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Page 25 started
December 22,
2003 |
Letters, Random Memories
and Assorted Sea Stories (Cont.)
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The 4.0 WO earns "wings"...
KP- it's been a while since we've had an Arrgh!
tale to laugh over, so I dug this one up out of the CritThink
archives...
We’ve all seen them… here they come, down to
the Engineering and Reactor spaces for their first watch. They have
creases in their uniform shirts that you could shave with. I’m
talkin’ about a brand new, shiny, straight from the Academy type
nub Officer!
One such example really stands out as
extraordinary! This guy had a reputation that preceded him. We were
told about this hot new guy, he was THE top man in his class, 4.0
average, and a star of the soccer team, to boot! His name was Andrew
Jackson H_ansen. Now I ask you, who would name their child that? You
KNOW he came from a blue blood, all Navy, rah rah here we go Joe 4.0
lifestyle. And he was going to be commanding US (uproarious laughter
in the background here).
I remember the first time I saw him. Shoulders
straight back, uniform impeccable, every hair in place, professional
demeanor, and you could just smell “Academy” on him. There’s a
big difference between the Academy guys and the ROTC types, like
night and day, usually. I remember actually being impressed, the guy
was cool, confident, and he actually seemed to know what he was
talking about. He really KNEW about operating the plant! Amazing,
but the man had yet to learn some very important lessons. He
tolerated no goofing off, there were no feet up on the panels, no
joking around, it was completely professional, and it sucked big
time! We didn’t like him one bit, and he didn’t much care for
us, as we were far from the disciplined, crack crew he desired to
lord over.
Now, we all knew that direct orders were to be
repeated back verbatim, and we all kinda get slack at it after
while. You kind of give the Reader’s Digest version on the
playback, know what I mean? Well, we started calling our new officer
“A J Squared Away,” and “Action Jackson,” neither of which
were tolerated in his presence. One day, I think it was shortly
after leaving the yards, AJ was on watch, I was on the 4B, and he
asked me what the Rx level was. Of course, he had seen that we were
ready to do some draining, and I gave him the number he was looking
for. He announced to the plant “Stand by to drain from 4B Reactor.”
All the usual suspects manned their stations, headsets, etc. The
Lower level watch calls up and states that he’s standing by to
drain. So AJ gives him the order, textbook style, of course. The guy
could quote the stuff without even looking it up, but of course, the
manual was always open; procedures were meant to be complied with,
eh?
This particular MM gave a less than satisfactory
repeatback, and was scolded for it. Unfortunately, this was the one
time AJ had made an uncalculated error! He told the lower level
watch to OPEN the drain valve! So he repeats back “OPEN drain
valve XYZ, aye!” At this point, no one, not even I, the venerable
Arrgh! suspected what was about to happen. I began watching the Rx
level instruments, which were moving around a bit. When the ship is
underway, the things swing all over, and you have to watch them for
a few seconds and kinda average out where you think the level is
actually at. The gauge needle began drifting downward, then came up
some, went down farther, came back up a little, went down really
far, then came up only a very little, dipped down below the
operating range…. I realized that something was amiss, and as I
began to excitedly state that were draining way too fast, alarms
started lighting off all over the place! The MM in lower level comes
on the phone and says “Drain valve XYZ is OPEN.” Old AJ realizes
his error now, as that valve never gets opened more than a few
quarter turns for such an evolution, and begins to shout “Shut the
drain valve!!!! Shut it!! Shut it!!” The MM says “Which valve
should I shut Sir?” And AJ is filling his drawers as he gives him
the valve number, and the MM starts a verbatim repeatback of the
order.
What fun operating Nuclear Reactors can be, eh? We
didn’t melt any resin, or cause the plant any damage, but there
were some very strained conversations in the Division Offices over
that one. I must say, though, that old AJ was probably the very best
WO I’ve ever stood watch with. He lightened up enough to cover his
butt, but always demanded and pretty much got a lot of respect of
the formal type.
Except for the time I dressed up like a pirate and
commandeered the EOS when he was standing the WO watch one evening.
He had the most amazing look of disbelief on his face, and he was
actually speechless. It was priceless, me mates, wish you could have
seen it. Patched eye, peg leg, fake flintlock pistol, and all the
trappings, including the old pirate voice saying “Belay there, ya
spermy whales! I be in control of this here ship now! Batten down
the hatches! Swing the yardarms! Full speed ahead!!” I think he
actually realized how much trouble he could get into by messing with
us then. We were all miserable blue shirt scum, capable of
unbelievable acts of disrespect and debauchery.
Arrgh! |
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Allen Kosir Comes Aboard .....
My name is Allen Kosir. I worked in RE div, #1
plant, from 1971-1974. Would like to be placed on your roster.
Thanks for the neat site.
alkosir@hotmail.com |
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Christmas Underway ....
After reading PP's Christmas story I starting
thinking back on whether I had ever spent Christmas underway.
Only once during my 4 years on the E did I spend it overseas.
It was during the 1989/90 World Cruise and we were anchored off
Singapore. I had duty that day so I couldn't spend my
Christmas ashore but I recall the ship having a USO show on the
hanger bay that day. They also served something on the mess decks that
was a little better than usual (turkey I think). I had liberty
the day before and after and it was fun to spend Christmas in a
different place. Singapore was just then trying to capitalize
on the whole Christmas theme and most of the streets and malls were
decorated accordingly. However, they weren't too clear on
exactly what Christmas was about I think. Many of the stores
were selling Santas on a cross.
KP |
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1907 Recruiting Poster
thought i would pass this along.
i do like those hats more than the white hats ...
and for sure better than the new chief type caps.
steamer
| Somewhere among
my collectables is my Grandfather's old dress white jumper
top from WWII. He was a fireman on a cruiser and
instead of having three red stripes on the sleeve they used
to sew a red armband around the top of the right
sleeve. I guess the seamen types had a blue arm
band. I also have one of his old white hats (same as what
we had).
KP |
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Memorable Watch Officers .... Reading
Arrgh!'s tale above I was reminded of the dozens and dozens of
memorable watch officers I came into contact with over the
years. A few stand out in my memory because they were nice
guys and treated us enlisted scum with respect. These pages
are filled with stories of watch officers that didn't and they
always seemed to get the worst end of the situation. I still
fondly remember guys like Mr. Tenorio, Mr. Sevald, Mr. Amala, Mr. Eaker, Mr.
Ourlian, Mr. Corcoran, Mr. Cusack, Mr. Brown, Mr. Sheffield, Mr.
Youel, Mr. Castillo, Mr. Crouse, Mr. Anderson, Mr. Lee, etc. All
good men. There were also many PPWOs I'd rather forget and so I
did ;) One guy really stands out in my memory. It was
Mr. Youel. They used to pull some good gags on him and he
didn't seem to mind. He'd even dish it back once in a while. One gag I remember was during
a Tiger Cruise some RC
types dressed a nub in civilian clothes (with his TLD in pocket)
and entered EOS while Youel was on watch. They then
pretended to give the guy (supposedly the brother of one of the
nukes) a tour of EOS while critical. It was
pretty funny. KP |
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Orlando Antics ....
