NJROTC San Diego Military Orientation Trip Days 5 & 6

On day 5 we toured Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Here the cadets are getting briefed by a marine with Crash Fire Rescue

We toured my old unit HMM-163 Evil-Eyes. The helicopters are troop transport, cargo, and medivac helo's.

The Cadets stop for a group shot on the flightline

Weapons handling with the ISMT, these M-16's are compressed air activated and the cadets shoot targets against a computer screen that marks their score.

The Leatherneck Air Museum had an impressive assortment of vintage aircraft

On day 6 we visited Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. The legendary Marine Corps Drill Instructor marches our cadets as he leads the guided tour.

Drill Instructor Sgt Brewer answers questions about recruit training and the base

The Marine Corps graduation ceremony was an impressive sight as the Drill Instructors and graduating recruits marched in the parade

The Cadets take notes on Marine Corps history at the Marine Corps Museum

There were many interesting history displays that the cadets learned about

We end it all with a relaxing pool party at the base pool

We loaded up the night before and headed for Eureka. We made it back at about 7pm and all of the cadets made it home safe and sound.

MISSION COMPLETE!!!!!!

Hello Bloggers,
We had another successful day and I know that you were looking forward to some pictures, but by the time we got packed up and ready to roll for the morning it just got too late and we are hitting the rack so that we can get up early for the long drive home. We should roll into the Eureka High parking lot by about 6pm Saturday evening. I will upload all of the pictures on Sunday for the last 2 days. Thanks for checking in and we will see you tomorrow.

No blog tonight check our finale tomorrow

Tune in tomorrow for pictures of Josh Cyphers birthday surprise

NJROTC San Diego Military Orientation Trip Day 4

The LCACs in line ready for action, these are the Navy's transport hover craft 

The cadets learn about the LCACs engines and drive systems

That's a big propeller

The Public Affairs Officer for ACU-5 explains LCAC operations to the cadets.

          Hi! I am cadet Emily Conley. We had so much fun today! We started our morning at 6:45 a.m. by going on a tour at Camp Pendelton to see the LCAC.(Landing Craft Air Cusion). The public affairs petty officer gave us inciteful information that was very interesting, and he was extremely enthusiastic. We actually got to enter the hover craft to see more about how it is made and how it operates. The cadets and myself also watched a movie that showed the LCAC in action, and we learned that it is capable to hover over any obstacle on land and sea. It weighs 213,000 pounds, and can hold up to 80 tons! This transport machine is really useful, and has been in use for about 20 years. After that, we returned to the barracks to relax until the San Diego Padres versus the San Fransisco Giants baseball game began. Overall, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will never forget.
         

It was hard to see our group in the sold out crowd?

The Padres were swinging for the fences and it paid off with a win

Cadets get a picture with the Friar, the Padres mascot during the game

The cadets get on the JUMBOTRON a record 3 times for their enthusiasm

Hey, I'm cadet Samantha Thurman. At the end of the day the cadets and I went to a San Diego Padres game vs. San Francisco Giants. The game started at 3:45 till 7:00. The cadets cheered for the Padres and got caught on the main screen. The cadets were more than overwelmed with how great the game was. The cadets were screaming "Lets Go Padres, Lets Go!". Some cadets got to take a picture with the Padres Mascot. They ended the game with a big chant to get the Padres in a winning attitude. The Padres won the game 7 to 2.


Check in with us tomorrow, we will be touring Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
Gunny Smith

NJROTC San Diego Military Orientation Trip Day 3

Cadet Winogradov handles the M240G Machine Gun with ease.

Cadets pose with the weapons of the Navy Seals

Banuelos hoping a kiss will turn him into a Navy SEAL

In a society of mediocraty as the norm Navy SEAL choose excellence. today cadets were educated about what SEALs do. The tour included an overview of  the rigorous 6 month training, how dropouts are handled, and a view of what they call Hell Week. The cadets were shown and were allowed to handle modern weaponry of the Navy SEALs and observed SEAL training.   

We get ready to enter the new high rise Navy Housing for single Sailors and Marines

Conley takes pictures from the rooftop picnic area of the highrise apartments

Later that day the cadets got a private tour of the 32nd street Naval Station Pacific Beacon Highrise Apartments. These apartments are for single Sailors and Marines who are E-4. The apartments include a gym, rooftop picnic areas, a consiercege service, and a luxurious pool. A dream come true as an option other than the barracks

During our ship tour of the USS Rentz, Cadet Carter takes on the ship's Captain in pullups

Cadets on  tour of the USS Rentz and it's operating systems

Hi. I am Cadet Ensign Sally Hang blogging tonight on our last event on Tuesday April 20, 2010. At 1300 hours, the NJROTC group visited the Naval base of San Diego and toured the USS Rentz, an anti-submarine warfare frigate. Before boarding the ship, the cadets saluted the American Flag, requested permission from the Officer of the Day to come aboard, and got into formation awaiting the Captain of the ship Commander Miller. After a quick briefing with the Captain, we were split up into six groups and were taken on personal tours guided by various crewmen. The ship was first sent on mission in 1987.

