Twin Cities Squadron USNSCC LCDR Larson's Australia Exchange Journal

Update #1 15 April	13 APR - 1100 CDT LCDR Larson and PO2 Greenwald meet at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport - 1200 We depart for Chicago - 1300 Arrive Chicago - 1345 Meet PO1 Genthner, who flew in from Allentown - 1545 Meet CPO Handler, who flew in from Columbus. Conduct final rules and expectations meeting. - 1700 LCDR Campbell calls to check in. All is fine. - 1800 Depart Chicago. We were upgraded to the exit row. Had a great flight, but opted to not purchase the meals that UA was selling. - 2030 PDT Arrive San Francisco. Two cadets called their parents to check in. - 2230 Depart San Francisco. The flight was not full, and we each had an entire row to ourselves. This made for a relaxing flight, as we were able to stretch out and catch some sleep. 14 APR - 0200 Cross the Equator @ 170 W - 0330 Cross the International Date Line at 010 South. The date becomes 15 APR. 15 APR - 0600 AUS Arrive Sydney, clear immigration and customs. - 0700 Called LCDR Campbell to report arrival (he will call all parents) - 0800 Met at airport by LCDR Zenda Gardiner - 0930 Check in to TS Nepean, in Penrith. Assign sleeping quarters. - 1030 Visit local shopping mall, purchase souvenirs, eat lunch - 1300 Visit Fire Museum (museum of fire trucks and firefighting). Cadets take fire truck ride. - 1500 Visit Olympic Rowing Course and Whitewater Rafting Course - 1630 Return to TS Nepean. Eat dinner and relax for the evening. Return to the Top of the Page.
Update #2 16 April	Time only for a real brief report. 5 Canadians and 1 officer arrived in the morning on Friday. Friday we visited the War Memorial in Canberra, then saw the Parliment House. 3+ hr ride each way. Everybody was exhausted when we returned at 10 pm. Now Saturday morning, packing up for a day in Sydney, then onward to the airport for travel to Perth. Will send more later. Return to the Top of the Page.
Update #3 18 April	16 APR Friday - 0730 Reveille. Meanwhile, LCDR Gardiner and the driver are at the airport picking up the Canadians. - 0830 Five Canadian Cadets and their Officer arrive. They put their luggage into the building, and we depart for Canberra (the Nations capital). It is a 3 = hour ride, and we eat a picnic lunch along the way. - 1230 Visit the Australian War Memorial, spending 3 hours. We visit displays commemorating various major battles the Australian military has been involved in throughout its history. Several relic aircraft are on display, and there is a striking reflecting pool with an eternal flame and memorial walls. - 1600 Visit the Australian Parliament House, a very contemporary building that cost $1 Billion to build. We went up to the roof for a spectacular view of the surrounding city, and visited the chambers of both the House and Senate. - 2200 Return home to TS Nepean. We stopped for dinner at an oasis along the expressway. Most of the cadets slept on the 3 = hr drive back, particularly the Canadians. 17 APR Saturday - 0630 Reveille. Pack up our bags and clean up TS Nepean. - 0830 Board the bus for the 2-hr drive to Sydneys Darling Harbour. Our group consists of 5 Canadian cadets and their Officer, LT Svedrin (a Swedish Naval Officer), LCDR Gardiner (our host), the bus driver, our three American cadets and myself. - 1045 We arrive at downtown Sydney, and break into two groups. Interestingly, all the females went to the marketplace to shop, while all the males visit the Sydney Maritime Museum. I introduced ourselves as Canadian and US Naval Sea Cadets, and the museum curator waived the $15 admission fee. We toured two, the destroyer HMAS Vampire and the diesel submarine HMAS Onslow. Both ships were in service during the Cold War and are now stand as floating museum pieces. - 1200 We meet and have a leisurely lunch in one of the local shopping centers. Each of the three Canadian cadets purchased a large suitcase on wheels and souvenirs to fill it. They each showed up with their baggage limit, so in addition to hauling the additional suitcase around Australia they will find they will have to pay the airlines an excess baggage fee on each airline flight. - 1300 We drive to the Circular Quay, where we split up into groups and have 2 = hours on our own. The plan is to meet on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. Some groups stroll along the shops and entertainers along Circular Quay, while others tour the botanical gardens or walk around the Opera House. The Opera House itself is closed to visitors as a performance is in progress. However a stroll into the box office is striking. - 1545 We board the bus and head to the airport. The Canadians fly out on Virgin Airlines, whereas us and the other two officers fly via Qantas departing 30 minutes later. - 1720 Depart Sydney for Perth, in western Australia. We shift two timezones to the west during the flight. - 2030 Land in Perth, where we are met by LT John Lloyd, our local host. We wait for the Canadians to arrive, send them on a separate bus owing to their quantity of luggage, and then our host drives us to Leeuwin Barracks in East Feemantle. This is actually an Australian Army Cadet training facility. We will be housed in a 4-story building: female cadets on the first floor, male cadets on the second and third floors, and staff on the fourth floor. - 2300 Check into Leeuwin Barracks, where we will be spending the next week. Everybody settles into their rooms, where they meet up with 80 or so Australian Naval Cadets (ANC) who are here for their Annual Continuous Training (our equivalent of the TWT). 18 APR Sunday - 0600 Reveille. Everybody hits the showers. - 0650 Our cadets wear their uniforms for the first time as we officially begin the training camp at Leeuwin Barracks. We fall out for breakfast, which is served in the canteen building (galley) just across the street from our dormitory. The breakfast menu selection ranges from cold cereal to French toast, spaghetti, baked beans, fried eggs, and sweet and sour pork. - 0745 Form up on the parade ground for morning colors. The parade ground is across the street, adjacent to the galley. Morning Colors occur at 0800. Here we experience a wide variety of uniforms as represented by the US, Canadian, Swedish, British, and Australian Naval Cadet programs. The Australian officers alone have five different uniform styles, and everybody seems to march differently. The Australian Naval cadets are big on exaggerated arm swings as they march, and they strive to get all the other cadets to follow suit. - 0830 We break up into the various training events. The US Cadets have all opted for the Outdoor Adventure Training, as have several of the UK and ANC Cadets. They march over to Training Ship Perth, approximately < mile down the road, for equipment issue. Meanwhile other ACT (Annual Continuous Training) events that are forming up are: engineering (outboard motor maintenance), stewardship (cooking), Leadership (similar to POLA), musician (primarily drums), and medical. Note: The Australian, Canadian, and UK cadets all have dark-blue utilities for field usage. They feel our light blue utility shirts are not comfortable enough, and the CNT Khakis our CPO is wearing is definitely out of place for an overnight bivouac, so they issue AND utilities to our cadets. They are also working on their arm swing during marching. Note: Despite it being a Sunday morning, the ANC program is prohibited from offering any type of religious worship service to the cadets. This is because of a very strong separation of Church and State Principle in their country. Return to the Top of the Page.

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