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MC 'A' school: New and improved!

The Defense Information School just rolled out its updated training program. Watch this video for a great overview of what to expect as an MC student.

PCS Move to Japan

Somewhere south of Japan. (May 2017) - Photo by MC2 Nathan Burke

Goodbye everyone, it's been fun! I leave the United States in a few days, headed for USS Ronald Reagan, ported in Yokosuka, Japan. It's a lot of work to get ready to PCS (Permanent Change of Station) move to a new country and I wanted to share some tips for anyone who comes after me.

* Things change all the time, so don't take this guide for gospel!

* I post way more often to I Am Your Eyes on Facebook, so get there.

If you don't feel like reading, I did a quick video showing what packing for this was like.

https://www.facebook.com/122199361139641/videos/2102478163111741/

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Permanent Change of Station is a fancy phrase for moving to a new command. 

So far I've PCSed from the Nimitz to Syracuse University to Defense Media Activity, which are all commands in this country. Going to Japan ups the game just a little bit.

Here's some quick tips:

Start early.  I'm a single Sailor with no kids or pets and it took almost two weeks to get prepared to leave. Those with families will want to start a month or two early. 

Read all the paperwork. The Navy will send you lots of good gouge to read, as should your next command. It will have important things like flight info and cultural details of the host country. 

• I posted detailed info about flying to Japan at the bottom of the page. Thanks to Reddit user TheBeneGesseritWitch!

• BE ANNOYING. If there's anything you don't understand, call people and ask! My itinerary had detailed info on my flight from Baltimore to Seattle, but very little about the plane from Seattle to Japan. I called four people before I found someone who could tell me what the check in process was like, the plane seating details, etc.

Understand the packing process. If you have large items, like furniture, you'll be assigned a Household Goods move. If you have small stuff, like me, you'll get an Unaccompanied Goods move. You could have both types! 

Breaking down the stationary bike and weight bench, hoping UG movers would take it.

My place came pre furnished so I only needed a UG move. I had a couple of larger items I wanted them to fit, but had to wait until the movers arrived to find out if they'd take them. No one on the phone would say for sure. (They ended up taking everything)

http://www.wetooktheroadlesstraveled.com/2014/08/tips-for-moving-with-the-military.html

This was the UG move items. I've been told three weeks to two months for this to arrive.

Sell Sell Sell.  Not everything should make the trip overseas. Many things are just easier to buy over there. For me, it was my Jeep, my water cooler, mountain bike, and a bunch of smaller stuff. Figure this out at the beginning so you can start selling or giving away. (I mostly gave away)

Why would I sell my bike? Because I don't want to wait for it to arrive in the UG shipment, so I'll just buy a new one.

The Navy has too many damn uniforms. Look at those sexy PO1 chevrons though.

Double check your uniforms (especially the blues or whites).  Depending on the time of year, you'll be expected to arrive to your new command in dress blues or whites. Make sure they look good, have the proper rank (did you get promoted) and still fit (did you get fat).

Take off all pinned rank and ribbon items and store them in a plastic bag, to lessen the chance of them getting torn off when some baggage handler tosses it.

Mama's vacuum bags made my uniform items super small.

Get magic bags.  They're called vacuum bags, and they decrease the amount of space your stuff takes up. Thanks to my mama for suggesting these and letting me use some of hers!

This is my checked and carry on stuff. I bought a blue suitcase so it'd be easier to spot at baggage claim. Every small electronic item I own is in here.

Carry on items, so all this is going in the backpack. Make sure you have:

• your printed orders
• your passport
• a bag with sunflower, pistachio, and pumpkin seeds

Make sure checked and carry on stuff is separate from your HH or UG move items, because the movers will take everything they see. I put all this stuff in a separate room and told them everything in there was staying. Simple.

My PC obviously couldn't go in checked luggage. I was told it was a bad idea to ship it with my high end graphics card still attached, as it could get easily damaged during a rough ride...

I didn't take this pic just to show everyone I own a Founder's Edition GTX 1080, the best graphics card on the planet.

...so I took it out and shipped it in its original packaging. I'm terrible at assembling, disassembling, or maintaining ANYTHING so this was a big win for me.

SURVIVAL TIP: Pack your electronics in their original boxes if you can, but DON'T SEAL THEM. The movers will want to copy serial numbers so they have a record on their end.

They put everything in huge boxes. Maurice and Lindsey were awesome. Thanks again guys!

Treat the movers right.  These guys are working their asses off all day. Have some snacks and drinks ready for a UG move, and give them sandwiches or pizza for the bigger HH moves. Also, tip them. I gave them $40 each at the end and they were very appreciative. That was probably more than necessary, but they were cool. (we laughed almost the whole time...good conversation)

It feels awkward to have strangers moving your stuff. I asked them if I could do anything to help and liked the response. He said "just hang out and talk to us." That's a great approach, because it's a non-creepy way to stay in the equation to make sure it goes smoothly.

I just hung out on the couch and played Stepbrothers real loud so everyone could enjoy it.

Learn the language (don't be lazy like me).  I need to get on this, because knowing some Japanese will make my 3-year tour more rewarding...and help me talk to women without accidentally saying something weird like "I enjoy tickling myself in the tub."

I just bought Hiragana Battle, an old school RPG game that teaches Japanese writing.  Might help.

Don't blow stuff up.  Be prepared for different voltage in another country. Depending on where you are, you might need adapters or even converters. This could be a post on all on its own, but check out this page for good info.

http://www.japanupdate.com/2015/02/japanese-versus-north-american-voltage-and-frequency/

Know the flight process. Going to Japan means a flight on the Patriot Express out of Seattle. It's part of the Air Mobility Command. (AMC) I'm still learning about all this, but here's a couple helpful links.

https://www.facebook.com/SeaTacAmcPassengerTerminal/ (VERY RESPONSIVE TO MESSAGES)

http://www.spacea.net/faq/patriot-express

SURVIVAL TIP: If arriving in Seattle from another flight, get your checked luggage from baggage claim. It doesn't fly straight through to Japan, so you'll need to recheck it when getting your AMC ticket.

Here's step-by-step instructions to get you through the Seattle Tacoma airport USO and flight check-in process. Individual experience will vary, especially since flight times change frequently. I'll be spending the night in the USO, so I won't follow this exactly.

Reddit user TheBeneGesseritWitch saw me fumbling around on there looking for PCS info and sent me some excellent info. I don't know this person, so taking the time to do this for me meant a lot.

"So I actually just walked my sponsee through this process:

1. Go to the USO on the second floor of SEATAC. Check in at the desk; the employees are really rude, but, whatever. They also have a storage unit there where you can check in your seabag/luggage. I checked in at like, 1200 the day prior; I have family in the SEATAC area so I promptly went over to my sister in laws and chilled. But the USO is a great place to hang out if you don't want to explore Seattle....go get some starbucks, the original is out there.
2. Chill out until roll call, which is like, at 0300 (it'll say on your orders)
3. Go back to the USO about a half hour early to get your luggage, and the directions to whichever gate they're going to issue you tickets from.
4. Go get your tickets. This is a long-ass line; have a copy of your orders handy. And don't freak out, if you're on orders, you will have a seat on the plane. If you're on leave or a retiree, you might be SOL, but yeah, you'll be okay.
5. Take your tickets and boarding pass over to the military baggage turn-in area--this is near the luggage check in where people are dropping off their pets and oversized luggage. Turn in your luggage.
6. Go through security.
7. It's probably about 0700 around now. Grab breakfast and snacks for the plane (they will feed you on the plane, but snacks are always good.)
8. Find your gate. Chill out, you've got another two hours (ish).
9. Get on the plane, put on your headphones and eyemask and sleep the entire flight because it'll help you with jetlag. Seriously, the time difference will jack you up when you arrive.
10. Land in Yokota, have your passport and orders ready; they're gonna give you an abbreviated 7th Fleet Liberty Policy Brief, and try to usher you onto a shuttle to/from Yokota to whichever other base you're really going to--if you're flying further (usually to Korea) you stay on the plane for this ~3 hour layover.

Google "Patriot Express" and there are some youtube videos where you can see the inside of the plane. It's a "normal" civilian plane, 767, it's just run and staffed by military. That being said, I've done MAC flights in the back of an A-10 Warthog, so I mean, my first thought was "oh shit, the Navy's gonna fly me 12 hours in a fucking cargo transport plane," but this is nothing like that.

Oh, and my sponsee said her flight didn't have USB connections so maybe grab a battery pack for the flight, but mine did, so, YMMV."

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I read that last part about a battery pack, slapped my forehead, and went to Best Buy and got a smartphone/tablet recharger. Thank you! (And thanks to my mama for helping me research those things.)

I'll add more to this post as I learn about the process. Expect photos of the sleeping area in the SEA-TAC airport USO and of the Patriot Express plane. Wish me luck! 

Promotion Day

He's standing at 12 o'clock, wearing the tan shirt, just left of the chief in dress whites.