Hey KP,
I was reading Al Decker's story about the gator in
Orlando and it rattled a few brain cells loose. When I was at nuc
school (79-01) my roommates and I took a break for a weekend. We
checked out a tent from special services, loaded up on food and beer
and went camping at the Yogi Bear Jelly Stone Campground and resort.
I was the one that came up with the location as I had stayed there a
couple of times when my dad took us up to Disney World. Anyway, we
checked in and got the tent set up - it was one of those parachute
squad tents. Then we got slightly plastered, burnt dinner and fell
asleep. The next day is pretty much of a blur, but toward evening we
decided to swimming in the pond. There was a sliding board that you
could go down and the place was labeled "Yogi's swimming
hole." After fooling around for awhile 3 of us decided to race
to the other side of the pond. I don't even remember who I was
swimming against, but needless to say I came in last. As we were
crawling out of the water, one of the "rangers"
(campground attendants) came by. She said that not very many people
swam in the pond anymore, and then mentioned that since the last
hurricane came through, they had been having a problem with water
moccasins, but that problem was going away because the alligators
were eating them. We didn't go near the water again.
Spiffy aka firefly aka Larry Smith |
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Reunion Video
KP,
Please post this on both sites. I'm going to get the
DVD for sure. I believe you can extract some JPEGS
from a DVD if I'm not mistaken, for the archives.
Dale
35th. USS Enterprise Fire Reunion
DVD/VHS Order Form:
* A highlight video will be produced for the 35th. U.S.S Enterprise
Fire Reunion.
* All events from the memorial and banquet on January 14, 2004
will be captured.
* This will be a professionally produced video done by Medeiros
Productions .
* Please have all your orders in by Feb 1, 2004.
* If you have any questions please call Lawrence Medeiros at
(808) 783-1604 |
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WO Tales .....
Awww KP, now you're making me feel guilty. Of course there were
many WOs that were great to us as well. Somehow, the stories
involving getting the better of some of the academy's finest just
seem funnier. Especially since the targets of those stories
generally had animosity and lack of respect for us "blue shirt
scum."
The WO on our ORSE watch team was very cool. He was an ROTC type,
and you could usually tell the difference between them and the
Academy types right off. Then there was Mr. "Schlong," the
guy that participated in the schlong length contest with a certain
RO, whose name will not be mentioned. And who could forget, old (at
that time, LTCDR) Dale E. B_augh, now Admiral B_augh, who at that
time was the RCA. I really liked him.
The list of the WOs I didn't like is actually shorter than the
ones I liked, but the ones I disliked had an ability to inspire much
discontent, and therefore seem to get "remembered" in
great detail.
Arrgh! |
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Darryl Yoes Comes Aboard .....
KP,
Glad to see so many old names, had more than one good laugh
reading some of the old stories. Darryl Yoes here, still wearing the
uniform. RM-11 88-91, and RT Div more recently than that. My first
tour was a lot of fun, the second one, was... not. Enough said!
Thanks for the site!
- Darryl
yoes-d@cox.net |
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Enlisted PPWOs ......
Was thinking about Enlisted PPWO's and remembered Greg Yuhas,
1'st Class ELT. Good man but a stickler. I remember he stopped air
ops one time after the Chinese set off a test A-bomb. Our Phantoms
were coming back covered with fallout and smearing pretty hot. He
made 'em wash them all down. Later, he was with GE at Vallecitos and
then worked for NRC at Region V. Since he was our inspector we
couldn't see each other socially anymore and last I heard of him he
was back East. He used to have a dory with a little Seagull on it
that he took all over the Bay. My mom worked for a family at Brown
University. The husband had been involved with Trinity and had a
memento glass shard from the site on his wall. Of course, my mother
picked it up and looked at it. A few weeks later, the men in decon
suits came into the house and washed, repainted and scared her half
to death. Turns out it was smearing pretty badly. (The man had set
off a detector in some lab on campus) This was in the 80's if I
recall. She called me up in CA and I got in touch with Greg and he
was able to get her a whole body count at URI. She was fine, but you
must wonder how many other "mementos" are out there
spreading their isotopes about.....
Hippo |
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Jim Sutton Gets New Email Address ....
Hi Ram,
Please change my email address on the site. Keep
up the good work and thanks!!
Jim Sutton 1971-1975 RM - 3
new email
jimroc@earthlink.net
| Jim, we're still
waiting for you to copy that 3-plant dopey book!
Whatever happened to the thing?
KP |
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Swim Calls ......
Hi, Ram.
I was catching up on the website and saw the questions about swim
calls. I got to do a swim call in April 1998 near the end of my
seventh and final patrol as the Supply Officer onboard USS Alabama (SSBN
731)(Gold). It was a Sunday, and I was particularly excited because
my son was a freshman on the University of Hawaii baseball team that
had a game at 1 PM. I knew it would be on the radio, so I looked
forward to sitting topside and listening, especially since I hadn't
seen him play there yet.
We stopped off the northwest coast of Oahu, within sight of the
real world and hotels on the beach. Senior Chief B**, a large
man who didn't like any non-Missile Tech, was stationed on top of
the sail with a rifle for shark lookout. After we made our way up
the forward or the missile compartment hatches, we swam off the bow
of the boat. Jumping and sliding into the water, and getting back
onboard, at the sonar dome was like going in off a big sloped rock
projecting underwater at a swimming hole. To get back onboard, you
had to wait for a swell to kind of wash you up on the sonar dome,
then grab hold onto the smooth surface for all your life. It was
real fun, the water was warm, and everybody enjoyed. All I could
think when in the water and looking up at Senior Chief B** over
three stories above was that there IS somebody he hates more than
non-MTs – supply types! Fortunately, he spared me. He also had his
guys shooting flares off the aft end of the turtleback for quals,
too.
After swimming, we barbequed and got stuffed. My MSs were always
exceptional, and that day was no exception. Just as it was
approaching 1PM, however, the wind and seas came up. In what seemed
(to me) like a virtual rescue operation, we got all the crew and
stuff below decks and the hatches shut just as waves were beginning
to wash over the deck and down the hatches. Having been a nuke then
a supply puke, the excitement was enough for me as I had never done
real topside sweat-the-load stuff.
We stayed on the surface long enough that I was able to hear
parts of the game in Radio. I'd been talking all kind of crap about
how great of a ballplayer my son was, then he came up as a pinch
hitter. All I was thinking was "DON'T STRIKE OUT, NO MATTER
WHAT. MY HONOR IS AT STAKE HERE!" As it turned out, he had a 15
pitch at bat and got walked, forcing in the tying run, and
eventually came around and scored in what turned out to be a big
upset over a highly ranked team from Texas (preseason games at
Hawaii didn't count against the 60 game limit, so the big boys would
line up to come play there). The radio announcer kept talking over
and over about how much poise the freshman had. Phwew. When we
pulled in I got to see four of his games the next weekend, which was
great.
