Week #14 - RIP/TOA

Relieve in Place / Transfer of Authority. Or at least that's what I think RIP/TOA stands for. It basically the change of command where our Commodore, and our Squadron, took over from the preceding Commodore and Squadron. A small ceremony and we have it.

My little piece of the entire change of command includes standing watch in the Joint Operations Center (JOC) and turning over the administrative duties. More on that later.

I promised some photos but I'm having a hard time getting online with my laptop, where I have the photos. So for now its just text.

Last weekend was the Army-Navy Game. MSRON 4 put on a little party in the courtyard of Building 1, which is where I will be living soon (Building 1, not the courtyard!). They set up a projector and moved some extra chairs out there. Of course those that had them wore their favorite USNA clothing. I just wore my new Navy sweats that I bought special for this deployment.

If I do manage to upload a photo, it will one of my with the Navy goat that someone purchased and keeps off base somewhere. It was kind of funny to see everyone's reactions. "A real goat?" Yep, with Go Navy Beat Army colors.


Things seem to be a little more relaxed here than San Diego, even for our high-strung group. Highlights from this past week include making one of the LT's laugh so hard he spit up the entire chocolate milkshake he'd just consumed. OK, that was a little scary and a little sick. But joking about it hasn't gotten old yet.

We also tried to come up with the 'dirt sailor' equivalent of how to pretend you are on deployment. So I will leave you with that...

• Dump a ton of gravel in your yard, then build sidewalks that go to no where in particular.
• Convert your detached garage to a shower facility and move it to the far corner of your back yard.
• Practice wearing a small purse around your neck for all your required identifiction.
• Sprinkle fine sand on everything in the house.
• Run all the cables for your home on the outside.
• Place a satellite dish outside every door of your house, right on the ground.
• Put bullet holes in one side of the house, and tell your neighbors they are 'left over from the last war.'
• Take a weapon with you every time you leave the neighborhood.
• Log the mileage every time you get in or out of your car.
• Drive half the speed of the locals and hope not to get clobbered on the highway.
• Watch TV with nothing less than 20 of your closest friends.
• Revert to dial-up internet (sorry Mom!).
• Get special permission before using your camera to take a picture, even in your own yard and of nothing special in particular.
• Get counted every day.
• Get counted every time there is a special occasion.

And the number one way to prepare for an expeditionary deployment:

• Drive nothing smaller than a Chevy Tahoe. Never go anywhere without at least one other person, a gun, ammo, a special driving permit, a special a-to-b pass, a special pass for where you're going, and loads of other paperwork, no matter how inconvenient that becomes.

OK, that's it for now!