Nick Update: It's All Starting!! | New Chapter in Jax

I haven't given an update on Nick since we've been here.  I apologize.  In the beginning, there wasn't much going on.  Nothing too exciting.  But starting today, the excitement starts!!!

(taken back in September when we were staying with our friends' waiting on our house.  Nick had just checked into HSM-40 that day)

However, let me back track a little and tell you all about what's been going on with Nick since we moved here in late September.

When we first arrived, Nick was sent off to SERE school.  I'm not really allowed to say much about it and Nick most definitely isn't allowed to speak about what all goes on there.  Basically, SERE is for anyone whose job puts them at a high risk of being caught, such as pilots.  SERE stands for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape.  You can Google it if you're really interested.  Anyway, to put it simply, SERE is hell.  Less than 1% of people we've talked to said they enjoyed SERE.  Everyone loathes it.  Poor Nick and his classmates were sent home just two and a half days early.  I'm not technically allowed to say why; but it has nothing to do with their performance, capabilities, behavior, etc.  It was call made from much higher up.
Anyway, since he did not complete it, he has to go back.  Yeah, major suckage.  They cannot just complete the last two and a half days.  They have to redo it all.  A large part is it all ties in together.  Part of what makes this training real to them is that their mind is not at all in the correct state of mind from the miles of hiking with heavy packs, little to no sleep, and very little to eat or drink.  Those characteristics make it harder for them to comprehend this is fake and just training.  It's been said that SERE is the most realistic training the military has.  Who knows if that's really true, but most people you talk to will tell you that it didn't seem fake at all to them.  They really have a way of getting in their heads.

After Nick got back from SERE he had to check into his new squadron, HSM-40 at Naval Station Mayport.

This is where Nick will be stationed for the next 9+ months.  Although Nick is now winged, he's still in a training phase.  Obviously he can't just be throw into a new helicopter and know exactly how it operates.  Especially this helicopter.  Nick was flying the TH-57 back in Pensacola at NAS Whiting Field.  It's a very old helicopter and pretty basic (think a news or hospital helicopter).  But now he's flying a much newer, more computerized, much more capable aircraft.  He's learning how to fly it but also about all the added extras in it that make it do what it does for the military.  It takes a very long time to learn.  I mean, look at this book.

This is his NATOPS (pronoucned nay-tops and stands for Naval Air Training and Operational Procedure Standardization) which is pretty much a pilots Bible.  He has to have this book memorized.  No joke.  The thing is heavy!  (The freaking binder for it cost $40!!).  I feel awful that he has to carry this around.  He actually just bought the new iPad mini to make studying at home easier, but sadly he'll still have to take this with him to work because the building he is in most of the time does not allow any electronic devices.  (Which also means I can't get ahold of him all day.)

HSM-40, his new squadron, is the FRS squadron.  You'll hear me say "FRS" a lot and that stands for Fleet Replacement Squadron.  Essentially, they are training Nick on his new helicopter, the MH-60R.  Once he's completed this training, he's sent to the Fleet to Replace other pilots in various Squadrons who are ending their sea tour, getting out of the miitary, etc.  After the FRS, Nick will begin his three years of his "sea tour".  In this time, he will be out to sea and deployed.  Not the entire time, but off and on throughout these three years.  After the FRS, Nick will leave his squadron of HSM-40 and be assigned to one of five different squadrons, which will each be attached to various ships he'll deploy with.  Two of the squadrons are at NS Mayport, where he is now, and three are at NAS Jacksonville.  (Currently, there is only one squadron at Mayport but the older helo, MH-60B squadron will have transitioned to a MH-60R squadron by the time he's finished with the FRS...or so we're told is the case.  All is subject to change with the military).

For the next 9+ months, Nick will sit through classes learning about the 60R, he'll practice simulator flights for the 60R, and then he'll actually fly the 60R.  Much like training in Pensacola, he does simulators, then the real aircraft.  Then back to the simulators to learn new things, then back to the helo. 

Nick came home from SERE at the start of the shutdown and although he checked in, there wasn't much he could do.  He attended some classes but the simulators were not up and running.  That was awesome for us since we needed that weekend to move into our new house.

But now things have returned to normal.  We are back to that same annoying schedule of Nick not knowing his schedule until the night before.  Except it's even more annoying because he can't access the schedule so he has to text and call others to find out.

But really, it's the same as training before.  He's gone all day, studies all night.

I can't really complain though.  He's home {most} nights for dinner and I'm not sitting at the table alone.  I go to bed next to him every night and wake up next to him every morning.  Most days we can have a few short conversations.  To some that might not seem like much, but after being long distance for five years, I recognize how huge this is.  I also know we have these last few months before he'll be deploying so I'll take what I can get.  In a year, I'll long for these brief moments of sleep with him or a quick dinner together.

***********   For those that don't care about the longer update (ie non-family), here is the update in a nutshell:

-  Nick went to SERE but came home two and a half days early.

-  He will repeat SERE after the FRS.

-  Nick is now in the HSM-40 squadron, which is an FRS squadron, stationed at NS Mayport.

-  FRS is 'Fleet Replacement Squadron' which means he will replace other pilots in the fleet who are leaving for end of their service commitment, the end of their sea tour, etc.

-  Once Nick finishes the FRS (and goes to SERE again), he'll be assigned to a new squadron at either NS Mayport or a NAS Jacksonville.

-  During the FRS, it is a lot like his old training.  Classes, simulators, flying the real aircraft, and repeat for 9+ months.  He spends all day on base working, and comes home to spend all night studying and prepping for the next day of work.

-  He still finds out his schedule only the night before.  It's annoying but at least we're used to it.

Today, Nick has his very first flight in the MH-60R. He's nervous yet excited. To say I'm nervous is an understatement. If you remember from all his days in flight school, I was always nervous when he flew. I thought I was weird and paranoid, but every pilot wife I talk to feels the same way. It's a dangerous job. The majority of crashes occur during training. That's scary shit! It's been a nice, stress-free life around here. Nick hasn't flown since the very beginning of August. That's FOUR MONTHS I've been worry free. Four months I haven't had to turn to wine to calm my nerves waiting for the "I've landed safely" text. Four months I don't hear sirens and wonder if they're heading to a helo crash. Four months I haven't fretted over a cold dinner eaten alone, because my husband is hours late without a call or text. Four months my skin hasn't had worry-induced acne. Four months of better sleep. That all changes today. Today I go back to worrying about him. I guess it just comes with the territory though. The price of being a badass' wife. Guess I'll stock up on more Cab Sav, Xanax, and Say Yes to Tomatoes and clutch my phone all day long.

All in all, life is great!  Nick is stressed but he's still loving his job.  He likes his class adviser (who had us all over for dinner and it was a really great time!) and he loves his classmates.  We've hung out with them a few times, and Nick's hosted poker night for them.  Once again, he lucked out with a great class!

The Oberkrom's are still a happy bunch and we really couldn't find anything to complain about if we tried!  Life is truly a blessing lately!

Please keep Nicholas in your thoughts today!  I know he'll do great.  He always does.  He was made for this.  But I still worry.  So send some positive vibes.  And maybe send some calming vibes his way.  He's pretty anxious and nervous!  Thanks!!!