It has been awhile since I updated and man it has been crazy but this post will answer the most common question I hear and then I will update everything else later. I am always asked what is Wil doing and all I say is he is very busy. Why? Because that is all I knew. Well I asked him to fill me in a bit and he did, so the following are some exerpts of an email he sent that really gives a feel for how busy he is. (It also explains why I don't hear from him very much.) So here goes:
My department is consist of 34 people at various ranks. As the HOD, head of department, I am responsible to the Commanding Officer for all the equipment and for all the personnel.
On the personnel front I have to make sure that we have enough people to sail with. They still haven’t said when and where we will be deploying. The rumour is mid July. So I have to make sure everyone is ready to go. I am actually making two plans, one if we do go and one if we don’t. So I need to make sure people that need training get the training, people with family problems are taken care of or replaced. If we do go I also have to come up with a plan to try an rotate people home at sometime through the deployment. This will be one of the hardest things to do because there will not be the opportunity for everyone to go home. So I will have to determine who can and can’t go. I am responsible to make sure people who have competency boards are prepared for them and they pass. If they don’t pass or are behind in their training then I have to place them under the appropriate corrective measure. I am also responsible for making sure everyone works together, knows what to do in the case of an emergency.
On the equipment front things are a little hectic. We need a bit of work done but have no priority in the repair yard. They work on something when they have time but with no set schedule it is difficult to plan for. I have about 43 systems, this includes weapons, radars, sonars, communications and other systems. We are actually in really good shape and only need minor repairs. I also have to make sure we have the proper ammunition onboard for all the weapons. That is hard because we don’t know where we are going so I don’t know what I need to bring onboard but I need to get ammunition within the next 3 weeks. To make my life more complicated we ended up with a worm onboard that could possible infect our computer systems that control the weapons. Now I am trying to make sure the work has been cleaned and the computers are no longer infected. During this period I need to find a time to go to sea for a couple of days so I can do some trials on some equipment. I have many people who want new pieces of equipment installed so I have to research it and find out if it is possible or not. If it isn’t then I need to come up with a work around if possible. One of the biggest issues I am dealing with at the moment is satellite tv. North American dishes don’t work in Europe/Africa. Funny that. If it is possible to install then I am responsible to have it installed and have people trained on it.
On top of all of this I have about 5 secondary jobs onboard. I am the Laser Safety officer and as such I am supposed to know everything about lasers. So I have a 2 day laser safety course that I must do this month. I also need to re-qualify on the pistol and rifle. When, I don’t know. I am also responsible for the department’s budget and I am suppose to do a couple more courses that deal with military regulations for spending military funds. I am also the officer responsible for the safety program that ensures no one gets injured from the radiation from the radars and communications equipment. As such every new person who joins the ship must come see me for a brief. On top of that all the officers and chiefs who have to get their officer of the day qualification has to come see me for extra training so I can make sure that can keep people safe around the radars. As the ammunition officer I have people looking for me to sign their training requirements concerning the magazines (used for storing ammunition). They have to know the hazards, where they are located, what ammunition is contained there, what firefighting systems are there, and what compartments are close to the mags. If they are correct and can answer my questions then I sign off their training. I am also responsible for all Hazardous Materials and the cleanup if something gets spilled. New persons also have to see me so I am sure they know what to do in case of a spill. Officers need to know how to what procedures they have to take in case of a spill until myself and my department can be called in to do the cleanup.
After all that I am also responsible for all the regulations and temporary orders that describe how my department functions. I am supposed to be the expert in all my equipment and the regulations that governs everything. So I am trying to study my diagrams and write-ups to make sure I know how the equipment works. I am trying to read all the regulations, then make changes to the ones that require to be changed. So far there are about 6 sets of regulations and orders I need to do that too. 2 days ago I was made aware of specific regulations that deal with the possible trip and now I need to read and understand them. I need to make sure everyone receives a work progress report that outlines their job and what is expected of them. We keep getting task to provide information to the admiral. This is basically the same information in a different format. I have weekly equipment meetings with the fleet engineer to explain the status of my equipment.
Supposedly the work day goes from 0750 until 3pm , but I normally am working 0700 to 5pm. I am also working Saturdays and Sundays. Some evenings I am on the ship until 9pm. I just can seem to get ahead of the paper work. With all of that I still need to find a place to live.
So that is it....that is what he does. Obviously he is extremely busy and with the time change I don't hear from him as much as I would like but I am adjusting to that. This is the longest email I have gotten from him since he has been gone so I am glad he took the time to fill me in. I am extremely proud of him and am so excited for him to have this opportunity. Being on ship is very exciting for him although I think he is much busier than he expected. Honestly, with that kind of work load, I am glad that we are here so that he has the freedom to do what he needs to do without having to worry about getting home.
I will update everyone later this week on the rest of the household, but for now keep him in your prayers!
My love to all
That seems like more then one person should be responsible for, but it sounds like he can handle it. I know you must be very proud of him, but missing him terribly. Praying for all of you, my friend!!
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