Norfolk, VA (USA)

Early PT again (0600) and some breakfast - all done before 0700. We got to ride on a helicopter today - an H-46. There were two, so I could see the other one along side as we flew out to visit some Spruance Destroyers. One helo went to one ship and one went to the other. When we got inside, we were greeted by the Midshipman Coordinator - LT Coogan! I was quite surprised to meet someone with the same last name, but he proceeded non-chalantly with his brief. Afterwards, though, he took me with him for a personal tour of the ship. Everyone else went off somewhere else (not sure where) and I ended up on the Bridge. The Skipper thought it was funny to have someone with a mini-version of his Lieutenant - and he had me conning the ship alongside the other destroyer within a few minutes! That was really something - I never dreamed of controlling something so big (especially so close to another, equally big, thing). I really enjoyed my time on the ship and LT Coogan made me feel like we were related (who knows?). We were picked up by a hydrofoil for a high-speed run back to Norfolk. After dinner, all 200 of us got together for drinks and stories at the Club.