Navy Life

I've never been onboard a ship underway - I was supposed to do a 1 week cruise on the Eisenhower a few years ago, but wound up in the hospital instead. I did, however, spend a few months flying with navy helicopter squadrons out of Norfolk NAS years ago when I was an Army officer, and a few things struck me:

- The aircraft were filthy. I always wore Corcoran jump boots when flying with the Army. When I flew with the Navy, I switched to the standard rubber-sole boots to keep from falling on my butt. Honestly - I remember sliding the length of the cargo deck on one CH-46, from the oil and hydraulic fluid slathered on it.

- They kept their aircraft in really nice heated/airconditioned hangars, but first thing in the morning they opened the doors, and kept them open all day. It was Winter, and pretty damn cold.

- Overall, my impression of the Navy was that, if they weren't dirty, wet, and uncomfortable, they didn't think they were doing their job.

- I did, however, enjoy the attention I got when I called a squadron and introduced myself as "Captain" That got them running well before I had the chance to add "US Army"

Dan H.

was the vma-311 on lha 5 for the 2001 deployment?

QUOTE: Originally posted by Dragonfire Ahhhh...the memories...15th MEU(SOC), HMM-163 (REIN), USS PELELIU (LHA-5) and a 7 month deployment for OEF, 2001-2002. KIK36 I know what you mean. Nothing like being a USMC "Air Winger" on ship working with the Navy. Cram 6 guys in a 4 man stateroom and "hot rack" . Staying up 96 hours straight, on more than one occasion, to keep aircraft up so our Grunts can do what they do best...locate, close with, and destroy the enemy! Lemonjello....GET SOME!!! Crossing the Line... Cancelled liberty ports...139 days straight underway...Australia was nice to see again. It sucks at times when you're out, but once you're back...you miss it.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Dragonfire Ahhhh...the memories...15th MEU(SOC), HMM-163 (REIN), USS PELELIU (LHA-5) and a 7 month deployment for OEF, 2001-2002. KIK36 I know what you mean. Nothing like being a USMC "Air Winger" on ship working with the Navy. Cram 6 guys in a 4 man stateroom and "hot rack" . Staying up 96 hours straight, on more than one occasion, to keep aircraft up so our Grunts can do what they do best...locate, close with, and destroy the enemy! Lemonjello....GET SOME!!! Crossing the Line... Cancelled liberty ports...139 days straight underway...Australia was nice to see again. It sucks at times when you're out, but once you're back...you miss it.

i served 4 years in the Navy as an Operation Specialists onboard the USS Monterey which was stationed in Mayport (Jacksonville) Florida. here are some of my fond memories of the navy:

1. "slider day" every thursday you got the privilege of eating either a greasy hamburger of one that had been under the heat lamp for half a day and was charred.

2. refueling and replenishing at sea. the joys of trying to heeve a gigantic gas hose to from there ship to yours with a oversized K-poc strapped on and gripping the non-skid with you toes in order to prevent being washed overboard by the churning sea between the 2 vessels!!

3. the dreaded "balls to 4" watch!!!

4. thorough "FOD" walkdowns.

5. General Quarters

6. "Work" details.

7. endless watches in sub artic-rooms like CIC (Combat Information Center).

8. Cutting my hair and shaving!!!! i haven't shaved in about 2 weeks as i type this!!

9. Ship wide personel inspections where you get to stand at parade rest for nearly 4 hours waiting on the captain to arrive, then 2 more while he inspects every person aboard the ship.

10. "Sausage Fests"(if you didn't clear the base by atleast 10 miles you'd be competing for girls at ratio of about 20 to 1. my close friends and i avoided these "sausage" fests at all costs.

11. Fox tails!!

12. Fire drills!!!

these are only a dozen "fond" memories of my wonderful and glamorous days in the navy!! later.

How about those those two famous words: "Stand By."
Can we dump trash now? Stand By.
Can we secure from flight ops? Stand By.
Can we go on liberty? Stand By.
Permission to depart flight deck? Stand By.
Fuel state critical, do we have a green deck? Stand By. . .

Don

It's definately an honor to be a "Shellback"...

Saying "I'm a shellback" after getting your ****** beat for eights hours straight by a fire hose. Crawling thru all kinds of garbage that was being saved by the supply pukes. Molybendum grease on your armpits thanks to the gunners mates. The long crawl up to the flight deck to face the gauntlet. Going thru the 200 +man gaunlet line on an LHA with those crazy ****** shellback marines from Hawaii. Then throwing all clothing on your body over the side as you make your way down to the berthing area to shower. Then sleep for sixteen hours straight. Priceless.............USS Peleliu 1983-86

Actually, I'm now an 0659, tactical data chief, I lucked out at my re-enlistment and got a lat-move. I started out as an 0311, bullet sponge. I took my company gunny's advice when he told me if I could get out of the infantry, to jump at the chance. Still, I'm back at division and we're already looking at heading to Iraq next year, after this tour in Afghanistan wraps up this summer.