The Rentz has five different decks. Engine rooms and berthing rooms filled the majority of the bottom two levels. The top three levels were filled with high-tech radar, sonar and navigation equipment. My personal Crewman Guide was a Radar Equipment Technician. There were numerous water hoses and firefighting equipment all around the ship. A good crew practices firefighting constantly to ensure the safety of all aboard.

Even though the ship is fairly old, the weapons are rather modern. Torpedoes with complex guidance systems can be launched both from the ship and from the two helicopters that are always on board. Other weapons include the 76 millimeter guns and the Seawiz, a gatling type gun capable of shooting 3,000 rounds per minute.
Before we left the ship, the Captain returned to conclude a debriefing of the tour. He challenged our NJROTC group to a pull-up contest. Cadet Rashad Carter accepted. They competed and Cadet Carter may have exaggerated his report of completing ten pull-ups; he was well behind the Captain’s total. Even though he had lost, the Captain gave Cadet Carter the ship’s medallion coin as a parting gift.

NJROTC San Diego Military Orientation Trip Day 2

Getting ready to head into the World Famous San Diego Zoo

Peri Veach, Glenn Lianoz, Karley Hulstrom, and Tiffany Berry get ready to find some animals

The question is, who is holding the map upside down

The Tigers were impressive

The Hippos beating the heat underwater

Sandy Hang, Malissa Spahn, and Sally Hang pose for a quick picture before lunch

The cadets get upclose and personal with the King of Beasts

This is Cadet McCaslin and Cadet Comer and we are blogging about what we did today. It was day two and at around 0930 the cadets had entered the San Diego Zoo. The place was filled with exciting animals and I personally liked the elephants. We traveled in groups while we were there and used a Sky Tram which went high above the park. We had lunch around 1300 which consisted of burritos and such.Next we were given two hours to walk to nearby museums where me and my buddy saw a botanicle garden and some cool the Natural History Museum. Later we drove to the Marine Corps Air Station to have a BBQ and a softball game. Cadet Sketchley made an amazing catch to end the game and the food that the chaperones BBQ'd was delicious. As the sun was setting we returned to the barracks to prepare our uniforms for the next day.

After a sixteen hour drive, cadets form a platoon formation and await their room assignments.

Cadets arrive at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, check in for their rooms for the week ahead.

It was a long ride to SD but we made it without incident and all of the cadets were glad to finally be on base. Every cadet got their room and unpacked and got ready for the week ahead.

With the huge crowd at the Spring Valley Swap meet, it took the six cars in our convoy about fifteen minutes to find parking.

Cadet Jackie Banuelos shows off one of the many treasures found at the SpringValley swap meet.

After the swap meet, all cadets were present and accounted for but a few dollars were not.

After morning chow we headed for the famous Spring Valley Swap Meet. The cadets were excited to shop for bargain basement deals and haggle with the local merchants.

Hello, from NJROTC! I’m cadet Jackie Banuelos -- with me is cadet Billy Nichols -- and we’re blogging. Today we woke up at 0900 hours and ate chow here at the Marine Corps Air Station. After breakfast we hit up the Spring Valley swap meet. The crowd was huge, probably as big as all the people living in Eureka, and there wasn’t a cadet that walked out without something.

Tucker Duke with his hiking partner heading up to the peak of Iron Mountain.

Emily Conley shows her amazing feats of strength

Every cadet made it to the peak, showing off thier WAR FACE!!!

Hello, from NJROTC! This is Billy Nichols, and today after the swap meet, the unit got prepared to go and hike up and down Iron Mountain. After reaching the top which is 3 miles, all the cadets gathered for a group photo and then began our descent down from the mountain. The climb was quiet a challenge, and I, a devil pup thought it was just as challenging as Ole Smokey. For you viewers out there who don’t know what devil pups are, it is leadership program held at Camp Pendleton just a few miles away, and Ole Smokey is the final, most difficult challenge which is a mountain we climb as a team. Today our unit worked as a team to conquer Iron Mountain.

Day 1 down look for our blog tomorrow

Gunny Smith