MrFreefall383

I would agree with RkyMtnHigh on that one. You rock! On another note, I decided to have a little fun today. I did 200 crunches, doing a few sets of 75 flutterkicks, and later today once the little elementary school kiddies get out of classes and go home, I'm going over to the jungle gym with a 16 lb. vest and using it as an obstacle course. Wanna see if I have a shot at going for MSST, being one of those blue-ninja-suited guys who kicks in hatches when the shit hits the fan. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

I was going to say the same thing. There's one of two possibilities really. First is that these are signs, and hopefully he can read them. The other possibility is third time's a charm, but strangely enough I get the feeling this wasn't as well thought out as the gentleman first thought it was. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

Correction on the pushups, I've done 150 today. And I'm going to add another 200 crunches before the end of the night. And still doing more sprints tomorrow with the weight vest. Doubling from 8 to 16 lbs, and going from there. If I can still sprint my ass off hauling around an extra 16 lbs, then I'll bump it up to at least 20 and keep it there for a while. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

Yesterday I didn't really do much of anything, just did my required duties for Memorial Day, then relaxed for the rest of the day. So today it was a pretty serious workout, and the day's barely half over. Started this morning with 100 pushups, 200 crunches, 100 squats, and 100 flutterkicks. Took a short rest, then I went running, did a mile and a half in just under 12 minutes. Then I did a whole bunch of sprinting with an 8 lb. weight vest. Unfortunately it didn't feel like any weight at all, so I'm going to run more sprints tomorrow with double the weight. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

I know there are a few people planning similar endeavors, so it's not like this is a stretch, but this one seems very disorganized and ill-prepared. Third time's a charm, and he's had weather failure and equipment failure, maybe he'll complete it, but I hope he takes all of that as a warning. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

I don't doubt it, there's just only so much you can do. I guess if everyone does their part though, including those in the services now, we won't have the same problems. And that's why I always try to be as upstanding and professional as I can be, no matter the circumstances. I'd rather not see another US citizen spit on a fellow servicemember in my lifetime or my childrens' or grandchildrens' lifetimes. Just an observation though, maybe it's more paranoia than anything. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

Went to my town's parade for the holiday, never been there, usually away in Lake George with family friends. It's amazing how big the ceremony is for such a small town. The fact is I was not expected. There were no other Coasties there, and only a few active duty servicemembers. The rest were American Legion, prior service gentlemen from all branches, and they just sucked me right up, and I marched with them in the formation and joined them under the canopy for the speeches. It really is incredible how much camaraderie there is between different branches and different generations. It's a good feeling knowing that the public does actually value our service to some degree, though it seems that support is decreasing. I hope that support doesn't drop to Vietnam levels, or we're going to have a problem. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

Yeah, it's getting there. After my first three weeks in Cape May, I have a new appreciation for cold. And after the full 8 weeks, I have a new appreciation of pain. If it doesn't hurt as bad as Recruit Training, it doesn't hurt. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

Still doing my usual IT sessions, been working on my crappy pushup form since the weekend started, and it's getting better. Went to the pool to swim this afternoon for opening day, and that water burned it was so cold. But being a badass Coastie I just ignored the stinging pain and got in 20 laps in 10 minutes flat. I need to see if I can seal my goggles better though, I haven't used them in a few months and they seem to be leaking from somewhere. Tomorrow I'm waking up to uniform maintenance and going to the village center to salute the morning colors and the memorial, then coming home and doing my IT. Rest of the day is going to be spent studying, packing, and doing more IT. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

That's 100% true. And I don't know if any of you know this, but to properly raise the national ensign to half-mast following proper "colors" procedures, you must first raise it to the top then lower halfway down. And to do this in the short time given by the national anthem being played takes very good timing. Of course the other thing is very few neighborhoods I know of honor the proper procedure for raising and lowering the flag, they just leave it up, which is actually very disrespectful. I went to my local town hall yesterday to ask about colors schedule, the raising and lowering for Memorial Day, and nobody seemed to know what I was talking about. It was truly disturbing. I was tempted to imitate my Company Commander, hold my hand up with fingers outstretched, and say, "You're friggin' out of your skull you." "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

