On the Job Training
Recruits also trained on the USS Bluejacket, a full size landlocked ship used to train recruits in basic seamanship skills. The Bluejacket measured 262 feet in length and 40 feet in width. It stood at the very end of "The Grinder." Outside were decks and fittings, where personnel were able to practice boarding, mooring, rigging and other duties usually done at sea. Inside there were eight classrooms for up to 350 recruits to receive instruction.[1]
Besides "The Grinder" and the USS Bluejacket, recruits also underwent other training exercises. Some of these exercises included: fire fighting training, a gas chamber, and water systems training.[2] The fire fighting command helped prepare recruits for how to respond to fires aboard a ship and how to quickly and efficiently extinguish the blaze as a team. The gas chamber taught students how to properly fasten gas masks should they ever be exposed. For good measure, commanders often had them remove their masks so they would experience the impact of a gas attack.
[1] "Oral History of Jeffrey Edward Clark." RICHES of Central Florida. https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka2/items/show/4132.