LemonJello,

I forgot...are you 0311, or 0331?

LemonJello:

Yep, believe it or not, we did work. Sometimes, "swinging with the Wing" can be a good thing, at others it can suck (fix aircraft while others are on libo). I can also sympathize with you ashore...mortars tend to ruin your sleeping habits.

kik36 and Dragonfire,
I thought it was "swing with the wing" I didn't know you guys actually did work???? I did all my sleeping on ship, cause there wasn't much of it once we left...

I was trying to get back to a MEU when I left Oki last year, ended up at the next best thing, an infantry regiment with 2MARDIV. And I deployed a lot quicker than I had expected (about a month after checking in to my unit)

Ahhhh...the memories...15th MEU(SOC), HMM-163 (REIN), USS PELELIU (LHA-5) and a 7 month deployment for OEF, 2001-2002.

KIK36 I know what you mean. Nothing like being a USMC "Air Winger" on ship working with the Navy. Cram 6 guys in a 4 man stateroom and "hot rack" . Staying up 96 hours straight, on more than one occasion, to keep aircraft up so our Grunts can do what they do best...locate, close with, and destroy the enemy! Lemonjello....GET SOME!!!

Crossing the Line... Cancelled liberty ports...139 days straight underway...Australia was nice to see again. It sucks at times when you're out, but once you're back...you miss it.

When in Naples avoid the lady called "Red Devil Blower"....
Never fall asleep when on watch... with a 45 on your side.... after being up for 19 hours

Too funny!!! Sure wish that was the story for me!!!

Time aboard ship was time spent sleeping! We would check the POD to see if there was a general quarters drill scheduled, since our "battle station" was our rack! That's the good life for a grunt. Lots of rack time, PT and weapons cleaning.

Twenty years and two days in the Navy, and never did a day aboard a ship. The hardest decision we had to make was where do we spend our per diem checks that we got every two months while we were deployed. I spent alot of time flying over the fleet. Our runway never turned into the wind, and we always had clean sheets and a cold beer when we got back off of a flight. Patrol Navy for ever.

Here's one from the RAN-Drag the biggest piece of machinery you can find into your living room,disassemble it ,reassemble it and run it for 12 hours.Repeat.

thnxs for the laughs

My father was Navy in the 70s, I joined the Marines in 93, every time I'm home, he shakes his head and wonders where he went wrong. I just laugh and tell him all his stories set me on the right path. Besides, Marine stands for My Rides In Navy Equipment...

Wow, the posts sure bring back memorys. 1962-1968. Active duty on the USS Forrestal. Stood for F---s over rest, relaxation,eating,sleeping,& taking any leave. Man, I sure do miss Her. The older you get, the better the military was

Navy life and liberty:

When leaving the ship, when in doubt, salute it.

If you want to know where your next deployment will be? Ask the bartender.

When in a bar, ask others their MOS, you'd be surprised how many F-14 pilots hang out in red light district bars even where there isn't any carriers in port.

When going on liberty, make sure your buddy with the watch can tell time and that it is set in the correct time zone. Otherwise you will experience a "bon voyage" party that will include a ride in a helo and an invite to the capt'ns mast.

Don't be offended when the girl you started dating in port calls you by your ships name and not your real name.

If you want an extra liberty ration, there are always guys willing to sell theirs. They are either just married and want to remain faithful and save money, or they owe Bubba, the 342 lb boatswain from the oiler in the next berthing, $200 bucks.

Don't forget the pictures to send home to mom. There are dozens of little shops at the base enterance to suite this purpose. They will pose you in front of backdrops of all the landmarks, develope, print, and deliver your pics to the ship in time for you to sober up and send them to mom.

When in a bar of a foreign port, beware not to eat anything that is pickled and in a jar. Especialy if the Marines are eating it.

When souvenier shopping remember this: Never pay the asking price and make sure you can stow it on the ship. You'd look pretty funny sharing the rest of the cruise with a 60 lb mahogony budda in your rack.

And,
Cherish the time you will be spending with your shipmates.

