Back to Blogging

I had previously commented about not allowing cobwebs settle on my blog again. Epic fail!!

However, I have decided to get back to blogging and on a more regular basis.  I am going to do some research on how to blog properly so that I can make it interesting and keep it up to date at the same time.

So....here is a quick update as to what has been happening in the life of this Navy Phoenix. MARS IV training was successfully completed on 4 March 2011. This included another intense academic phase, a simulator phase and a 6 week sea phase on the Orca Class training vessel where we had to successfully pass being assessed in navigation, Officer of the Watch Manoeuvres (4 of the ships all moving around each other in formations).  I will be honest...it felt like I had reached the top of the mountain at this point. Little did I know, that it was only the tip of the iceberg.

I was posted to HMCS Algonquin and joined them on March 7 (no rest for the weary) and sailed for one week.  My training continued over the next 18 months as I was continuously learning and getting better at my job as Officer of the Watch (OOW).  I sailed on numerous Task Group Exercises, a North American Maritime Security Initiative exercise with the Americans and Mexicans, A deployment down south (looking to intercept drug smugglers) for which I have received the Operational Service Medal for, RIMPAC 2012 (for those who have seen Battleship; I actually sailed alongside the USS John Paul Jones). I have sailed with ships from USA, Mexico, Chili, Australia, Japan, North Korea and Russia.  I have also now been to some interesting ports including San Francisco (my favorite US city), Panama, Manzanillo, Ensenada, San Diego and Pearl Harbour, Hawaii.

I received my official Bridge Watchkeeping certificate from the Captain in Feb 2012.  The next step was to sit and pass a board which is chaired by a Capt(N) and other high ranking officers in which they ask you a ton of questions to test your knowledge on all aspects of the ship and ship handling as well as how to safely deal with other ships in the area and responding to emergencies.  I have done a lot of job interviews in my past and no longer got nervous about them at all. This board is nothing like that at all. It was probably one of the most stressful and nerve-wracking thing I have ever done and will ever do (unless I go to sit a Command Board - which has still been undecided at this time).

I was scheduled to sit my board on 20 Sept 2012. So I studied and crammed and crammed and studied like mad.  Sept 20th came and I went into sit my board.  After almost an hour of being drilled, I was told that I passed the board and was now considered a Fully Qualified Naval Officer.  Holy Crap!  After almost 3 years of non-stop nose to the grindstone work and being away from my family for a lot of it, I have now come through the other end successfully.

So what now?  I have been removed from Algonquin so that they can make room for other junior officers who need the sea time and experience.  I am temporarily "attached posted" back to Venture.  I am helping with some new lesson plans and hope to get into the classroom to do some teaching.

Career wise, the next step is to select a specialty (or Director Level). This could be Navigator, Above Water Warfare, Underwater Warfare, Combat Information Systems, Information Management, Clearance Diver, or Deck Officer.  I have decided to become an Information Management Director. My course for this is scheduled to start in February 2013.

That is all for today and should bring you up to speed.  From here, the blogs will be a bit shorter, but more frequent.