When friends
& family see old pictures and hear stories of my old Navy days they always
say it looks like all I did was have fun... I guess it looks that way from
the outside looking in... truth be spoken... I did have a lot of
great memories and made the best of it! Most people have no idea what life was
like through some of those times of change. After all, the ol' Canoe Club got a
face lift over the years and many ol' salts wouldn't recognize it in its
present form.
Back on my
first ship, the ol' Baglady, it was small, cramped, full of a bunch of wise
crack'n horny young crackerjacks cooped up in living spaces the size of a one
car garage. It was pretty gaudamn routine to pass around the ol' collection of
nudie magazines that probably made their way around the ship at least two...
maybe three times before the staples popped out, pages of the prettiest ladies
were missing and the rest were all stuck together so bad you were afraid to
touch it.
We had to
manufacture our own amusement. Without stupid activity, life could become
unacceptably dull. There were times when the days were so monotonous, you would
actually be ordered to watch paint dry... and that my friends is a no
shitter!!!
So we did
screwy things... spending hours thinking up stupid shit to do! It was
either that, or drown in our own gaudamned misery. We did things like send the
rookies out on fools errands like the infamous BT punch or some
good ol' GiG line! Or watch as the 'R' Division guys hold an exorcism on the
ships AC&R units... absent the 'chicken blood' of course.
Shennanigens always at their best to pass time...
"Hey… I heard they did a survey of a few guys on the ship recently. They found out that half of them beat off in the shower. The other half sing in there. You know what they sing?"
"No, dude… What?"
"We know which half you are..."
You see back in those days we thought it was alright to plant the American Flag on foreign soil and declare martial law in the name of 'Manifest Destiny!' When on liberty U.S. sailors would eventually gravitate to a particular establishment where the ol' salts had 'been there and done that' and everyone there knew their names!
These were always great places to lose your money, drink stuff that would make nuclear shit water look safe and watch for mama-san's two girls for the price of one cherry boy special... always a good reason to carry those 'Goodyear' tire rolls they passed off as condoms on the Quarterdeck before 'Liberty Call'... I think somebody tried to use ship’s morale funds to purchase a Thai hooker as recreational equipment for the ship but it didn't quite work out as planned.
It was
usually these times when a line was formed for sick call after sea-n-anchor
because so many of the fellas had that 'not so fresh' feeling between their
legs. Usually nothing that a good ol' shot of penicillin couldn't cure.
It was also
about this time I had learned that I was not allowed to change the name on my
uniform to any of my several nicknames, even though that’s what everyone called
me. You see back in the day we earned our nicknames... Some how between now and
then this became professionally unacceptable. I guess it falls somewhere in
lines of hazing....OUTLAWED.... back in 1997!! But that was part of the camaraderie
that made those memories so gaudamn unforgettable.
Then there
was the drudgery of showing up hung over to morning quarters... Never fully
understood morning quarters. A group of grown men standing in ranks listen'n to
what fun stuff the Chief had in mind to fill your day… same shit you did every
other day… Chip, paint, shine inanimate objects, take a nooner and get ready to
do it all over again that evening... Damn!!! It's a wonder I'm still alive!!!
Yep, these
were the usual musings of a typical sailors life back in those days. It was a
whole lot different than today's 'PC' Navy...no doubt! Before you know it
sailors will soon be forming labor unions and some will be excused from
physical training because it's that time of the month! Budweiser is no longer
authorized as part of a sailor's special dietary needs and they are no
longer allowed to use one curse word for every three regular words while giving
training to ships company... something to do with gett'n rid of that cliché
'cusses like a sailor!'
Hell, who
knows what will happen in the future... instead of marching in formation
they'll all be skipping and holding hands sing'n...
♪♪Gay
Sera Sera... Whatever the future will bring, it will be Gay sera! ♪♪
As a chief petty officer back in 97 when I retired, only chiefs and officers were allowed to wear khaki's and now they are worn by petty officers. When I first saw that, I was steaming like an old frigate. What happened to the initiation of becoming a Chief?
ReplyDeleteMMC-SW-STONE
USN-RET.
I agree with you fully Chief. Tradition should be left alone.
