vetsami

[vetsami]

The Patriots

The Patriots of America defending freedom, developing relationships inside and outside of the military. The melting pot of Americans where we are sticking square pegs into round holes and expecting it to work without a problem. However, they make it last, the members bond together to achieve one main goal of defending their homes that in turn defends the nation. We have developed our bonds through the trauma we endure together from starting off in boot camp to succeeding in the fleet and the field. No matter where we go, everybody knows that the American service member is around, they are proud of what they do, and happy to enjoy the time breaking bread with their friends and family outside of work. Now comes to the familial bonds at home, the support system that must be complete for the member to succeed at work. We have to balance a three legged stool being in the military, we have our family, the military branch that we serve and the friends we make from working in the treacherous conditions we get exposed to. The family is the support system that must endure some of the hardships that the military throws at its members, they travel when we travel, they heal us when we have been hurt, and they inspire us to be better member of the family as well as members of the military.  We all have a love for each other as brothers and sisters, we respect each others views of the world and ideas, we fight as brothers and sisters because that’s the environment we are in, but we make up and move on to the next project that will test our wits and make us a stronger team. This teamwork becomes ingrained in us to continue it throughout other life challenges, we use each other to vent about our personal problems, making it a team effort.

For every new person that joins our crew we develop a new way of doing something, the older members feel that if something is not broken do not fix it, but we make it more efficient and tolerable for the next. We work together to achieve the mission of our unit and then go out together to build the camaraderie, becoming a family away from family. This is what we get as we deploy with each other and watch each others backs while our boots are on ground and eyes forward looking for the finish line. While we seem like a rowdy bunch when we are out at the local bars, walking to and from our duty stations, and hanging out at the local beaches, we are creating memories together, because the bonds we build for the short time we are together are memories that will last a lifetime. We also cherish the time we get at home with our families, we have developed a military routine, everything has a place, as time and structure to how things get done and why. We seem to be rough on the ones we love, and that is cause we are and need to realize that our family at home is not the military and need to be more lenient. Believe that as a parent, we do not need to maintain the military structure on our children and our loved ones but to loosen up a bit and enjoy the fact that this is the time to let loose and be a member of society. Families are what help hold us together when we are out there doing the job of protecting the nation. We are crazy enough to think we can change the world, and make it a better place to live while protecting the nation we love so dearly, we protect the rights of the Americans while standing watch on flight decks and overwatch in towers in the field. WE ARE THE PATRIOTS!

[vetsami]

The Polish Rider

 A white steed moving with beauty,

A man rides with a duty.

Looking upon the pastures for an enemy,

Only to find those that are friendly.

In the background storms are a brew,

A war for many, because of the few.

The artwork I chose is The Polish Rider by Willem Drost, the painting appears to be grey as if smoke was rising in the background. The rider is watching with distinction, watching over people to protect them from danger or watching to see an enemies movement in the fields. I am not sure that my interpretation preserves the original, it’s a very beautiful painting and I am not an artistic person. The details though, in the white horse appearing to have its attention forward of its position with its leg ready to dig in and take off. I feel like this is a painting of a man on watch, sitting atop of his horse. Possibly a storm or a battler has happened or happening behind him with the grey behind him. The man on the horse has a quiver of arrows on his hip and a bow held on what would seem to be his strong side, ready to be brought up and loaded with an arrow should anything disturb the peace of the surrounding area.

[vetsami]

Not seen on TV

The video I chose is Bill Viola’s Ascension, which starts off with a view underwater when a person crashes into the still water then slowly rises back out of the water. The video slows down once the person is in the water with their arms spread out, the air bubbles created by their entrance into the water slowly filtering around body limbs. The blue lighting that is illuminating the top of the pool, hitting the bubbles and lightening the area around the persons body and limbs. To me, the video is displaying somebody being dropped into a problem and the initial turbulence in the waters and the depth the person achieves is the introduction of a problem they are encountering. Then you can see the person start moving back to the top of the water, towards the light, towards the space they can breathe as if they have solved the problem or starting to solve the problem. This video to me shows that no matter what the problem is, there is always a way back to the level of treading water and being able to breathe, not to panic and rise to the top in a scramble. The idea of this video versus watching tv is that, I actually paid attention to this video and watched the details of the turbulence in the water, the person rising to the top, the air bubbles rising around them as well, television is a motion with multiple visual effects and sounds going on that details are harder to pick up as things are kept on a timeline.

