Update, Chapter 2: SEALs, Dubai, Jordan

So, that last post took us up through the mid-April time frame. I got back to the ship on the heels of the Captain Phillips thing, and everyone was still pretty excited. It was funny to see the SEALs walking around the boat in their "uniforms". They basically wore whatever they wanted to, although that's generally how the sailors on the boat operate anyway, whether authorized or not. They'd be with us for at least a few more weeks, and at the very least it was interesting to have some new guys around. April and May were pretty slow around the ol' Boxer.
In mid-May we left the Gulf of Aden (GOA) and headed north for a port visit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). We were all excited, but especially everyone else because unlike me, who had gotten to go to Bahrain for a little trip, everyone else had been on the boat for almost 3 straight months at that point. Yikes. Our little tin can gets a bit stifling when you spend that much time on it without getting out and stretching your legs. The constant pitching and heaving gets old too.

Update, Chapter 1: Bahrain/ Djibouti

So, it's been a while since I've put a post together, and since I'm almost home and I have a bit of time I figured I'd update this thing. Where to start...
April was a pretty interesting month. With all the pirate hullaballoo, our boat went into full-speed pirate fighting mode. Then, in the middle of of the swashbuckling I got sent to Bahrain as a stop over to head to another country for a planning exercise. I had about 6 hours from the time they told me I was leaving until my helicopter left for Djibouti, so I rushed and packed up my stuff and hopped in the back of the bird. I only spent about 2 hours in Djibouti, but I'm always game to go somewhere new. The US base in Djibouti is actually used by a number of different US and foreign organizations, but it's very rustic. There's a PX, a chow hall, a gym, an internet station, a coffee shop, and not much else. After my quick stopover I hopped on a Navy jet, but it wasn't what I was expecting. It was basically a Boeing 727, but the whole crew were Navy; even the flight attendants, which was weird to say the least. Also, they charged for snacks and sodas, so that was disappointing, but totally in keeping with what I would expect from a military "commuter" flight.