Congratulations to MC2 Eric Brann, who just graduated from MC3! He took the test

...a lot...so he's excited to finally make it. Now start studying for MC1! jk he has to spend 3 years at this rank before being eligible for E6.

Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device

From boot camp to DMA

Here's a rare case: Seaman Recruit Victoria Reynolds went straight from boot camp to working here. It's a place you might end up while waiting to class up!

Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device

MC Choice Awards

I'm hanging out with the latest batch of MC students, while they show off their video products. It's called the MC Choice Awards, and the students vote on the best spot video. 

A spot is basically a public service announcement. The topics range from good hygiene to sexual assault prevention to proper nutrition.

The instructors invited DoD News to give feedback to the directors-in-training. We had a lot of fun, thank you for having us. We saw some great products!

Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device

MC Perspective: Student Life

That's Seaman Morgan Nall lying on the ice. She's a DINFOS student and took time from her busy class schedule to drop off a few pics of student life!

I AM YOUR EYES: How's life as a Navy MC student?

NALL: It's good. I passed features and am now in photo. I'm really excited about the stuff we're learning now. Getting more into layout design and publication. Only four months until graduation!

Here are some photos of the wing eating contest we had at the detachment the other weekend.

The Coalition of Sailors Against Destructive Decisions (CSADD) is run by the students for the students and organizes drug/alcohol free events for Sailors to enjoy when they aren't in the classroom.

Here's another one where you can spot a photo student in the background. 😉

I'm in "think tank" club. We drink tea and eat biscotti cookies and talk about philosophical topics.

Yeah, we're old souls.

Seaman Taylor King and Seaman Recruit John Bigbie enjoy a highly competitive, heated game of Risk...

[This] picture is from the suicide awareness walk "illuminating the darkness" it was an all night walk-athon back in September. Seaman Previc made it to sunrise I believe.

I AM YOUR EYES: Thanks again, keep up the great work!

Motion Media

Photo by MCSR Julie Vujevich

MCSN Kaitlyn Eads graduated DINFOS in November, and took time to explain what to expect during the video section.

EADS: We were at Harper's Ferry Adventure Center for a video project for the video part of BMCSC. (Basic Mass Communication Specialist Course) We had to get footage of the center itself and do interviews with the employees. Each group chose their own direction with their interviews and each individual put together their own video based on all of their footage.

I AM YOUR EYES: What was the most challenging part?

Hmmm I suppose it would be putting the actual video together. We were in groups of five or six and all of us had to shoot b roll and so when we were each putting together a video, we had to go thru all of that footage and pick which parts of the interviews we wanted. So essentially, deciding the direction of our individual videos and putting the hours of footage together in a roughly 2 minute video

Thanks for stopping by!

The inner circle

My recent promotion to first class means access to hidden rooms with important people. This is the weekly chiefs meeting, also attended by my fellow E-6s. The senior first classes sit with the chiefs while new ones like me sit on the side of the room and pray they don't get called on.

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Farewell Flag

One of our graphic artists, MC2 Tim Haake, is separating from the Navy. We're flying a flag over Defense Media Activity, and will give it to him during his farewell lunch tomorrow. Pretty cool tradition huh?

ET2 Brandon Goodwin and crew are the honor guard. Thanks shipmates!

Photo by MC2 Andrew Gordon 

Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device

I got promoted!

It took a few years, but I finally made E-6, petty officer 1st class. My family was there for the pinning ceremony, and my boss Chief Larry Baruwa and my dad Glenn Slaughter pinned the new rank on. 

From left, Aunt Ruth, Uncle Gilbert, mama Lois, Dad, stepmom Kathy. Great bunch!

Dad practicing before the ceremony. I'm trying to throw him off with a look.

Pretty much the entire building was there. All branches represented.

Don't drop the crows! There's 100 people watching.

Chief and Dadeo inspect their work. Good job!

Captain Norr is the top dog at DMA. He spoke at the ceremony told me to be ready to lead.

Uncle Gilbert is a Navy veteran. He's helping me upgrade the rank on my NSU jacket.

Next stop, chief petty officer!

Graduation Day

Class 050-16, our newest batch of MCs, is about to graduate. They've been here for about six months but the pain is almost over. 

These young squidlets have been hard at work, producing print and broadcast news and features stories, recorded still and video photography, and created graphic designs, all using the Adobe software suite.

I'll see you in the fleet! (Your grad video kicked ass, by the way.)

Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device

Sea Trials

The final test for MC students is sea trials, a 4-day event simulating life on a ship. They're hit with a nonstop barrage of jobs, designed to keep them  on their toes.

