bearings - fall 2011

8/3/2019 Bearings - Fall 2011

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GRADUATE LCDR GREENECOMESBACK

FOR SECONDSAT GWUNROTC

GWU NROTC

FALL 2011

BEARINGS

INSIDETHISISSUE :

UNITWELCOMESLCDRGREENETO GWUNROTC 1

UNIT IMPLEMENTSNEWACADEMICENHANCEMENT

PROGRAM

2

UNITCELEBRATES 236TH ANNUALBIRTHDAYBALL 3

AVIATIONCLUBTO PATUXENTRIVER 4

UNITEXPOSES 4/CTO FLEETAT NAVYFEX 4

SUBMARINESIN THE 21 ST CENTURY 5

WOUNDEDWARRIOR 5K 6

MIDN EXPERIENCEFOREXSUMMERCRUISE 7

WHAT MIDN MEANSTO ME 8

NAVALNURSING 8

UNIT EARNS $1KINSUPPORTINGZOMBIE 5K 9

Bearings Editor: MIDN 2/C Evans

Continued on page 2

By MIDN 4/C Frost

September 11th, 2001. Do you remember where youwere? Our newest staff member, Lieutenant CommanderGreene, will never forget that time in her life. LCDR

Greene was a brand new Ensign in flight school on thatfateful day. She remembers when she and her peers wereshocked into reality by this event.

We went from quoting Top Gun and flexing our egos inpurely hypothetical mock dog fights against imaginary ad-versaries to facing very real, very imminent targets in de-finitive combat operations, Greene said. This shockserved as an incredibly influential part of her naval career,and it still influences her operations today.

LCDR Greene was commissioned through the GWUN-

ROTC in May 2001. She checked into flight school thatsummer and is now a pilot, flying the F/A 18 Super Hor-net. This jet was not always her first choice. Comingthrough flight school, she did not have a preference; shejust wanted to fly. Encouraged by peers to submit for jets,LCDR Greene took the risk and was successful.

One thing that had stuck with LCDR Green was how ver-satile a Naval Officer is. Our leadership and experience asNaval Officers transcend our individual designators ortechnical ratings, she said. Ten years after 9/11, her

peers began getting deployed on IA (Individual Augmenta-tion) assignments. These are tours, like one LCDR Greenehad completed, which a naval service member is assignedto work with a branch of service other than the Navy.

While flying the Super Hornet, she was deployed on theUSS Nimitz and flew in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Op-eration Enduring Freedom over Iraq and Afghanistan re-


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PAGE 2 BEARINGS

Academic performance is an important aspect in theGeorge Washington University ROTC Unit. The Aca-

demic Enhancement Program is a new addition to theGWUNROTC Unit this semester. The purpose of theprogram is to enhance the academic performance of thenew members of the battalion. All incoming 4/C Mid-shipmen in the unit are required to participate in the pro-gram, and attend four hours of monitored studying perweek. Study sessions are held at each university includingGeorge Washington University, University of Maryland,Georgetown University, Howard University, and Catho-lic University of America. The 4/C Midshipmen aremonitored by the 1/C and 2/C midshipmen in good aca-demic standing. If the attendees achieve a grade point

average of 2.75 or higher for the fall semester, they willnot be required to attend study sessions during the springsemester.

UNIT IMPLEMENTS NEW ACADEMIC ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM

MIDN 2/C FUNK

spectively. Her most recent tour was what she calleda boots-on-ground-tour as a Provincial Reconstruc-tion Team Engineer in Afghanistan. She said she spenta year with this deployment wearing Army ACUswhile driving around in mounted combat patrols inthe middle of land-locked Afghanistan.

Her most memorable aspect about the Navy, though,is the people she works with. She loves flying, but theoverall best experiences she has had are meeting andworking with people and developing those relation-ships into close friendships. This is, however, a tip-ping point in her career, as she has just returned fromdeployment and has time to spend with her family forthe first time in a while. She does not know what thefuture holds in terms of her career in the military.

She is excited about this tour back at her old unit be-

cause of the opportunity to teach Naval Scienceclasses, to give advice toward aviation careers, and tolearn from the battalion.

LCDR Greene shows she means business with the over the rim

stare

The Academic Enhancement Program seems to be an overallsuccess after reflecting upon the program from the first half the

semester. This program will help ease the Midshipmans transi-tion from high school to college, and ensure a more successfulacademic year. Since it is a new program, the unit is proac-tively searching for ways to improve both the program and theacademic standing of the battalion.

