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Page 17 started June
2,
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Letters, Random Memories
and Assorted Sea Stories (Cont.)
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Bill Vick Comes Aboard!
KP,
This site has unleashed a flood of memories much like a massive crud burst. Seems E-Div conventionals are very underrepresented
here, so I thought I'd weigh in. I'm Bill Vick and was in EE-50 (A&O shop) from '83-'86. I got to the ship too late in the '82-'83 Pac to
be included in the cruise book, but I'm on page 227 of the '84 cruise book and my grill can be seen on page 227 of the '86 book.
Every time I look through the pages of sea stories it seems I think of another story I want to relate! Let's see:
1. The length of the '84 cruise underway period. Seems to get longer with each telling! Actually, according to my count we spent
93 consecutive days (not 120) at sea. (not necessarily underway, as we spent some time anchored off the coast of Masirah, Oman
but it was still a long time without a liberty port). Only had two foreign ports that cruise....PI and Hong Kong.
2. I spent most of the '84 cruise in 3 plant (8 SWGR) standing watch with the likes of Ricky Kuhn, Chuck Griffin, and Jeff Rich. '86 I
started out in 3 plant and ended up in 1 plant with Randy Snook and I forget who else, perhaps Mackey(?) In any event I stood
watch in every plant and AMR at one time or another.
3. Departed shipmates. Not to be a downer, but I did want to pay respects to a couple of our fallen brethren. I was on watch (in 1plant-1SWGR) on the 22-03 watch when Mike Bowden died. My RE brought the news in to the switchgear and I couldn't believe it.
When I got relieved, I saw the yellow barrier tape blocking the athwartships passageway to 3 plant on my way back to berthing. Like
everyone else in Reactor and Engineering, I was in shock for quite a while. I did meet his mother in Alameda after the cruise and
spoke to her briefly, but didn't have much to relate to her unfortunately as I had no first hand knowledge of what happened, and was
only casually acquainted with Mike.
4. Paul Smith. Again, I didn't really know him, but heard nothing but good things about him from the RE's whom I DID know. I
know you refer to him as "Rice Man" but I thought his dopey book moniker was "Jap Man." Am I mistaking him for someone else?
5. There are a whole host of names from the early to mid 80's that I have comments for. First I'll list them and then I'll address them
one by one! Schaut (sometimes referred to as Shout). Yasser, Crowe, Griffin, Kuhn, Rich, Snook. Good guys, for the most
part.....Schaut did not impress me with a whole lot of sense for a certain instance in particular...more on that another time. Yasser
was a bit of a "navel gazer" he "worked" in A&O for a while and seemed to be more interested in introspection than getting his hands
dirty. I may be wrong about the guy....after all he was a nub when I was pretty much wrapping up my time aboard. Scotty Crowe
kind of reveled in his "crusty" wild man persona, but he was a great guy and a real hard worker. He carried on where the E-Div
EE-50 types from the '82-'83 cruise left off. Chuck Griffin. Where do I start? I probably stood more watches with Chuck than
anyone else in my tenure aboard. At this point let me interject an observation about the unique relationship between an RE and a
switchgear operator. Usually the RE and SWGR operator were on the same rotation 5&10, 6&6, or whatever. Consequently, you
end up spending more time together than with any other person on the ship. I knew more about the guys in RE03 than most of the
guys in E-Div. Chuck may not have been the most popular person in RE Div. but I came to know him as quite a character. He had
a way of making a long boring watch go by much quicker.....much of it by making it seem like a continuing saga of which you
couldn't wait to see the next chapter. More about Chuck later. Rick Kuhn. Another sterling RE03 guy! I think he was the only EM2
to qualify PPWS while I was aboard. I believe at one time we were the only all-enlisted watch team in the entire plant with Rick as
the PPWS and ETCS Cook as the PPWO. Jeff Rich was a real quiet, low key guy with a wickedly sharp tongue! It's the quiet ones
you have to look out for! Randy Snook. Tweety bird, Snooky-Wookums. He was a unique bird indeed. Snook was a wog queen
during the '84 West-Pac. Don't believe me? Check out page 102 of the '84 cruise book! (He's the one holding the fan in one hand
and the card number 21 in the other hand.)
6. Running aground after the '82-83 cruise. I was new aboard and my dad was stationed in Germany at the time (career Army).
The European Stars and Stripes had a huge story (with front page photo) of the Enterprise running hard aground and listing to port in
SF Bay. I'll try to get the photo and story scanned for this site. I (being a nub at the time) was stationed in the CO's elevator
machinery room. The COC was worried about the elevator going down....er....malfunctioning while VIPs were onboard. George
Takei was on the ship and maybe the mayor of Alameda. (Nothing like the dog and pony show of '85 when VP George Bush and
half of the rest of the government were onboard to celebrate 50 years of "Peace in the Pacific").
I've got more to say on many more subjects....Top Gun, Nuke School, Prototype staff "scrape ups," how easy it is to start mess
decks rumors, getting caught urinating in the switchgear, Z-80-Es on the midwatch etc, etc. I really enjoy this site and look forward
to contributing more in the future!
Bill Vick
E-Division EE-50
Enterprise '83-'86
EM1SWV@aol.com
| Bill, I remember you. Were you
a 1st class by the end of the ’86 cruise? I seem to
remember you as a 1st class not as a second. Anyway, when I
went to page 227 of the ’86 cruise book to look you up I
recognized you right away. I also saw many faces of people I
hadn’t thought about in years. You were right, the RE and
SWGR operator were probably the closest of watchstanders.
Many of my buds during my steamin’ days were
conventional E-Divers, many of whom I had spent countless
hours with on watch. Some conventional E-div'ers (actually
most) were ex nukes. For example, most of the old
timers knew Eddy Flagler as the guy from
prototype who "mysteriously" wandered off into the
wilderness never to be seen again until he showed up on the
E as a conventional E-Diver. (Speaking of Flagler, do
you remember his big dragon tattoo that he always bragged
about getting in HK for only $200? It went all the way
up his arm.)
Right next to you on page 227 was a guy named Wi_se. God,
I hated that guy! He and I were unofficial enemies. One time I stopped in the projector shop
and he was there.
After listening to me babble on for a few minutes he turned
to me and said: "Get the f__k out of here now!" I
thought he was kidding but he wasn’t. When I was slow to
react he got up and threatened me with bodily
harm if I didn’t leave immediately so I did. Before then he and I were on
good terms I thought. Needless-to-say, I never forgot that
day so when I was LPO of 4-plant (about a year later)
anytime I caught him down in 4 SWGR reading unauthorized
reading material on watch I’d threaten to write him
up. He would just laugh in my face.
I see my old bud Scottie Crowe on that page, too. He was
my idol! I also remember Hodge, Hrdina, Flagger, O’Conner,
Robinson, Sowden, Yasser, and Erickson. These were the guys
I stood watch with most often.
O’ Conner was one of the funniest guys I knew. He often
did standup routines in the Big E talent shows. He always
cracked me up on watch. He was pretty ruthless in the
dopeybook. He always struck me as being too nice a guy
to write such awful things.
