ODS-Sailor summer camp

For the last 5 weeks, Grant has been away at "summer camp" in Newport, RI, learning how to become a distinguished Navy Officer, at Officer Development School. It will be impossible to document everything, and lucky for me, I actually persuaded him to keep a journal for at least the first couple of weeks. But, if you get the chance to talk to him about it, he has some funny stories and neat experiences...but the stories are so much better when he tells them than if I were to try to record them all here.

Here is his room...they had to learn how to fold the corners on their sheets, had crazy cleaning checks (one of which they got marked off for having a little bit of dust on their trash can-that you can see is turned upside down and they weren't even allowed to use it!)
The next several pictures showcase the MANY uniforms he was required to purchase...kind of out of control if you ask me, but I guess they all have their place.

1. This is what they wore the first couple of days before they had their uniforms fitted. Looks like a mechanics suit, but I'm sure Grant would have preferred to be working on cars in it than getting up at 4 am to workout, then eat breakfast, and spend all day in class where they were absolutely not allowed to fall asleep and had to stand in the back of the room if they felt sleepy. Needless to say, since they only got 4-6 hrs of sleep a night, there were always several people standing in the back of all the classes.
2. PT gear. This is what they wore when they would work out each morning. I was so proud of Grant for passing all his fitness tests. I had no worries about the running, situps, and pushups, but was a little more concerned about the flexibility section. He worked really hard though and made it happen, which meant that he didn't have to do remedial yoga for the summer :) My favorite part of this uniform is the reflective belt ;) Grant's chief was also obsessed with them staying hydrating and made them drink their entire water bottle at least every hour. They all learned to use a bathroom every time they saw one to avoid any terribly uncomfortable situations. There were also "pee charts" above each urinal where you could compare the color of your pee to see if you were hydrated :)
3. The next uniform he got was the khaki one. It is at least fairly lightweight and easy to wear, although there are still crazy regulations about how far from the pocket your name tag should be pinned, etc. Their hats with each uniform are called "covers." You must wear your cover when you are outside, and must take it off whenever you enter a building. This picture also showcases the view from the base. Can't complain too much about the beautiful ocean and bridge with sailboats cruising by constantly all day everyday.4. The next uniform he sent me a picture of was this...his "summer whites." This one I feel like looks more like a Navy uniform. When they were finally given off-base liberty on the 3rd weekend, they had to wear these uniforms off base. Grant bought his first Tide To-Go pen, said it was "scary" to eat or lean up against anything, but perhaps my favorite stories about him going out on the town, was that people would gather and look at them all walking around in their uniforms, and they also had several tourists ask to take pictures with them :)
5. NWU (Navy Working Uniform). He will probably never again in his life wear this uniform, but I think he kind of liked it. Looks tough! They call the pattern "aquaflage."
6. "Are you ready for your flight sir?" Check out his Brooks Brothers crazy fancy suit. When he said he had a suit jacket (in addition to all the other billion uniforms I knew he had bought), I asked if it was a suit jacket he could wear to church, etc, to which he replied, "Of course not, that would be way too practical." And here you have it, looks like he's ready to take you to your final destination on a 747.
7. And finally...Dress Whites. These are what he wore for graduation. They call them their "chokers" because of the high collars. With his cover off here, you can also see his Navy haircut (which was 2-3 weeks grown out in this pic).
And here is the galley. 3 meals a day...but no sweets allowed. However, there was enough food to feed an army (or a Navy :) He enjoyed the food well enough though. This picture was taken in the last couple of days when the rules were relaxed, but for almost the entire 5 weeks, they had a very regimented meal ritual. They were not allowed to speak during meals, had to wait to sit down until everyone had their food, at which point they would sit down together and begin to eat (after given the order to eat). They had 15 minutes to eat and then would stand together and leave the galley.
They would all have to line up in their hallway before going out anywhere. They would exit together, get in formation and march to all of their destinations.