Friday, May 29, 2020

"Various Navy Comic Strip"


Here’s a few various comic strips I’ve collected over the years. They didn’t fit with some of the others I’d posted before so here they are! I hope you all enjoy …



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Sunday, May 24, 2020

“The Secrets of Leadership”



I found this in a book I was reading, “American Sailor: More Adventures to Go with the Job.” I hope you all enjoy …

During the build-up of Desert Shield and Desert Storm, General Schwarzkopf planned a visit to the USS Independence one day. Admiral Unruh wanted to show the General what he knew about seamanship, so he decided to take the Admiral’s barge out for an afternoon fishing trip.  The barge was a modified motor whale boat with a cabin top and more comfortable seats onboard. Admiral Unruh decided that he could be his own coxswain for the afternoon with just him and the General onboard.

When the General arrived, he got the five and dime tour of the ship as the deck department lowered the Admiral’s barge into the water and then brought it over to the area where the import gangway was located and lowered the gangway for the Admiral and the General. 

When it came time for them to depart on the fishing expedition, then went down the gangway to board the barge.  The Admiral showed his good seamanship skills by pulling the barge away from the ship and headed out. 

The found a good fishing place about two miles away from the ship.  They were chatting and having a good time fishing when all of the sudden one of those Persian Gulf storms began to brew up so quick the Admiral did not have time to get the barge started to head back to the ship. 

The wind began blowing and the waves became white caps. The barge was being tossed around like a rag doll.  The barge was then upended tossing the Admiral and the General into the water.  Then the storm stopped as quickly as it began.

The General was handling the situation very well and began swimming back to the upturned barge.  As he began swimming he saw the Admiral struggling and decided to go assist him.  The Admiral was beginning to go under for the third time when the General reached him.

The General grabbed the Admiral and began swimming and pulling the Admiral with him. It took a little while for them to get to the upturned barge but when they finally made it, the General pushed the Admiral on top of the hull and then climbed up himself.

After both of them were able to catch their breath, the Admiral spoke up and said,

“Norm, can you keep a secret?”

Norm told him he could …

“Norm, don’t let the guys know that I can’t swim.”

The General said …

“Jerry, your secret is safe with me. Just don’t let the guys know that I can’t walk on water!”

Friday, May 22, 2020

“Hitting The Engine With A Hammer”



A luxury cruise liner is about to leave port. When the engine broke down. Every mechanic on staff tried everything they can think of to get it running, but no luck. Desperate, the captain begins asking passengers if there's any mechanics on board. A retired old salt steps forward and says

"I have 50 years experience as a Navy Engineman, maybe I can help."

They show him the engine, and after looking it over for a few minutes, he grabs a ball peen hammer, walks over to one of many pipes jutting from the engine and taps it with the hammer. The engine roars back to life, humming like the first day it was used. The captain thanks the man profusely and says


"Just write up a bill and I'll personally see to it you're compensated for saving this voyage".

The old salt scribbles on a slip of paper and hands it to the captain. It says: hit engine with hammer- $10,000.

The captain is outraged.


"I appreciate what you've done, but how can you possibly justify that price for just hitting the engine with a hammer?"

The old salt grabs the paper, scribbles some more and hands it back. Now it says:

Hitting engine with hammer - $5.
Knowing exactly where to hit engine with hammer - $9,995.



Saturday, May 16, 2020

"Cruise Book Art"


Here I’ve collected a collage of different sketches, cartoons and various artwork from Navy Cruise books throughout the years. You learn to understand and appreciate your shipmates’ artwork especially when you can relive what it is they represent. I hope you all enjoy the pieces as well as I do…








"Hannah" USS Hancock














"USS Berkeley"











"USS Conyngham"









Fin ...


Monday, May 11, 2020

"Torii Gates & USS Rainier"



I found this cartoon from another ship’s yearbook, but I can’t remember exactly which one it was. What I do remember was how it reminded me of my third ship, USS Rainier AOE 7 and TP Danaher’s “don’t be industrially dumb.”  The Torii Gate which recalls service in Korea and symbolized combat, valor and zeal with its red coloring was what first came to mind.  I have to say the ball cap we wore with the Torii Gate was not my favorite. But the command by far exceeded any other I had served with. The best shipmates and best ship all around. It might not had been a full on man-o-war but boy was she pretty and the crew really loved her. There was a reason she was dubbed “Legend of Service.” 

I was probably somewhere between number fifty and one-hundred of all the shipmates that checked onboard. I was the second ‘FC’ after Chief Lyell.  I came aboard at the National Ship and Shipbuilding in San Diego, California in April of 1994 and she was commissioned January 21, 1995 in Bremerton Washington.  We went through sea trials, Insurv, deployment work-ups, two RIMPACs and two WESTPAC deployments before I left in May of 1999. Boy what a ship and what memories …






Saturday, May 9, 2020

"The Grump ... The Chief"



Every morning the Chief gets in front of the troops for Morning Quarters pissed off at the world with a vein throbbing in his forehead so huge it could knock out a shipmate if he stood directly in front of him. After one particular morning of preaching to the troops and assigning micro-managed orders to each individual he noticed one young shipmate in the back row. He dismisses everyone except for that one shipmate…


“Every morning I assign you to cleaning shitters and shower stalls in the head. How come you never complain? Why doesn’t this bother you shipmate?”

“That’s easy Chief! When I clean the shitters and the showers, I use a toothbrush!”

“What difference does that make shipmate?”

“I use your toothbrush Chief … “


Friday, May 8, 2020

"These Pin-ups Are Life Savers"


I wouldn’t mind being saved by one of these lifesaving sailor pinups! Who wouldn’t want one of these beauties focusing all of their attention on you while clutching that buoyancy aid in your favor… long hair streaming behind her tan body with her bosoms joyfully bouncing about! I hope you enjoy these sailing beauties as much as I had while fishing them out for your enjoyment. 







































Fin ...