Dennis Hrdina actually owes my sister some money to pay
for a rug shampooing she had to endure after he puked all
over her apartment. Dennis and VW were on route to some
school in San Diego when they stopped in to visit my poor
sister in Santa Barbara. (VW was like one of the
family in those days and often came home on leave with me.) Dennis and VW did some drinking
that night and left quite a mess behind. I got quite a
nasty letter from my sister describing the mess--including
their feeble attempt to conceal it all by placing couch cushions
over the
vomit.
I actually met Snowden in EM-A school. He was in the NPS
class behind mine. He must have rocked out. I
recall him getting a sweet deal when he was exempted from
sea duty when he became the star witness in some rape or
murder trial. He missed all or most of the ’88 cruise
because of it.
God, what can I say about Erickson! I liked that guy a
lot. He sure took some abuse, though, after that whole
"rump ranger" incident. But he stuck it out. I
always thought he was a man for doing that. We were
merciless to the poor lad in the dopeybooks. He read
everything that was written about him but never
retaliated. He figured it would only make things
worse.
I’m not sure what Paul Smith’s dopeybook name was
during the ’86 cruise. Gil Miltenberger would know whether
he penned under the name "Jap Man." I was still a
nub and forbidden to look or write in the ’86 book. When
the ’87 book was christened he was given (or chose) the name
"Rice Man." He was on the drill team by then and
hardly wrote in the book. He was more the recipient of slams
than a giver.
Please keep your stories coming .....
KP |
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Kid Pillow Has Awaken!
King Paul
Random thoughts and stories:
My mt bike was in the #4 swtch gear room, when it was spotted behind the wires in the back. I had it covered up with canvas. I forgive you Whitsett (even though I told you I had it down there) - it was Lt cmdr Comi who had it out for me - He said to Captain Rocky at my Captain's
Mast: "Petty Officer Milt.... has a problem with
authority." He wanted to give me 3 days in the brig with bread and water. I pissed those guys off
'cause I thought they were joking. I was pissed cus Willy got sniffed by the dogs on the hangar bay and next thing you know he was eating with Vice Pres
Bush since he was sailor of the qtr - where is the
justice?
Sleep Contest: Brazier went 18 hours straight without waking up, I only lasted 13 hours. I have a lot of esteem for that guy.
1993: Wheeler is a 28 year old freshman at Cal Poly and he is running around with 18 year olds in the dorms. I hope he graduated.
We were in the Philippines probably 1986, a bunch of us rented a sailboat, Engel, Q, Buric, etc and they were snorkeling - I was top side and had to take a crap and thought I might gross them out - so I drove down right next to them and squeezed out a
Baby Ruth - it was like Bill Murray in Caddy Shack.
Sad Day: When Mike Bowden passed away - see photo with Conklin & Marsh I think it was that same night the photo was taken.
Check out the photo of Q in the #4 swtch gear - We are both proud we made it out as 3rd Classes - a dubious honor.
Later,
G. Milty (kid pillow)
RE04, 1984-1988
Bowden, Marsh and Conklin
Bowden
Karachi 1986
Boyden and Buric
Hawaii 1986
"Q" on watch |
|
Tusker Beer ....
KP,
What I remember most about Mombassa was how horrible and warm the
"Tusker" beer was. It was so vile that most of us couldn't drink enough to get drunk.
I resorted to having the bartender chip ice from the block into a glass and
then poured the beer over it. Remember the warnings about the water? I
suffered through the beer, then suffered through DAYS of the shits.
Rob
| Yes, I remember that stuff
too. It was pretty much all we could consume since you
couldn't eat or drink anything else. Poor Dicko got so
sick from the stuff that on the liberty boat ride back to
the Big E he begged us to kill him. As he lay on his
side, curled up in a ball, Q and I contemplated the merit of
his request. For days afterwards poor Dicko couldn't
do anything but moan and groan as he crawled back and forth
between his rack and the aft head.
KP |
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Facts and Figures: For
those who care I have last month's raw numbers. As most of you
can see the "KP" site is prospering and the "mooj"
site is languishing. The last three Mooj newsletters were
hardly read at all! [I have no idea why the 11/25/01 newsletter
is still heavily read; I suspect the fact that Shakespearian sonnets
were used to answer the mail might have something to do with
it. The 12/20/01 newsletter also still gets lots of hits
because an ex-Amish girl sent in a story and I suspect she links to
it from various blogs and news groups. She is a regular
crusader about some stupid murder case--read her rants and raves to
see what I'm talking about.] Anyway, with that being
said and done, I suspect The Mooj's days are numbered. No need
to bust my hump writing newsletters if no one's gonna read
them.
The whole reason I bring this up now is that some "big wig" in Kuwait wants to buy the name
mooj.com off me. I've owned the URL since 1999 and have it
until 2005. I blew a similar request off a few years ago and noticed
that Kuwait Channel 2 showed up on mooj.org. (That site was
gone last time I checked.) I'll see what the guy has to offer.
"4-letter" Dot Coms go for big bucks these days.
Alas, I was hoping that mooj.com could have been my ticket to
stardom ... my big break as it were. But, who knows. If
for some reason I sell mooj.com I will start a new site just for Big
E memories. Let me know your thoughts ..... should I sell
out? Should I stick it out? Should I just get a
separate URL for the KP site anyway? Should I cut my hair?
...... All things considered .......
KP
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May 2003
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Arrgh! Weighs in ....
KP- I've been reading the Mooj newsletters since I first heard about them. You gotta do what you gotta do, but you always
loose track of people when you change your url. Lots of sites with links to you are no longer or improperly maintained, so you
wind up as a "dead link" and get removed.
You know, that lousy Tusker Lager was sooo bad, even the venerable Arrgh! wouldn't drink it. We likened it to elephant piss,
and I drank hard liquor in Mombasa (as well as smoking some spleefs). I even tried that ice cube thing, but then is just tasted
like luke-warm watered down elephant piss.
Sadly, another legacy of the Mombasa liberty call still haunts me, as I participated in "at risk behavior" while there, and now I
can no longer donate blood. Yeah, anyone that went ashore on the first day during the 82-83 cruise remembers that lousy
cattle boat they loaded us up on, and sitting out there in the hot sun for hours waiting to be taken ashore. Then, we had to
watch wile the zeros got to take the skiffs to shore without waiting. I wasn't happy, but you know, the good memories do
outweigh the sucky ones, eh?
Arrgh! |
|
Carl Walker Comes Aboard ....
Hi, I served on E 78-80 in RM22
MM3 Carl Walker
walkercarl@msn.com |
|
Job?
Most of you probably already got contacted by this person (I
think she gleaned your email address from my contacts page).
But if you haven't and are looking for work, here's a
"headhunter" looking for nukes:
Joyce C. Harder
Recruiting Support Services, Inc. (RSS)
843-884-5944 Fax: 843-884-4378
JoyceHarder_RSS@comcast.net |
|
"Dirty Dan" Rhymer Comes Aboard ....
Hey great site that brings back a lot of Memories. My name is Danny Rhymer and I was on the enterprison from
Sept 97 to July 3rd, 2001.