Ditto times three. Memorial Day definitely holds a completely different meaning as a fresh boot in the USCG. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

Yes, thank you for your service skydemon2, and thanks to every other fellow servicemember on here. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

Gotta love flight engineers, the backbone of the whole Air Force. If all you guys suddenly quit, the Air Force would become a bunch of whining infants. No pressure though. Yes, round is a shape, as one of my brother's old elementary school teachers once said. Alan Cass, that guy rocked. "I'm in shape, round is a shape." Anyway, staying fit on deployment is admirable, it means you have the self-discipline not to do stupid shit but instead better yourself with your time. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

Active Duty Coast Guard here, just got out of Basic a month ago. There is a memorial in my town center for all those from the neighborhood who answered the call and gave the ultimate sacrifice in both World Wars and Korea. Have to go there in my Bravo and render a salute, only right. Enough said. If I could spare the time and gas, I'd go to Arlington, but I'm probably going to start that as a tradition next year. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

More updates to the usual numbers. Today's combined morning and evening total was 150 pushups, 300 crunches, 200 squats, and 175 flutterkicks, in addition to a 3 - 3.2 mile run. Tomorrow I might go for a swim in the evening after work, haven't been swimming since the 7th week at Cape May. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

Good deal man, working out is a good excuse not to be an idiot on deployment. Good to hear that a fellow servicemember is keeping fit instead of keeping "in shape" since round is still a shape. Mind if I ask what branch? On a similar note, I've been keeping up my numbers, and today I'm definitely going to run, no matter how tired I am, then swim tomorrow morning. A few hundred crunches and flutterkicks everyday only go so far, and that gut has to be gone in two weeks when I report to Gloucester. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

Been upping my numbers a little bit in preparation for going to my first unit in another 10 days. Mornings are 50 pushups, 150 crunches, 75-100 squats, and 75 flutterkicks, and evenings are similar numbers, so at least 100 pushups, 300 crunches, 150-200 squats, and 150 flutterkicks everyday. Tomorrow I'm going to run after my workday ends, but tonight it's uniform maintenance, shining my boondockers and pressing a new ODU for tomorrow to impress a potentially cute female recruit. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

Don't gotta thank me. Thank all the Coasties who've served before me, and all those who have died on missions to keep our territorial waters and shores safe. And thank Nathan Bruckenthal, who died 4/24/04 in the Persian Gulf, boarding a small boat with fellow Petty Officers from the Navy to provide the Iraqis safer waterways. That's a real hero. And to gonzalesna, yes, we do venture out beyond our territorial waters, we just don't advertise as much as our DoD brethren. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

Well, look on the bright side... at least you know you'll never get stationed overseas. I wish. I won't be stationed overseas right away, and the units in the Persian Gulf are volunteer assignments, but if I get one of the medium- or high-endurance cutters after this unit, I might go on an overseas tour for a few months. Luckily it's never a deployment to a combat zone with those cutters, but overseas tours still happen, and I look forward to one if I stay in long enough to take one, and I probably will. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

Still keeping up to my morning IT sessions, and doing afternoon and evening sessions now as well. Gotta get in better shape, not just maintain it. Strange thing is I haven't eaten too much more than I normally would, in fact I've eaten less than at Basic, workouts aren't as strenuous as they were in Cape May, and I've gained almost 10 lbs. since I got back. It's a strange thing, I've been around 140-145 for years, maintained 143 coming out of Basic, then jumped up to 154 since getting back into town at the end of April. Strange. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

One word: Don't. And by that I'm not referring to the hot air balloon. Getting married ain't worth it. But this is me saying this, and because of my job, I might be divorced a number of times, or may never get married, so maybe I'm a little bitter. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

Chicks with guns are hot. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

1) Reporting to my first unit as an active duty member of the United States Coast Guard on the 30th of May. 2) Finally figuring out my new Nikon D60 and starting to take pictures I can sell to stupid people. 3) Resuming work on my car for some track days next year. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

Know someone who did it, and it works. It has something to do with the acidity in urine, it neutralizes the venom from a jellyfish sting. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

Cool ship, but Coast Guard's still cooler. Navy doesn't have a self-righting search-and-rescue boat. "If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche