What are deployments like on a ship out of Yokosuka?  What ports will I most likely be hitting?  How fun is it underway?  Are there things to do?  I have never been on a ship yet, but have orders to Yokosuka, and am really looking forward to it.  Thanks for the help Adam

** I received this email today..  Please try and help him with some answers to his questions.  I will chime in with some also a little later on..  Busy at the moment..  **

A short, sweet, and to the point answer...

1. Deployments: Expect to be underway for an average of 8 months or so out of every 12 months you are stationed on a ship out here. Underways usually last anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months. You then come back to Yoko for a couple weeks or so, then do it all over again.
2. Ports: Alot of places in the Asian Pacific region, obviously. Expect to hit Hong Kong 2-3 times, Singapore a couple times, South Korea a few times, and if you are lucky, maybe Australia once. Those will be your main ports you see from Yoko.
3. Fun: Ha! Naa, seriously... Underways can get very repetitive. Alot like the movie Groundhog's Day. The same thing every day. It is the liberty ports that usually make underways worthwhile.
4. Things to do: Yea, its called your job! Depending on what your rate is will depend on how much time you have to yourself. For that first year, you can expect to be doing alot of OJT, even on your off time. Once you get your initial qualifications out of the way, thats when you get a little more of your off time to do things on your own. Whether that is taking college courses, or playing PS3, or messing around on your computer... Whatever floats your boat... No pun intended...

Not as short as I expected it to be, but thats the gist of life on sea duty in Yoko... Enjoy!

Any ship with the exception of the Blue Ridge will have some definite sea time. =)

Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, P.I., S. Korea, Australia, even Russia and India (depending, it's a once-every-other-blue-moon type deal.)

Underway is meant to get work done, and that's the best possible time to get your quals out of the way. You'll have 3M, Damage Control, and your warfare qual(s) ONTOP of your own rate's qualifications. You'll want to get these out of the way as soon as possible. Onboard my ship, E-4 and below have an unlimited amount of time to get warfare qual'd. Once you put on E-5, you have approx. 15 months (Navy limit is 18 I believe). ((Hint: The faster you get them done, the better you'll look against your peers come eval time.))
MWR usually tries to setup fun things to do while the ship is out to sea. Karaoke, DDR/PS3/XBOX tournaments, poker tournaments, talent shows, bingo, etc.
There's also the gym!