I spent my time in RC-23, RC-14, and finally in RC-22 but will forever call 4 plant home.
I have some good stories that I could share but I am not far enough removed from the Nav to put them up
here yet.
Seeing that copy of the Stab definitely brought a smile to my face. I still have a couple of copies
hanging around somewhere. One of the best drawings that made it on the stab was the
death match between Darth Mallo (ETCS Mallo) and then chief and now Ensign
Brian "Bob" Heasley (the defender of blueshirts). This was all brought about by Mallo's forcing everyone
to keep their records in 3 ring binders (which he pronounced
Beendars) much to the chagrin of everyone else that actually had to change out that paperwork.
The drawing had Brian standing in a wrestling ring as Mallo flew off the top rope connecting with the flying
beendar backstab.
One question arises though, and this is directed to John Baldwin (we went through the pipeline and were on
the pig together) also known as Weenie in the Stab. What is the Count up to now? It was 3 years in 1999.
Thanks,
Danny "Dirty Dan" Rhymer
aka: Sweet tits
aka: APD God (3 straight years doing MTT and ORSE observed evolutions on APD's. I guess that is what I
get for getting Outstandings on them every time.)
Rhymedog56@yahoo.com |
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A Non-Navy Related Story .....
This isn’t really an Enterprise memory. In fact, it doesn’t
even have anything to do with the navy. It’s just a funny story
that I thought I’d share. Last night I was thumbing through some
long-forgotten sheet music and this old ticket fell out (see below). I got it
during the summer of 1983 when I was working at Knott’s Berry
Farm. Not that getting a ticket was a novel thing for me—I
collected them quite regularly. This one was notable in that I was
clocked at a rather excessive speed and was driving without pants.
You see, back in those days I had a problem with wearing
polyester. It would make my skin crawl. The reaction was probably
more psychological than physical but it was genuine. When I worked
at Knott’s I had a variety of costumes for specific duties and on
Saturdays I had to work in the video game arcade. Since the arcade
was in the "Roaring 20s" section of the park my costume
was that of a 20s gangster. I didn’t mind the costume—in fact, I
thought it looked kinda cool—but, and this was a big but, the
pants were made of polyester. My entire shift was spent itching and
feeling creeped out. To soften some of this suffering I drove to and
from work without my pants. I would change in the car before and after
my shift.
So, anyway, now back to my ticket. I get off work. I get in the
car and as usual take off my pants for my drive back home. I had a lead foot
in those days. Who wouldn’t when you’re driving a hot rod 1965
Fairlane 500 with a HiPo 289 V8? I’m flying down Western Ave—probably
doing my usual 75 mph in a 35 mph thing. And damn if I don’t pass
a motorcycle cop holding a radar gun. Yep, he got me. It was only
when the guy had pulled me over, got off his bike and was halfway to
my car that I realized I wasn’t wearing any pants. Now the cop’s
starring at me through my open window. I’m dressed in a big fluffy
shirt, big blue bow tie, blue gangster vest ….. and no pants. He
shakes his head and tells me that he doesn’t even want to know. He also says that I’m
lucky not to be going to jail for violating the speed limit as bad
as I was. I was grateful and totally embarrassed.
KP
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What Bishop's Rock Hath Done .....
Below is a pic from Mark B. showing our beloved home being fixed
after the Bishop's Rock incident. If you look closely I think
you can see someone welding "BUSH SUX" under the hull
....
 |
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More Mombassa Memories .....
KP,
Reading the Mombassa memories from the guys stirred up a lot of images.
I think all of us who were on that cruise were at the New Florida Club at one point or another. In the 90s, sadly, if
you got with a girl at that place, chances are she was HIV positive. One thing I do remember about Mombassa was it was
Thanksgiving, and the line was up onto the hanger deck headed forward.
It took over and hour and half to get the Thanksgiving meal. I think guys
from other ships got to eat before we did.
Man, I remember the first time those jellyfish plugged up the heat-exchangers in 1984. I was the CRAO in two-plant and I got a call
down to the RAR. My Rx. Auxiliaries watch kept noticing the RPFW temps
rising while we were sitting still. How could that happen? Then it
started to stink. The Captain came over the 1MC to say we were getting underway. I took the rest of the watch to scoop those nasty
things out of the heat exchanger. Worst smell I ever knew in the Navy,
and that included after we were overhauling the ASW pump in 2-plant.
Here are a couple of photos of me and Russ Stoneking at the New Florida
Club, me at the Brown Fox in the PI and Russ and I getting ready to go
out in the PI. It might be hard to see, but behind Russ in the lower
picture there's a sign that says, "Retention Prevention Team. To keep
fools from F**ing themselves." Not sure who wrote it but that was the
sentiment of the day.
Glad you found old Gil. He was one of my nubs and a favorite when I was
RT LPO. Gil if you're reading this and seeing this, I'm sure you remember me and Russ. Give me shout!
Duke
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How Em-bare-ass-ing!
KP-
I thought my getting busted and sent to the nut house was funny, but everyone at work
was walking by wondering what was so funny as I read that story. What a unique character you are! You HAD to be
a 4 planter!
Arrgh!
| Oh Arrgh!, you know I don't hold
a candle to you.
KP |
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Hawaii Pics
Hey Kid Pillow, it looks like you have quite a smile on your face
hitting 'the beach' in Hawaii. I forgot you didn't get to see
Hawaii the first time during the '86 cruise due to your restriction
after Captn's Mast. I remember before we hit Pearl the second
time we were having training and Comi was there. He made some
wise-ass remark about hoping he didn't find any surfboards hidden in
4-SWGR this time. I recall you giving him "that
look" when he turned his head. Also, I
totally forgot about that foot-loose and fancy free Gerry Wheeler in
college. He honestly thought he was a teenager again. Remember
how he did that whole "year abroad" thing in
England? (C'mon, you'd think he never saw the world!)
Every time you saw him on campus he was working in some booth.
I bet most of his dorm 'buds' were happy to have him around since he
could buy beer. I started two years after him and when I
graduated he still had only taken half the classes he needed for his
BSEE degree. He certainly was in no hurry to graduate. The photo of Mike Bowden (on the
night before he died) is haunting. I had a very hard time looking at
it. Do you still keep in contact with his mother? I wish
I could find Q again. He knows this site exists but I guess
his wife won't let him look at it. Sooner or later we'll hear
from his again. I forgot he remained a 3rd class the whole
time in. It really was something he was proud of. It was
fun to see 4 SWGR again. How many hours did we stand in that
spot taking logs? Too bad the photo doesn't show the
deck. I bet Bojo's asleep down there! KP
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Couldn't Happen To A Nicer Guy .....
To anyone who had the displeasure to serve under Captain Naughton. (CO of
USS Enterprise 1993-1996; don't quote me on the dates I don't want to
remember them.)
That bastard finally got kicked out of the navy. Apparently he was being
belligerent to a Marine Sentry at the Naval Academy. To bad the Marine
didn't take him to the deck.
If anyone had any horror stories about this Caption please share them.