Platoon Bravo 1

OURLEADERSHIPANDEXPERIENCEAS

NAVALOFFICERSTRANSCENDOUR

INDIVIDUALDESIGNATORSORTECHNICAL

RATINGS


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with more than 38 years of service. During his time on ac-tive-duty, Admiral Keating served as Commander 5 th Fleet,Northern Command, and Pacific Command. He holds over5,000 flight hours and 1,200 arrested landings. He is notonly a distinguished Naval pilot and leader, but also a men-tor to many young officers beginning their careers today.

Admiral Keating gave our keynote address on the topic ofservice. It was quite a motivational address, in which hecongratulated all of our Sailors and Marines on the choice ofa higher callingthe choice to serve. He spoke on wear-ing the uniform proudly and representing our Navy-MarineCorps combat team with honor, courage and commitment.

As he circled the audience, he looked at what seemed to beeach and every person in the eye, making no use of the po-dium provided to him. During his address, a particular mo-ment stood outat which point he made reference to anencounter with a Chinese Admiral.

While he commanded U.S. Pacific Command, AdmiralKeating spent much time in the foreign nations of the East,interacting with Naval Officers of other nations. One suchChinese Admiral made a comment to him about our nationsflag. He spoke of its beauty and patriotism. As he said this,he told Admiral Keating that no American should ever takefor granted the immense symbolism of this great flag.

When we think of how often our flag is displayed in theUnited States today, we can sometimes become desensitizedto it. It is displayed at schools and government buildings, onpostage stamps and military uniforms. Our flag has under-gone cosmetic changes over the many years since our found-ing, but what our Nation stands for has never wavered. Weare a Nation based on the principles of democracy and free-domsomething that our 50 stars and 13 stripes so proudlydisplay to the rest of the world. As future leaders in the ourUnited States military, we represent our nation and standbehind our nations flag, as bearers of this freedom

proudly earned by our Founding Fathers and many, manycourageous Sailors, Marines, Soldiers and Airmen for morethan 200 years.

So Happy 236th Birthday Navy and Marine Corps!

UNITCELEBRATESNAVALBIRTHDAYWITH 236THANNUAL

BIRTHDAYBALL

PAGE 3FALL 2011

The Navy-Marine Corps Birthday Ball has been a long-standing tradition within the service for many years. Whilethe Navy and Marine Corps were founded in 1775, the cele-bration of these two dates was established a little later on inhistory. The birthday celebration of the Marine Corps wasestablished in 1921, when then-Commandant John A. Le-jeune ordered November 10th a Marine Corps holiday. Thiscelebration was dictated under Order 47. On the Navy sideof the house, October 13th was declared the official birthdayof the Navy in 1972 by the then-Chief of Naval Operations,Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt. While we observe differentbirth-dates, we stand together as a unit in celebrating whatour maritime service so proudly represents. Each year, thebirthday ball seeks to enhance a greater appreciation of ourNavy heritage, and to provide a positive influence towardpride and professionalism in the naval service."

This year we came together as a Unit and celebrated the 236 thbirthday of the Navy and Marine Corps at the beautiful Wash-ington Marriot in downtown DC. As this is a dining outevent, midshipmen, OCs and MECEPs were asked to invite aguest for the festivities. The event began with a cocktail hourat 1800 in the lounge outside of the ballroom. Guests wereinvited to mingle and to get acquainted before the formalceremonies began.

The ceremony was set for 1900 in the formal ballroom, atwhich point the sword detail and color guard made their en-trance. Our guest speaker, Admiral Keating, and CaptainGilliam entered to the appropriate ceremonial musictheAdmirals March. When the National Anthem had beenplayed and the guests were seated, the annual messages fromthe President, the CNO, and the Commandant were read bymidshipmen. The purpose of these messages is to commendthe services on their long history of excellence, service andprofessionalism. The messages were preceded by the cake-cutting ceremony, which is one of the standing traditions ofboth the Navy and Marine Corps Birthday Balls. The cake is

wheeled out in ceremonial fashion by a set of hand-selectedmidshipmen. The CO is given the honors of cutting the cake,after which the eldest and youngest Sailor receive the firstslices of the cake. At the same time, both the oldest and theyoungest Marines receive one of the first pieces as well. Thecake-cutting ceremony symbolizes the elder Sailor or Marinepassing their knowledge and experience to the future genera-tions to come.