Later, we learned that we had been on the news because the people
on shore had seen a surfaced submarine with smoke (the BBQ), flares
(practice) and people jumping in the water (swim call) and were
calling the news stations and Pearl Harbor that we were in distress.
It turned out that while we were having fun, the Captain was on the
radio to his bosses explaining that we weren't having a disaster. We
had a great Captain and I'll always admire him for having the will
to let us have the swim call in these days of political correctness
and ultraconservatism in the interest of career salvation.
Also, RE Division will be represented at the Rose Bowl this year.
My depot level power supply repair company just expedited and
shipped a power supply that will be in one of the TV trucks
broadcasting the game. I hadn't known that those big trucks and
their crews are actually contracted from third parties, and the
networks generally do not own them. While we repair for several big
time or "cool sounding" customers on a national level, the
government bureaucracy remains impenetrable - leaving the fleet to
pay ten times as much to the system for the same repair that
companies such as mine do for much less - or throwing them away and
having to buy new when it may be an easy fix. I'm still working on
that. We recently had an old linear in from a nuclear plant in
Louisiana, and they paid well for what turned out to be a third
party confirmation that it worked fine and was being subjected to
unnecessary and unrealistic testing on the bench that would never be
replicated in a real casualty. At the risk of sounding like a cheap
advertisement, some of you in engineering positions may find us
useful, as well, at www.jwglobal.net.
Regarding nicknames, my RE guys (or so I was told, once) called
me the Cat because no matter what scrapes we got into we always
landed on our feet. Those REs are still the best bunch of men I've
ever worked with.
Attached is a recent picture with my Enterprise ballcap (actually
worn on the Enterprise 16 years ago) and evidence that it is my
lucky fishing hat. I was told afterward to hold the fish closer to
the camera, with my arms extended, so it looks bigger, though. It
looked bigger in real (13lbs, Sacramento River) than it does in the
picture.
Jim W.
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Trinity!
Hippo’s story about Trinity site is just too close to home
(literally). My wife and I visited the site which is open only twice
a year. The first Saturday of April and October. Even though they
troll the place before each visit, someone invariably turns up some
‘Trinitite’ which is official name of the glass product found at
the site. A one hour visit to the site gives you approximately 0.5
mrem … really scares off some people. If anyone is interested, I
will e-mail the brochure that is handed out. I have it scanned in
PDF format.
Mark Best
| The
"Trinity Site" is another one of those places I've
wanted to visit but haven't as of yet. A few years ago
I was in Albuquerque on business and had a few hours to kill
before my flight out so I drove over to the Atomic Museum on
Kirkland AFB (Sandia). They had a sign up for one of
those trips to Trinity and I recall wishing I was staying
longer. That Atomic Museum is a great place to spend a
few hours; however, since it's on the air base I don't know
how easy it is to get on there now with heightened
security. While there I bought my wife some "Fat
Boy" earrings (not too PC I admit).
Believe it or not my Aunt
worked for Sandia (or whatever it was called) during
WWII. She had super top secret clearance and as far as
any of us could tell, she was the person who kept the card
file for all fissionable material.
KP |
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Any Old REs Working at Newport News??
Brother REs, one of our own latter 80s type guys is going to be
doing some SUPSHIP project officer duty on and off down there next
year (starting 1/31) for the Naval Reserve. He's looking for anyone
from our time in RE division who might still be down there. If
you are (Chief Randy? Chicken Hawk? Bowman?) let me know and I'll
send him your email address.
KP |
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ETCS Cook Chases an RO around EOS
...
I remember that ETCS Cook was a regular Watch
Officer in 3 plt in about '86. I think he left and became a warrant
officer then came back to the "E."
In reference to the "wife story": I
remember a story told about an incident occurring during a steaming
watch after ETCS had just come back from being on leave to witness
the birth of a child. Supposedly, ETCS was married to a native of
Mindanao.
One of the RO's apparently recalled hearing
somewhere/someplace that there was a very primitive tribe referred
to by the locals as the "Monkey People"' living in the
jungle on Mindanao. The were known as the "Monkey People"
because they still had a developed, pronounced and functioning
"Tail." [This was folklore and not true of course]
Being a Nuke and able to put two and two together:
(wife from Mindanao + story about Monkey people) + ETCS = offspring
with a tail???
RO to ETCS: "Was the baby born with a
tail?"
ETCS: "What?"
RO: "The baby, Was he born with a tail? You
said your wife was from Mindanao and I heard there is this tribe
there where the people still have tails? Does your kid have a
tail?"
Well It wasn't pretty after that! I heard that the
RO did quite a few laps around EOS with ETCS in hot pursuit. I did
hear that later the RO apologized for the insensitive remark and all
was forgiven...
| You know I
remember hearing about this! Of course everyone claimed to
be on watch in EOS when it happened. I forget who the
rude RO was but he was legendary for causing trouble like
that. Does anyone know if this actually
happened?
KP |
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Clear The Decks! Randy
Jestice Comes Aboard!!!!
Ram Tuli, you salty SOB! Just found your website and I commend
you on the amazing job you've done. You've brought back a lot of
memories (good and bad, but mostly good) of a time that I only
recently have even had a desire to revisit.
I had totally forgotten about the sign wars and my small part in
them until I read your story. Your memory is fantastic. You know I
only put up those signs up to see if I could hold my own with two of
the most warped and casually demented evil geniuses that I had ever
met. I did, temporarily.
Here's a few RC memories:
1. Sitting in 3 plant (as a shiny new nub) listening to Flange
rant at Matt Becker about his attitude and watching Becker's face
get redder and redder until he finally exploded and screamed back
"I fucking hate you and I hate the fucking Navy and nothing you
say will ever change my mind, so fuck off!" (only a paraphrase
but I think I'm pretty close). This incident alone made Becker my
hero and helped shape the course of my future time on the pig.
2. Going to Capt.'s mast for failure to qualify and getting a
slap on the wrist. Mike Galbraith, written up for the same thing,
appearing in front of Rocky right after me and getting fucked for
it. ("What the hell's going on down in those plants!")
Full story later if you're interested.
3. Cruise book pictures. I am the only RC puke to show solidarity
with my RE brothers (check the picture).
4. ' Skullmer'. Dick 'Mr. Hate' Lorenz, Rod 'Invisible Man'
Andrews, Biff 'Reactor Phil' Chinner (Muffy, Buffy, Biff Jr. and I
are going yachting).
Gotta go for now, but will definitely check back soon.
BTW, I always thought 'nub' was spelled 'knub' for know nothing
useless body.
Long live the King!