It was rumored that he had the nuc's TLD's painted white on one end so the
MAA force could single us out for harassment easier.
A.N.
Link
to story |
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I Remember Ol' Capn' Kangaroo
Richard J. Naughton was the XO during my last cruise
(89-90). I don't remember much about him other than he looked
just like Captain Kangaroo. He seemed cool to nukes but I
never dealt with him personally. I won't name any names
(to protect the innocent) but one night in the wee hours of morning, a fellow prankster and I replaced Naughton's photo on the 2nd
deck "chain of command" display board with that of the
real Captain Kangaroo (red suit and all). The photo didn't
stay there too long before someone spotted it and put back in a picture of
Naughton. I guess some people have no sense of humor.
Anonymous |
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A1W PROTOTYPE
....
Hey this is Mcneil from 4MMR (84-88). Does anyone remember the big A1W
"Whamco Reactors" incident. A bunch of instructors at A1W thought it would
be funny to hang a huge sign on the cooling towers that said "Whamco
Reactors" for everyone to see as we rode in. It was sort of funny and no
one could believe they got away with it. An hour or so after the sun came
up, I heard all of them had been sent home to pack up and report to ships
(rumor only, but I never saw any of the "alleged" again). That was about the
most exciting thing to happen in Idaho when I was there.
Thanks for updating the site as often as you do ( 2 planters are still
sleeping at their web site). It was good to see the old painting from
4MMR, the original was taken down in 88 to relag. We were going to preserve
it until some khaki thought he should have it and it "disappeared" in the
garbage (somebody, I hope, still has it). I wonder if the deck plate in
ERLL aft the escap ladder is still there. It has "Question Authority"
welded on the under side.
Has anyone heard from Kinger, Salzberg, Macdonald, Shelton, Steckman, or
Pena from 4MMR? If you guys are out there, write in. I, like most 4
planters, left the ship, gave my stuff to Goodwill in Oakland, and tried to
forget about how much I hated the ship. Now, it would be nice to catch up
on some of the people that made life fun. It's nice to see some of us
didn't stay in or have to go back in the Navy.
| I remember ol' Dave Salzberg
very well. I must have known him at MARF since he was one of
the first familiar faces I saw when I reported aboard
the Big E. Dave was from LA and he and I often drove
south together when taking leave at the same time in
Southern California. The last time I heard from Dave
was when he was studying Physics at UCI (~1994 or
1995). A friend of a friend knew him there and asked
him if he remembered a guy named Tuli from the Enterprise
and he did. That guy gave Dave my address and we
exchanged notes for a time. Sadly, I moved from LA
before we ever hooked up. One thing I remember about
Dave was his black widow tattoo. It had only six legs
so we used to always give him shit about it. He would
always say that most spider tattoos only have six legs
because eight legs don't look right. I remember when
Dave first qualified shaft alley patrol he took Dicko and I down
there to look around. What a trip that was!
I'm not sure what's up with the 2plantlosers
site. The last time I had lunch with Dove he said
someone else was doing the site now. I forget
who. Dove and I are getting together for a family BBQ
when I get back from my LA mini vacation so I'll see what's
up.
KP |
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Capt'n Naughton
....
I remember Ol' Capt'n Naughton well as I was in MAA's a lot of the time
during his tenure on the Big E. We commonly called him Cap't Morgan due to
his drinking and I remember that I was forced to bust the blue shirts on
the ship who would come back to the ship drunk or who had got caught out on
town drunk and were brought back by shore patrol. Well, when one of his
officers got drunk and belligerent on the town we were told to go pick him
up and escort them to their apartment. That incident caused me to take it
upon myself to not bust any more drunk blue shirts, within reason, as what
is good for the O's is good for the E's. The rumor about the painted TLD's
is false as there were a whole bunch of us nukes in the MAA's.
On average we did a better job at it than most other people sent there
and did not single out Nukes at all and, in fact, quite the
opposite. Most felt real bad for us with the work rotation we had to work.
Another story I remember about ol' Capt'n Morgan was that he would go on
about the evils of smoking and how he had quit and shortly after that a
sailor caught him in his car smoking. Oh, and his DUI.... that was sure kept
under wraps now wasn't it?
Monster Tomatoe |
|
Carl Walker!
KP, Carl Walker was being modest with his small note. He is, in fact, one of the original inhabitants of Schmegma House in
Silverdale! And a good guy to boot.
Bongo Bill |
|
More Random Ramblings ....
KP,
I do remember many of the guys you mentioned! Right before the '86 cruise A&O shop got an influx (does 3 count as an influx?) of
electricians from east coast carriers. EM2 Rich Epps from the Nimitz, which was then in Norfolk; EM3 Vince
Lapointe from the Forrestal in Norfolk or Mayport, I can't remember which; and Rollie
Wi_se from the JFK in Mayport. Now I consider Rich and Vinny to be great guys and good friends, but
Wi_se......well, he was another story. You may be amused by a little story I have to relate starring our "old
buddy." You may remember his habit of mumbling when he spoke and then giving that lopsided grin after a particularly snide remark. One of the other
"senior" guys in the shop was EM3 Mike Mayne, who was known as one of the better electricians in the shop. Mike had been
aboard for quite a while and was getting pretty short by this time. He'd always kept a low profile and was pretty soft spoken,
although he was, like most of us, capable of dishing out a ration of shit to a deserving target...and
Wi_se was a big, ripe target. Well, they must have had a couple of words, because
Wi_se made some comment about Mayne's wife. The next thing anyone can
remember Wi_se is under the table in the shop! It was an almost unobservable occurrence, a quantum event, if you will. I don't
know if Mayne hit him or simply threw him under the table, but there he was! He fled the shop in a red faced rage undoubtedly
seeking official redress. Of course no one had anything to say to the MAAs so the incident died a quiet death, but we all confirmed a
few suspicions about both Mayne and Wi_se. Mainly that Mike was as strong as an ox, and
Wi_se......well he had anger management issues.
Some of the other guys I don't remember real well, though I do remember Flagler's tattoo. I think 4 SWGR was mainly manned by
power shop back then. Remember the sign on the CTG flats that said something like "4MMR....pushing 1 and pulling 2 & 3"?
Actually that had some validity during my time aboard. Once, before I was qualified switchgear operator I was standing watch as
central control phone talker and I remember the bridge ringing up a flank bell XXX rpm. Well, the reports began coming from the
various EOS's....1MMR holding at __rpm due to shaft torque...2MMR holding at ___rpm due to power...etc. The only plant to
answer the ordered rpm was 4. Of course the plants that have maintenance issues get the maintenance spotlight and those that
don't get the dog legs run off them. That may explain why one of our later colleagues bemoaned the poor material condition of 4
plant in the yard period of the early 90's.
I was going back through the pages of this site looking for the "hare lip dog story" (I still chuckle uncontrollably at that one!) when I
saw the E=MC2 X 40 pic. I too was in the E=MC2 25 pic (bottom half of the equal sign middle row third from the left!)
