Week 2 of MANY More Schools

It's a new week which means I'm in a new school. This one was more fast paced so I had to be on my toes. We'd learn a lesson one day and take a test the next. The two different lessons that were covered this week were damage control (DC) and 3M (don't remember the meaning). I enjoyed damage control, I understood that perfectly fine but 3M.... death by powerpoint. My brain couldn't take it, felt like a never ending lecture of "blah, blah blah, blah blah blah". When I was not in class I did my usual of exploring the city. Only so much you can do in a hotel room, and I don't like to be cooped up for long periods of time.

What does this weekend hold?

Well, that Friday morning I had to be out of my hotel room on base. So I moved out before I went to class because I didn't want to risk that 11am check out time. With me moving out of my hotel that means that I need a place to stay for the weekend. Luckily Kay loves me enough to let me stay with her for the until I have to go back on base. That night we ended up going out with some other officers from the school that she is in right now. We ended up bar hopping before calling it a night. Saturday she gave me the wise idea of not going back to living in a hotel on base and just staying with her until I leave for school in March (such a good friend). With my living situation out of the way we ended up  enjoying the weekend. Saturday night along with some other female officers did painting and pottery. Kinda like painting with a twist except you are painting a pottery piece of your choice. Unfortunately I was not able to finish painting my masterpiece but they place lets you come back to finish since you have already paid for it. Since none of us are related to Picasso we decided to model with some already finished pottery. But to end off a good weekend most of us went to church (if they didn't have duty). I haven't been in a while but I am actually glad I chose to go. And after church we ended our week with brunch and bonding with other female Officers.😊

Week 1 of MANY Schools

Just to think I graduated college to get away from school lol. Exactly one month after graduating college I'm back in a classroom, but this time it's not a pointless History class that has absolutely nothing to do with my degree. The training track that I have for my type of ship has about a year of different schools and training. It sounds horrible BUT I'm getting paid to go to school and on the plus side I'm out of class by 12 everyday. Can't complain in that category while my other friends are in class until 4 in the afternoon. Well during this class I learned about the two classes of ships that we have and some basics of what I need to know. As I looked around my class everyone has their warfare pin and I don't (class is a mixture of enlisted and a few officers). I felt a little behind the curve on that but I was willing to take as many notes as my hand could handle. On top of that I have no sea time or qualifications so some questions that were asked I was just lost.  BUT there is more! I swear the Navy has ACRONYMS for everything it's ridiculous. Half of them have no vowels but are pronounced like they have them. It's annoying but you eventually get used to it. Just google military acronyms and you'll see what I'm talking about. One thing I can say I did learn in this school was to tie a knot. Not just any knot but a bowline knot (don't ask me the purpose of it) but I learned how to do it lol.

Meeting my CO and XO

A checkin isn't official until you meet the real men in charge. While I am going to school I had a meeting with my CO and XO one afternoon to formally meet them and know their expectations. It was pretty nerve-racking because I'm new and want to make a good first impression. Well, my meeting went great and I must say I think they are way more excited than I was expecting about me joining their crew. I am their very first Ensign and the ship I am on is a "big deal" with the Navy because of its cool tech stuff. I told them of a future plan that I wanted to accomplish and they were all for it. On top of that I think my CO has a really happy spirit, he seems like a really good guy and wants the best for his sailors. 

Let's Explore!

I have always been the type of person to go out and explore with or without people. So since I have my car, a full tank of gas, and my phone is GPS enabled I took out time to explore the lovely city and surrounding areas when I was out of class. This also gives me a little insight on where I might want to stay whenever I get my apartment. I swear within no time by the end of the week I drove all over just looking around and seeing if I can find my way back to base. It also helped that I had a 4 day weekend just to enjoy this new life and meet more people.

First Week 2,000+ Miles Away

Like I said I packed up, got on a plane and flew from Florida to California on January 2nd. The military paid for this move of course. I have a few friends that live in California so it was not like I didn't have anyone to come get me from the airport or a place to stay if I needed it. My friend Kay (another Naval Officer and FAMU Alumna) got me from the airport. Kay has been my road dawg since ROTC days, plus I post embarrassing stuff about her on my snapchat lol. Since I arrived during a down town for the Navy I did not have to go to base and check in (everyone is still on vacation) so I had a free day to enjoy.