Randy Jestice
morbid@ix.netcom.com
rjestice@kmaonline.org
|
Randy!!!
Welcome aboard fellow scurvy dog! You were one guy I
had hoped to find and now that I have, things will never be
the same on this site. Remember our wild time in
Perth? You, me, Wingo, Lance, Dicko, Guido and Fritz
hit the beach together. I think somewhere on this site
I have the story about LW's gal pal coming up to the room
and us secretly tape recording her intimate moments (mostly
complaining about the high cost of parking). If you
still have that tape their might also be some dialogue on it
of me telling the poor gal how I had my penis blown off in a
fireworks accident. She was very sorry about that and
hoped it wasn't a lingering aggravation in my life.
And, then I think someone had to audacity to tell her about
them waking up on the ship and finding butter all over his
ass. I recall she asked if it was "boy's butter
or cow's butter." I also remember we got quite a kick
out of looking through the phone book and sending "escorts"
to various rooms on the floor. I guess we were just
doing our part to spread love and joy. Now that you
have found the site you owe me at least 10
stories!!!
KP |
|
|
More about Nat Atomic Museum:
The National Atomic Museum in Albuquerque is a
great place. Spent about 4 hours there when we were up there for the
Balloon Festival http://www.aibf.org/
(575 hot air balloons going off at one time –
incredible). If you are planning a trip to ABQ, plan for October
2-10, 2004 – nothing is better than a dawn patrol balloon ride
over the city with a champagne / continental breakfast at wherever
you land.
They have moved the museum from Kirtland AFB so
that more people can enjoy. For 4 bucks, it is a great way to spend
an afternoon. Not much on our program, but I hear that they plan on
a full section on the Navy program when the new site is finished in
2006.
From the website: http://www.atomicmuseum.com/
Visitors can explore how nuclear science continues
to influence our world. The museum strives to present through
permanent and changing exhibits and displays the diverse
applications of nuclear energy and its pioneers.
Mark Best
|
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Wally Campbell's Obituary:
Please post this on the both websites - there are quite a few
70's nukes who knew Wally, and Steamer already notified the group of
his death; but this would be good to add as well, thanks,
David
|
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Randy Jestice Remembers 20
SIMPLE REASONS WHY THE NAVY WAS NOT FOR HIM .....
KP,
One of the things I kept to remind me of my misery
was a document titled 20 SIMPLE REASONS WHY THE NAVY IS NOT FOR ME.
I don't know if anyone else has posted this and I don't remember who
wrote this screed, but it's an interesting snapshot of how many of
us felt (rightly or wrongly) about our situation at that time.
1. I am locked into the Nuclear Field which I no
longer wish to be a part of.
2. Non-judicial punishment, UCMJ and double
jeopardy are all unconstitutional and as such I can no longer
allow myself to be subjected to them. Why are the people that
defend the constitution least protected by it?
3. Due to overcrowded living conditions, lack of
adequate ventilation, high fat and starch content of the 'food'
served, lack of proper sleeping and eating patterns, constant
aggravation and no reasonable/safe exercise possible, going to sea
is extremely unhealthy. Sorry but I have more respect for my body
than that.
4. In my opinion, the types of people that stay
in the Navy are incompetent, foolish, slovenly and have no self
respect. I have no desire to work with or for any of them.
5. Any organization (or lack there-of) which
promises its members 'adventure' in foreign countries, takes them
there but tells them they can't stay out over-night (okay, Mom) is
not trustworthy and does not deserve my services. How is it that I
can be responsible enough to be in charge of 2 shutdown 132 MW
Reactors and associated propulsion plant, yet at the same time not
responsible enough to take care of myself overnight in a country
I've been to before? The answer still eludes me.
6. I dislike short hair and prison uniforms.
Being scrutinized and searched whenever I leave or return to my
place of residence is not my idea of a home. For the price of one
F-14 an adequate barracks with multi-level parking could be built.
Obviously personnel morale is not very important to the
Navy.
7. I especially despise having to suppress my
creativity, imagination and individuality simply because it would
be expressed in the form of an opinion contrary to the current
American political make-up. One of my most basic rights, Freedom
Of Speech, is being grossly violated and I'm no longer willing to
put up with that.
8. The free medical program is a farce. Unless I
am dying, I can expect to stand in line with other sick people,
catch all their diseases, get hassled while in line, given 2
aspirin and told to come back if it doesn't get better. And if you
get sick in-between sick-calls forget is. Good luck trying to get
a day off when you're sick, if you wear a blue shirt you're
automatically lying about being sick.
9. I am entitled to 30 days/year leave whenever
I want it , yet Reactor Dept. regularly disapproves any leave
chits that it wants to.
10. Staying onboard the ship every third day for
24 hours = NO WEEKENDS OFF.
11.I don't need the kind of aggravation that
comes from Nazi MAAs that let their badges go to their already
swollen heads.
12. I don't enjoy standing at attention for 2
hours in order for some holier-than-thou higher up that lives in a
dream world to tell me that my shoes don't shine enough to his
liking.
13. Nowhere else in America is it possible to be
imprisoned for 3 days of bread and water except in the Navy.. That
shows to me a total lack of respect for the enlisted man. How
degrading can you get? Why not bring back the cat o' nine tails
and keel-hauling?
14. I am entitled to BAQ and VHA by virtue of
the fact that I am an E-4. Yet this and all sea-going commands
will only allot it to married people. This amounts to unequal pay
for equal work based on marital status.
15. I will not have my morals dictated to me by
my employer. What I do with my reproductive organs is my business.
16. If the Navy is so big on tradition, what
ever happened to rum-rations, beards, earrings and pin-ups.
17. The majority of senior enlisted personnel
abuse their position and authority by making life miserable for
those people that they don't get along with due to 'personality
conflicts'.
18. My attitudes towards military service and
the American way of life have changed considerably over the past 6
years. I find no pride in serving a country of ingrates as
imperialistic and warlike as the United States. I consider
'Nationalism' to be on of the most dangerous ideals on the planet
today. Second only to Islamic fanaticism in its potential for
creating war. I can no longer exchange my conscience for security.
19. Whenever career-oriented people have to make
a decision, their first impulse is toward whatever will enhance
their careers, not necessarily what is proper, moral or in the
best interest of personnel. This leads to crisis management which
just raises the hate and discontent level to a point which is no
longer bearable.
20. 3 March 1987, 1600 - 1800, 6000
people..........one chow line, need I say more?
...and so you see in order for the Navy to be an
acceptable occupation many things must change. The whole structure
based on subordination is not an acceptable way of life for me or
anyone who values their free-will. And as the people in position
to change these things have been corrupted/absorbed by their
system this does not seem likely to happen. Therefore it is not
with any trepidation that I bid the Navy adieu and once again join
the free world....
Whew! If you read this carefully, you may detect a
subtext of unhappiness.
