Helo Dunker

Underwater Disney World. Easily the most fun you can have while being drowned. That was my Friday.

When helicopters go down, the world becomes a mess for those inside. The aircraft quickly inverts, and it falls to the ocean floor with great haste. We can't change those facts, but we can prepare for them. Hence the training.

Through progressive steps, the swimmers prepared us for various exit procedures from helicopters. Operate these door handles, some don't work. Find a reference point. Use your hands (not your eyes) to guide yourself towards the exit. It's a great bit of fun, but scary too - knowing that so many have been through this training and needed to use it.

It culminated in the full-on dunker. They have a simulated helicopter on a cable. Six of us climbed in, strapped in. Then, they made the water more than a distant friend. Within seconds, we were upside-down, under water, in relative darkness. Let those straps go. Hand over hand, and exit that sucker. Live to fight another day.

I enjoyed it lots, and the thing definitely made me more comfortable with helicopters. Still not my first pick, but they have some perks.

No Air, No Air...

Hypoxia is a funny thing. It creeps onto the scene, makes you giddy, and turns a friendly game of patty cake into a violent competition. As soon as the air returns, the tingling disappears. So it was a few days ago, when the Navy deliberately deprived me of oxygen. They train us to recognize the signs of the dangerous condition, responsible for several Navy accidents and the death of Payne Stewart and friends in an aircraft that slowly leaked oxygen until all crew and passengers went unconscious. It's a debilitating kind of thing, and good for us to understand.

They took us up to 25,000 feet in altitude (simulated), where the air is rare. We removed our oxygen masks, and tried to do simple tasks: patty cake, counting cards, naming colors on a color wheel. After a few minutes, these things became all-consuming, and some folks couldn't follow instructions. A few blacked out, missing about 30 seconds of the time when they were most hypoxic. Me, I became a combat patty-caker.

After a huge build-up in my mind over the days leading up to the event, it went by easily. Another day when I think..."I'm getting paid for this?"

Drownproofing

Now that the academics are done, they'll find some interesting ways to tax my body - jumping from helicopters, altitude chambers, and drownproofing!

Enid

After having scouted the websites of the city, I'm starting to relax a little more about Enid. Sure, it doesn't have the beach-related fun of Pensacola. It does boast several golf courses, fitness centers, and hopefully a few decent restaurants. What more could a guy really need??

Almost There!

In just three months, I have nearly completed my time here in Pensacola. API - three weeks from the end. Academics end this week. So far, no speed bumps: tests have gone well, swimming went...swimmingly, and I rocked the running portions. It's been a lot of work - studying more than I'd like, and less fun than one might desire. However, I feel some real accomplishment. The things I'm learning make this whole Navy thing pretty real.

I haven't started looking at places out in Oklahoma yet. But I hope to do that soon. My computer is back from the dead, so I can begin to do that kind of thing.

It'll be sad to leave here. Though I expected to be largely hermetic down here, I have found some great folks in the Navy. Supportive friends, all going through the same things. Even made nice with some Michigan folks - seems like college football's a good bonding point. The most sour part of my move will be leaving these people and starting over with Air Force pilots out in Oklahoma.

Serves me right for being Curly in Oklahoma.

I've been through the state once or twice. Really liked Oklahoma City - saw the bombing memorial, too. I hope I like Enid. It's a few hours from major cities, and the town itself looks pretty small. Scary, at times, but God hasn't misdirected me yet. We'll see about this south Midwestern town.