Not even two hours after I arrived in town I was already in the car with my friend Jasmin (another Naval Officer) headed to LA. Talk about power moves! Plus Cali is 3 hours behind Florida so I am not feeling the effects of the time change yet. With this epic day trip I had the opportunity to see the "Hollyweed" sign. We went to the Packing House in Anaheim, it had a lot of restaurants in it. I almost couldn't make up my mind on what I wanted to eat. After the Packing House we went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame for a little bit. Then Finally we ended up at the Santa Monica Pier which is very beautiful at night. A simple day trip turned into a full day of adventure.

First day on the job

This was actually the real challenge. Even with the instructions my sponsor gave me that didn't help much that day. A fresh new Ensign lost on the military base, oh the joy. After running around lost for a good 2 hours this department took me in under their wing and helped me start my checkin process. Along with doing my checkin I got this cool access card to get into the building. It might be lame to you but how many people get a special card to enter the building on day one? The "semi hard" part was over but I still felt weird, and that is because now that I am an officer all enlisted personnel will salute you. This is truly when I knew that everything was official. All in all I survived my first work day. The rest of work week went a lot smoother once I got the hang of things.

Weekend Festivities!!!

Now since I have survived my work week why not wind down a little. Kay invited me to join her and some other officers to go to a drag show at this place called Lips. This was my first time going to a show like this but I had a blast! Those men worked the stage and their heels! That Saturday my car arrived! No more uber or having to walk. I was smart and packed my car full of stuff that I know I couldn't take on the plane. Since my living situation isn't stable at the moment I found a place to put everything that was packed in my car into storage. No need to be riding around with a full car. That night I went to a birthday social and met more black officers which was pretty cool. But to end my weekend off that Sunday I went on my very first hike! FYI hiking was not as easy as I thought, but then again Florida doesn't have hills. But I survived the hike up to Potato Chip Rock. It was a struggle getting up there (nothing but incline) but I didn't die. Fair warning to those who ever plan to hike this trail, it is not the best thing for beginners who have never hiked. Bring water and snacks for the stops you'll make. :)

Welcome To My Page!

Greetings and humble salutations! Obviously since this is a blog let me introduce myself. My name is Anita and I am a Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy⚓. I received my Bachelors degree in Biology and commission from Florida A&M University. The reason why I wanted to start a blog was to try something new. Not many people know what military people do besides war and tons of deployments (which is waaaaaaayyyyy left of what we do on the regular). This also will share my fun adventures and experiences as an African American female Officer. Plus this was one of my New Year's Resolutions 😀 (yea I know I'm late but better late then never right)

Why the Military?

Well that's pretty simple. Way back in high school I found out while I was in NJROTC that I could get a full ride scholarship to college and all I have to do is give the military time back once I graduate. If that's not convincing enough here's a few more reasons:

• Full Ride
• Paid a stipend to go to school
• Guaranteed  job once you graduate (SALARY starts the day you graduate)
• EXPERIENCE

Now being on an ROTC scholarship and trying to live a normal college life was not easy at all. It was a job on top of the part time job I held when I worked on campus and trying to maintain a stable class schedule along with the classes you are required to take for being in the program. But if you met the bare minimums you still could get a commission. i.e maintain a 2.5 GPA, pass the official fitness test, and stay out of trouble. So if you can do that with no problems then.....Why not?

What is an Officer?

In simple terms a Military Officer is just someone who got their Bachelor's Degree before joining the military. Now there are some special cases but that too much to go over. What most people see with military are Enlisted. They usually are fresh out of high school or individuals who wanted to join the military later in their lives. They may receive their Bachelor's Degree while enlisted but that does not make them an Officer just because they choose to get one (it is a lengthy process to go from Enlisted to Officer) .  Below is a list of Enlisted and Officer Ranks for the Navy.

The Ultimate Move

With being in the military you have to make sacrifices luckily I knew that would happen. In November I did my ship selection on where I wanted to start my Naval career. Navy ROTC prepares you up for this grand day, we call it the draft (more so referring to sports). The top ranking students get the better chances of getting what they want. Long story short I chose to come to California, over 2,000 miles away from home. But I was born here so why not go back as an adult. I was actually cool with picking up my life and moving across the country. 3 weeks after graduation I found myself on a one way trip, 3 bags, a camera, and my laptop and iPad to California. All my other apartment items that I will need later got put into storage. Now lets get on to the fun stuff! My time so far in California😃