Seaman Janine Jones is required to produce a feature story in a very short period of time. MC2 Gordon and I are being interviewed about life as a secdef videographer 

Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device

Group shot!

Class 050-16 is doing their end-of-year group shot. It's all done without any help from the instructors. This can feel like herding cats. Seriously though, taking a group shot is an important skill to have out in the fleet. You WILL be asked to shoot large groups of VIP visitors and entire departments.

The number one thing to remember is that you, the photographer, are in control. Don't be afraid to give the group orders, no matter what rank they are. Be polite, but firm.

It may feel awkward to shout commands, but if you don't, you could end up with a crappy photograph with no chance for a do over.

Looking good MCs!

Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device

MC Perspective: Photo stories

Photo story by Seaman Janine Jones.

Students at the Defense Information School who make it to photo class usually rejoice, because they SURVIVED WRITING!!! News and feature writing give problems to the most people, but photo can be scary for some, and not for the reason you'd expect.

APPROACH ANXIETY: The fear of speaking to strangers. In order to complete these assigned photo stories, students must find live human subjects to shoot. Typically they're dropped off in Annapolis, DC or Baltimore, and have one day to complete the assignment.

This is terrifying for introverts.

Seaman Recruit Janine Jones is definitely not an introvert. She took the time to send in some field footage of the students working, along with the finished product.

Seaman Recruit Perla Peters at El Toro Bravo. Photo by SN Janine Jones.

JONES: The first attempt by Peters was at an ice cream place that had their freezers break causing the ice cream to melt, so they weren't going to be open that day. Thankfully the owner also owned a lobster roll place that she was able to shoot at.

Peters gets caption info at El Toro Bravo. Photo by SN Janine Jones.

It's not enough to take photos of people from afar. Students need to speak with them to get crucial background information. This info is placed in the photo story, so the audience understands what they're looking at.

It's important to go back to the client and give them a copy of the photo story. Many students don't do this, and it makes it harder for future photographers to do stories on the business.

JONES: A lot of the businesses we approached had bad experiences previously with other classes shooting there.

Seaman Kevin Leitner at Kilwin's in Annapolis. Photo by SN Janine Jones.

JONES: We are required to have ten different images that tell a story to create a layout with two short paragraphs.

Seaman Kevin Leitner at Kilwin's in Annapolis. Photo by SN Janine Jones.

I AM YOUR EYES: The trick is to capture the subject in his or her natural environment, without getting in the way.

SR Kyle Moore putting in work at Capital Teas in Annapolis. Photo by SN Janine Jones. 

A good smile can go a long way to winning over nervous subjects.

SR Kyle Moore's photo story

SN Kevin Leitner's photo story


Great job everyone and thanks to SN Jones for the information!

Us versus the camera

We're all learning the beast of a camera called F800. The manual for this thing is 250 pages. So far, the camera is winning.

I'm posting more often at the I Am Your Eyes Facebook page right now, so stop by!

Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device

Riding in style

I'm the videographer for the Secretary of Defense as he visits US troops this week. Lots of plane and helo rides and lots of pressure. Wish me luck! 

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Memorial Day: An MC remembers Chief Ryan Bell

Rendering honors at the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor.

Yesterday my buddy MC2 Alex Tidd contacted me and asked if I'd run a story he wrote for Memorial Day. If you remember, Tidd was the guy who wrote that great post about his time in Japan, providing humanitarian assistance after the reactor meltdown. He has a very personal experience to share about the loss of one of our own.


The Importance of Memorial Day
by Alexander Tidd, Public Affairs Intern

            I remember my first time seeing the USS Arizona Memorial, a stark white but simple edifice perched on the sparkling cerulean waters of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It was oddly beautiful, in its tragic way. Fellow Sailors in their equally brilliant dress whites lined the flight deck of my aircraft carrier as we ceremoniously rendered honors to the sunken mausoleum. We did so because, as is often the case in life, there is much more to the USS Arizona Memorial than what appears on the surface.

Rendering honors at the USS Arizona Memorial.

            Beneath the memorial is the USS Arizona itself, the battleship famously caught on film as its superstructure exploded in flames and was torn asunder, the victim of a direct hit to its massive ammunition stores. Nearly 1,200 of the 1,500-man crew were killed by the explosion or trapped within in the steel confines as it sank, taking just 12 minutes to disappear forever. The majority of their bodies remain there, buried at sea in the remains of the ship they called home.

I did my best to capture this somber moment in photos, 

juxtaposing the naval present with its past.