I've got to go for now, perhaps next I'll send in recollections of Cinema Pub in Orlando, and The Sierra Club in
Olongapo, maybe even the Dragon Palace!!! (You out there Jeff??!!).
135 262 347 481: Does that string of numbers mean anything to you? If it does after all these years...consider yourself a "heavy"
switchgear operator/load toad!
Bill Vick
| I don't remember. It had
something to do with the ring bus or cross connecting S busses.
Hmmm. Someone out there knows. I'll buy a beer
for whoever does. I do, however, remember that LC11
was all the way forward and LC85 was all the way aft.
The LC s off 4S were 45, 47, 59, 73 and 31. Uh, and
Standing Order 63 had something to do with ground
isolation. How's that for a slight LD flashback?
KP |
|
|
Naughton .....
I had heard about a courtesy turnover of some sort involving Naughton. I guess he was picked up by the
Newport News Police for DUI or Impaired Driving. Never charged and it was sure swept under the carpet....
Naughton once met all the nukes on the FAF after NRRO shut down the overhaul work after a series of
incidents. He basically berated the entire nuclear community onboard ENTERPRISE for over an hour. Have
never heard the word 'mother f___r' used so many times.
He even popped a kid on the side of the head at mast one time. Most of us there were quite shocked that he
would strike an enlisted guy.
Naughton, though a talented financial whiz and troubleshooter, had real problems. He was always protected by
the flag community.
This guy needed help and all anyone would do, would be either promote him or transfer him.
Too bad this guy will probably get on with some big time company, make millions and NEVER be accountable
for his actions.
-Anonymous |
|
Mike Carlin Comes Aboard .....
Hey Ram,
You probably don't remember me, Mike Carlin RC11 87-90. Needless to say,
your site brings back a lot of memories. Add me to the alumni list.
Regards,
Michael Carlin
mcarlin@attbi.com
| Mike, I do remember you.
I recall kicking back in 1 EOS with you during the SRA when
you were SRO and I was SRE. I think Lou Wingo was
there, too (was he a 1-planter?) Maybe it was Jestice.....
My memory is too foggy now.
KP |
|
|
Big E Memories .....
Ram,
I'm changing ISP's, so I'll send you my new address when I get it. I have to say that the site
is great. I've often wondered what happened to many of the people (good and bad) that I served
with. Things I'll never forget:
Rick Mauk punching an equipment cabinet about 2" from my head when I pissed him off
(dude I was just a nub. It really looked painful. I hope it hurt a lot).
Pissing on MMCM's picture at Mauk's bachelor party.
Deaville, Roark, Bush (3 guys who seemed to take a lot of pleasure fucking with me).
Funny they didn't seem to mess with anyone who weighed more than
150#.
Me telling MMC Bush that I would kill him and MMCM in front of the one plant
WO.
MMC Bush has a stroke. I hope it hurt a lot as well.
Frogger at the Sharks Cove (I sort of wish I could forget that one)
Ram Tuli beginning each story with, "This is a no-shitter...."
Getting assigned to 3 plant (" 'cause we send all the dirt-bags to 3 plant") That'll
get ya motivated.
Skinner tries to set a new record for bone-headedness. Probably still claims it wasn't
his fault.
Getting ready for ORSE ("If it's not in the ship's plans, throw it over the side")
Lt Commander Jones threw himself on a grenade for me (a guy he didn't really know).
That guy saved my ass from that douchebag Orchard, for no other reason than he felt like I
needed another chance.
8 and 8 watches.
Beer day!!
Finally, I'll never forget those good friends I had along the way. Mike Carlin, John Van
Muckey, Chris Kontos. And a whole shitload of good people who I've failed to mention.
Regards,
Doug Miller
RC23 86-90
|
Doug! Great to hear from you again. I'll list ya when
you get your new email address. Did I really start every story
with, "This is a no-shitter..." ? I guess I
did. No one ever believed my stories. But everyone
always wanted to hear 'em. I remember often walking into EOS
for a log tour and having the ROs beg me to tell the WO about
someone or something. Most of the tales were about adventurous
liberty calls. Mr. Melch would always say, "Oh that ain't
nothing. When I was on my boat I knew a guy ....." No
matter how rude and crude my story was Mr. Melch could always top
it. Paavola and Sheffield were other WOs who loved to hear and
tell sea tales. If I'm not mistaken all three were
"mustangs," who had many enlisted adventures under their
belt. There are many RC23 guys from your era listed.
Hopefully they're all still out there.
KP |
|
|
Early 70s 4-Planters
From Steamer's archives ..... (read Critical Thinking for
details)
|
|
More from Steamer's Trunk (from Critical
Thinking Site)
Features original Steamer poetry and cartoons about the Hippo
....
|
|
Staying On?
Hey man, just wanted to get my info updated... looks that my transfer has been cancelled due to bad behavior so I'll be on the pig
until 2005 vice '02. Thanks for the update and I'm lovin' the site!
Todd A. Gugluizza
|
Bad behavior, eh? Sounds like a story you should share with
us.
KP |
|
|
More From Dirty Dan ......
I was just looking at the pic of early 70's 4 planters
and I assume that they are ET's since Steamer sent the pic in, if so. How many guys did you have in each
plant? My god we would have been lucky to have that many in 2 plants combined when I was there from 1997
to 2001. If I am not mistaken we had on average about 12 or 13 people per plant.
OK now to a few stories:
We had our own Rx Fill incident. We were on my first med cruise in Spring '98 when we pulled into Italy (I
think) and shutdown 1 and 3 plants. The day before we left the RO on the 3A accidentally initiated Rx Fill
from about 200# below the pump shutoff head. Now the official story is that he was reaching for the spray
switch and accidentally turned the Fill switch. The true story is unknown
'cause the RO that did it and the B RO won't tell. Unofficial story being that he was
playing chicken. I had just qualified Reactor Operator 2 days before we pulled in and guess who got stabbed
with ORSE and MTT RO for the rest of the cruise? That's right me! I got thrown into the RO rotation from
Control Equipment.
I don't know if you guys had the RC/M-div wars but they were in full effect while I was there. They would
kidnap RCEO's and tape them up on watch. It happened to me and trust me there is nothing good about looking
up and seeing about 5 guys come through on each side of the room. The wars weren't just in the plants either they would
make raids into the Rx dept berthing and grab anyone that they felt needed it. One such incident happened
in the early morning hours. There was 4 nub ETs and one old timer sitting in the aft lounge when about 30
M-divers came strolling into the lounge bearing tape. The old timer ET (Aaron Dehring, RC-23) just looked up
from his book at the m-divers, stood up and walked right past them all.
No one even tried to touch him. It was like he used the Jedi mind trick (You do not want
to tape me). The M-divers taped the nubs in the 69 position and they ended up getting trampled as those
30 M-divers did battle with just as many if not more ETs that came to reclaim the lounge.
The next night we ETs raided the M-div berthing which was totally unheard of. As we walked into their lounge
they were watching a "training video." They didn't realize what was going on until someone walked up to
the front of the room and ripped the tape open.
Dirty Dan |
|
MMC Bush ......
