Cadet shipping

I just wanted to wish all the cadets shipping out this summer the best of luck and hope they have some fantastic experiences.

My son is at Maine Maritime and as a sophomore will be shipping with Military Sealift Command (MSC) on the USNS Mercy. It's a 800'+ hospital ship on a humanitarian aid mission. He will board the ship in Pearl Harbor and travel to Guam, Indonesian, Phillapines, Vietnam and Cambodia. There are several volunteers on board providing medical services during this campaign. It's amazing to me the opportunities that are available to the maritime and senior military cadets.

My other son will be attending Norwich University this fall and he is extremely excited about this opportunity. He was denied enrollment last year, work extremely hard this year and reapplied. In many ways I'm glad he was not accepted last year because it showed both me and him that determination can take you a long way.

I'm fortunate to have the opportunity to be part of this community through both choices that my sons have made.

Shoreside said:

I just wanted to wish all the cadets shipping out this summer the best of luck and hope they have some fantastic experiences.

My son is at Maine Maritime and as a sophomore will be shipping with Military Sealift Command (MSC) on the USNS Mercy. It's a 800'+ hospital ship on a humanitarian aid mission. He will board the ship in Pearl Harbor and travel to Guam, Indonesian, Phillapines, Vietnam and Cambodia. There are several volunteers on board providing medical services during this campaign. It's amazing to me the opportunities that are available to the maritime and senior military cadets.

My other son will be attending Norwich University this fall and he is extremely excited about this opportunity. He was denied enrollment last year, work extremely hard this year and reapplied. In many ways I'm glad he was not accepted last year because it showed both me and him that determination can take you a long way.

I'm fortunate to have the opportunity to be part of this community through both choices that my sons have made.

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Shoreside- looking forward to you relating some of your son's experiences on board this summer- we just don't get enough folks from the Maritime Academies posting about their schools. Also-looking forward to hearing about your other son's Rook year experiences!

Well, it's been almost a week and a half seen DS departed for the Mercy. It's an hours drive to the airport so it was an early early day for us. He's gone for a bit more than three months and packed so effeciently that all he had was a day pack and his sea bag. Me, I would have needed at least two large suitcases and a carry on.

Thanks to MSC or Maine Maritime for the flight coordination because he met up with one of his classmates in Chicago. They had the same flight to Honolulu.

Basically, they had a shuttle to Pearl Harbor and boarded the ship. He said all they saw of Hawaii was from the air into the airport, on the drive from the airport to the ship and any visible land from the ship. But, he sounded very happy to be there. Now I'm just waiting on the ship to reach port in Guam.

If anyone is interested in tracking the progress of the USNS Mercy or learn more about the Pacific Partnership 2012, just google Pacific Partnership 2012. It's a great investment our country makes to improve the lives of others in remote and/or poor countries.

Indonesia Bound

Well, as I promised I'm posting again about the USNS Mercy's Pacific Partnership 2012 mission and my son's involvement as a Maine Maritime midshipman.

The ship arrived in Guam and I did recieve a call from my son. Sounded great and very upbeat. I'll be very surprised if he decides not to ship-out for a fews years after graduation. He's pretty much a man of very few words and he actually provided information without requiring a shoe horn to pry it from him. Effectively, a great conversation.

He basically has four parts to his day. 1) Ship Maintenance - For this 4 hr. block he has been maintaining fire stations and since this is almost complete he's not sure what they will be doing next. 2) Ship Watch - During this 4 hr. watch he says he is mostly on the bridge taking GPS reading and plotting the course. He did say that he has steered the ship, under supervision. This amazes me - that's a lot of mass and power to have in your hands. 3) Free Time (ha, ha) - This next 4 hr. window has been spent working on his sea project. I'm not quite sure all it involves but I do know that it's not something that could be completed in a week since it involve the production of several papers, ship drawings and navigation logs. 4) Finally, those last 8 hrs. are spent trying to sleep in the same room with up to 30 shipmates. I hope they don't snore.

He did get off the ship in Guam and was able to spend a couple of days exploring the island and eating off the ship. I had no idea that Guam had 200' cliffs on it's north shore and the beach heads of WWII were so rocky and uninviting. He really enjoyed looking around the island since he enjoys WWII history.

Now, they are enroute to Indonesia. He said that they will only be allowed to disembark the ship in these ports if they volunteer with an aid mission group. Sounds as though they are keeping tight control in these ports and that's probably not a bad thing. However, it does offer an perspective of the volitility/unrest in that part of the world.

I'll write again when I hear something new from the next port since internet is very limited on the ship.

I hope this overview encourages anyone thinking about a sea career to pursue it. The Maritime Colleges are great schools for anyone that loves the water and wants to have the option of shipping or working shoreside.

Indonesia Bound

Well, as I promised I'm posting again about the USNS Mercy's Pacific Partnership 2012 mission and my son's involvement as a Maine Maritime midshipman.

The ship arrived in Guam and I did recieve a call from my son. Sounded great and very upbeat. I'll be very surprised if he decides not to ship-out for a fews years after graduation. He's pretty much a man of very few words and he actually provided information without requiring a shoe horn to pry it from him. Effectively, a great conversation.

He basically has four parts to his day. 1) Ship Maintenance - For this 4 hr. block he has been maintaining fire stations and since this is almost complete he's not sure what they will be doing next. 2) Ship Watch - During this 4 hr. watch he says he is mostly on the bridge taking GPS reading and plotting the course. He did say that he has steered the ship, under supervision. This amazes me - that's a lot of mass and power to have in your hands. 3) Free Time (ha, ha) - This next 4 hr. window has been spent working on his sea project. I'm not quite sure all it involves but I do know that it's not something that could be completed in a week since it involve the production of several papers, ship drawings and navigation logs. 4) Finally, those last 8 hrs. are spent trying to sleep in the same room with up to 30 shipmates. I hope they don't snore.

He did get off the ship in Guam and was able to spend a couple of days exploring the island and eating off the ship. I had no idea that Guam had 200' cliffs on it's north shore and the beach heads of WWII were so rocky and uninviting. He really enjoyed looking around the island since he enjoys WWII history.

Now, they are enroute to Indonesia. He said that they will only be allowed to disembark the ship in these ports if they volunteer with an aid mission group. Sounds as though they are keeping tight control in these ports and that's probably not a bad thing. However, it does offer an perspective of the volitility/unrest in that part of the world.

I'll write again when I hear something new from the next port since internet is very limited on the ship.

I hope this overview encourages anyone thinking about a sea career to pursue it. The Maritime Colleges are great schools for anyone that loves the water and wants to have the option of shipping or working shoreside.