Last week, after five months in the Middle East, we crossed out of the Fifth Fleet Area of Responsibility. We’re currently eastbound, on our slow voyage home. Now that we’re no longer in Fifth Fleet, there are not as many restrictions on what I’m allowed to write home about. I still can’t tell you a lot about what we did out there, but I can fill you in on some of the day-to-day details.
A toast at the farewell for the old boss.
In February we had a change of command – my boss went on to his next assignment and we got a new boss. It’s a naval tradition to have a somewhat informal gathering of the officers to say “goodbye” before the formal ceremony, so we decided to do a roast of our outgoing boss. I got to use my hidden comedic talents and serve as M.C. for the roast, which went very well if I do say so myself. There was a delicious cake on the day of the formal ceremony. It happened to be my birthday, so I just pretended the cake was for me.
There used to be lots of drinking on naval ships. The crew drank rum every day and the officers had wine. But those days are long gone, sort of. The last vestige of the drinking-while-sailing tradition in the U.S. Navy is “beer day.” After 45 days underway, under certain circumstances, all the 21-and-over sailors onboard are allowed to drink two cans of beer. We hit the 45-day mark in February, and that beer was cold and good.
After about 70-some days underway, we went to Manama, Bahrain for a 10-day port visit. There weren’t a ton of sights to see, but it was a very relaxing time. I got to sleep in, eat good food, enjoy the occasional beverage, and even see a movie in a real movie theater. I also got to haggle with Arabs over jewelry and scarves, which was an interesting experience.
In March, I had an article on the law of armed conflict and military ethics published in Armed Forces Journal. Also in March, we reached the four-month mark of deployment, which is when people’s patience starts wearing thin.
In April, the highlight was a sunrise Easter service in the hangar deck. It was the second Easter in a row that I have spent working for the Navy away from my family. That was rough, but the ship had an Easter feast that was amazing! We’re talking ham, prime rib, lobster, mashed potatoes, and cake.
On top of a dune at Wadi Rum Protected Area in Jordan.
Not long after that, we pulled in to Aqaba, Jordan for a 4-day port visit. We were very limited in what we were allowed to do. Most people just sat on the pier and drank warm beer. But I was able to go on one of the few tours that was offered, to Wadi Rum Protected Area, which is kind of like the Jordanian equivalent of a National Park. It looked like a National Park you would see in Arizona: a sandy desert with fabulous rock formations jutting out of an otherwise flat plain. We got to go on an off-road tour, as well as some hiking and climbing over the dunes and rocks. It was okay, but I was happy to get back underway.
For Cinco de Mayo, we had another amazing holiday meal onboard – it was the mother of all taco days. Speaking of mothers, I also got to add Mothers Day to the list of holidays I’ve missed on this deployment.
And that about brings you up to speed. I’ve been doing gratifying work out here, and my shipmates are a great group of people. I miss everyone back home, of course, but this was exactly the experience I was hoping to have when I joined the Navy.
Throughout it all, Angelina has been sending me great care packages and nice emails, which has helped me get through it all and keep up to date on what’s going on with her and the baby back home.
Before I left, I told Gabby that I would bring the Duffy teddy bear with me on my port calls. In the Navy we like to “capture the data” by putting every little thing that happens in a PowerPoint slide, so I made a Duffy slide for Gabby, showing me with Duffy at Trader Vic’s tiki bar in Bahrain and at Wadi Rum in Jordan. Here’s that:
Capturing the data about Duffy’s exploits in the Middle East.
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