We were very honored to have Admiral Keating as our guestspeaker this year. Admiral Keating is a retired Naval aviator

By MIDN 2/C Stavridis


4/9

On October 22, the Aviation club took atrip to NAS Patuxent River in order to

receive a recruiting brief and guided tourof the on-base Test Pilot School. Whileon base, we receive a brief by the HeadEngineer of the new F-35 Joint StrikeFighter and tour the JSF hangar.

The overall experience was an incrediblesuccess for all of those involved. Twenty-one midshipmen made the worthwhiletrip down to Pax River, and nothing butpositive remarks were brought back withus. The day started at 0530 with musterin the wardroom for GWU students and

at Maryland for those from UMD comingdown for the trip. After the nearly twohour trip down, we arrived on base just infront of ATCS McKinely, my POC for thetour. ATCS McKinely is the CommandSenior Chief of Naval Test Wing Atlantic,and was nice enough to take time out ofhis Saturday in order to facilitate our tourof PAX RIVER. After a quick Q&A ses-sion where ATCS was prodded with ques-

tions ranging from the work he does onbase at Patuxent River to the most valu-

able leadership experience he has under-gone in his long career in the Navy, wemoved to receive a recruiting brief byone of the O-4 test pilots on base.

The pilot showed us a lot of flashy pic-tures about what the extraordinary life ofa Navy test pilot is like, and teased uswith images of all of the test air plat-forms the pilots get to fly. He explainedhow their primary mission was to testweapon and flight systems, and also de-tailed the career path of a perspective

astronaut. After the informative briefconcluded, we were finally taken to theTPS hangar. We were exposed to allkinds of naval air platforms from F-18sto gliders and everything in between.We were given a tour of the hangar, andallowed a few minutes to look into cock-pits on helos and take a few pictures

before we were moved out and onto thenext facet of the tour.

After quickly exiting in the TPS hangar inanticipation for what was next, we filed

hastily into the duty vans and moved to theJSF hangar. Because of the tight securityclearance on the F-35, all electronics wereleft in the vehicles. We filed into the hangarto the extraordinary sight of the back of theF-35C (tail-hook). It was without a doubtthe most incredible piece of machinery Ihave ever seen first-hand. Albeit, it wasroped off, but just being within feet of theairplane felt astonishing. We then receiveda brief from the projects head engineer,which was informative and articulately de-livered. We learned toward the end of his

brief that just about a half hour from then,there was a scheduled JSF takeoff.

We left the hangar and were set

loose by ATCS to go grab a spot on the end

of the runway and see the JSF takeoff, a

suitable ending to a largely successful and

exciting day at NAS PAX RIVER.

AVIATIONCLUBEXPERIENCESF-35 ATNASPATUXENTRIVER

PAGE 4 BEARINGS

By: MIDN 3/C Delaney

4/CEXPOSEDTOFLEETEARLYDURING

NAVYFIELDEXCHANGE

On October 8, an immense group of enthusiasticGWU NROTC midshipmen traveled to the worldslargest naval base in Norfolk, Virginia for the 2011Navy Field Exchange (FEX). Many of the midship-men went into the trip expecting great adventure andan overall exciting experience, and that was exactlywhat was achieved. From staying overnight on the

USS Eisenhower to riding on an ACU 2, the weekendwas a busy, yet enjoyable learning experience for allin attendance.

CVN 69 was the first stop on the weekend tour; thisaircraft carrier, named USS Dwight D. Eisenhower,was commissioned in 1977. It weighs more than101,600 tons and cost $679 million to build. It is aremarkable ship and being able to board it was amemorable undertaking. Once onboard, chow wasserved in the galley and a tour of the ship given. Be-

By MIDN 4/C James

MIDN pose while at Norfolk Naval Station


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PAGE 5

ing able to explore the ins and outsof a ship that many people nevereven consider seeing in their life-time was very inspiring. A great

part of the ship we had the oppor-tunity to see was the flight deck.This area, which usually has remoteaccess due to high traffic of aircraft,was incredible. The cables, jets,launch ramps and every other pieceof machinery was amazing to see upclose. After the tour of the shipand five briefs on destroyers, cruis-ers, frigates, amphibious assaultships and fast attack submarines, wegot to stay overnight on the carrier.

