone flew in simulating and enemy missile and Mach speeds..when in range, the Captain turned the fire inhibit switch, the MSS operator pressed fire, and I watched from the bridge as the sky turned orange...the ship rocked...I ran to the bridge wing to watch a missile fly from our VLS at such speed, such ferocity, it seemed fake. it seemed fake...3 perfect contrails from 3 warship shot to 10000 feet then dove for a terminal intercept of the "bad guy." I'm not doing it justice. So, in short, I'd watch out adversaries of the Republic. we are ready...and willing to provide an awesome spectacle.

Thanks for your support. I'll figure out how to update this. Maybe i'll send inputs to Joy at home to update.

In the meantime, I'm here, I'm training, I'm leading, and soon I'll be over the horizon and halfway around the world. Until then...enjoy this picture of HUE CITY at sunset.

The sea is a wonderful place...I love this time of day at sea.

March Madness, Baby

And I'm not talking about the basketball.

I'm back...2 months in Newport, a tiny hotel room, then Norfolk...it's over. Well, sorta. I'm back, and now I'm gone. Yes, that's the life of a Surface Warrior.

I drove all day from Virginia on Wednesday. I've spent 3 1/2 great days with the family. Madaline has mostly ignored me and stayed on Joy's leg. But Emma and Aiden especially have just been attached to me. It's been wonderful. We all lived in the moment, ate dinners out, had grand adventures in state parks, playgrounds, tempted ridiculous winds at the beach, all in the name of togetherness and family fun. I've loved these few days at home.

A lighter moment at one of our favorite parks on Fernandina  Beach, Amelia Island

So that brings us to a new reality. I checked into my new command Friday. I was promoted to Lieutenant Commander. That's cool. But come tomorrow, I'm underway and jumping on that horse running full speed; we're gone several weeks right off the bat, and full-bore into "work-ups" for the big D---deployment. That'll be later. I'll say more when I can.

Wish me well. USS HUE CITY is off tomorrow, and by week's end I'll be the new Chief Engineer. One of the neat things here is that I'm relieving one of my best friends, and godfather to our daughter. At least I know who to blame if everything's not squared away!

Pray for my family. We've had a couple of good months leading up to me leaving at the end of January. The separation has been tough for my kids, especially Aiden.  As I alluded to, 2012 will be a busy operational year for HUE CITY, and there will be plenty of long separations in the coming 18 months---including the kids' first FULL deployment at cognizant ages. Joy has been a rock and will continue to guide this family in my absence, but I'm sure it'll be an exciting, but also challenging tour for most us.

Alright, I'm outta here---for a bit. See you on the flip side.

Madaline says, "CHEEEEESE!!!" loves wearing Daddy's boots. 

Emma not to be outdone

Kids playing at Central Park, Fernandina Beach

Emma sports a pretty dress for an afternoon walk while Aiden sports cammies, load-bearing vest, GA football helmet and a Jedi-blaster (not seen)

So I Went to the White House...AGAIN...and I met the President, AGAIN

That's a little how this 5 weeks has felt. So I went to Newport, RI...AGAIN...and met some Admiral...AGAIN...and graduated from Prospective Engineer Officer/Advanced Engineering School...AGAIN. It's been a challenge on a very different level. I passed all my tests, oral boards, evolutions, drills; I did fine in my academic performance. It was a challenge from day 1 just to be here again...to be bored, to essentially do again what I've done 3 times previously. However, I was challenged to make the most of this time, this break. Breaks are a rare thing in the military. We go and we go hard...all the time. Ship life is a grind. I work hard. I work late. We get things done. And we don't stop for 18 months, or 36 months or whatever length of tour we are completing.  It's exhausting for me. It's exhausting for my family. So, I spent time in careful reflection of my 1st Department Head tour and assessed what I wanted to do differently this next go-round.  I decided to use this 5 weeks in Newport as my own spiritual, physical, and mental boot-camp to re-calibrate myself, my thoughts, myself.

