USS MISSOURI Legacy Course
By CPOMT(P) Scott Paterson
Hawaii is famous for its islands, beaches and sunny days… Last year I was selected to attend a course in Hawaii, but I wasn’t staying at a luxury hotel, instead onboard the battleship USS MISSOURI (BB 63). MISSOURI is an Iowa-class battleship and “the last battleship built in the United States.” This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As it turned out, I was the first International student to attend only the second ‘Chief Petty Officer Legacy Academy Class’, a week-long course onboard the ‘Mighty Mo’ (the nickname for the MISSOURI).
My fellow class members, 46 in total, were selected from the US Navy’s CPO Selectee programme, a bit like our old CPO command course but run over six weeks. The one week in the Mighty Mo covered Leadership, Naval Heritage, Physical Fitness, Military History, and Team Building. I arrived in Hawaii and was greeted by Petty Officer 1st class Jordan O’ Hearn who was a CPO Selectee from the Midway group, also attending the Academy. Each group or functional area in the CPO selectee programme was required to fund raise to help cover the cost of running the course. Naturally I was roped in as that day, my first, there was a car wash. For my Kiwi eyes it was like an American Car show - a car enthusiast’s dream!
All our course mustered at 1130 on Sunday outside the gates to the USS MISSOURI, as the famous battleship is also a tourist attraction moored next to Ford Island. She is massive! [270m long, 33m beam, and 8.8m draft with a top speed of 33 knots]. We marched with our Sea Bags (kit bags) to the brow, met our Instructors and were split into five groups where the course was outlined to us.
Living aboard meant cold showers, as the MISSOURI’s steam plant is decommissioned, so no calorifiers or a Donkey Boiler (a small Auxiliary Boiler for producing steam alongside). Below decks it was like being in the Tardis, there was ample space as the ship was originally crewed by over 2,700 officers and men.
We slept, ate and conducted lectures in the original CPO quarters which were also part of the tourist tour route - this made for a few interesting moments getting changed! The course was busy yet had a relaxed atmosphere, with historical and military site visits, daily PT, study, lectures, speeches, cleaning stations and watches and numerous Guest Speakers. Retired US Navy CAPT Gerald Coffee is a pilot who was shot down during the Vietnam War and spent most of his 7 years and 9 days as a POW in solitary confinement; his talk was a real inspiration. One of our historical visits was the ‘Remembrance Tour’ which covers all the WWII sites of the raid on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941; an extremely solemn event.
One of the highlights for me was the trip to the Marine Base (across the Island at Kanehoe Bay). On arrival we were split into teams of six and competed against other CPO selectees from around Hawaii. 17 teams in total competed in timed events – Obstacle course, Confidence course, 50m dash with a flak jacket carrying two full .50 cal. ammo boxes, and a 50m pull of a fully-laden Medical Hummer. After these events, teams were ranked on their total time. The final event was a tug o’ war, a straight knock out competition. Each win was a minute reduced off your time and a loss cost you a swim which was conducted over a large, deep mud puddle.
Fate had decided that the winner of the final tug o’ war was going to win the day. The final was between my team (Fantastic Four – yes, we had six team members) and one of the teams from K-Bay. Fantastic Four won and were presented with a large trophy that will be returned and competed for next year. Paddles were presented to 1st, 2nd and 3rd teams with 3rd going to another team from the Mighty Mo. These paddles have been engraved with the team name and members of that team, and they will be displayed in the USS MISSOURI’s CPO Mess for all to see.
The course was tremendous, and the week flew by as each day brought fresh challenges, triumphs and new personal memories. I have gained a better understanding and appreciation of the US Navy and a new perspective on what they are trying to achieve as an organisation.
Some interesting numbers, for us in the RNZN to think about: I was on course with 46 selectees; in Hawaii there were approximately 300 selectees and across the whole US Navy there were just over 4,000 selectees! My course mates and their fellow selectees were all promoted to CPO last September.
On a personal note I would like to thank all those who were involved with my selection. I was welcomed to the course openly and I gained some great friendships from it. Overall it was an extraordinary experience that I would strongly recommend.
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