Holy smokes, he’s back!  Yes, after being cut off from the real world for two months, I am finally finished with boot camp and starting my sophomore year at MMA.  I’ve been back at Mass Maritime for two days now, having arrived at school yesterday morning.  Already I’ve noticed differences in daily life between being a fourth class and being a third class.

First off, the most obvious differences:  We no longer have cleaning stations and study hours.  I no longer have to check the cleaning bill to see if I have to be up at 0545 to sweep the decks or scrub toilets, and do it again that night.  I don’t have to keep my door open for two hours each night pretending to get work done while people file in and out of my room, keeping me from being able to focus.  As third class cadets, we pretty much keep to ourselves, and are left alone most of the time, which I like.

We also have fewer inspections, and the ones we do have are at more convenient times.  We only have three inspections a week (instead of six as freshmen), and they’re all on weekday mornings (instead of having one on Sunday night).  As a result, I get to sleep in a little later on mornings that I don’t have inspection.

Unfortunately, my academic work load has increased somewhat.  Mainly, I’ve noticed that I have a lot more reading to do than I did last year.  While I don’t particularly mind reading itself, I have a nasty habit of falling asleep when I am reading from a book for more than about 15 pages, so I’ll have to find a way to overcome that.

I’ve been enjoying watching this year’s fourth class cadets around campus, watching them do the things that we had to do - running any time they’re outside, squaring corners when they’re in the dorms, etc.  I’ve also been greeted as “sir” by at least a dozen fourth class in the past two days, even though I’m only a third class, so I’ve had to remind them that “blue-taggers” (my class has blue name tags) are not sir or ma’am, we’re not much different from them in fact.  I actually find it pretty funny.

This year we get liberty on Wednesdays, starting after our last class of the day until we have to sign in between 2300 and 0000.  While I’m really looking forward to having time to get off campus in the middle of the week, I’m not really sure what I’m going to do with the time, and foresee it providing a good opportunity to waste money.  Still, it’s an opportunity to take a break mid-week, so I’ll take it.

Not much else seems to be going on around here that’s worth reporting on, although tomorrow morning we have a meeting to vote on our ports of call for Sea Term 2009, so once I find out the final decision on those I’ll post it.

I’d imagine that one of the big questions that most prospective cadets and parents have, such as this parent, is what life in the dorms is like. In general, it’s similar to that of most other colleges: there are two people to a room, we share the heads, and we’re always in each other’s business.

However, we have unique aspects of dorm life, such as cleaning stations and inspections. Cleaning stations are only for freshmen, and are done in the morning at 0550 and at night at 1900. The assignments for cleaning stations rotate each week, so depending on the size of the company you may only be on the cleaning bill once every 3 weeks or so. There are different specific jobs assigned to each person, so that the entire company gets cleaned twice a day.

Interaction between males and females is also heavily regulated. Men and women are not permitted to be in a room with the door closed. There is also no fraternization permitted, meaning that upper and underclassmen can’t date each other. That’s not to say that it doesn’t happen; it’s simply not supposed to happen due to potential abuse of power issues as a result of the regimental structure.

Tonight’s events in 1st Company are a perfect example of what life in the dorms is like for freshmen. Due to a series of events related to poor cleanliness in the rooms and the company’s public spaces, 1st Co freshmen have morning and evening inspections every day this week (instead of just morning inspections). We also have all-hands cleaning stations from the end of evening inspections until study hours, which will be over an hour’s worth of cleaning.

The dorms are, for the most part, pretty quiet. Since we can’t throw parties, it keeps the noise level pretty low, except for during study hours (go figure) when everyone on deck has their hatches open and is talking and working together on homework. It’s helpful when it comes time to sleep though, since there isn’t a lot of disturbance to keep people awake.

One of the things I like most about living in the dorms is the view out my window. I can’t think of too many places where I could watch ships & barges going past, and have a 540′ ship docked a few hundred feet from my building.
(The new version of the blogging software I use is giving me trouble with posting images, so once I get that resolved I’ll put up some pictures of my view.)