[vetsami]

Hamlet - Act 1 Scene 3 - A room in Polonius' House

The Hamlet scene I chose was Act 1 Scene 3 where Laertes is saying his farewells to Ophelia and warning her of Hamlet’s possible intentions. I chose this scene because it is a brother that is trying to protect his sister from the immaturity of boys and the possible woes that come from being with a boy that is immature. In the beginning of the scene as I was reading it, I thought that it was going to be an attack on Hamlet as being a bad person, but is merely a warning of him growing up in royalty and that his intentions change as he gets older. Laertes also warns that his royalty binds his words to only mean as much as Denmark allows them to mean. The scene read as a farewell for Laertes, which is what it turned out to be as I watched it, he was saying his good bye to his sister then Lord Polonius enters the room and issues his farewell for a second time. He also gives his advice to Laertes about going to sea and to protect his honor and by standing his ground when needed and not to start the fights. My interpretation of Hamlet in this scene is that he is young and immature, Lord Polonius also warns against relations with Hamlet and he says that he is a foolish young boy. So, in choosing this scene, it was because of the warnings the brother and father were giving to Ophelia to protect her name and to be respectful of herself.

[vetsami]

Anatomy of a Scene

The first movie I chose was The Piano, the movie seems to start off slow in the story telling, then moves on at a decent pace. The story is about a woman that is mute and is translated by her daughter to speak to her husband whom is a manipulative character. Ada expresses herself through music, playing on a piano. Ada was sold into marriage by her father to an abusive and manipulative husband Alisdair whom tried to separate Ada from her piano, but she was able to acquire it through Alisdiar’s neighbor George. The dramatics of the movie are accented with the piano playing, along with the plot of the movie being darkened and the story of the movie was able to strike a range of emotions of the audience with the telling of the story.

The second movie I watched was Dr. Strangelove which was a black and white movie that was based around what seems to be an unhinged general of the United States Air Force that is ordering a nuclear attack on the USSR. The movie also follows the POTUS, his advisors and others that are trying to prevent the bomber from dropping hydrogen bombs on the Soviet Union. The scene I chose to analyze was the scene of the bomber flying approximately six miles away from the target while the pilot is communicating back to base and the aircrewman was working with a sparking control panel while sitting on a bomb. The scene of the bomber flying through the valley that seem to be partially covered in snow says that it is early in the winter season or and the end of winter since the USSR is typically covered in snow during the brunt of winter. The aircrewman working on the panel trying to repair it to launch the bomb while the miles are closing fast on the approach to the target area, he is sweating profusely while working with pliers on a sparking control panel hanging by wires. Kong is the aircrewman wearing a cowboy hat, fixes the control panel in time as the target area comes into sight and is sitting on the bomb still as the hatches open below him and drops the bomb as he is hooting and hollering like he is on a bull in a rodeo.

[vetsami]

The topic I chose is one team, one fight this is the embodiment of how my life is surrounded by my “team players.” I have my family team, or my home team then I have my work team where we make things happen so that the fleet can continue to function on its day to day operations. Although, both teams intermingle in the aspect that my home life supports my work life and vice versa.

This first photo is the support system at work, right after I had re-enlisted for an additional six years to finish out my career goal of hitting a minimum of twenty years for the retirement.

The next photo is my weapons team, we instruct the weapons familiarization for ships crew. Ensuring the proper handling of firearms is conducted to prevent any mishaps and provide a safe environment for everybody on or near a naval vessel.

The next photo is another work team moment when we were all being recognized for getting qualified in our area of responsibility. Being awarded our Navy Security Specialist pins.

This photo is my team that holds the fort down while I am away, my wife keeps the house functioning and supports me whenever I am called to be away with the work team I am a part of.

While not having to work, we travel to enjoy the finer things in life. Taking in the moments that will help shape us into well rounded people.

These photos show that there is always a network of support, whether at work or at home. Nobody has to be alone in the fight to the end, we all come together to break bread at the end of the day to be not only a separated team, but a very large family. We fight the battles together and enjoy the winnings together.

[vetsami]

America!

The topic I chose on this is America, even with faults, here is a greatness and these artists culminate the differences of views within their music. In Eminems song “White America” he maintains what I like to call a marching tempo with a clear beat. Eminem sings the problems he sees in America, such as race issues and the issues with the education system and how he was not given a chance until he met another specific rapper. The tone of the song illustrates a frustration contributing to the message being sent to anybody that is willing to listen to the art.

The next song I chose is Johnny Cash “Ragged Old Flag” being that it is not necessarily a song, but a poetic story with an instrumental background. Johnny Cash mixes the music around with a military style drum to a soft sound that transfers back to a military drum with a banjo. The story starts off with Johnny Cash meeting a member of the little town of the courthouse he was walking up to. The story of the flag represents the American flag and the history of it, the different wars and battles that it has been carried through and who commanded the troops each conflict the flag stood through. The tone is meant to develop a sense of pride in the flag and country patriotism.