Ram,
Here is a sea story very few people know about. I was 4 plant LPO and came down to
relieve the watch from EM2 Mike Engel. He informed me that MMC Bush had just
written up EM2 Lee Schaaf for clearing the Rx fill pump tagout after maintenance but
forgetting to rack the breaker back in. MMC Bush had just asked me to make sure his brand new 40 cup coffee pot was safety checked since he just
bought it. I relieved the watch and took my wire cutters (that was all that was going to be needed for this safety check) down to the
RM upper level. The watch on duty called MMC Bush in chief's berthing to inform him that his coffee pot failed the safety inspection
and I took the phone and cut the cord so he could hear it. I did not make it out of the upper level before MMC Bush came running
down the stairs with the veins in his forehead popping out and new RE Div
chief EMC Whitsett right behind him. After some intense
negotiating it was determined that Lee would fix the coffee pot and MMC Bush would not write up Lee. I made Fwd group sup. soon
after and MMC Bush tried twice to get me back.
"The Big Woody"
Dave Vernier
| I remember Bush always had it
out for you. Now I guess I know why!
KP |
|
|
8503 Memory ....
KP,
I am an ex-Navy RE Div EM1 from the Ike (1986-1990). I was in Nuke school class 8503 and went to
MARF for prototype. I was in the same Boot Camp company in the summer of '84 with Craig Norquist. I also knew him in BE/E @ Great Lakes and @
prototype. Anyway, you've got a story called 'Boot Camp Memory' on page 11. Do you recall the name of the guy from the Ike you
were talking to? Just wondering if I remember him. Great site. I have it enjoyed it immensely.
Joe Brown
| The fellow was ET Dave
Williams. He was teaching a HAZWOPER class for the
army that I had to take. I kept looking at him
thinking, "I know this guy from somewhere." Then
it clicked. I told him who I was but he didn't know
me. I recalled him being super squared away at MARF.
He always had crisp, new, dungarees and his white hat was
starched white and perfectly "rounded." He
admitted that he did get a little too squared away back in
the old days. Since you were in 8503 do you recall
hearing about the so-called picture incident in 8502?
I'm almost willing to talk about it again....
:)
KP |
|
|
Ex California Nuke ....
Hello,
I went to nuke school in 94, then did tours on the USS California (CGN) and the Emory S. Land (AS) in La Mad Italy. My EAOS
was Sept 2002, eight years and 16 days of service. I made MM1 (SW) in Jan of 2001. Oh ya, I was an ELT also.
Since I got out I have been going to school at Thomas Edison with transfer credits from the local community college, Gulfport MS,
and some online classes with Thom Ed. It is a lot easier than I thought it would be. I am actually Calc 2 through correspondence
and holding an 85% in the class. I didn't have any prior calc, except what the college gave me for power school, it hasn't been too
bad.
I worked at the NEX as a vending lead for about 4 months after I got out, but I was in school full time, my wife had long hours at the
galley (she is an MS3), and we had a son that we didn't want to put in daycare. So I put in my two weeks, it felt good to be able to
do that, and now I am a full time dad/student.
I am not exactly sure what I am going to do when I graduate. My wife gets out feb 04 and I have talked to the recruiters about being
a direct input officer teaching nuke school. They evaluated my degree from Thom Ed and said once I grad I just need to go interview
with the big man, ADM Bowman, in DC. I have friends at the shipyards that are trying to talk me into code 105, but I am not sure
yet. I still have until Feb next year to see what I can find.
I attached my resume, it is the one that I typed when I first got out into civlant, so it is not up to date with my NEX job, and I have not
even really looked at it since OCT last year.
For all those nukes out there that have free time, the Thom Ed degree is easy to get and it is somewhere to start. I have been full
time, part time, on and off and it has taken me about a year and a half. That is with no prior college.
Okay, that's about it. I did have a lot of good times in the Nuke navy and I learning
a lot of valuable life skills. I never thought I would be going back in, but if I can't find anything more
intriguing, I might. I can do nuke school, the RHO and never see a ship again.
later,
Chuck Slama
| Thanks for the letter
Chuck. Glad to see you're doing well. I'll post
your resume on my nuke resume site. Hey, how about
some USS California stories .... surely you cruiser nukes
had some fun .....
KP |
|
|
Ike Nuke Reunion!
Hey Joe Brown, I know you. I was on Ike from 1988-1991. My name is Mike Matthys and I was in RM22, and usually stood watch
in 2 plant. Good to see another Ike nuc hanging around.
| As a reminder don't forget
"Critical
Thinking" is for all navy nukes, not just Big E
veterans. I know Mike is a regular contributor so I
recommend Joe join up too. To gain entrance all you
have to do is convince Steamer and/or Arrgh! that you are
worthy of deep thought and have a sense of good taste.
Or something like that :)
KP |
|
|
Random Thoughts ...
Reading about MMC Bush above I am now reminded of how delightful
it was to stand watch with him. My first time I had no idea
who he was (I took someone's watch in 2-plant instead of being
in my usual
4-plant). MMC Bush barged into the SWGR room and threw a bunch
of electrical cables at my feet. He then yelled:
"Get these f--king things safety checked now!" I had
no idea what to do or say. At least three or four more times
during the watch he berated me for one thing or another. All I
could think of was, "Man, this guy is a total
a--hole!" Like most, though, I learned to humor the guy
and fight back. He seemed to like you better when you stood up
to him. Another guy I had the misfortune of standing watch
with was MMC Triggs. Unlike Bush, though, Triggs had no
redeeming qualities. KP |
|
MARF Incident .....
KP's mention of a painful MARF incident caused me to remember
one of the "best" incidents that I've been a "witness" to. I'll have to give
some background first: I was qualifying as a Machinist in class 7903 when
I started having trouble with double vision up close. This was only a
problem when studying the RPM's. I was getting some treatment down in
Albany which was working, but the powers that be said I couldn't miss
training once a month, so they shipped me to New London. I spent a few
months there, where they promptly forgot about me, until the SubGroup
Commodore, Capt Lewin, remembered me from NPTU, and got me back into
training. Gone was the fun of being an MAA on a tuber base, and the coming
grind of going back into quals. I was a witness at a mast for a UA from
the restricted barracks, but that's another story.
After being sent back to NPTU Ballston Spa, I had to wait around a few weeks for the next MARF class to start. I had a bunch of fun getting
Adm. Rickover's quarters ready for his visit! Somewhere, currently lost, I
have a long list of all of the requirements that Hymie had to have, like
3#'s each of white and red seedless grapes, daily. I found that a lot of
my friends got picked up to be instructors, and luckily they needed another
roommate, so I got to live in a big party house only a couple of miles
from the site.
I finally got assigned to class 8001, but my qual book was impounded until the class reached the same point as when I
left training. This left me with no machinery watches or quals to do, but I was able to stand
Rover Electrician, and EOOW watches for some strange reason. I was also
the dog's body for M div, which brings us to the incident.