About Australia, I seem to recall overhearing KP
and LW in a bar telling everyone that would listen that you weren't
in the Navy at all, you were rodeo clowns. You convinced more than
one person that you were telling the truth, I believe.
I also seem to recall something about someone we
knew contracting venereal warts while in Perth. It could have been
another well placed rumor, but I wonder if you recall hearing that.
I'll sign off with my old dopey book name,
Problem Child
LONG LIVE THE KING!
| I remember
those "20 Reasons" and recall seeing them posted
in berthing many times. Many of you RC types had a Xerox
copy of 'em in your back pocket. I believe (but don't
quote me on this) they were penned by R. Andrews. [As
an aside, I recall also seeing a phony notice from 'MMCM'
under one of these that spelled out major changes that were
soon to be in effect for Rx Dept. I can't remember
specifics but they included such stupid things as having RX
dept muster before chow and marching together to the mess
decks.]
Yeah, I think you're
right. Sir Lancelot and I did try to convince people that he and I
were rodeo clowns. We did that often. (I'm not
even sure why.) LW was great at being anyone he
imagined himself to be. I remember he had quite a
collection of phony press badges. He had one that showed that he was a Playboy
photographer. He had another that said he
worked for Rolling Stone. He'd wear
one of these passes around his neck when he was bar hopping and
women would swarm around him like flies.
And, yes, a certain comrade
of ours did bring home scabies from Australia.
Needless to say he didn't get much sympathy from us
;)
KP |
|
|
Patrick Sherwin Memorial Site:
King Paul,
Thanks for adding the information about Patrick Sherwin's
memorial service. A memorial web site has been created for him at www.patricksherwin.com.
Would you consider making his name a link to the site in the
"In Memorium" section of the Big E Unofficial Reactor and
Engineering Memories?
George Perry |
|
Hippo Patch ......
KP , another patch for your collection....Steamer, remember
these?
 |
|
Remembering Campbell ......
KP,
Recently I've read some info on the site about a
Wally Campbell who passed away a short time ago. I think that years
ago our paths may have crossed.
In late 1974 I was an RT knub. (Yes, us 1MMR types
used the traditional spelling with the "K".) One evening I
was in either 2 or 3 EOS trolling for RC signatures for my BNEQ
book. The guy at the "A" Rx control panel invited me to
sit next to him for a while and he did a very thorough job of
discussing the panel and it's operation with me. He even let me shim
rods. (More like bumping them actually.) As a lowly MM, I only got
to do this twice: Once in prototype on a cross training watch, and
once that evening on the "E". Shimming rods seemed to me
to be the epitome of what all that nuke training was about, yet most
of us never got to do so much as touch the shim handle. Before I
left EOS, this nice guy gave me the maximum number of sigs he was
allowed to. I distinctly remember that the last name of these sigs
was "Campbell." I really owe that guy.
Could this guy have been the same
"Campbell"? The timing seems right. Sounds like the same
kind of person.
Either Way : "Vaya con Dios, Wally."
PP |
|
Glen Berkhimer Comes Aboard ......
Glenn (Berky) Berkhimer EMCM - 1963-1965
E-Division Power Shop - PPS; 1969-1972 RE Division - Propulsion
Plant Supervisor - Training Department Division Officer.
GBerkhimer@aol.com |
|
Tom Carson Comes aboard ....
Please add my name to the Enterprise Nuke Roster.
Tom Carson
RM Div., 1 Plant, 1969-1972
Thanks!
tgcarson@comcast.net |
|
Marcus Kaiser Comes Aboard .....
Hello there, could you please add me to your
contact list. I served on the Big E from 01 to 03 as an RC Div in
every plant at one point or another. My home email is mkaiser98@aol.com.
Thanks.
Marcus Kaiser |
|
Ted Blomgren Comes Aboard!
Ram,
I am Ted Blomgren. I was in RC-22 and later RC-30 from 1986-1989;
although it seemed much longer. Dave Lambermont referred me to your
site. It is great, it really brings back a lot of memories. I love
the postings and pic’s. Keep it up.
I reside in Minnesota, although I travel quite a bit in my work
with PaR Systems. I’m married (10 years) and have 2 kids (boy and
girl). PaR makes refueling equipment for commercial nukes, so I
sometimes run into guys from the ship at the various sites. Some
guys I have seen the last couple of years: Ty Fisher, Randy Zerance,
Jeff Moon, Greg Weiland. Actually when I was interviewing at PaR
they asked me if I knew Larry Cormican. I just started laughing.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work out, otherwise I would probably be
working with him.
If anyone is interested, they can e-mail me.
Regards,
Theodore A. Blomgren
tblomgren@PaR.com
| Hey Ted! I
remember you very well. You were one of the few guys
in 2 plant that knew what was going on ;). So "Corn"
finally got out of the navy? I actually saw him on the
E when I returned for that '95 Dependent's Day cruise.
He was the Rx duty chief that day. Most of
the guys you mentioned are already listed on this site but
few contribute on a regular basis. You might want to
remind them to send in stories when you see them again.
Ram |
|
|
Remembering Billy Ball ....
When I first was assigned to one plant in May 81,
I had the distinguished honor of meeting the infamous William Ball.
The chief at the time said I was to learn everything I could from
him. I asked were he could be located and was promptly told the RAR.
I went to the 1 plant RAR and opened the door only to here loud
screaming coming from below. Needless to say I was a little
concerned and proceeded slowly down to the lower level. When I
arrived at my destination, I was greeted with "what the fuck do
you want" from Billy, who was sitting on the service water pump
with a wrench, swinging it wildly and screaming at the top of his
lungs how this place sucked and how short he was. He jumped down and
told me that the Navy sucked, go figure. We worked our way back to
the flats were I was introduced to the LPO, name lost in time, but
what an ass. The chief drifted by and mumbled something to Billy
about fresh meat, I think that was the beginning of it all. Billy
and a few others were the last RM personnel who ever saw the ship
sail before the yard pac and the new meat was supposed to learn
everything we could from them. The only problem was they could have
cared less and were just looking to get out of the Navy. Billy was a
third class after almost six years and was definitely not too loved.
I have vivid recollections of him at muster cutting the little balls
off his short timer chain and throwing them at people letting them
know how short he was. Billy was OK though and we became friends
through it all.
I remember one day the chief ordered Billy to make
coffee. Billy told the chief to make his own coffee. He told the
chief that he did not drink it and he was not making it. Of course
the chief politely ordered Billy to make the coffee. Billy obliged
and the chief walked away. Billy dumped the grounds in the waste can
and proceeded to put coffee, the contents of the but can, more
coffee back in for a fresh pot. He filled the coffee maker with
water and pressed the start button. We exited the area and hid in
the RAR. Around ten or fifteen minutes later Billy was being
summoned to the flats were the chief was standing by the coffee pot.
The coffee pot had overflowed and there were grounds and butts everywhere.
