They're just little babies...

My study chair

So I've finished my first week of Cruiser Prospective Engineer Officer School/Advanced Engineering. Here's what I can report: You still have to draw lots of system diagrams. Propeller blades still  move when the OD box receives an electric signal to the electro-hydraulic servo  valve, "control" oil is ported into the OD box fwd or aft of the aux servo piston, that actuates the valve rod assembly that runs the length of the shaft to the Hub assembly, the valve rod positions the reg valve pin, this positioning introduces "power" oil to the hub fwd or aft chamber to the Main Servo Piston, the main servo piston pushes the crosshead, crosshead moves the sliding block, sliding block moves the eccentric pin, and the eccentric pin moves the propeller blade...

I know, hold your excitement. I was excited to learn it, too...for the fourth time. So anyway, week 1 is in the  books. I'm studying a lot probably because I don't know how to just relax and not study...that being said, diagrams do come back easier, though they are slightly different from ship to ship, and for me, always are a wretched chore to get every little valve and system parameter correct.

This is a drawing of a Fuel-oil system. I have to produce about of 4 like this every week.

It's interesting...there are 4 of us CHENGs in this class. The other 8-9 students are all young...YOUNG officers...leaving their first division officer tour going to be 2nd tour engineering officers for other CHENGs. I've been in 10 years...they've been in ten minutes. They're just little babies...The four of us 2nd tour CHENGs sit in the back, swap CHENG stories from our first DH  tours, how tough our LOAs were, who did better at INSURV, who's CO was craziest, and generally ignore the curriculum.  We try to pull as much useful info out of the instructors as we can while these young officers fret over rpm and numbers for a GTM Start Sequence. In other words....yeah, yeah, yeah...cruiser, smart ship, new plant....whatever. For us, we want to know what material issues do they have? what evolutions do watchstanders cheat on? where does x or y leak? why is this a class-wide issue? I saw this on a DDG, have you seen this on a cruiser? What areas need greater attention in walk-arounds?  Tell me what REALLY matters. I guess that's the wisdom gleaned from 18 previous months learning, toiling, and figuring out how to succeed. I don't care about numbers, parameters, new systems... Of course any good officer, especially a CHENG, should be technically competent. At the end of the day, though, I want to know how to make my ship excel. Period. Standards. Leadership. A solid plan. Understanding your milestones during your tour. Learning a ship's rhythm. sticking with yours.  Sure, I love sitting and explaining to a young junior officer how I can reverse thrust with the Controllable Reversible Pitch Propeller system without changing the direction of shaft rotation. In the heat of it, for the success of my ship and my department, that doesn't mean jack. You have to lead. You have to motivate. You have to understand people and what the real issues are on a cruiser, or any ship or in your sailors' lives. You have to learn your Captain and communicate to him. Communicate clearly to your Sailors. No doubt I'm learning more and more, and polishing the things I learned the previous 3 times in this course. But I find myself anxious to get to a real ship, figure out what hand I'm dealt, and get going. Mission accomplishment. That's what I love about engineering...the more it changes, the more it stays the same.

Postscript: I've run into several classmates up here for Prospective Commanding Officer School---these are others who were also selected for Early Command (command smaller ships as an O3 or O4). Fortunately for them, they were slated to a Patrol Craft or Mine-Counter Measure Ship. Me----well, I obviously didn't get slated, hence the name "Cruiser Cheng" for this blog and not "PC Command" or the like. "Timing didn't work," as my detailer said. It's all big-navy timing, ship timing, and a myriad of other complicated personal factors well out of my lane and reach. This happens. 9 of us were screened for early command, and the 5-6 with the favorable timing got the billets. This isn't a major career milestone. O5, Commander-Command is the career milestone. I can't stop my career path waiting for a PC to open up. So I didn't get a PC ride. Those are the breaks. It's a little tough to see good friends and peers enjoying the thrill of getting command so early. Naturally, I was initially envious when I saw them around the building, but, I know that is what they're meant to do. On the flip side, I know in the end, this is the path God put me on. This is what I'm supposed to do. That makes me content. So I'll do it the best I can. I'll get to where I want to be one day. I believe that. And this is part of that journey. Until then, I'll be down below decks walking my plant. I'm a CHENG...and I love that.

 Newport Chalet. This is my home for 5 weeks. It's not bad except for the paper thin walls.

Gym 109. Here's what's fun about Newport: it's different, new roads, new buildings here and there, but it's always the same. This is my 4th time here either stationed or TDY...Gym 109 has been a fixture for me since I showed up as a newly-minted Ensign in June 2002...and it will probably still be standing strong the NEXT time I come here!