Being able to stay in the racks on-board the ship was an experiencemany of us will never forget.

Saturday morning started brightand early with us departing to JointExpeditionary Base Little CreekFort Story. Here, we boarded anAssault Craft Unit 2 and rode it to anearby landing zone. When gettingoff the boat, many of the midship-men stormed the beach as if theywere actually going into battle;

however, we were just loading theduty vans again to make our moveto the next stop on our itinerary atour on the Assault Craft Unit 4.The LCAC was another impression-able visit. This hovercraft is used totransport weapons, equipment,cargo and personnel from ship toshore and across the beach. Fourmain engines are used for lift andpropulsion of the landing craft.Afterwards, the last stop of the FEX

included going to the Naval AirStation Oceana and touring VFA-143. We had the opportunity toclimb onto the wing of an F-18Superhornet. The ladder was a bitrickety, but looking at the technol-ogy and equipment inside of theplane was worth the climb.

Vanguard of the Force:

US Navy Submarines in the 21st

Century

Continued from page 4

Continued on page 6

Just a few days ago the XO called me

into his office and said "It's official:1170." Smiling broadly, I walked out ofthe unit for the first time knowing withcertainty which Navy community I wasto serve in. My destiny in submarineswas not terribly surprising, as I success-fully completed my Naval Reactors in-terview in August. Still, I could not behappier or prouder to be entering thestoried submarine force.

When I tell my friends, other midship-

men, or professors what I will do aftercommissioning, I am almost alwaysasked 'why?' In short, I believe that thesubmarineforce is an elitecommunitythat executesits assignedmission everyday. The sub-marine com-munity is

known as the'Silent Service',and althoughsubmarineshave a confident pride in this mantra, Ibelieve that this often limits the public'sunderstanding of the submarine com-munity's importance and midshipmen'sinterest in service selecting submarines.

So, why are submarines important? Firstand foremost, the Ohio-class ballisticmissile submarines constitute America's

most survivable nuclear deterrent. Qui-etly on patrol every day, these subma-rines ensure America's strategic safety.The Navy is currently working on thefollow-on class, known for now asSSBNX. The first boat of this class willput to sea in the late 2020's, and serveuntil the 2080's. These will be the mostadvanced and lethal weapon systemsever designed by man.

Offshoots of the Ohio-class are the Navy's

four SSGN's. The four oldest Ohio-classSSBNs were converted in the mid-2000'sinto guided missile submarines (capableof launching tomahawk cruise missiles,but not ballistic missiles). The four boatswere slated to be decommissioned as partof the START treaty with Russia. In-stead, the Navy converted them intohighly capable multi-mission platforms.Each missile tube, which formerlyhoused one Trident D-5 missile, can nowhold seven tomahawks. Thus each SSGN

is capable of carrying 154 cruise missiles.The SSGNs also routinely carry a SealDelivery Vehicle, and are designed to

both carrySEALs and op-erate as a Spe-cial Forces com-mand center.The power ofthe SSGNs wasdisplayed thispast March

when the USSFlorida launchedthe majority of

the initial cruisemissile strikes against Libya's air de-fenses.

What truly drew me to the submarinecommunity are the highly versatile fastattack boats. These SSNs perform the'classic' submarine missions such as anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare. My1/C summer cruise was aboard the USS

La Jolla, one of the oldest Los Angeles-classsubmarines. Even though she was nearingthe end of her commissioned service, theLa Jolla was returning from conductingoperations in the Persian Gulf and West-ern Pacific. Fast attack boats frequentlyconduct intelligence, surveillance andreconnaissance missions. Using special-ized measuring devices attached to their

By MIDN 1/C Robinson

Photo of the USS Alabama

FALL 2011


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periscopes, SSNs are able to spy on other countriescommunications and other electronic signals. This pro-vides the Navy and intelligence community with vitalinformation on other na-tions military capabilitiesand practices. Finally, fastattack submarines are capa-ble of conducting strike mis-sions with tomahawks aswell. Two boats, the Provi-dence and Scranton, demon-strated this capability lastMarch during operationsagainst Libya.