The chief was in a tirade and started screaming at Billy. The only
comment Billy had for the chief was, I told you I don't drink it and
I don't make it. The chief knew Billy was a short timer and sent him
to clean the RAR bilge, which was dry and clean anyway. When Billy
finally did get out, one plant was just quite never as entertaining.
I remember partying with Billy once and we wound up at his house,
1:00AM in the morning, blasting his stereo and listening to a band
called "New England". I left after I discovered his wife
was trying to sleep in the other room. Billy was one crazy guy, but
I learned a lot about the bullshit in the navy from him.
Later Al
81-85 |
|
Kevin Doyle Comes Aboard .....
Great site. I hope to add some pix and comments soon. In the mean
time please add me to your Contacts page:
Kevin Doyle RC23, 1978 - 1982
kevin@kldoyle.com
Thanks... |
|
From a Nuke Wife:
KP,
Firstly, I have to admit that I probably shouldn't
be reading any of these pages as I'm married to [someone] currently
deployed on the Big E. However, I must also point out that I'm not
your everyday "Navy Wife" nor have I figured out what that
expression means. Let me tell you a little... I've been married for
five years and have lived in the "real world" my entire
life. My husband has been a nuke for 19 years (~200 days until
retirement). We met in VA while I was on a random weekend get away
in 1997... I'm sure you can figure out the rest. We planned our
wedding a year and half later around a three-day leave he had
between serving on [his ship] and transferring to recruiting duty
near my hometown in NY, so the first three years of our marriage has
been more in "my world" than the Navy's. Actually, prior
to coming here (Va Beach), my only "Navy experience" was
three annual NRD banquets in which I made good use of the Chief's
hospitality room where I poured (and consumed) more vodka than my
125 pounds should ever tolerate. From what I understand, I'm not all
that politically correct, nor do I care. I'm not in the Navy and
rank and file means nothing to me. A party is a party no matter what
those thingies on your collar represent. I hear there are pictures
;)
With all that said, your page cracks me up. We
don't talk much about his work as we all have jobs to do. I've heard
a few stories about a previous tour on the Big E (or maybe it was
the Vinson?)... something about dancing on a bar in Australia in his
boxers (sounds like a party to me!), but I don't know what years he
was where. All I've heard about the Philippines is "what
happens in the Philippines stays in the Philippines." Too bad.
After reading some of this, there are obviously stories to tell!
....
| When I
received this email it was marked "personal" so I
quickly emailed back and asked if I could post portions of
her letter and she agreed if I didn't use her
name. I also asked her if she had any unique
perspectives to share with this unique community since the
one group of people we haven't really heard from [on this
site anyway] is the most important one: the one's that
keep it all going when we're gone. She responded with
a few more items of interest. I hope to hear more from
her again soon.
KP
More from our navy nuke
wife:
Any
"unique perspective" I may have is definitely that
of an outsider barely looking in. I don't live on base,
don't think I've even met another "navy wife," and
have always made my own way through life. I did sign up for
the "navy wives" online site (ugh), but the
conversation is mostly about the husbands and what they do.
I've always been my own person and happened to fall in love
with a sailor. I don't consider myself an extension of my
husband and I don't define him by his job. I guess that's
just the "civilian" in me.
On that note, I heard it was difficult being a recruiter's
wife with their long hours and such. I dunno. I've been
employed (until recently.. accountants aren't paid well
enough here) since I was twelve years old. When there's work
to be done, one has to work and that's all there is to it.
Although, I've noticed here on Big E duty, that logic
doesn't always apply. For instance, when the boat (I refuse
to acknowledge that it's a "ship") was in the
Portsmouth yards this time last year, the command decided
that the reactor/engineering departments weren't up to
whatever it was they were supposed to be up to. The
command's solution was to put them in what I refer to as
"lock-down" (don't know what they called it). They
weren't allowed to leave the boat (that was tied to the pier)
for six weeks. I'm still not certain what that was supposed
to prove. It doesn't fit into any morale or productivity
scheme I've ever encountered, but what I do I know? I'm just
a civilian who believes that working hard and playing hard
are equally important to maintain balance in life.
The
boat will be back (OPSEC and all that) between the end of
Feb and the end of March. I can tell you that the GW
deployed just a few days ago to relieve them. The hardest
part about being left behind is explaining it to the little
ones (our youngest are 3 & 4 years old) who cry out to
the sea knowing that Daddy's out there somewhere and will
return only when his work is done. It won't be too long now.
|
|
|
Another Lawyer Contacting KP:
I
won't comment on the merits of the item below since I don't have
much information regarding the specifics of the claim. But if
anyone out there feels obliged to assist in this matter, please do
what you can. Thanks.
Mr. Tuli,
Our firm represents a gentleman who helped build the USS
Enterprise CVN-65 as a Newport News shipyard employee.
He is suffering from a severe asbestos related disease. His claim
rests against various private manufacturers of asbestos products as
well as equipment manufacturers. Now I can imagine my using the term
equipment manufacturers in view of the fact that a nuclear powered
carrier like the Enterprise is of such extraordinary size &
complexity that most plain termimlongy just sounds inadequate when
discussing any subsystem or the whole of the engineering systems
that propelled & otherwise powered CVN-65.
Although I have learned that the primary propulsion system was
comprised of 8 Westinghouse PWR(?) A2W nuclear units. I have yet to
discover the manufacturer identities of the 4 standard turbines. Can
you tell me? Do you have an online source documenting the names of
the manufacturers? Also, I don't know About any/ if any auxiliary
power systems. Plus The major components of any of the major
operational subgroups of engineering. The catapult system for
instance. The subgroups could turn out to be quite lengthy as you
well know.
I would appreciate hearing back from you. I realized that by the
time you came aboard that a lot of changes had occurred aboard ship.
If directing me to as knowledgeable a crewmember from an earlier
time in the ship's history seems more appropriate too you. I'll be
grateful for such a referral.
I look forward to your reply.
Brian E. McCann
Legal Assistant
Levy, Phillips & Konigsberg, LLP
(212) 605-6243 |
|
Law Firm Inquiry ....
KP,
I think you should email that law firm back (if it is one) and
remind them that all propulsion plant information is confidential
and that, if they are a true law firm, they would know that the only
source of information they legally have is through the freedom of
information act through the defense department.
I might seem a bit paranoid, but during today's homeland security
act, I take all of this kind of shit seriously, especially since the
E is over in the gulf.
David
| That's basically
what I told the guy and advised him to consult a Janes
Fighting Ships manual for a source of high level
information. I saw no need to give the person
specifics anyway, since I'm always leery of people making
claims on companies for things that happened 50 years
ago. Not that this particular claim doesn't have
merit; I just don't know anything about it. On
Critical Thinking we have discussed asbestos exposure and
other occupational health issues we nukes have faced.
We actually have quite an array of experience on there and
those of you who haven't checked out the site lately,
should.
KP |
|
|
Navy Wife ....