MM1(SS)__________ and I were assigned to fix any small lube oil leaks in the MMR, so we started at 1SSTG, and would work our way down; this was
right at the start of the shift. MM1(SS) noticed a small leak on the LO
cooler of the SSTG, so he proceeded to tighten the fitting with an illegal
wrench. The recalcitrant fitting needed some more torqueing to get tight,
but decided to break in half instead. This caused hot 2190TEP to be sprayed
into our faces rendering us blind, meanwhile alarms are starting to go
off. This did not please EOS, as they were just in the middle of changing
watches, and had to respond to this emergency at the end of their shifts. Back at the scene the now blind MM1(SS) is yelling at the also
blind MM3 to "TRIP IT!!!" I proceed to feel my way around to the back of
the SSTG, and finally find the trip lever, thus, causing almost every alarm
in the plant to go off, seeing how we were only running on that SSTG.
Ooops! Meanwhile, LO is pouring out of the inlet of the cooler at full
capacity. I walk up to the MM1(SS), by now we can see well enough to
evaluate the damage, and I point to the LO cooler bypass valve. He throws
it, and it shuts off the flow, but not before almost the whole sump is
drained, raining down to LLMMR, and almost out the garage door by the LO
recovery system with the Moeno pump. I still remember the name of that
type of pump!
The MM1(SS) now goes into full incident mood, hands me the Crescent hammer, and says to me, "You were just walking by, and got here after the
'leak' happened," as I was still an unqualified nubbin then. I went
back to M-div to replace the non-existent Crescent wrench, and told the LPO
what the hell happened, and got to go to the training area to tell the
boss that we had a little cleanup needed in the MMR. That was a fun 16 hour shift...the previous crew had to stay on,
unrelieved on watch for a couple of extra hours, and both shifts had to mop
up 2190, hundreds of gallons of the stuff. I was completely soaked with
LO, and went through a couple of more uniforms and got to play Sgt. Schultz: "I know
nothing...nothing," even though almost everybody knew I was
there. The 1st degree burns on my face and hands was kind of a
clue.
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
Bob
Luckily I managed to miss the real airborne incident in the AMR. I was
just getting off shift after I was a qualified ELT, and was in the changing
room with some of the staff. I was just closing my locker when we heard
the Airborne Alert announcement go over the MC. You should have seen the
stampede running for the gate a full speed, trying to get off site. This
was the start of our four day, so I hid out at my girlfriend's place in
Albany, so I couldn't be reached. They had all the ELT's from every
shift working that clean up for a few days. It was nice strolling in after
time off and say "Incident? What incident?" with a straight face. |
|
MARF-O-Rama
I guess only Real Men went to MARF, eh? Boy, did that plant
suck or what? I still remember having to learn everything different
from nuke school and then having to forget it all when I was on the
Big E. What was the deal with MARF anyway? Why did
they build something so complicated? Rumor had it that Hymie
was fed up with the hafnium suppliers and wanted to prove to them
that the US Navy didn't need them. Another story was the CRDMs
were too loud on submarines so they were looking for a quieter
reactivity control device. Who knows. But the MARF
design was a wild way to moderate and absorb neutrons. The one thing we
always trained (drilled) for was the so-called voided tube
accident. I heard that they actually had one a few years after
I left. Perhaps that was the reason they finally put rods
in. Since I was qualified early I spent my latter
days at MARF standing either the Aux Electrician watch or throttles. AE
was cool but throttles sucked! Especially when the EOOWs were
doing their Final Watch Evals. You were gaurenteed at least
one Emergency Stop during the drill set. I remember I scrammed the plant once
opening the stern throttle too fast. As a result the EOOW
failed his FWE and I was given the dirtiest look I ever got.
The guy never forgave me either. He told all the other EOOW
trainees
they were doomed if I was anywhere near manuvering. KP |
|
More MARF Memories.....
KP,
What I remember about the "logic" behind the Rodless
Wonder's design, is that some genius thought that having the fuel
burn from the top down would be a good idea. The plan, if MARF was
successful (Hahahahaha...), was to make a hybrid core with rods, and
tubes, so that the fuel would burn from the top and bottom at the
same time, thus getting more EFPH out of the core, since in a rodded
core you never reach the point with the rods pulled that high
{except for SL-1}. That's what I remember the plant manager telling
me on a watch I stood with him. Of course, he could have been pulling
my leg.
One of the good things about the MARF containment was that little
instrument room above EOS. Hardly anybody ever went up there, so it
was a nice quiet place to study, and/or hide out.
Bob
|
Well that's the third explanation I've heard and it sounds more
logical than the others. I remember that "DARs"
Room, as it was called. As AE I was required to take logs in
there. I admit to "relaxing" in there since no one
else was around. You're right, it was the only place inside
MARF where a guy could have peace and quiet.
KP |
|
|
Billy-Bob Scoggin Comes Aboard!!!!!
Hey Ram!
I just stumbled across your site, even though Andy Astleforde had told me
about it a while back.
I'm glad your taking the time to assemble all of this... Good to hear things turned out well for you.
Keep in touch. You may not even remember me.
Bill Scoggin
RC23 1986 - 1990
bascoggin@aol.com
|
I may not remember you?????? Are you
crazy? Damn, Billy-Bob, I've mentioned you many times on this
site. You were one of my most memorable shipmates. Fill
us in on your life after the navy. Did you go to GT, as
planned?
KP |
|
|
Jim Regan Comes Aboard
KP, I was on the Enterprise twice in my career...1977 to 1981 and
1983 to 1986. I was in Rx Dept the first tour as 3 - M
coordinator and then shift PPWS ..on two different shifts during overhaul..
was on board during the Bishop's Rock small incident....if you can call 72
ft. small.... second tour was spent in EE30..
Jim Regan ...Retired as EMCS was on board as EMC. Thanks, my e mail address is
jimmier@earthlink.net
thanks for the site lots of memories and laughs ...
Jim |
|
Do You Remember this Guy?
Most of you may find this hard to believe but MMCM and I exchange
email from time to time. I asked him if he remembered me and
he didn't. I guess I wasn't such a thorn in his side after
all. Anyway, he sent along a recent photo of himself that I
thought I'd post. I'd recognize this guy anywhere!
KP 
|
|
Arrgh! Comments .....
KP - I don't know the guy in the latest picture, but I'll bet he had that pic snapped while reading some stories from this site!
I've had lots of people come looking to find out "what's so funny" (especially my wife) too many times to recall. This site is a
hoot, and the best thing I've seen on the internet to date!
Arrgh!
| Thanks Arrgh! Actually if
you don't know who the above guy is you're lucky ..... he
was the infamous "MMCM Devil," whom many of us
latter-day 80s slackers knew too well. I want to start
including more photos of us as we appear today. I'm
also still hoping for that big "reunion"
someday. Perhaps next year? Vegas ... Bay Area
..... Norfolk? We'd have to all agree I guess. I
may not be a rich man but I'd surely buy you all a
beer! As far as this site goes I'm proud of it.
I have achieved exactly what I wanted from it: a forum for
us old Big E snipes and twidgets to find each other again
and exchange our memories.
KP |
|
|
Michael Miracle Comes Aboard .....
