Sailing Aboard Eagle on My Third Class Summer 

Last summer I was on first phase Eagle for five weeks. This was my second time on Eagle because we spent one week on Eagle over SWAB summer. We departed from New London CT a few days after the end of finals, so it was a very fast transition from the school year to the summer. We packed our sea bags full of all the uniforms and clothes needed for the next 11 weeks then all loaded our stuff onto Eagle. It was an adjustment from Chase Hall, and I was in the “Hamilton” berthing on Eagle which was one of the smaller ones with only nine racks. On Eagle, every cadet is assigned to a division with a 1/c in charge of you and you spend essentially all your time with your division as you are all on the same duty schedule. Over the course of Eagle, you stand several duties including helm and look out, watch on deck, mess cook and engine room. Over the course of Eagle, you are responsible for learning and studying while on duty and eventually getting your qualification in these duties. Each day was different as our division was given different duty times which kept things changing. While not on duty we spent our free time meeting new people and chatting on the mess deck, reading and trading books, sitting out on the bow and journaling, and napping because there is no cellular connection in the middle of the ocean. We had three different port calls including Miami FL, Pensacola FL and Galveston TX. While in port, if you weren’t on duty you could go on liberty and explore, which was a lot of fun. Some exciting underway memories include jumping off the side of Eagle into the middle of the ocean, sitting on the bow spread overlooking the water, seeing dolphins, watching the stars at night and meeting new people. It was a great experience which I will look back on fondly!