KP,
I haven't chimed in for a while. The Navy wife in Va Beach (where
I grew up, by the way) commented on something that inspired me.
We've discussed on this site how times heals all wounds and how when
we look back on our Navy days (in my case 14 plus years ago now) we
tend to focus on the good times and forget some of the things that
made our blood boil back then. All well and good. I've also
mentioned before how my Dad was a retired airdale type (AMH-1). By
two years in I knew I could not make the Navy a career. I've always
felt like there was a disconnect between me and my Dad over this
because I couldn't embrace the Navy the way he did. Recently, when
we were together at Christmas I told him how there were some things
about the Navy that I missed, and I meant it. I was trying to
re-assure him that I recognized that my Navy experience was not all
negative. But then the Navy wife from Va Beach reminded me bottom
line why the Navy as a career just wouldn't have worked. I can only
imagine the frustration those guys must have faced to be locked up
on the ship for six weeks just a short time before they're going to
be deployed for six months anyway. I remember way back in the Spring
of 1987 the Ike was coming out of overhaul in Newport News, and we
were struggling to rid the plant of all the shipyard grit and grime
that had accumulated over the course of 18 months. There was a
period of about 2 or 3 days where the Rx officer instituted a 'Fast
Cruise'. I use that term loosely because this was not the scheduled
Fast Cruise that came later but rather, as I understood it, an
impromptu product of his being quite desirous that the plant get
spick and span real fast. I remember a beautiful Spring afternoon
where I could stand on the hangar deck and see my car in the parking
lot and knowing that I would miss anytime off between my duty days
so that I could go down in the bilge and clean some shipyard
worker's dung up off the inner bottom. I wasn't feeling too good
about the Navy in those days. I guess that part of it hasn't gotten
any better. There's got to be something fundamentally flawed if
you've got to restrict people that way just to get the job done. If
I recall correctly, I believe the effect of our impromptu 'Fast
Cruise' that Spring in 1987 was that whatever modest improvement in
plant cleanliness that was achieved was greatly overshadowed by the
steep decline in morale. It was a shameful thing to be a 'Star
Baby' in those days. I can recall some really outspoken RM Div types
who would see certain star babies and just start wailing on them
verbally. And the poor star babies had no defense. What are you
gonna say? At least they did have cool cars, but in the end, was it
worth it? I guess that's a whole other debate. I'd like to think I
told my Dad the truth--that there are some things about the Navy I
miss, but the Navy wife from Va Beach reminded me there are some
things I surely do not miss.
Joe B
Ike 1986-1990 RE Div |
|
Morale ....
In my years aboard the E, the moral was usually low. And it
was because of stupid things like those things described
above. I understand that stuff had to get done but at what
cost? We may have bitched and moaned about everything but when
there was steam to make, we did it and we did it very well.
And when the world fell in and it looked like it was all gonna go to
hell in a hand basket, we pulled it together and did amazing things
to save the day. We were ordinary guys doing extraordinary
things. If I took anything from the Enterprise it was
the attitude that everything was possible. In my post navy
career as an engineer I met many guys who told me things like,
"It can't be done, ... we can't fix this, ... it's impossible
to get that report out on time,...this won't work, etc."
Well, no one on the Big E ever said that! Something broke, we
fixed it, even if there were no parts to be found (which was usually
the case since the ship was already 30 years old). It's
a shame they couldn't just let us do our jobs without adding all the
bullshit. It would have given us fewer bad memories to forget. KP |
|
More Moral ....
KP,
I was onboard the Big 'E' from 1990 to 1996 and the most distinct
memory I have is September 21st, 1994. My wife was 9+ months
pregnant, we had been 'fast cruising' for 3+ days tied to the pier
at 32nd street at Newport News Shipbuilding. This was pre email,
phones, etc on the ship and since we were fast cruising we pretended
like we did not have anything else. Fast cruise was to end at 1600
this day and about 1030 I was called to the Engineering Log Room for
I had received an AmCross message stating that my wife had gone into
labor and was admitted to Riverside Regional Medical Center to have
our first child. As I took this to the MPA he informed me to talk to
the CHENG. The CHENG said it was fine for me to leave, as the brows
were still attached, but we needed to check with the Captain. The
Captain said, "Fast Cruise ends at 1600, you can leave
then!" The CHENG pleaded my case but to no avail. The Captain
did give in a little as we left. He said, "CHENG make sure he
is the first one off at 1600." Funny thing was, I was about the
4th person off and the Captain was in front of me. Luckily for me,
not my wife, she was in labor for about 16 hours and did not have
our son until 4:30am the next morning but it definitely left a bad
taste in my mouth. I can honestly say this was my biggest reason for
making the decision to exit the military. Go figure.
Rich |
|
Lash Hansborough Comes aboard ....
Stan Bodenstein told me about this site. I've yet to explore it
fully. Nice going!
My stats:
Lash Hansborough
1967-1970
4 Plant & 1 Plant
RM1 Division
Put me on the list, port or starboard.
Thanks,
Lash
captlash@crestedbutte.net |
|
Newport News .....
When you think about it, 'Master at Arms' is a pretty tall title
for some pudgy geek whose biggest responsibility seems to be making
sure nobody's hair touches his ears and the back of every man's head
has an acceptable taper. While the Eisenhower was in overhaul in
1987 us nuke types went to a rotating shift schedule. It consisted
of 7 consecutive 8 hour days with the biggest break being a 4-day
weekend that came once every four weeks. One break was only 24
hours, so it's not like we had a lot of time off. We had training
and shift turnover before every shift. For day shift we had to be at
work at 5:15 am. My buddy Don from RM Div and I used to car pool
from Va Beach. I would have to get up at 3:00 am. So it's a long
day, and when the shift is over we were pretty much ready to go
home. We used to have an orange sticker on our ID badges that
indicated we were authorized to be in the plant. This also served to
make it easier for chief MAA types who hated/envied/resented nukes
to pick us off as we're trying to leave the ship. I didn't tend to
push things too hard, but my buddy Don held us up on more than one
occasion because his hair wasn't short enough to warrant the privilege
of leaving at the end of the work day. They kept a pair of clippers
in the RM Div office. On some days it would seem like half of the
dept was in the RM office getting an emergency trim. We would
comfort ourselves by stating our grand aspiration to one day have a
job where we shall go home at the end of the day without giving
thought to how long our hair is or whether it is touching our ears.
My life was pretty simple back then (i.e. I wasn't married with
children as I am now) but still I used to get pretty worked up. I
can only imagine what it must have been like for the married types.
Suppose you're an hour late getting home, and your 2 year old asks
you what happened? 'Well, son, Daddy's hair was touching his ears.'
