One of my favorite quotes comes from a book titled ‘Startide Rising’ by David Brin. The book is Sci-Fi (stay with me), and is set in a shipboard environment with military/ civilian interaction, sort of like this mission.
Ok, it’s also set in space with evolved dolphin military officers, killer spiders, etc. but I digress…
One of the junior officers (a human) is feeling overwhelmed by his work, and his senior mentor (a dolphin…yes I am a dork but stay with me on this) reminds him of his role, his job. The quote, “Duty, duty, brave shark-biter, what reward could taste sweeter?”
Keep in mind, in the wild dolphins have been known to attack sharks when the pod is threatened, their instinctive ‘duty’ in a way. Sometimes they win; sometimes they end up as food…
The point of this blather is that duty can be difficult (especially in a military environment), but duty is its own reward. Sometimes you have to stand up and be counted, support your people, your shipmates, when you know the repercussions will be unfavorable. But support you must, because it’s your duty, and duty is its own reward. And when that person, whom you supported when most other folks have given up on, turns it around and comes out swinging, shows the other folks up…damn. That’s the stuff.
Military life is not easy, even on this little jaunt we’re on. It’s a lot worse in other, sandier places. But this career has its own unique rewards. And duty, performed well, is one of the best.
Thus endeth the lesson…now somebody do your duty and go have a beer for me.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The Southern Cross over Gabon
Spent the last two night at sea, and they were amazing. The constellation known as the ‘Southern Cross’ was clearly visible. You can only see it near and below the equator, and I haven’t seen it in 21 years. Very cool. Looks more like a kite to me, but that’s not the name of the ‘Crosby, Stills and Nash’ tune, so we’ll stick with cross.
Saw several satellites pass overhead as well. One of them may have been an older rocket body, looked like it was tumbling. You can tell by the way they reflect the sunlight. This one would flare in a repeating pattern. Also, very cool. I was pointing this out to one of the Nigerian officers on our staff who had never seen satellites before. He was truly amazed.
I love the sea at night, especially when it’s dark with good friends to share it with. Nothing like it that I've found anywhere else.
Libreville and Port Gentil (pronounced ‘John-T’) are our port stops in Gabon. Libreville was nice, and very, very expensive. Comes from the former French colonial presence here I'm told (and there are still a lot of French around). I’ve paid less for food and drink in Manhattan. Went to a self proclaimed Mexican restaurant…where the menu was pasta and hamburgers…sigh. But the Malibu rum was good.
Port Gentil is a working port. Lots of commerce: oil, timber and container cargo. Not really a tourist town, but that’s OK. We’re not here to be tourists…OK maybe a little. It is hot. Like August in Houston hot. Like steam out of a bag of microwave popcorn hot, like …you get the picture. But we’ll turn back north soon. And cross the Prime Meridian at the Equator. Can’t wait.
Fair winds…
Saw several satellites pass overhead as well. One of them may have been an older rocket body, looked like it was tumbling. You can tell by the way they reflect the sunlight. This one would flare in a repeating pattern. Also, very cool. I was pointing this out to one of the Nigerian officers on our staff who had never seen satellites before. He was truly amazed.
I love the sea at night, especially when it’s dark with good friends to share it with. Nothing like it that I've found anywhere else.
Libreville and Port Gentil (pronounced ‘John-T’) are our port stops in Gabon. Libreville was nice, and very, very expensive. Comes from the former French colonial presence here I'm told (and there are still a lot of French around). I’ve paid less for food and drink in Manhattan. Went to a self proclaimed Mexican restaurant…where the menu was pasta and hamburgers…sigh. But the Malibu rum was good.
Port Gentil is a working port. Lots of commerce: oil, timber and container cargo. Not really a tourist town, but that’s OK. We’re not here to be tourists…OK maybe a little. It is hot. Like August in Houston hot. Like steam out of a bag of microwave popcorn hot, like …you get the picture. But we’ll turn back north soon. And cross the Prime Meridian at the Equator. Can’t wait.
Fair winds…
Friday, April 3, 2009
Jurassic Cameroon
From a distance, Limbe, Cameroon looks like a scene right out of Jurassic Park ™. Mountains covered in jungle come right down to the sea. The higher elevations are often obscured by clouds, rocky islands in the bay, the occasional T-Rex stampeding thru town…(just seeing if you are still awake)
Mount Cameroon is the largest in the local chain (go figure), 4000+ meters. Dormant volcano, last erupted in 1999, or so the locals say. It dominates the region. The forest/jungle around the slopes leading down to Limbe is all shades of green. Palm trees making up palm oil plantations are in wide abundance. All kinds of tropical fruit are also available (mangos, bananas, plantains as big as my forearm, etc.). Wow.
The town proper is pretty small. We have to anchor out and send boats ashore because NASH is too big for their harbor. Speaking of boats, got my first ride on the LCU today. That’s Landing Craft Utility for you non-amphibious types. Think a semi-modern version of the landing craft you saw in “Saving Private Ryan”. We flood half of the ship (always a weird sensation, isn’t that a bad thing??) open the stern gate on the back of the vessel and out comes the LCU. Short trip to the fleet landing site. The LCU can run up to the beach, or rocks in this case. No we weren’t invading Cameroon, we were actually delivering a ton (literally I think) of donated goods to hospitals, schools, and an orphanage. Good stuff. Not quite the ‘swords into plowshares’ thing, but close. I added to that load with toys my boys sent (good job guys) and candy…always a hit with the kiddos.
Wish I could post pics, but with the internet issues we’ve been having I’m lucky to post anything. Goodnight from 4 degrees North.
-K
Mount Cameroon is the largest in the local chain (go figure), 4000+ meters. Dormant volcano, last erupted in 1999, or so the locals say. It dominates the region. The forest/jungle around the slopes leading down to Limbe is all shades of green. Palm trees making up palm oil plantations are in wide abundance. All kinds of tropical fruit are also available (mangos, bananas, plantains as big as my forearm, etc.). Wow.
The town proper is pretty small. We have to anchor out and send boats ashore because NASH is too big for their harbor. Speaking of boats, got my first ride on the LCU today. That’s Landing Craft Utility for you non-amphibious types. Think a semi-modern version of the landing craft you saw in “Saving Private Ryan”. We flood half of the ship (always a weird sensation, isn’t that a bad thing??) open the stern gate on the back of the vessel and out comes the LCU. Short trip to the fleet landing site. The LCU can run up to the beach, or rocks in this case. No we weren’t invading Cameroon, we were actually delivering a ton (literally I think) of donated goods to hospitals, schools, and an orphanage. Good stuff. Not quite the ‘swords into plowshares’ thing, but close. I added to that load with toys my boys sent (good job guys) and candy…always a hit with the kiddos.
Wish I could post pics, but with the internet issues we’ve been having I’m lucky to post anything. Goodnight from 4 degrees North.
-K
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