Prior to arriving in Oxnard, California, Sarah and I found ourselves on a 3/4 cross-country journey. With this trip, I only added one more state to my count. I believe I'm at 35 right now. As before, the desert in Arizona and New Mexico was filled, absolutely filled with vegetation. I think I've seen drier areas in Western Nebraska, but that's beside the point. The tall Saguaro cactus started to become more and more visible the closer we got to California. Having it be the first time in my life to see them, I was very impressed. I believe I was watching Discovery Channel and saw that it takes 70 years of growth before any "arms" will even begin to grow. Seeing all the arms only added to the impression. Before too long, we were outside Los Angeles and on our cruise into Oxnard. We got in on a very sunny day and the first thing we noticed were the banners on the light posts in the median advertising the annual Strawberry Festival. Of course we were excited, it was two weekends away.
A few days later, I put my khakis on and walked over to the building where I would be schooling for the next three months. The first week was all about introductions and a little bit of gear issue. During the first two weeks, I learned about the Seabees and took a short test on them. The Sunday of the third week had me on a bus at four in the morning on my way to Fort Hunter Ligget. For the next 5 days, I would be experiencing a taste of FEX, or Field Exercise. We went on night patrols, day patrols, did land navigation, terrain appreciation, Combat Operations Center simulations, and this one time, some push-ups and leg lifts. Late nights and early mornings only prompted fine memories of training once had and made me appreciate a career to come. The one man tent and a pillow made out of uniforms not worn suited me well until the morning I woke to see something running underneath my sleeping bag. I did not have my glasses on yet, so what I assumed to be a bug or some sort soon found itself smashed under my left hand. With my flashlight hanging from the top center of my tent, I used my right hand to turn on the white light and held my left hand up and very quickly realized that I had smashed a scorpion. I attribute my resolve to my not-so-long-ago scorpion run-ins in Texas. It was a little one, but it should did scamper. That excitement was second to that which came Thursday morning when we packed up.
The following two weeks were spent learning all about Public Works Department. The desk-jockey side of the Civil Engineer Corps. There's not much interesting to say about that part of the school except that if you don't know how much money you need or where it should come from, you're in trouble. After that, the next phase was Construction Technology. As an engineer, it all was very basic. Instead of looking at the design capabilities of certain materials, the focus was all about what materials are out there and how they are used. Simply put, paint goes on walls, shingles go on roofs, and sometimes we need a special type of door. If that phase of school wasn't riveting enough, the next two weeks would, well, it wasn't very exciting either. Contracting 120, otherwise known as CON120. I learned that there's a lot more that goes into a government contract than looking at the lowest bidder. Also, documentation is key. Everything must be able to be proved. For another two weeks, I spent time learning about Naval Construction Force Operations. Basically, it focused on everything from how an individual battalion operates all the way up to the Secretary of Defense and the President. Finally, my schooling was complete with one week spent in Division Officer Leadership Training Course. I learned all about being a Division Officer, except that, there are no "divisions" in the CEC. It was really meant for a Line Officer and not a Staff Corps Officer. Much was able to be crossed over to the CEC, but it took some work.
Aside from going to class five days a week and overcoming the depressing weather, Sarah and I made our way all over every weekend. It only took about a five mile drive in any direction to escape the June Gloom that made its way all the way into August. We visited Venice Beach, Los Angeles, Santa Clarita, Santa Barbara, Ojai, Ventura, Solvang, Malibu, Fillmore, Simi Valley, Santa Paula, Thousand Oaks, and everywhere in between.
And just as quickly as California came, California went.
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