After Action Report - BEE

Date: October 13, 2009

Subject: Basic Electricity and Electronics
August 1984-December 1984

From: ET1 Cole
To: shipmates, friends, and anyone else who'll listen

Purpose: Summarize the actions involved in Basic Electricity and Electronics August 1984-December 1984

I remember saying goodbye to April and my folks in front of my new home at NTC. The barracks I was to stay in was right next to building 94. Building 94 housed several different schools. Ships Servicemen (SH) and Basic Electronics and Electricity to name a couple. Radioman (RM) 'A' school was right down the street.

NTC was quite a bit different then Basic Training. E-3's and below, of which I was one carried what was called a liberty card. A liberty card was basically what older sailors would have probably referred to as a pass. We turned them in to the LPO, Leading Petty Officer in the morning and as long as we didn't have to stand duty and we stayed out of trouble we got it back when we finished school that day. In order to come and go on the base we had to show that liberty card.

Life in the barracks was still fairly disciplined, though not nearly as structured as Boot Camp. We also had the weekends off. We had PT (physical training), personnel and barracks inspections in the morning before school. Then we'd form up and march less than a block to the schoolhouse.

There were 4 guys assigned to a room. I had a rooommate from the Virgin Islands name Francis who thought he was God's gift to women. He had this accent, and his favorite saying was "Hello baby" when he saw a pretty girl. It always made me laugh. I also had a Filipino roommate who had family in San Diego. I spent a Saturday at his family's place enjoying a big family get together.One of my other roommates was Wes Battese. He and I recently reconnected on Facebook.

Barracks life was close quarters. We often raced back after runs trying to get in the shower before everyone else returned. We did this to avoid having to take a cold shower.

For duty we stood Shore Patrol. What we actually did was augment base security. We walked around for four hours looking for guys in Basic going over the wall and called away anything else we saw that was suspicious. Mostly we just walked with little to nothing exciting ever going on. Carrying a night stick and wearing the SP armband always seemed kind of cool to me. I imagined one day walking the streets of Hong Kong hauling drunken sailors back to the ship. This never happened but it was fun to dream.

BEE (pronounced B double E)was self paced. That meant that you raced against the computer. I suppose how much time you had for each module was based on your ASVAB score. We also had labs where we troubleshot down to the component level. We didn't have instructors but there were senior guys there to help if you got stuck. I was going to be an ET so that meant I had to go through all 31 modules while others like Electricians Mates did 25.

During this time I explored converting to EW and going submarines. Oh boy...am I glad I didn't choose to be a bubble head. The chief in the barracks was a bubble head and one thing I found out about submariners is that they are...let's see to put it politely....a little off. I'll explain why. After I had finished BEE and was awaiting orders, I had a few days to kill. This meant buffing and waxing the deck all day. The chief was in his office and listening to Christmas music and he had assigned us the task of buffing his office. So we're in there buffing away when all of sudden the guy has a coronary and starts shouting that he can't hear his Christmas music. He got very animated and made us stop.

Bubble heads.

Getting paid was a trip also. We had an Irish guy, a Filipino First Class and Chief Bubblehead who was overall in charge of the barracks. The Irish guy hated it if you needed a haircut or your uniform wasn't squared away. On many a payday (before direct deposit), he wouldn't give you your check until you got it fixed. What made the Irish guy so memorable was that he hated it if you called a loose thread on your uniform an 'Irish pennant'. Irish pennant he said meant that he and his ancestors were a bunch of ragtags. He resented it.

The Filipino guy was known for his unintelligible rants. If you did something wrong (forgot to salute an officer or jaywalked) you would get an MOR (Minor Offense Report). The only thing he ever said that I remember being able to decipher was "You get MOR, I keeeel you!". He was a trip.

I also had discovered that a couple whom I had gone to high school with, Matt and Lisa S. were stationed in San Diego. Matt was an Avionics Technician in the Coast Guard. On several occasions they drove all the way up from Imperial Beach to take me home and give me a home cooked meal. Today they're one of April and mine's best friends. I work out with Matt about once a week and we go on double dates all the time. Matt and Lisa later also turned us on to homeschooling. Something that changed our lives.

My relationship with April was getting stronger. She had started college in Kansas at a little private Christian college. We wrote and phoned all the time. She hadn't really decided on a major yet. So I bought a ring and during Thanksgiving traveled to Arizona. I put on my cracker jack uniform and went to her folks house to ask for her hand. Her father said yes. April said yes too on a porch swing at my parents house. We initially decided we'd wait till she finished school to get married.

I graduated from BEE at the beginning of December and asked for leave in conjunction with my transfer to Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois.

Lessons Learned: When someone asks for my daughters hand in marriage be gentle like my father in law. Never try and buff a floor with a submariner in the room.

Action Items: On to Great Lakes

Appendix: Personnel Involved: April, April's parents, Chief Bubblehead et al, Wes Battese, Matt and Lisa S.

After Action Report - Graduating Basic

Date: October 7, 2009

Subject: Basic Training June 1984-August 1984

From: ET1 Cole

To: shipmates, friends, and anyone else who'll listen

Purpose: Summarize the actions involved in Basic Training June 1984-August 1984

Graduation was quickly approaching. That meant that every Friday we, the Drill Company were performing in graduations. It was getting closer and we could hardly wait.Until then our lives were still being filled with classes, close order drill and personnel inspections.

One of the banes of our existence was the spats or leggings. Really they were just another part of our uniform and a way of teaching us to how to pay attention to detail. They had to be tied right over left and were washed right along with our dixie cups.

Me and the spats

Why were they so difficult?

Because guys would hide stuff in them. One of the uniform regulations was that there was to be nothing in our dungaree pants pockets. No change, notes or nothing. Some guys would hide change in those spats. We'd be marching along and this change would fall out, clanking on the deck. You can imagine how many push ups and calisthetics we did over the few guys who decided to buck this rule. Parker hated it.

We also had to learn the chain of command for personnel inspections. The CO of RTC/NTC at the time was Capt. Marsha Evans. Later Rear Admiral Marsha Evans would command the Navy's Recruiting Command and pay a visit to my recruiting office. She was also the first woman to command a naval station. In her post military career she would head the Girls Scouts, Red Cross and LPGA.

Another unique figure was one of the chaplains. Chaplain Black had a distinguished career.

Barry C. Black is the 62nd Chaplain of the United States Senate. He was elected to this position on June 27, 2003, becoming the first African-American, the first Seventh-day Adventist, and the first military chaplain to hold the office of chaplain to the United States Senate. The Senate elected its first chaplain in 1789.

I mention these two figures because I had the privilege of meeting many people who would later become part of American Naval History.

Graduation finally came on August 17. I was 15 pounds heavier (145) and in the best shape of my life. I had learned to place my trust in my shipmates, pay attention to detail, the meaning of hard work and of team work. I remember a sense of accomplishment and excitement both at the same time. I did it and I was excited. We all talked about getting out to the 'real Navy' and all of us looked forward to it

April and my parents came out from Arizona for graduation. We went to Sea World and went on a ship visit. We had a good weekend together before they left and I reported to Naval Training Center San Diego to begin Basic Electricity and Electronics (BEE). NTC was just on the other side of the base.

August 17 became an important date for April and I. We were married exactly a year later.

Lessons Learned: The Navy has some of the most extraordinary people. Some didn't quite cut the mustard. Others are more than memorable and it was a privilege to serve with them. Never underestimate being a part of something bigger than yourself.

Action Items: Starting BEE, home for Christmas

Appendix: Personnel Involved: Co. 84-926, EN1 Parker, April, my parents, Adm. Marsha Evans and Chaplain Black