It’s raining today in Galveston, where the TS Kennedy is tied to the pier. Currently, the ship is buzzing with Maine cadets as they begin to find their way around. Texas A&M cadets are still ashore in their academic semester, so MMA 2/C and 4/C are working hard to prepare the vessel for the next 2.5 months.

Two years ago, I wrote the Cruise blog on my 4/C cruise, as we sailed to Philadelphia, the Azores, Vigo, Kiel, Belfast, and then back to Castine. The role of a freshman on Summer Sea Term is primarily to learn how to be safe on vessels, understand the basic systems and principles onboard, and to function as a member of a crew working toward a common goal. The role of the upperclassmen is to mentor the underclassmen while additionally building on the skills learned over the last three years.

There are four rotations that cadets move through during Summer Sea Term (SST): Class/Training, Watch, Utility, and Maintenance. Today, Delta Co. is Utility company, and we decided that the gym, yoga room, and laundry room needed some serious attention. The gym and laundry rooms are important to keeping a level of happiness for many people onboard, so we spent the morning mopping, wiping, scrubbing, and gathering trash to make those spaces functional and clean. The training ships spend most of their time without cadets living onboard, so they require full effort to bring them back up to speed.

Travel day on the 5^th was difficult with elements outside our control, but students were incredibly patient, and I am very proud of the attitude Maine cadets have brought to this unique challenge. I find often, when I feel like students are best poised to complain or find an issue, they have already risen to the occasion. I am really looking forward to the next couple of months and the growth and challenge they will bring because I am confident we will be ready.

Odegaard Fields
Deck Training Officer
Regimental Commander