thedrifter
02-13-08, 01:14 PM
Marines discover crowds help pass all that downtime
By Cindy Fisher, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, February 14, 2008
Related article: When 1,000 Marines move onto USS Essex, ‘it’s three times the work and twice the mouths to feed'
Servicemembers find it’s easy to get sick round the USS Essex
ABOARD THE USS ESSEX — One Marine with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit who is on his first sea deployment admits he wasn’t sure what to expect.
Lance Cpl. Aaron McCrea, 19, has seen movies about military ship life. He thought it would be “always busy, always doing something.” But what he’s found is that “it’s a lot of coming out here and waiting for a mission,” said the mortarman with Battalion Landing Team 2/4.
During down time and once the ship gets under way, there will be less waiting and more learning, said Cpl. Kyle Lang, 21, also with the team.
These infantry Marines will spend a lot of time training and teaching: formations, weapons handling and a lot of annual classes such as nuclear biological chemical training, Lang said.
They also will do physical training in the morning and in the afternoon, which can get crowded since it mostly takes place in the ship’s gym, he said.
The two Marines have found that everywhere on the ship is crowded.
The team’s infantry Marines sleep about 125 Marines to a berthing area in bunks stacked four high. But the crowding helps take up some time, Lang said, explaining that with so many people living in a small space, they have to keep it very clean.
And the 5-foot, 4-inch McCrea said he finally has an advantage over all the big guys.
“I’m small, so it doesn’t bother me as much,” McCrea said.
The tight spaces also mean he’s getting to know his fellow Marines very well. Some of them better than he would like.
“I’ve found out that some of them can get irritated really fast,” he said.
Adding to the irritation is the limited shower area.
Lang explained that two companies of Marines, between 160 and 200 Marines, use the same shower area, which has only eight stalls.
That means they are “waiting in line for the showers,” Lang said.
That’s not the only place they wait in line.
“You are waiting for everything. There isn’t one thing on ship you won’t have to wait for,” he said, listing the barber shop, chow and other activities.
But here is a benefit, Lang said.
“You will learn patience really fast on ship,” he said. “If you don’t, someone will teach you.”
Ellie
By Cindy Fisher, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, February 14, 2008
Related article: When 1,000 Marines move onto USS Essex, ‘it’s three times the work and twice the mouths to feed'
Servicemembers find it’s easy to get sick round the USS Essex
ABOARD THE USS ESSEX — One Marine with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit who is on his first sea deployment admits he wasn’t sure what to expect.
Lance Cpl. Aaron McCrea, 19, has seen movies about military ship life. He thought it would be “always busy, always doing something.” But what he’s found is that “it’s a lot of coming out here and waiting for a mission,” said the mortarman with Battalion Landing Team 2/4.
During down time and once the ship gets under way, there will be less waiting and more learning, said Cpl. Kyle Lang, 21, also with the team.
These infantry Marines will spend a lot of time training and teaching: formations, weapons handling and a lot of annual classes such as nuclear biological chemical training, Lang said.
They also will do physical training in the morning and in the afternoon, which can get crowded since it mostly takes place in the ship’s gym, he said.
The two Marines have found that everywhere on the ship is crowded.
The team’s infantry Marines sleep about 125 Marines to a berthing area in bunks stacked four high. But the crowding helps take up some time, Lang said, explaining that with so many people living in a small space, they have to keep it very clean.
And the 5-foot, 4-inch McCrea said he finally has an advantage over all the big guys.
“I’m small, so it doesn’t bother me as much,” McCrea said.
The tight spaces also mean he’s getting to know his fellow Marines very well. Some of them better than he would like.
“I’ve found out that some of them can get irritated really fast,” he said.
Adding to the irritation is the limited shower area.
Lang explained that two companies of Marines, between 160 and 200 Marines, use the same shower area, which has only eight stalls.
That means they are “waiting in line for the showers,” Lang said.
That’s not the only place they wait in line.
“You are waiting for everything. There isn’t one thing on ship you won’t have to wait for,” he said, listing the barber shop, chow and other activities.
But here is a benefit, Lang said.
“You will learn patience really fast on ship,” he said. “If you don’t, someone will teach you.”
Ellie