Recruit Training Command (RTC) Great Lakes, Ill. (Nov. 4, 2002) -- U.S. Navy recruit Shaquila Turner from Memphis, Tenn., and fellow recruits inventory and read a passage out of their freshly issued Bluejacket's Manual. Recruits are required to read the “From Civilian to Sailor” passage during their first few hours of arriving for basic training. The manual is issued to the recruits on the “First Night of Arrival.” RTC is part of Naval Training Center Great Lakes, Ill., and is the only U.S. Navy basic training site. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Michael Worner.
U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka, Japan (Nov. 6, 2002) -- An experienced Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) instructs another Hospital Corpsman during a mass casualty drill. The drill tested the response to an attack by weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons. Yokosuka's hospital and fire department train regularly as an integrated team of first responders in mainland Japan. U.S. Navy photo by Tom Watanabe.
Salem, Ore. (Nov. 4, 2002) -- Retired Chief Musician Elmer Melby celebrates his 100th birthday on “Navy Day.” Navy Band Northwest traveled over 446 miles round trip to pay tribute to one of their own. Melby was born in Manfred, S.D., on Oct. 17, 1902. He was only 17 years old when he visited a Navy recruiter for the first time in 1919 and was told to stick to his story when he told the skeptical recruiter that he was 21 years of age. Melby first learned to play drums in his father's band as a youth, so enlisting in the Navy and joining the Navy Band was a natural. While in the Navy, Melby also learned how to play clarinet, saxophone, and violin. During this time every ship had its own band. When not playing, band members manned battle stations and kept the ships clean. U.S. Navy photo.
At sea aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) Nov. 4, 2002 -- Sailors exercise on treadmills in one of the gyms aboard the aircraft carrier. This aids in learning how to deal with stress, which is a fundamental part of living shipboard. Activities like exercising, hanging out with your friends, or just watching the waves from above the flight deck on “vulture’s row” are all good ways Kitty Hawk Sailors unwind from their daily duties. Kitty Hawk is the Navy’s only permanently forward-deployed aircraft carrier and is homeported in Yokosuka, Japan. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Justin Proulx.