The future of submarines is

bright. The next generationof ballistic missile submarineis currently being designed. The Navyis quickly replacing older fast attack submarines withthe new Virginia-class. Designed for the 21st century,this new class is a quantum leap forward in technologyfrom the Los Angeles-class. The Navy is now building

two Virginias per year, demonstrating the commitmentthe service has to undersea warfare. Research is alsounderway on Unmanned Underwater Vehicles. Al-

though only a few experi-mental UUVs currentlyexist, in the coming dec-ades these will come to beas ubiquitous as UnmannedAerial Vehicles.

So when someone asks mewhy I want to serve on sub-marines, I have no shortageof answers. Submarines areon the front line every day.The force is modernizing in

order to ensure its contin-ued dominance in thefuture. This is a challeng-

ing but dynamic time for the submarine force, and Iwant to be a part of it.

BEARINGS

The Run With The Warri-ors 5K was not only a chance todisplay capabilities as a runner, butalso a chance to bond with and sup-port the wounded warriors of theUnited States Military. Hundreds of

soldiers, sailors, marines and airmenwere wounded this year in action,and the Run With The Warriors 5Kwas a great event to support thosewounded in action.

On September 24, mem-bers of the battalion went to theVinson Hall Retirement Communityin McLean, Virginia to participate inthe 5K race. There were 215 con-

testants, with the youngest being sevenand the oldest being 83 years of age, re-spectively. Many who participated in boththe set up and the actual race were activeduty, reservist and retirees.

During the first two minutes of

the race, Sgt. Thomas, a soldier who hadlost the use of his legs due to a disease,lead the group in his racing wheelchair. Ithad rained the day before, leaving the run-ning path wet. While traveling downhill,Sgt. Thomas lost control of his wheelchairand fell into a ditch. We decided to stop,letting everyone pass us, as we picked upand carried the sergeant out and into anearby police car, where he was then

treated by the medics. He did not suffer anyserious injuries and later thanked us for help-ing him. Although we had stopped for a cou-ple of minutes in the beginning, we managedto still get good places.

The following Times were achieved by MIDN:MIDN Birdsall 10/102 Females 27:07OC Roesberry 29/102 Females 31:42MIDN Gilliam 11/113 Males 23:52MIDN Morell 12/113 Males 23:52MIDN Avino 21/113 Males 25:21

MIDN 4/C Gilliam and MIDN 4/C Morrell

MIDN TAKEHOMEMORETHANTOPPLACESATWOUNDED

WARRIOR 5K

Continued from page 5

MIDN 1/C Hogarth aboard the USS Kentucky

PAGE 6


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PAGE 7FALL 2011

In early June I found out I was selectedfor the JMSDF FOREX Cruise. JMSDFstands for Japanese Maritime Self De-

fense Force and FOREX means ForeignExchange. The main goal for a FOREXcruise is to foster diplomacy and rein-force good relationships with our alliesoverseas. I have never traveled outsidethe country before. I saw this cruise asnot only a great opportunity to bettermy development as a midshipman but toalso enjoy the incredible experience thatJapan had to offer. I was proven correcton both accounts! My cruise was anunforgettable and unique experience

that myself and Amanda Schuck, a fel-low 1/C MIDN, would get to have.

The JMSDF is a very professional, hard-working and prestigious force. TheirSelf-Defense force is not easy to getinto, and it pays very well. I met a fe-male lieutenant who has a brother whoworks as a lead engineer for Honda her salary is much larger than his! Themidshipmen at the Japanese Naval Acad-emy (Etajima) are paid the equivalent of$2500.00 a month.

In addition to the salary difference,some Japanese Naval customs differfrom our own. Members of the JMSDFwear their covers everywhere. A rulestates that if you had shoes on, yourcover was on that means inside, out-side and underway. While underway,Japanese sailors utilize the golden chin-straps on their covers so they dontblow away in the wind. The only time acover was removed was during chow.

Because they always wear their covers,Japanese sailors salute both inside andoutside. Bowing is another custom each time anyone passes in the passage-way, bowing is customary. Bowingserves as a way for peers to show eachother respect. Bowing is a big part ofcivilian life as well; even strangers do aquick bow as they pass on the street.

The cruise we went on was a bit differ-ent than other FOREX cruises. Instead

of being given a running mate on theship, our running mates were JMSDFmidshipmen. We spent all of our timewith them. We traveled to Yokohama,Yokosuka, Kamakura, Kanagawa, Hi-roshima and Tokyo. Kamakura was myfavoritethe temple we went to wasbreathtaking. It contains a huge goldenstatue of Buddha, along with thousandsof beautiful hydrangeas.