Joe B |
|
Moral Check
Ok, guys and gals. It's time for a little morale check. It's not
easy being a sailor's wife or a sailor for that matter, but we made
our choices knowing what was ahead. My daddy taught me how to fix a
clogged toilet and a frozen carburetor. Mom taught me how to raise
my kids, keep a house, and retain some sanity while doing so. It's
most definitely easier to have the spouse home to help, but it's not
impossible going it alone for a while either. What you have done out
there, the sacrifices you have made, as well as the ones we make
here at home are for a much greater cause that surpasses a bit of
loneliness and inconvenience. Our smiles may not be as full as they
are when you're home, but we do manage to smile. You have to deal
with cramped racks, gang showers, and meals that aren't the same as
home-cooked, but you have a way of making fun through it all.
With that said, get back to your happy stories before you prove
to the command why we weren't issued in your seabags!
God Bless! VB Nuke Wife |
|
Pre-Cruise Rituals
The other day I was treating the kids to some ice
cream and I bought myself a banana split. I just had a hankering
for it I guess. It had been years since I had tasted
one. Back in the old days getting a banana split was part of
my "pre cruise" ritual. No matter how long we were
scheduled to be out, my ritual was pretty much the same (duty day or
not).
The afternoon before pulling out I would always
make that last trip to the Exchange to load up on extra skivvies, toiletries
and such; and then I'd pull a number at the barbershop (it was
usually crowded). Since I had about an hour to wait I would
then head to that Baskin Robbins next to the barbershop. There
I would eat a giant banana split. By the time I was done my
number was near being called so I wandered back and bided my time
waiting for an empty barber chair. After my haircut I would
either sneak back on the ship (if on duty) or head off base to drive
around aimlessly until I could meet up with my mates. For the
long deployments (like westpacs) RX and Eng departments usually met
up at the Park Street Saloon; for workups
or weekenders, we usually just stayed local (Johnny B. Goodes and
such). Though passing myself off as a tea totter on this site,
I will admit that on some pre-cruise nights I might have indulged in
adult beverage consumption. Until I started dating Mrs. KP
(and she set me straight) I was pretty much guaranteed to hit my
rack and experience "C" note in a semi-drunk slumber
(praying I wasn't gonna be woken for an early
watch).
Did any of you have pre-cruise rituals?
KP |
|
Pre-Cruise Rituals and Morale .....
KP, I was married for my entire time on the Pig and still am, so
I guess my pre-cruise rituals worked to get us through. Gee, I
wonder what a happily married couple did in the days/nights before a
Westpac....
On the subject of morale, I remember exactly when I knew I was
done and the Navy, or more accurately, the chain of command had
screwed me one too many times.
My first son was due in the middle to end of the 88 Westpac. I
worked my ass off that cruise to "earn" a ticket off when
he was born. My LPO and Chief Jelly-belly as well as ELO said I
could go when the telegram came. But the damn SFTG blew up and we
jacked with the other one daily. When my boy was born, I sent my
papers through. Chief Jelly-belly told me the CHENG was going to
deny my leave because I was the "expert" on SFTGs and
SFMGs, but didn't get the sig. I was pissed, still am actually, and
made Jelly-belly go to the CHENG. As expected, he checked the
"no" box on my leave papers. Ol' Jelly-belly handed me the
papers and said, "your leave was denied," but I advised
him that only the CO can really deny leave. Of course, if the CHENG
turns you down, the CO will too. Jelly-belly was pissed, because he
had to walk the papers to the XO and CO. To this day, nearly 16
years later, I have my denied leave papers with Rocky's signature in
his trademark green pen. It's in the same folder as my NCM they game
me for all my hard work that cruise. Lucky me.
Icing on my Navy cake was the day before I got out, I was nailed
on the brow for an unsat haircut. I had to hunt down one of the guys
who cut hair on the side.
Rob |
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James Franks Comes Aboard....
Was EM1 in RE division 62-65 .
James Franks
jfranks00@comcast.net
Wow!
You're like the grandfather of us REs!
KP |
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Jason Nofsker Comes Aboard .....
Hello,
I was on the Enterprise from Oct 93 till Dec 97. I came in a
non-rated FR and left a DC2. I was wondering if you could add me to
the contact list and include this e-mail address:
nosomega2003@yahoo.com
Thank you, DC1 (SW) Jason Nofsker |
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My Old Bud Chris Galbreath Finds Me!!!
What's up Ramrod!
Was screwing around on the computer and came across your website.
NNPS seems like a millennium ago. Just wondering how you were doing
and if you had started your own cult yet. I'm still haze gray and
underway, currently buzzing you from Cartahania, Spain. I have been
attached to Squadron 22 in La Maddalena, Italy for the last three
years. If you have an itch to go to Sardinia drop me a line you have
got a place to stay. It would be cool to catch up.
Go easy,
Chris Galbreath 8502
| Holy Cow!
Do you guys know who Chris Galbreath is? Those of you who
read about my NPS pre school shenanigans (resetting some
poor guy's alarm clock) might remember that Chris was
involved in that scheme. Chris and I showed up in
GLakes the same day and were mustered into boot camp company
84-007 together. We were buds all the way through nuke
school until our final orders sent me to the Big E and him
to a sub. I have many fond memories of Chris. I
recall during boot camp he was a squared away dude. He
was made our company's Religious Petty Officer after the guy
previously filling the billet soured on the idea when he
learned that being a Religious Petty Officer involved
actually going to church. In EM-A school Chris
finished No. 1 in our class and I finished No. 2. We
had a great competition going on and were neck and neck the
whole way. When we reported to Orlando, Chris and I
were roommates until we finally moved in with our section
classmates during the first month of NPS. I'm not sure
Chris will remember this but something happened during his
wedding that traumatized me. When Chris got married in
Orlando I, along with the rest of the 077 nukes, attended
the wedding. I was the guy who caught the garter belt.
Then they did the bouquet toss and the girl that caught it
refused to let me put the garter belt on her. It was a
big to do. I just stood there trying to figure out why
the girl wouldn't let me do it. Finally I was told
that she wasn't wearing any underwear. Then I didn't
feel so bad (but was still confused none the less).
Anyway great to hear from you Chris. We got about 20
years of catching up to do!
KP |
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REUNION!!
Okay gang, it's time to start thinking about our
First Annual Big E Reactor and Engineering Department reunion.
Now I won't profess to being a great organizer at anything so
hopefully someone out there wants to take the reins and pull this
thing together. Let me know if you want to take on such a task
and I'll be eternally grateful.
As soon as you can, send me an email telling me
whether you think your wife will let you attend such a debacle and
then give me some feedback as to Where (Phoenix, Las Vegas,
SF Bay Area, or other); When (spring, summer, or fall) and Why
(consume large quantities or mojo?) you want to do this.
Special invites also go out to our Ike, cruiser and submarine brethren
that frequent these pages.
If only a few of you are up for a get together
then we can have it at one of our houses. If many want to get
together then we'll have to plan something more
elaborate.
KP |
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Gadzooks!
Let's continue on to page 26 .... Click
Here. |
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