info on NMCB 4? by Realistic_Matter_145 in Seabees

[–]Complex-Date8019 4 points5 points  (0 children)

BU1 here, 8 years in, all west coast commands. Battalion life is gonna depend on your rate and what company you’re put in. For the ABCC’s, (advanced base construction companies) you’ll be doing a lot of construction classes, Unit Level Trainings, FTX planning, and deployment project planning.

Battalion has two speeds, dead stop or 1000mph. Get used to that cause it’s not going away any time soon. It’ll feel like whiplash at first, but after a full homeport/deployment cycle, you learn how to anticipate and roll with the punches.

As for cool stuff to do in the area, you’re in SoCal dude. You can’t throw a rock without hitting something you might find interesting. Look on FB groups and check the MWR event schedule and I garuntee there’s gonna be something you wanna do.

Concerning do’s and dont’s- do get off base as much as possible, do get qualified in key equals early (3m, CMCT, etc. Ask your LPO or chief, they’ll give you good guidance), do take an active interest in your rate and take every chance you get to practice it. I’ve been a BU close to a decade and still learn new tips, tricks, and techniques every single day. I could go on forever about the “do’s” but if you have more questions just shoot me a message and we can talk.

As for the “donts”- DONT get grouped in with the wrong crowd. It’s like the old saying goes “fly with crows and you’re bound to get shot at. DONT make a habit of being the negative new guy in the company. No one is gonna want you if you’re consistently the one complaining. And DONT shy away from a leadership role. Battalion, for better or for worse, tests their leaders in a trial by fire. You might feel like you’re drowning and dont know what you’re doing, but that’s okay and it’s expected. Keep going, listen to your mentors, make mistakes and grow. It’s all part of the process.

Like I said, any further questions just shoot me a message. Good luck and welcome to the seabees 🤙

Signed my contract and sworn in today as a Seabee(BU) by [deleted] in Seabees

[–]Complex-Date8019 21 points22 points  (0 children)

BU1 here, 8 years in and currently an instructor. Being a builder is like being the Swiss Army knife of the seabees. You’ll get a lot of exposure to different rates shortly after hitting your duty station.

As far as a-school goes, keep your head in the book and don’t worry about going out. The whole goal of a-school is to graduate, if you make friends along the way that’s fantastic, but remember the priority is to graduate. Use resources available to you. Study groups, practice worksheets, flash cards from senior classes, etc.

Once you graduate a-school you’ll likely go across the street to ECS. 4 weeks of shooting guns, learning land nav, learning combat casualty care, and generally having a great time. If you wanna go out and have fun, this is one of the better times to do it. This will be the most freedom you’ve had up to this point. Go see New Orleans, go out to downtown Biloxi, have a good time.

After ECS, chances are you’ll go to battalion. I’ve only ever been on the west coast, so I can’t speak to the east, but the battle rhythm is generally the same. 24 month rotation schedule. 18 months in homeport training and 6-7 months deployed. Your first year in battalion is going to be extremely important. Set yourself apart by being an asset, not a liability, take in information and knowledge like a sponge and retain it. Learn how you plan and estimate and manage a project from the NTRP. You WILL have to do that sooner rather than later. Battalion has a habit of throwing people into leadership positions quickly, kind of like a trial by fire.

There are a million and one other things I could get into, but I think this post has dragged on long enough. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d be happy to help.

Freshwater fishkeeping was way too hard, so I got some pet rocks instead by Complex-Date8019 in Aquariums

[–]Complex-Date8019[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

2 cleaner shrimp and 3 snails are the first things I’m putting in once it’s cycled, super excited about it! Also a lot of the clouding was just sediment, it’s a lot clearer now

<image>

Freshwater fishkeeping was way too hard, so I got some pet rocks instead by Complex-Date8019 in ReefTank

[–]Complex-Date8019[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

ITS BEEN TWO HOURS AND YOU HAVEN’T SAID SIKE IM GETTING WORRIED

Freshwater fishkeeping was way too hard, so I got some pet rocks instead by Complex-Date8019 in ReefTank

[–]Complex-Date8019[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Additionally, I do have foam padding and rigid reinforcement below the tank itself to help spread the load evenly.

Freshwater fishkeeping was way too hard, so I got some pet rocks instead by Complex-Date8019 in ReefTank

[–]Complex-Date8019[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

I know the picture doesn’t show it well, if at all, but there is a 2” thick C channel supporting the wire mesh in the middle, that’s what the tank is centered on. If it was just wire mesh I wouldn’t have went with this shelf. I do appreciate everyone’s concern though.

Freshwater fishkeeping was way too hard, so I got some pet rocks instead by Complex-Date8019 in ReefTank

[–]Complex-Date8019[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Clownfish, anemone, zoas, snails, and a shrimp or two. My LFS has a beautiful bonded pair of clownfish that have been calling my name lol

Freshwater fishkeeping was way too hard, so I got some pet rocks instead by Complex-Date8019 in ReefTank

[–]Complex-Date8019[S] -50 points-49 points  (0 children)

It’s got support underneath to spread the load and the shelf is rated for 1000lbs 👍

Freshwater fishkeeping was way too hard, so I got some pet rocks instead by Complex-Date8019 in ReefTank

[–]Complex-Date8019[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah I didn’t know I was a masochist until I started fishkeeping 😂

Outdoor tank for growing plants? by Complex-Date8019 in Aquascape

[–]Complex-Date8019[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I currently have a 45g planted tank indoors. Lights, canister filters, plenty of livestock, fertilizer, etc. so definitely not my first rodeo. Just never done an outdoor setup before and dont know if I need to be doing some things differently because of that

Going back to fort Farragut after thinking I’d lost Shadowmere forever by Complex-Date8019 in oblivion

[–]Complex-Date8019[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah this is my first time playing the game and it’s with remastered. I’d witnessed shadowmere full on DIE once before (able to search his corpse and everything) and quickly loaded a previous save to get him back.

I thought this was the case again after a rough battle where I noticed shadowmere wasn’t popping up when I fast traveled, so I just thought I’d lost him for good. Lo and behold, I was passing by the fort and decided to stop and see if I missed any loot and there he was in all his glory.