Along with the tourist sites, we spenttime at Etajima, the Japanese Naval

Academy. A warning bell sounded at0555, and reveille played at 0600. At

0600 the Japanese midshipmen alljumped out of bed, made their bedperfectly, dressed and raced into thehallway for 20 minutes of exercise.Exercises included stretching, voicetraining, push-ups and squats. Luckily,they woke the American MIDN at0540 so we wouldnt have to worryabout keeping up! Boat races are an-

other interesting drill. At any point dur-ing the day, a bell would sound and the

Japanese midshipmen raced into theirroom to change into PT Gear, then raceto the boats lining the waterfront at Eta-jima. The first team to change and sailtheir boat to the opposite island andback would win. We asked about theconsequences for those who didntcome in first and they just laughed it offand said we were better off not know-ing.

After about 10 days with the Japanesemidshipmen, we parted ways and the 20

American midshipmen embarked on theUSS Lassen. We spent five days under-way. During that time we got to witnesslots of flight operations, ammo transferand man-overboard drills during bothnight and day. We all got to drive theship, have the conn, shoot the 50-caland M-240G . We got to witness theCIWS, five inch gun and 25mm all beingshot as well. The last night we were onboard we had a steel beach picnic thefood was delicious and it was a lot of fun

to see the ships crew in such a relaxedhappy setting.

My experience in Japan was remarkable.Japanese people, both in and out of theJMSDF are supremely polite and re-spectful. The JMSDF has a great respectfor the American Navy and value ouralliance greatly. We were lucky enoughto meet former Commander SeventhFleet Vice Admiral Van Buskirk and theChief of Maritime Staff of JMSDF, Ad-miral Natsukawa; both of them stressedthe importance of an alliance withAmerica.

Going on the JMSDF FOREX cruise wasa memorable experience. Midshipmenin our unit would greatly benefit fromsuch an experience.

Midn experience cruise and culture with forex

By MIDN 1/C Giuffre

MIDN Giuffre and MIDN Schucksoak up Japanese culture


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PAGE 8 Bearings

Never in my wildest dreams, and even farther pastmy fantasies would I have believed I would be partici-pating in an organization as strong as one ran by theUnited States Navy when I was a kid. I remember infourth grade going to the Naval Academy for the firsttime with one of my friends, Ryan, on a school fieldtrip. We had a blast, but I never thought I would oneday be part of something as awesome as the UnitedStates Navy.

A few weeks back I ran into Ryan here at UMD, whereI now attend. After not talking to him for years Iasked, Would you have ever thought when we wereyounger, causing hell in the neighborhood that wedboth be going to the same college together? He replied,

I never even thought about college. And thats howmy life has been moving. Ive worked hard, lookingforward toward some unknown goal, toward somethinggreater than myself, and hoping it will all work out.

It wasnt until my junior year of high school when Iknew the military was right for me. I can almost per-fectly recapture the moment; I was taking a hike on awarm autumn day when I stopped and began reflectingon the message my pastor was trying to get across frommorning mass. Pastor Joe was telling the congregationhow we should take advantage of this life withoutworry, and make sure that when we leave, we leave

without regrets. I knew passing up the opportunity ofjoining the Navy would haunt me, so I took advantageof the opportunity in stride and from that point havetried to make the best of what Ive been given.

WHAT MIDN MEANSTOME

Its been three years since that point, and Ive never lostsight of my goals. Even after being rejected from the Naval

Academy and taking some time off from schoolto travel and unwind, the moment I returned home Istarted my applications. As Im sure everyone knows, partof the application was to have an interview with an officerand on my way down to meet her, I got into a car acci-dent, with who else than my sixth grade world culturesteacher. I thought to myself, If I get rejected now thiscould be potentially the worst day of my life I made it tomy interview with a beat up truck and amazingly, it wentflawlessly. Looking back on that day when I received theemail from LT Nelis with his congratulations about beingaccepted into the program, it didnt look too glum.

As this summer set in and the days were counting down toorientation, my nerves started to get on edge. I went toorientation completely unsure of what to expect. Boy, wasthat a mistake. When the Senior Instructors leaped up dur-ing the three-hour bus ride telling us to shut ourmouths, my first thought was, What did I get myself into?As the week progressed and the upcoming 4/C began towork more as a team, I saw what the upperclassmen weretrying to instill in us. I came out of orientation with a senseof accomplishment and more determination towards mygoal to commission as an officer more than ever. Im ex-tremely pleased with where I am, regardless of the stress,

lack of sleep and hard work. I wouldnt want it any otherway.