The next song is “American Woman” by Lenny Kravitz, the song is a rock cover of the original by Guess Who. The song is widely misinterpreted with may thinking that it is an attack on American politics, but was actually about the women of Canada being preferred to women of America due to women seemingly to age faster in the United States. The version Lenny Kravitz did was a little slower and softer than the original but added a guitar solo that is signature of his style.

The next song I chose is “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy in the hip hop genre from the early nineties with a bouncy rhythm the artists channeled their tension from the justice system that was seemingly institutionalizing racism. This song was an act of defiance to the government to send a message to Generation X to get some of the black heroes on the wall of fame.

The next song is “It’s America” by Rodney Atkins with an up-tempo beat and a banjo backing, the song lists the good things of living in America, after stopping at a lemonade stand that would make a perfect post card. Along with the seeing people volunteering to help out the community they live in, driving in an American built vehicle traveling down back roads.

The next song is “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” by Toby Keith, this song was inspired by the passing of his father and then the 9/11 attacks. The song maintains an up tempo beat after the beginning of the song where Toby Keith started slowly with a tribute to the American People. The lyrics develop a high sense of patriotism and became the anthem of many service members that were in the military or were about to be serving the country upon completion of boot camp.

The relevance of this topic to me, besides being in the military, is that this was my motivation to join the military after the 9/11 attacks when I was in my sophomore year in high school, I decided that I wanted to be a part of the protection of the United States, because I want everybody to enjoy the freedoms we have.

[vetsami]

Unprepared

On a cool morning in Norfolk, Virginia, I am driving to Naval Station Norfolk with the windows down and enjoying the cool weather before the heat sets in for the day. The weather channel had warned us that there would be rain in the afternoon and I was driving to work prepared to wear my wet weather gear after lunch. I met up with my team at the head of the pier, just outside the entry control point and observed the dark clouds rolling in from the distance and thinking that they were moving slowly to be over us by just after lunch. The team and myself walk across the brow to head to the mess decks, and we conduct our training on the mess decks, laughing and joking with the crew that was forced to attend our training for the day. Knowing that we have training scenarios in the afternoon and will need to protect ourselves and the crew from the elements we ask the ships personnel to get a large tent and a vehicle parked underneath it so we can properly train vehicle searches. Lo and behold, we are leaving the ship for lunch and it is already pouring rain, we walk back to our cars and I am getting my wet weather gear out of the trunk and it is not there. I had left my gear in my other vehicle at home and will be soaking wet for the rest of the day, from head to toe. In that instant, I made a decision to go to the Navy Exchange close by, and purchased an extra set of wet weather gear so I could remain dry and have a set to keep in this car in case this happens again.

[vetsami]

Poetic

The poem I chose for this is On An Unsociable Family by Elizabeth Hands. The poem starts off with explaining how in their home its as if the others do not exist, they do not fight nor agree. As they are sitting around a fire, one says that they are cold then all agree and end up shifting closer to the fire. Everybody in this family is about themselves rather than the family as a unit. The theme of this poem is explaining how the family unit is all but a family unit, everybody just coexists with each other, being alone but home with everybody. I would say that it is more of a denotation about the yawn that seems to consume everybody around the fire. I would also believe that this is more of an organic narrative as the narrator is a part of the story in this poem. The central image of this is the fire that everybody is sitting around in this, as everybody moves toward the source of heat as the cold wind blows. I feel like this poem spoke to me because of how I grew up, it was more of a situation that allowed me to just do what I wanted or needed to do without the involvement of the rest of my family, they merely existed as a family unit with little to no interaction other than sitting next to each other for dinner and watching a movie together in the living room.

[vetsami]

The first space I chose for this is| the living room of my home, granted I have an open floor plan when walking into my house, so the space is a combination of a family room, dining room and kitchen. Without the furniture in the room, it is still easy to depict the difference between the areas, the kitchen being rather obvious. The dining room has the functional feel being right next to the kitchen area. The living area has the tray ceiling and the feel of the openness of the pocket slider windows. The idea is also that the standard slider doors in the dining area and the vertical opening window in the kitchen assists in the natural lighting of the entire room. The wall of the living area is long to embody the entertainment feel of having a large entertainment center, large television and the sound reverberates throughout the open area well, not echoing to much but allowing for a great surround sound feel. Another area that I inhabit regularly is my master bedroom, but its more of an enjoyment due to the functionality it serves, connected to my master bathroom and serving a purpose of going to sleep. The difference between the areas is that the master bedroom and master bathroom require more lighting and are set up to be relaxing and limit the input of light especially during times of rest and sleep. Each room serves its on purpose to me and I enjoy them both equally, however I spend more time in my living room than my bedroom.