On a side note: I may be at the Welcome Aboard event this Saturday, depending on whether or not I’m sailing this weekend. So, I might have the chance to meet some of the incoming freshmen for next year; I’ll keep you posted.

I’m sorry it’s been a week since my last post. I haven’t written anything due to a combination of being wicked busy, and not having much to write about (those two don’t really seem to go together, do they?). At any rate, I thought I’d post an update on some of the more interesting things going on with me, as well as around campus.

By now everyone has sorted out their schedule, and has gotten into their routine with classes and extracurriculars. Sailing has started for the spring semester, so we’re practicing in the afternoons, and will soon start competing.  Practice was canceled this past week on Wednesday and Thursday due to the weather, but next week we should be able to pick back up.

I’m working on getting an amateur radio club established at MMA.  As a ham radio operator, I’d like to find other cadets who are either operators already, or are interested in becoming licensed, to expand the hobby within the school.  Not only do I think it can be a lot of fun, but it also has practical application in the maritime industry, especially for deckies.  I’ll post more on that as we make progress in establishing the club.

Since Easter is on Sunday, we don’t have to be back at school until “mofo” (short for morning formation) Monday morning, which means we have no regimental inspections this week!  For somebody outside the school, this may not seem like a big deal, but it’s huge in the eyes of a freshman, since it means you can spend another night at home and not have to worry about being back in time to prepare for inspections.  It essentially adds on Sunday afternoon and night to your weekend.

I’ll check back in on Monday; right now I need to get back to laying low this weekend.

Inspections are a major part of the life of a fourth class cadet. Every morning at 0650, all fourth class cadets in the regiment stand room inspections, done by the squad leaders in each company. There are very specific requirements for your room to be inspection-ready, the state in which it is supposed to be kept not only for inspections but at all times. When a squad leader walks up to your room, he or she inspects both you and your room mate’s uniform. They then inspect your room, checking to make sure all horizontal surfaces have been dusted, your rack (bed) is tight, and that your inspection locker is proper. The inspection locker is the biggest part of the room inspection. Every item in the hanging part of the locker must be in the right order, and all hangers must be two finger widths apart. Everything must be properly ironed, and all buttons and zippers must be closed and fastened. There are certain items that must be placed in the right spot on the floor of the hanging area. The top drawer of the locker must contain specific items, each in a certain place and folded a certain way in the drawer. These inspections are done Monday-Thursday every week.

On Fridays we stand regimental sign-outs. At 0700 we stand in formation on the parade field by company, and each fourth class cadet’s uniform is inspected by a member of the regimental staff. In order to earn liberty for the weekend, you must pass these inspections. In the winter we are inspected in our regular long sleeve black uniform, but when we are wearing the short sleeve (summer) uniform, we are inspected in our “salt & peppers” which consist of the regular black pants and a more formal white shirt.

On Sunday nights, fourth class cadets stand regimental inspections. These are room inspections similar to the ones performed each morning, except that your room is inspected by a member of the regimental staff. These inspections serve two purposes: to ensure that all fourth class cadets are back at school after the weekend, and to ensure that our room is clean and orderly to be ready for the coming week.

The only inspection that all cadets in the regiment must stand is Admiral’s inspection. Each company stands Admiral’s twice each semester, coinciding with each company’s weekend watch (I’ll discuss this in a later post). The unique thing about Admiral’s is that even 1/C officers (including the regimental staff) must stand. All the same requirements for regular inspections apply to Admiral’s, but they are much more strict, and additional requirements are added as well. The deck (floor) must be waxed so that it is smooth and shiny, both in your room and in the company’s public areas such as the passageways (hallways). The heads (bathrooms) must be spotless, as well as the study lounges. Everything in your room has to be perfect, and your uniform must be pristine. Admiral’s are a huge deal, and people usually spend the entire week prior to them cleaning and preparing.

Inspections are the single largest aspect of a fourth class cadet’s regimental responsibilities. They are certainly the most time consuming, and while they are no fun, I can appreciate that they make sure my room is always clean!