My Trip to Norfolk, VA

Right now, you’re probably looking at the title of this blog post and thinking to yourself “Norfolk?  Really, Cameron?  What is so special about Norfolk?  You could have talked about anything else in the world and it would have been at least twice as interesting.”  Au contraire.  This was in fact one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had in my entire life. It didn’t feel like much of a business trip to be honest, but rather more like a vacation.

We left DC at around 7:30 am on Wednesday morning by bus to Norfolk, and it took us about three hours to get there with one rest stop.  I was tired the entire morning, and to be honest, I had the same feeling about this trip as you probably did when you read this blog post, “Norfolk?  Really?”  But that sentiment went away quickly, especially because the group of military officials that we accompanied was such a great group to spend time with. Of course, I enjoy working with the other interns and staff members at NESA.  We stopped for lunch at a nice Spanish restaurant called “Bodega Tapas”, and the food was absolutely delicious.

One of the perks about going to one of these trips through the NESA Center is that the trips are all-expense paid, and this includes the meals, which are typically very gourmet.  We went to the US Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) Headquarters in Norfolk for a briefing on what USJFCOM does and the role that it plays in the transparency of the United States Department of Defense.  What amazed me more than anything is that despite the complex chain of command and all of the different sub-departments that make up our national defense, our national defense system is so strong and transparent.  Now of course, there will always be discrepancies here and there, but by and large the image that USJFCOM presented was that those in the higher rankings of the Army, Navy, and Marines are all on the same page as far as foreign strategic policy goes.  Of course, I understood in theory that the US has the strongest national defense in the world, but I never really had much of a sense of how strong it was beyond statistics and all of that I’ve read in newspapers and magazine articles.  After this briefing, we checked into our hotel rooms quickly before attending dinner.  It was a beautiful hotel room; I had two queen beds and a big-screen HDTV all to myself.  Needless to say I really felt like a VIP!  After we quickly changed our clothes and unpacked, we went down to the Grand Ballroom for the Friendship Dinner, where the participants of the seminar as well as some of the USJFCOM speakers came together to have dinner and chat about life, politics, and anything else that can come up in informal conversations.

Is this a nice hotel, or is this a nice hotel?!

The next day was what blew me away the most.  It started with a briefing at the Air Combat Command, which, to quote the website, is “the primary force provider of combat airpower to America’s warfighting commands”.  Immediately afterwards, we stood 10 feet from an F-22 Raptor fighter jet and got professional pictures taken with them!  This is not your ordinary fighter jet, it is currently the crème de la crème of all fighter jets that are being flown as of right now.  Unfortunately I do not have the picture with me, but the moment I receive it, I’ll put it up on the next blog post.  Afterwards, we had another excellent lunch at Air Combat Command with the speakers and the military officials that were participating in the seminar.  Once we filled up on lunch, we headed over to the Norfolk Naval Base and toured the USS Truman, one of the largest aircraft carriers on the base.   There we received an insider tour of the ship, including a tour of the flight deck and the area where all of the flights coming in and out of the carrier are managed.  In fact, we got to go through the “Captain’s Passageway”, where apparently only official business could be carried out in order to pass through it! I’ve attached many pictures below to show you what I got a chance to see in person.

 The view from the flight deck of the USS Truman

 Inside the Flight Deck 

The Captain's Chair Inside the Flight Deck 

It's okay, captain, I'll take it from here. 

 We got to walk through this passageway!

Standing on one of the runways aboard the USS Truman 

Friday, to be perfectly honest, was the least interesting of the three days.  We went to Yorktown to witness the battlefields that held the American Revolutionary War, and the battlefields were just that, a field where a battle took place.  Other than a couple canons and the Yorktown Victory Statue, there wasn’t all that much to see, but it was nice to get a refresher course on 18th century American history.  Afterwards, we headed to the Prime Outlet Malls in Williamsburg, VA.  The saddest part, however, was when we had to say goodbye to the participants because they were all heading home the next day.  It was especially sad because we had all grown very close after spending so much time with each other.  I definitely will never forget them and the experiences that we’ve all had together.

 

In front of the Yorktown Victory Statue 

I’m not sure what’s in store for next week, but rest assured it will definitely be exciting, so until my next post, take care and hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week.  Peace!!