[vetsami]

The Lone Sailor (Norfolk, VA)

The history of the Lone Sailor was originally sculpted by Stanley Bleifeld who served in the Navy during World War II and was dedicated to the Navy Memorial on October 13, 1987 in Washington, D.C. The original casting of The Lone Sailor was done with fragments from the USS Constitution, USS Constellation, USS Maine, USS Biloxi, USS Hancock, USS Seawolf, USS Nautilus and the steamer Hartford, all ships spanning the history of the US Navy to be a part of the Lone Sailor legacy. The casting of the Lone Sailor in Norfolk, VA is surrounded by plaques of the USS Cole, USS Forrestal, USS Iowa, USS Nimitz, USS Newport News, USS Scorpion and The Pentagon. The United States Ships that are presented are Norfolk based ships and The Pentagon plaque is a commemoration of the 9/11 terrorist attack. The Lone Sailor stands at approximately seven feet tall with a sea bag next to them packed and ready to go to sea. The Lone Sailor is a depiction of the men and women that have served, are serving and will serve in the US Navy. Norfolk has a large Navy presence with Naval Station Norfolk being one of the largest naval bases as the primary home of the Atlantic fleet. The sculpture is full round, and is standing in front of the USS Wisconsin facing the bridge of the ship that has served its time in the fleet through battles as significant as Iwo Jima and is now a museum ship in the Waterside of Norfolk, VA.

[vetsami]

Abstract

The Yosemite IV painted by Natvar Bhavsar utilizing acrylic on paper in 1980, Natvar specialized in creating paintings that utilized soothing colors, creating meditating pieces. There is no defined lines in this, but the linear up and down color differentiations are still there, the colors start off being more defined at the top of the painting but blur more at the bottom. The lightness at the top portrayed by the white acrylic that was used, is like the skyline of buildings, and the darkening to the bottom of the painting is much like the street level of a city. The colors utilized are a mixture of warm and cool tones, another way pf seeing this painting is that bottom is a bit chaotic as the colors blur together more but at the top of the painting they are more defined and lightened with the white, depicting that there is light at the end of the tunnel. The colors do not appear to be painted in a specific order which tells me that it could be a depiction of how life is unexpectedly has its ups and downs. This painting caught my attention because of my perception of it being a city like portrayal, the chaos and blending of society at the bottom of the painting, with the freeing visual of the sky, the lightness and more definition to the differentiation between the colors. The other perception I have as I continue to look at the painting is the mellowing appearance of how life is in the middle of the painting.

[vetsami]

Got Your Six

The art I chose is Got Your Six by David Lozeau, the art shows two guys in tactical gear, one is in the kneeling position covering one direction while the teammate is standing and facing the opposite direction. The scene seems to be set in a dark setting, tactics are not typically done in the best conditions nor are they needed during the best circumstances. The members are wearing military camouflage with bulletproof load bearing vests and are sighted into their scopes (ACOG) either facing an imminent threat or about to face an imminent threat. The artist has placed them in a sandy setting with rocks and barbed wire on the ground like a setting in Iraq or Afghanistan. This work speaks to me because in my profession working within the antiterrorism field, we have to rely on one another to make sure we are always aware of surroundings and cover the backs of our teammates. The artist also portrays the teammates as skeletons, to me this says that in order to be able to do this job and be able to function the people are dead inside, either have shut their emotions off or have lost al feeling of emotion due to the torment of having to do some of things required by the job they do. The whole piece speaks to me because I have been around the scene so much and been in the shoes of tactical operators, the feeling of adrenaline is great but the results of the reason we are deployed is what weighed the most on my conscience, some feelings that I would never wish on another person. To me, the themes that this work represents is conflict, adversity, heroes and leaders. It also shows humans and the environment, showing the toll of having to do the job of protecting good people by taking out the bad.

[vetsami]

About Me: My name is Steven and I am currently in the Navy as an MA1 (Master at Arms First Class Petty Officer). I have been in the Navy for 16 years so far and I am currently assigned to Naval Station Norfolk as an antiterrorism instructor and firearms instructor. I have also had the pleasure of working within detainee operations at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where I was in charge of the camp that housed the high priority detainees, including the five that masterminded the 9/11 attacks. Also, I was able to do training with the United States Marshals Service with their weapons and tactics division and translate that to the Navy where I teach firearms and tactics to antiterrorism teams. I was born and raised in southwest Florida and own a house in Estero, where I plan on retiring to in about 4 years. I have had the pleasure of traveling to different places throughout my career, experiencing different cultures and learning the societal differences.