Ram,
Bill Scoggin sent me a link to your website. It's great!! Bravo Zulu and
all that crap. My name is Michael Miracle, I was on the Big E from December, 1986 to December, 1990. I worked in M-Div in One Plant (EM-11). I live in Dalton, Georgia and my e-mail address is:
miracle@vol.com
Good job on the site!
Michael
| Mike, you're name sounds
familiar but I can't remember what you looked like. I
searched the '86; '88 and '90 cruise books and didn't find a
photo of you. What page are you on?
KP |
|
|
ENS Sheffield ....
While searching for Mike Miracle's photo in the cruise book I
came across many M-Divr's that I hadn't thought about in years. One
was good old ENS Sheffield. I first met him when he was a
chief at
NPS. He was the section advisor for one of the ET sections
across the hall and shared an office with our advisor ETC Whitiker.
Sheffield and Whitiker were two very funny guys. Unlike the other NPS
advisors, they were regular jokesters. On the very first day
of school Sheffield came into our class and told us that our new
advisor was being slightly detained because he was talking to the
Capt'n about some charges brought against him by a former
student. It had something to do with our new advisor beating a
former student with a tennis racquet. When our new chief finally
showed up we sat in silence--afraid to raise the ire of this
supposed madman. Our chief had no idea that Sheffield had come
in earlier and was confused as to why we were so quiet and
well-behaved. ETC Whitiker was a great advisor because as long as
we were doing okay in school he wouldn't mess with us. Even
during Kidder, Freisleben and my "punk rock" days he left
us alone for the most part. But then that so-called picture
incident occurred and our poor chief got hammered along with the
rest of us. No longer was he that fun-loving chief we all knew
and loved. Goodbye good life, hello Mando-45! Sheffield and
Whitiker knew the truth about what really happened but like most
they had to keep their mouths shut and let the ball keep
rolling. There's much more to this story than I'm willing to
tell but Whitiker and Sheffield turned out to be stand-up guys and I'll never forget them
for that. Now fast-forward a few years ...... A
new guy arrives on the Big E--it's old chief Sheffield! ..... and
he's now an officer! By then I was the Fwd Group Supervisor so I
basically did everything I could to help him in his quals.
He'd have to pry his qual card out of my hands to keep me from
signing stuff. He remembered exactly who I was and said that
it only goes to show ya that no matter how f__ked up someone is when
they're young they can turn out good in the end. I guess it
was true in my case. I have no idea if Sheffield is still in
the navy. If he is he must be a Cdmr by now. KP |
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Anyone Remember?
K P,
Welcome back. Hope you and your family had a super vacation. On a recent vacation of my own, I was reminded of how some
things change and other things keep on going. Thought I'd throw out a few memories from my era and ask your contributors if any of
this rings a bell.
Route 66 : When I was still in RT div. I had a rack in Rx berthing. It was on the starboard passageway to the Rx head. Since this
was the busiest passageway in Rx berthing, it was referred to as Route 66. Someone even found a Route 66 sign and affixed it to a
stanchion. My rack was right against the aft bulkhead (Middle rack,
Starboard side). There was a water tight door right next to my head. Whenever they were running jet engines on the fantail it would cause a pressure differential across this door. When someone
would open this door (which happened about 50 times an hour) hot air would gush in and blow apart the curtains of my rack. What a
shitty place to sleep!!! Did the name Route 66 live on?
1MMR Lapping Tool : We had a tool made so we could lap the seat of the throttle valve on the main circ pump. After we finished the
job, we started hiding the lapping tool in various places in the engine room. Officers would hunt for it during zone inspections. Often
this would distract them from finding any real discrepancies. Some unknown person stamped
various acronyms of the day into the disc of the tool. (TTTKU, STFO, MOSUX. BOHICA etc).
Did this tool survive much after 1978?
WCW Booger Collection : During my first three years, my GQ station was Central Control 1JV1 phone talker. My seat was directly
across from the water control watch. Their desk had a clear Plexiglas cover. The WCWs used to pick boogers and place them under
the Plexiglas, much to the officer's disgust. (Can't imagine that this one survived much into today's PC era.)
1MMR CMO Throne: When I first got assigned to 1MMR, the CMOs used to sit on a handrail in front of the LP turbine. The handrail
was really just a length of 1" pipe. The handrail sagged from generations of CMOs sitting on it. Not only that, but it was pretty
uncomfortable to sit on for very long. You could always tell the CMOs in the shower room because they had 2 ass cracks. One
vertical, provided by nature, and one horizontal provided by the handrail. Paul Stock (AKA, The Stork ) was very handy with metal
work and fabricated a new handrail made out of bar stock. It had a 4" wide flat surface on top. Very comfortable. Those of you who
sat on it have The Stork to thank. (Still there?)
Tongs for 1MMR Piss Funnel Screen: There was only one good place to take a piss on ERUL. This was a funnel located on the aft
bulkhead just inboard of the main reduction gear. It was for some sort of a steam drain that came from
the CTG flats. Not only was this a place to piss, but people threw their cigarette butts there as well. When an excess amount of butts built up in the screen, the CMO
would have the most junior man clean it. This screen was so disgusting that nobody wanted to touch it. Long before I was assigned
to 1MMR, someone built some 5' tongs so you wouldn't have to get close to or touch the screen when cleaning it. (OK, I guess
people can't piss or smoke in the engine room these days, so maybe these tongs aren't needed any more.)
1 MMR Master Tag Out : Whenever we shut down the entire engine room, we had to "hang the
master." Whoever designed this Tag Out was on drugs. If you followed it in sequence, it bounced you all over the
engine room. Plus you had to make several trips to #1cat receiver room up under the roof. One day near the end of my time on the "E", I must have gotten really bored on cold iron watch,
because I completely rewrote the master. Now it took you only one trip through ERLL, one trip through ERUL and one trip to the cat
receiver room to hang the entire master. Being 1978, the whole thing was hand written and run on a copy machine. All the valve
positions were listed as "Open" or "Shut." On about page 3 of the master I subtly inserted a "Shit" instead of a "Shut" for one of the
valve positions. (Anybody after 1978 ever run across this?)
Steaming in Saratoga Springs : I went to S3G as part of class 7401. I really enjoyed Saratoga Springs. We had several great places
to unwind when not at the site. I most remember George's which was close to the site and relatively in the middle of nowhere.
Attended many keggers and shot a lot of pool in this establishment. Out near the lake there was a neat place called The Rafters.
Great place all year, but especially so during horse racing season. There was the Neutral Corner which was close to where I lived.
Had my qualification kegger there. Then there was the Hub, just off the main drag in downtown SS. Great place for "cartoon
keggers" after night shift.
Anyone reading this would bring a smile to the faces of some of us '70s pukes if you let us know that at least some of this shit
survived the ravages of time.
PP |
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The Rafters ....
The Rafters was still in Saratoga when I was there
(1985). I was dating a local girl at the time and she took me
there. She told me that they filmed a movie there but I forget
which one. Anyone out there know?
KP |
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Hey Rick!
What's your 6th
general order? ..... Don't Know? Drop and Give me 20 or Click here for Page
18 |
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