I gave my whole self to my job.  I did well, but I paid heavy consequences.  I neglected my health.  Stress, poor nutrition, infrequent exercise, sleep deprivation and the like put me in a hard place.  I found myself in  an Urgent Care on January 17th with symptoms that scared me enough to go see a Doctor even while I was on leave and not working.  Honestly, I think 18 months of killing myself caught up with me. I've dedicated myself to following my wife's lead in nutrition. She suffers from an auto-immune disease that has forced her to cut out gluten (wheat), sugar, caffeine, et cetera. I'm not diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease like her, but what I've discovered these last 5 weeks in Newport (and two week previously at home) is that these inputs in my body have had horrible effects.  I've fought and wrestled and resisted, but ultimately about 2 weeks ago, after reading an article by Dr. Hyman (http://drhyman.com/blog/2012/02/13/three-hidden-ways-wheat-makes-you-fat/ -  I just had a wake up call and realized that I need to avoid some things. Give this guy a chance. A LOT of what he says is dead-on. If you're honest with yourself, despite what you want to think, it really makes sense. I've been off wheat for about 2 weeks solid. Nothing.  I've severely limited my alcohol intake. I.e., I had a few beers after I finished this school, but I haven't been drinking at all. No beer in the fridge.  No sugar.  No coke.  No caffeine. Lots of water.  Here's what I've discovered: my body was addicted to wheat.  Without even thinking of it, I craved these super-wheat, processed products like a heroine-addict craves a needle. I really think of it in those terms now. You have some taco bell and you crave more. Then I wanted chinese food. Then I wanted Five guys.  As I weened off I discovered how addicted I was to these foods. As I struggled, I also realized how badly they made me feel. Within a week of my removal of these big 3 (wheat, sugar, caffeine---and alcohol right now), symptoms I suffered from for EIGHTEEN MONTHS cleared up: heart burn, reflux, nasal issues, sleep disorder, to name just a few. Symptoms that I had just accepted as part of getting older or something were non-issues or gone completely. Turns out, not so much "part of getting older." I suffered because of the poison I was putting in my body. As I've detoxified my body I've felt better than I have in years and I see real change. I see it. As of this week I've lost almost 24 lbs since January 17th.  Since I really took a stance about 2 weeks ago, I've really seen even more dramatic change. It's been a journey. Believing I can change. Doing it. Trusting in change.  Now, I'm not swearing off alcohol or a pizza absolutely. Every now and then...of course. I'm human. Your mind needs a treat every now and then. That's the one benefit over my wife who HAS to live this way. It makes sense to eat like she does.  I'm not going to rake myself over the coals if I decide Friday night I want to have a few beers with the guys, or one Saturday I'm really jonesing for that meat-lovers' pizza. That's not reality. But, I'm happy that I've flipped a philosophical switch and I'm confident that those sort of food choices will not be my norm ever again. They can't be. They are destroying America and I'm not going to let it destroy me. I'm feeling too good to go back and seeing healthy results that I haven't seen in 6-7 years in just a few weeks living another way. It's too good.

Secondly, I wasn't exercising like I should.  A year into my CHENG ride, I could count on one hand the number of times I had worked out during working hours. It was sad. I gave my job everything, and gave myself nothing. Long hours. Lots of stress. No stress relief.  I've worked out 45-60 mins everyday since the day I arrived in Newport. It's felt great. I've run, I've done the elliptical. I even played basketball---my first love! for the first time in YEARS.  I don't know exactly why I quit working out during my FARRAGUT days. Long hours? Yes. Deadlines? Yes. Inspections? Yes. Underway? Yes.  There were any number of real, in your face, 'produce results now' reasons why I probably prioritized it down the list. But, while in the moment I always chose the mission over myself, in the macro-sense, I look back and see that I needed to force time for exercise. So I think the benefit going forward as a 2nd Tour Department Head is that I'm more comfortable in my job. I know how to succeed. Hopefully cope with stress more effectively. Able to prioritize easier and free time for myself.  Just like my nutrition, I've discovered I need a physical regimen. I need it.

Lastly, I've undergone a spiritual and emotional trial period.  I've had plenty of time for self-reflection. Reading. Studying.  I'm a work in progress, but I'm understanding the strengths that God has given me, I'm learning to accept His purpose in my life, and striving to serve (Him and others/Navy) in the  best way I can, with the personality he has given me, the unique attributes I have, and realizing that I'm a SWO...I'm CHENG, for a purpose, and it's His, not mine. So be great at it.  That's always been tough; walking faithfully where you are and not where you want to be.  So I'm here.  This experience is molding me.  Being a Cruiser Chief Engineer is going to mold me, not early command. right here, right now...This is happening, and I want to be the best that I can be in all respects.

So I'm eternally thankful for these 5 weeks. And I have one more week away down in Norfolk for "ship-ride." I'll crawl around someone else's cruiser and familiarize myself with it. But, God is good. Life is good. I miss my family immeasurably. But this is what I'm called to do. So I'm doing it...as best and as faithfully as I can.

Lastly, I'm paying homage to Forrest Gump today.  I leave you with a picture of  "Lieutenant DAAAN."  This will be my last week as "LT Dan."  The longest rank in the Navy is almost done....Sometime next week I will promote to another rank and be Lieutenant Commander Dan. So, goodbye "LT Dan." Hello LCDR Hancock...First round's on me.

Finally, thanks for your support. I really appreciate it.  As always, feel free to dialogue, comment, share, post.