By MIDN 4/C Piccinini

NAVALNURSECORPSBy MIDN 4/C Peters

Navy Nursing is the opportunity of alifetime. Its a great outlet to improveas a person mentally, physically and

spiritually. Navy nursing is more thanglobal civilian nursing in that we servethe military and their families aroundthe world. One great opportunity tolook forward to as a 4/C nurse optionis to work closely with Navy physi-cians, which is a privilege of its own.Some great benefits of Navy nursingare that we share a common missionwith fellow colleagues, have a chance

to help change and shape the NavyHealthcare Policy, help lead HospitalCorpsman and get to take sought-out

specialties, such as nurse anesthetistsand nurse practitioners.

Before being commissioned as a Navynurse, there are many rigorous coursesand requirements that must be met.From freshmen to senior year, we musttake multiple time-consuming classessuch as anatomy and physiology, wherewe learn all 206 of the bones in the hu-man body, some of the 640 muscles, all

12 complex body systems and muchmore. In microbiology, we learn aboutmicroscopic organisms that cause infec-

tions. Pharmacology teaches us thenames, effects and problems of medi-cines and antibiotics. Although thesecourses are not exclusive to the nursingcurriculum, we are required to receiveour BSN in Nursing as well.

Navy nurses work with ad-vanced technology, work at the bestmilitary healthcare facilities around theworld and learn a true meaning of team-


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FALL 2011 PAGE 9

work. Some specific nursing duties are checking vitalsigns, assessing patients, treating injuries and wounds,and helping lift the spirits of our patients. Nursing is ajob with many benefits where one can see miracleshappen. However, nursing is also job that can not be

taken lightly because it is a necessity to a successfulNavy. Navy nurses receive a top education supportedby the Navy. The experience is life-changing and un-forgettable. Overall, the job is fulfilling for both nurseand patient taking into consideration the duties, re-sponsibilities, and general goals the occupation main-tains and the promise to help the injured, wounded,sick or elderly.

One might ask, aside from drill, what kind of events getsmidshipmen out of bed before sunrise? On the October22nd, that was the Run For Your Lives 5K held near Balti-more, Maryland. For most volunteers, the day beganaround 0400 with abrisk walk to the ward-room, followed by aweary drive north.

Upon arrival, volunteerswere woken up by dutydrivers valiantly tryingto steer the vans out ofthree-inch deep mud.

The volunteerstook their places acrossthe run route and as-sumed the persona ofNational Guardsmenleading survivor run-

ners of a zombie apoca-lypse to safety. Thenext ten hours werespent officiating courseobstacles such as rope ladders, a pond crossing, and otherbarriers between safety and the zombie horde. Around eachcorner and over every hill there was a mob of zombie volun-teers dressed as nuns, bride and groom, and every otherconceivable costume. Working together, volunteers andzombies made the race exhilarating but difficult for over10,000 runners.

UNITEARNS $1000 ATZOMBIE 5K

As the day came to a close, reactions among volun-teers were mixed. The cold combined with long hours took atoll on many, while others were thrilled by the opportunitytake part in a unique event like this. However, most will agree

that besides the club credits, one ofthe best parts of the day was accessto unlimited free food. However, as

the event came to a close at 1800,the volunteers still had more workto do.

While waiting to leave, MIDN re-ceived word that a duty van wascaught in the mud, and no onewould head home until it had beenfreed. After helping to push anothertrapped vehicle, a dozen strappingmale midshipmen took positionsbehind the duty van, rocked it out ofthe mud, and pushed it nearly a

quarter mile to the road.

Finally heading home after a sixteen-hour day, the convoy of duty vans

returned to Howard, Georgetown, and George Washington todrop off the thirty exhausted midshipmen. Despite the gruel-ing day, participating was well worth it, earning a $1000 dona-tion to the unit for upcoming activities and making the firstever Zombie 5K a truly thrilling event for all who attended.

By MIDN 3/C Allis

MIDN 2/C Funkpractices her blood drawing skills during summer cruise

4/C MIDN Boliakis, Braker, and James demonstrate how tolive in harmony with zombie attackers

bearings - fall 2011

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