            It is with a heavy heart I write this, feeling deep emotions despite the generations between me and those brother Sailors lost that day. The Navy values its own to its core and they are forever honored and remembered whenever a vessel comes to port in Pearl. As my fellow crew members of USS Ronald Reagan saluted Arizona in solidarity, I did my best to capture this somber moment in photos, juxtaposing the naval present with its past. I’ve included some of my photos with this story in the hope that they help with understanding Memorial Day.

It was barely four months into my naval career when Memorial

Day would first become a personal event for me.

            Word was spread around the Navy barracks that Chief Petty Officer Ryan Bell, my instructor at DINFOS (better known as the Defense Information School in Fort Meade, Md.), had been hospitalized for a massive heart attack. Little did we know at the time that we were experiencing a real-life application of a lesson we’d only recently been taught in our training—when a servicemember passes away, they are only publicly identified 24 hours after notification of next of kin. 

So it wasn’t until the next day that we found out Chief Bell was dead at just 33 years old.

            
             Getting to know Chief Bell had been a profound experience for me during my first few weeks of training at DINFOS. I reported there immediately after two months of intensive training at Navy boot camp, where recruits are taught to fear as much as respect anyone wearing a khaki uniform, the common attire of chiefs and officers. But getting to know Chief Bell taught me that chiefs were people too, people who were here to nurture our growth into productive Sailors of a very proud U.S. Navy. 

Memorial display at the Defense Information School.

          Chief Bell was a muscular and youthful black man who stood tall. He was quick to show off his bright smile and had a way of making ever interaction personal. He wanted to know how we were doing, what we were doing and how he could help. Because most of all, he was a teacher. He taught us to become masters of public affairs, or as he liked to put it, “the storytellers of the Navy.” He felt he had the best job in the Navy and wanted to make sure we all felt exactly the same way.

           
           I was also very fortunate to know Chief Bell on a personal level. He was a big baseball fan and an even bigger fan of Barry Bonds, who I’d grown up watching smash home runs into the bleachers of Candlestick and AT&T Park. Needless to say, we had a lot to talk about.

Chief Bell was also one of the most generous people I’ve met. 

          One time, when he was serving overnight duty as our barracks babysitter, I walked by his office and saw him chowing down on a Whopper from Burger King. I jokingly asked why he hadn’t gotten me a burger too. Immediately, despite still chewing on his last bite, he thrust the burger toward me, sincerely offering to share his dinner. It might be easy to write that off as a joke but with Chief Bell, it was a genuine gesture.

A light moment with Bell during a training exercise.

 I got to know him best on the first Friday night of our holiday stand-down that winter. Most of my classmates caught flights home immediately, but I decided to save a little money and fly back to San Francisco the next day. Consequently, Chief Bell and I were pretty much the only people in the Navy barracks that night. We chatted in the duty officer’s workspace with a ballgame on in the background, sharing experiences and learning from each other. 

He didn't care that I was a seaman recruit, the lowest rank in the Navy. To Chief Bell, we were equals who both had something meaningful to contribute.

That was the last time I would see him alive. I flew home Saturday morning and wouldn't return to Maryland for two weeks. It wasn't long before word got out and I, along with other concerned Sailors, asked if we could go visit Chief Bell in the hospital. We found out the next day why our request was impossible.

After the news had sunk in, I realized I had something to offer my fellow Sailors. I went to the command master chief and told him that I was a trumpet player and would like to play Taps at Chief Bell's memorial service, if they would have them. It turned out to be one of the better decisions I've made, because if I hadn't been able to do so, they would have used a recording on a CD.

I was 21 years old when they struck the bells for Chief that day. As the final strike resonated throughout the room, I lifted my trumpet to my lips and let out the most important notes I'll ever play. The first note warbled as tears ran down my cheeks, but I found my confidence in thinking of Chief Bell and the rest came out as strong as he was. I did my duty as best I could for my fallen friend.

MC3 Alex Tidd

In my five years in the Navy, I had to play Taps for four more Sailors taken before their time. I also played for services remembering the battle of Midway, at burials-at-sea and, of course, on Memorial Day. What I want to be clear is that Memorial Day isn’t about me, it isn’t about you, it isn’t about anyone who can read this account. It’s about those Sailors trapped beneath the waters at Pearl Harbor, it’s about the Marines who died charging Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima, it’s about the Soldiers who didn’t come home from Iraq. 

It’s about Chief Petty Officer Ryan K. Bell, USN.  Memorial Day is something we carry with us because they can’t. 

Chief Ryan Bell

.