DeleteMM1 Edwards
Why do Chiefs wear khakis? They aren't officers...Alot of them THINK they are, but they're not. Most of them are overpaid E-6's.
DeleteA "chief" is STILL a petty officer....and NOT an officer. They should wear the same thing E-6 and below wear, they should eat and mess the same place as E-6 and below do.
DeleteMr Anonymous, Most E-6 have or had their own Mess to eat in also. But it has been that way forever, the working word being "Chief" and they USED to actually wear the same uniform except a Khaki hat. You know very little about the Navy or NAVY History, you sound like someone bitter about having not made Chief..LOL
DeleteYes my friend the good old days are gone. They're taking the tradition out of our glorious Navy. Khakis wear and still should be and honor bestowed on those who worked hard to make the cut. I miss our beloved old Navy values. Thanks for another great commentary, MM1 (SW) George Edwards USN- RET
ReplyDeleteYup. After being out for 25 years now, I have no doubt that the good old days are gone. The Fleet, which was where a lot of us became men, must be a whole different experience now.
ReplyDeleteA kid I workd with at Honda, Joined the NG so that they would pay for his grad school. I ask him about boot camp and he talked about them talking in ranks. I said what? you guys talked in ranks. and he said yeah all the time.
ReplyDeleteOhh you could talk in ranks...under your breath without moving your lips or jaw and your voice better not carry past two people or the shit was about to hit the fan.
DeleteEverything in the navy has changed. Even the crossing the line has been watered down.
ReplyDeleteThose 2 comments on Aug 5th just prove what our Navy is turning to. The Chiefs train most of the officers. New officers on board ship and many so called experienced officers do not have a clue. The chiefs not only train them with technical skills, but also teach them the leadership skills they need to be successful. I guess that is why they signed as anonymous and probably never made E-7.
ReplyDeleteYeah, unfortunately those E6 and below don't have the under-rated privilage of babysitting their junior personnel as well as their junior officers!! And expecting to pass on the 'PC' with a smile!!!
ReplyDeleteI could see the changes coming from between 1962-69 when they were enlisting CB's with a starting rate of E-7. Then all of a sudden you couldn't write someone up for refusing an order or for insubordination. It must be a real crap storm now.
ReplyDeleteThe people who commented on August 5th sound like career E-6 who are jealous because they didn't have what it takes to make Chief.
ReplyDeleteUnderway...wore out several decks of cards....learned to juggle....pranks....pranks....pranks....and more pranks. Unreps. Main space fire drills, (all, ALL, during the hours I was supposed to be sleeping. I wonder why they never, ever had a main space fire drill in the middle of the night when I was on watch? ...Slept away many lunch hours on the 01 level aft. went topside in the middle of the night to look at the bazillion stars you can see when you're far out in the ocean. cleaned and cleaned and cleaned the ship. Underway was monotonous and you could let it get to you....but I loved it.
ReplyDeleteAs a a Junior Officer - I always believed there were three classes of Sailors...Enlisted (E1-E6), (CPO’s) and Occifers. Explaining CPO’s to my contemporaries in The Army and Air Force was a bit difficult. I do know - 99% of the CPO’s I served with were great professionals - the other 01% - well you know
ReplyDeleteThey came over from the ARMY as E7 . Had one over me. That's why I never made Chief. Wouldn't play the airdale kiss ass thing.
DeleteA Chief wears khakis, which is kinda brown, kinda white, which shows you that he filters shit from the top down, and therefore his uniform is khaki in color.
ReplyDeleteMade Chief in '76. Initiation started at 3:00 am, in the middle of the street, as my 2 "defense" counsels" proceeded to cut my E-6 uniform to shreds. Then on to the Chief's Quarters to shine shoes. Was sworn in around 15 / 1600 hours. Greatest day of my life, bar none.
ReplyDeleteAll y'all talkin' about E-6 and below wearing khaki's, well, they are not the same uniform, the shirt just happens to be the same color. I heard all the same bitchin' back in the 80s when they put everyone in a suit, and the Chiefs whined because everybody got to wear "the hat". It ain't no big deal, a Chief is still a Chief, and if he or she acts like one, they will be treated like one ... if they sit on their ass and whine about what the troops are wearing, they won't.
ReplyDelete