Week 9: Bluenose

Hey Y'all! Hello from the Arctic Circle!

This week started out with a bang (and shiver!). On Sunday morning, the Mighty Warship NORMANDY crossed the Arctic Circle, making all of us "Bluenoses". The Blue Nose ceremony is similar to the Shellback Ceremony (crossing the equator)...it's a lot of fun and games and a big Naval Tradition. We received a warning in the Plan of the Day which told us to memorize the following, "Great old mighty and powerful Boreas Rex, Ruler of the North Wind and Sovereign of all the Frozen Reaches it touches, I come before you in your Arctic Realm and Royal Domain and request to be a true and trusted, ice and brine encrusted Bluenose." This morning, after we officially crossed the line, the Captain got on the 1MC (announcing system) to tell us all the news, and then "Boreus Rex" (also known as the Command Master Chief) was rung onboard (there were too many bells for me to count with that one!) and directed everyone to the foc'sle (the forward end of the ship) for the ceremony. Since there were so many of us, and not very many who were already Bluenoses (traditionally, those who have already crossed the line are in charge of the initiation of new Bluenoses), we had to go in shifts, with the Officers going first. We all ran in formation to the foc'sle and had to bow down to Davy Jones (one of the chiefs) and tell him why we'd entered his Arctic Realm. Then we got sprayed with frigid seawater! Then we had to run in formation to the other end of the ship and up to the flight deck, where we told more of Boreus Rex's court why we were there..and we were directed to crab- and duck-walk around the flight deck before jumping in the "pool" (a tarp on the flight deck) and "swim" while begging for Boreus Rex's favor in becoming a Bluenose. All the while we were being sprayed with cold saltwater from fire hoses! Finally, Boreus Rex himself called us, four at a time, to be baptized in the waters of the Arctic (huge coolers filled with blue dyed ice water) and recite our request to him. If we could do so successfully, without shivering too much, we could get out of the cold "baths" and get our noses painted blue! Finally, we were invited into Boreus Rex's court for blue cookies, donuts, and hot chocolates (and to stand in front of the heaters they put out for us)! After the entire crew was initiated, we all went back to the foc'sle to paint the Bullnose (at the very tip of the bow) blue. It will remain this way for quite a while, and should be blue still when we pull back in! Later during this cruise, I will go through a similar, but more rigorous ceremony when I become an Emerald Shellback (cross the equator at the prime meridian)! Those were the pictures that I sent out earlier this week....there might be some more, so be on the lookout!

On Monday, I began an inspection of my division called Pillars of Excellence (Division in the Spotlight, for the rest of the Navy). This inspection is so the Captain can get a good look at what is going on with my division. The first day, I gave a brief to the upper chain of command that explains who my people are, what their duties are within the division, what spaces I own on the ship, who is in charge of each space, and what manning requirements I will have through the next year (as people rotate on and off the ship). We look at all the requirements for my division and make sure that we are meeting each of those. Tuesday, the Captain inspected each of my spaces to ensure that they are clean and that I have all the equipment I am required to have. Each of my Sailors presented their assigned spaces to the Captain, which gives them a chance to talk to him one-on-one. On Wednesday, the Captain held what are called "spot checks" in my division where he inspects the maintenance procedures my guys are following. He does this to make sure we are conducting our daily maintenance in accordance with the Naval standards published for my equipment. Wednesday evening, the Captain also had two of my Sailors to have dinner with him in his cabin. This is a chance for them to talk to him about any concerns they might have and to talk about their future goals for the ship and for after they leave NORMANDY. Thursday was Admin review, where the admin department ensures they have all the most up to date contact and insurance info (among other things) for each of my Sailors. Finally, Friday was be the outbrief, where the Captain gave the results of the inspections and offer any further comments he has about ways to improve the division. He also gave my guys a chance to speak to him without me being there so they can ask him any more questions they might have about any subject they wish! All in all, the inspection went great. I am meeting all of my manning and equipment requirements, and my spaces were spick and span! Despite the fact that I wasn't able to be as involved as I'd like (due to my new Intel job), my guys didn't let me down and they made sure we all looked good to the chain of command! I am so proud of them! I also looked at some percentages, and 43% of my division has advanced to the next highest pay-grade in this advancement cycle!!!

On Thursday, we pulled in to Iceland! What a trip! We actually saw icebergs on the way up here...it was quite cold! Look out for pictures soon!

Anyway, that is it for this week, as I hit the two month mark... I'll tell you all about Iceland in next week's update!

~Kate