Ok, so the JTF Academics Crisis Action Planning (CAP) down in Norfolk with the second fleet is over. Academics was the same old stuff (this is the third time that I have done it) so for me it was pretty boring. The CAP was different. Not just because it was never part of the exercise before but because the good old US Navy does things very differently from the Army.

Also, learning how to speak “Navy” was quite a chore. When I asked where the bathroom was I was told to “got the Quarter Deck, make a left at the bulkhead with the picture of the frigate and the head would be just below the gangway”. Luckily I know what a head and a bulkhead are so I only needed to ask what a frigate was.

Overall the trip was good and a great deal was accomplished by all. For me it was getting to know the folks that will be there for the actual exercise. That always makes things go more smoothly. So when I go back for the exercise I am holding out hope (though not much) that things will be relatively normal and flow well. But the nature of an exercise probably will cause a great deal of pain for the first few days.

We had the weekend off so I went to colonial Williamsburg. This is a really cool site (that is if you are into historical stuff). It is about 40 miles north of Norfolk. If you get a chance to go make sure you allow time for traffic and get there in the morning otherwise you will miss the re-enactments. I also recommend you pick which day you go because they don’t have everything everyday. Finally if you have a military ID take it. With a US MIL ID you will get a full day pass and entry to all of the sites and re-enactments for free, otherwise it is $46 bucks.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Thanks for reading.