After arriving back from Paris I had barely unpacked before it was time to head out to sea again.  I had only 4 days to gather all of my stuff and prepare for the underway. A hop, skip, and a jump later I was heading out on my first Amphibious Operation on board my ship and I was pretty stoked about it. We would be embarking 400 marines for an exercise down in Thailand. When we brought them onboard in AAV ‘s I grabbed a float coat and a hard hat and headed straight to the center of the action and the best seat in the house… the well deck.

We are lowing the doors so they can drive up and into the ship.

 A lovely rainbow graced us with her presence

 Hello boys… for some, this is their first time on a warship.

 They are coming in… the water down here is a gorgeous blue

They are angling to enter

 Incoming

 Crossing the sill

 An amazing day learning new operations.

Inside the well.

They had to turn around and back in.

First Attempt to turn her around

 This reminds me of Austin Powers when he tries to turn that cart around and it takes him 28 tries. haha.

They got it!

 Getting a shot with the Rainbow and the ship

 The last one coming into the station.

 Bird’s eye view.

 && the marines have arrived.

Just two days into the underway and I knew it was bound to be exhausting and exciting at the same time. We had a lot to look forward too and it’s not like many people get to say they’ve done something like this even once in their lives.

I’ve never been embarked with Marines before but there’s one thing I have learned with just one night with them on board… they’re awfully smelly. If you had a chance , would you take an opportunity to stand in a well deck on a warship and wave amphibious craft in?

Stay tuned for more to come on the adventures of the high seas!

This article appeared first on Dyanamic Soarer.