Hey, what's up?

[Dracon II]

Not much is up... just marching onward with Uni, working for a shadow cabinet minister... listening to the new NIN album... watching lots of family guy and futurama... you?

[Tingkai]

I got a new job about two months ago. Copy editor for a major newspaper. I've been in the newspaper business for about 12 years, always working for small or medium-sized publications and at times I was ready to change careers so getting this job is pretty cool.

[MrFun]

What's up?

I'm trying to teach Provost proper spelling.

[Urban Ranger]

Okay I guess, but I am starting to look for a job with more development work.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Oh, the usual. Brooding anger interspersed with random bouts of frothing lunacy and botched DIY projects.

[Starchild]

I've got my Biochemistry exam in half an hour and my Genetics with Molecular Biology one on friday. But once that's done, it's two weeks until my Organic Chemistry exam so I'm going out and getting ratted this weekend.

[Lonestar]

Re: Hey, what's up?

Originally posted by chegitz guevara


So what's up with you?

Well, not Much, let's see...

Most of the time we've been floating around the Northern Arabian Sea or the Gulf of Oman, taking part in Maritime interdiction efforts. Most of the guys were "simple fishermen" with Iridium phones and empty fishing holds. One guy's Dhow was completely tricked out though, with Ghetto Blasters the size of volkswagens.

Well, we happened upon a dhow (If by "Happened upon" we mean "looked for it") that was smuggling three tons of Hashish in it's freshwater tanks. One of the "simple fishermen" turned out to be the brother of a promienent Iraqi insurgent. Basically, we took the drugs, took the guys prisioner (stuck 'em on the Forecastle) and proceeded to sink the dhow. Mostly just by hammering away with .50s, M60s, and 25mms. We were pretty bored that day. Finally we sank it using the deck guns, turned them over the "The authorities" (The Pakistanis) and wandered around a bit some more.

Visited Jebel Ali (Dubai). Dubai is much better than Bahrain, in that the Emiratis are trying to diversify their economy and are really more concerned about all that disposeble income American Sailors have than making political statements.

A ****** in my division disappered the first day of liberty there, he was an E3 and apperently was (1) out after midnight, and (2) in a hotel that's "off-limits". Basically liberty got suspended for the ship while our division spend a fun-filled day wandering the frickin' Bokhara Market in shady hotels asking shady people if they've seen this fine young man.

He turned up at the Mall's food court, turns out he just didn't feel like returning to the ship.

Then we wandered around the NAS some more, visited Muscat, spent a whopping two days there before we were ordered out by 5th fleet.

Some Somali Pirates had taken over a large LNG tanker and were holding it for ransom, us, two DDGs, and the BonHomme Richard (LHD-think of it as a mini aircraft carrier that carries a thousand or so Marines)went rushing south withing two miles of the Mogadishu coastline. It came out our Boarding team (VBSS), an EOD team, and some marines were going to do the boarding while my ship and the two Destroyers were going to shell the Hell out of the Pirate camps along the coast.

Basically the Pirates woke up one day and saw 3 BGBs and one really BGB withing a mile or so of the ship. The owners of the ship decided to pay the ransom instead of having us wreck shop. Kinda sucks it turned out that way, because I (me and my immediate coworkers) were tasked with jamming their radio comms. We chose the theme song for the Sopranos.

So we left 5th fleet, and am now on my way to a town in Australia that is the location of a promienent CN cartoon.


How are ya's?

[Provost Harrison]

No stories of buggery in amongst that naval tale?

[Pekka]

thanks for asking!

Well, school is going OK, I'm a bit tired because I took a big workload for this semester and it seems to be too much for me. At first I was able to handle it, but now, with the last days and last exams I seem to have lost the motivation and energy. But I'll manage this. So pretty good.. I'm half way getting my masters in science now so I feel good about that. 2 more years and I'm done. I've been thinking the opportunity of going for the PhD but I'm still thinking. Maybe I should, but that means studying about 3 to 4 more years on top of graduating, so that's kind of much.

I have a job, I'm a trainee (though just a seasonal one) with a big fortune100 company, I'm not making much money but considering the budget I've lived with the last 2 years, this is huge for me. I can actually do some purchases now that I wanted to do for a long time, get things and stuff, clothes and a new computah! And eat well! Hopefully save enough to get by as long as possible with the next semester in.. fall.

What else.. summer is still kind of holding back on us pagan finns, few weeks ago it actually snowed, yesterday rained and now it's very cloudy. Doesn't promise a good summer for us this year

What else. I think that's the most importat ones that concerns me.

and I still hate commies.

[Lonestar]

Originally posted by Provost Harrison
No stories of buggery in amongst that naval tale?

Yes, USCENTCOM did bugger us long and hard with very little port time, whilst the rest of our Strike group was hitting Seychelles, Dubai, Seychelles, Muscat, Seychelles, Bahrain....we hit Bahrain, Dubai, and Muscat. Not fun.

Then all of them were "working ports" vice liberty ports.



AND NO ONE CARES ABOUT FINLAND PEKKA!!!!!

[Spiffor]

BTW Lonestar, do you get to really see the locals in port, or do you mostly stay in US navy facilities?

[Pekka]

lonestar, so? who cares? You seem to care enough to make that statement, which makes you a loser by the way and a commie lover.

[Lonestar]

Originally posted by Spiffor
BTW Lonestar, do you get to really see the locals in port, or do you mostly stay in US navy facilities?

Except for Hawai'i (which doesn't count) and Bahrain, we were inport at commercial facilities....and were more or less allowed free reign of the cities, except one or two places that were off-limits.

The Milius (destroyer in our Group) stayed at a French base in Diboutji (sic), IIRC.

[Lonestar]

Originally posted by Pekka
lonestar, so? who cares? You seem to care enough to make that statement, which makes you a loser by the way and a commie lover.

Don't you got some reindeer to herd?

[Pekka]

Yes I do. Don't you have seamen to fondle?