What a great trip down memory lane

After reading these posts I find that the Navy is no different now than it was in the 1950s when I first joined The equipment might be higher tech but the life style has not changed After fifteen years (it took me that long to see the light) I went to the Air Force and couldn't believe the difference

During that time when I joined the bigest lie from the recruiters was "Make the Navy a caree (stay in 20 or more years) and when you retire you will never have another medical bill to pay as it will be free (that was told in all branches by the way)

But, if I had it to do over I'm not sure I would do it any different I did get one hell of an education from the Navy and was able to visit places I probably would have never seen But if someone were to ask me about which branch to join I would tell them my story and let them decide Or better yet, make a copy of this thread and let them read it

Richard

The best day in the Navy is when you are a Shellback, and standing in line in front of you are a bunch of Wogs. Included in this shivering, sniveling bunch of mites are the two division officers that have been making your cruise a living hell.

Hi Jimz66;
I'm Sorry , You did not say that you had this situation in your first post.. I'm sure you would love the Navy.. I was bitter about being drafted and I still am, but I would not trade that Navy experience for anything.. I just don't like the Draft. ( it's not fair ) I pray they never go back to it again..

Butchy. now a days they have serious restrictions on who can join and who can not join. For instance I have Tuorette Syndrome which I take medicine for. I also have asthma. Those two things alone kept me out. Not to mention my wieght, bad knees and a bad back. They have too many rules these days. I would go in a heart beat.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Demankat I was on the USS Kearsarge '98-'00. I was the 3rd female to report on board and the only female in my division until Aug '99. Now that was torture at times, being locked behind a 6 in steel door with a safe combo and a cipher lock with 26+ males. Don't forget having Marines on board and trying to get through the chow line. All they do is eat, sleep, work out, shine their boots and eat 12 times a day. Sorry for my rant. Demankat

Hey! I resembled that comment! The reason we ate and slept all the time on ship was because we weren't doing much of either of those while out in the field during all the exercises. I seem to recall the ship's crew sounding liberty a lot earlier in the day than we Marines ever saw. Though being the only woman on ship has to be about as isolated as you can get, Demankat. How many marriage proposals did you get on that cruise?

QUOTE: Originally posted by Demankat I was on the USS Kearsarge '98-'00. I was the 3rd female to report on board and the only female in my division until Aug '99. Now that was torture at times, being locked behind a 6 in steel door with a safe combo and a cipher lock with 26+ males. Don't forget having Marines on board and trying to get through the chow line. All they do is eat, sleep, work out, shine their boots and eat 12 times a day. Sorry for my rant. Demankat

Not all of us Marines are like that!!! LOL I was an Air Winger!!! On the LHA, it was split into three groups....Squids, Jarheads, and those Damn Air Wingers, who get special passes in the front of the chow line due to "Flight Ops". I was night crew for almost three years in my enlistment. There was no way you could get me to work out, or shine my boots!!! LOL The Air Wingers are almost the exact opposite of your basic grunts. Unfortunately, we all get lumped together into one group. I had just as many Navy friends as I did Marines. It's too bad we didn't meet when I was in Demankat, I would have changed your perspective of "Jarheads" a bit!!!

One time I read this hilarious article this guy wrote trying to hunt down a "Donkey Show". LOL Needless to Say there were some interesting shows, but not one of them contained a Donkey!! LOL That's all I'm gonna say, unless I see ya at the Nats!!!

A few hints for those wanting to join the Navy.

Go to the recruiter and listen to everything he says. Then go to the local used car dealership and listen to the car dealer, then go to he pawn shop and ask the loan shark for a loan. Look for any differences in the information these three people tell you.

When you are enlisting and are filling out the dream sheet, if you want a carrier, put down that you cannot stand crowds, can't be away from home for more than a few days, and are afraid of airplanes and large open spaces. If you want to be stationed in Kansas for your full 4 yrs, then put down that you want on a carrier and work on airplanes and love to be out at sea.

Whatever job that you think you qualify for and strike for will be the least likely job that you will be rated with. If you are good at fixing airplanes, you better get the book "100 ways to cook Spam". If you like to cook, then you better learn what ailerons and thrust reversers do.

If you ever wonder why they call it "A" school, wait until you meet some of the instructors.

Do not try to undo all 13 buttons with one quick jerk when going to the head. Trust me, you won't find them all.

Always keep track of your underwear, even it could be "shared".

Go to a town with an airforce base and visit a nightclub. Listen to the airman cry to his girlfriend about how much he's going to miss her because he has to go into the field for a whole six weeks. Remember that you will be envying him when your out at sea for 6 months.

Get used to listening to Rap, Country, Rock, Gospel, and many other exoctic forms of music being played at full volume all in the same room.

Unless your buying a Donkey, don't pay to go see a Donkey show.

From a 4th generation squid.

I was on the USS Kearsarge '98-'00. I was the 3rd female to report on board and the only female in my division until Aug '99. Now that was torture at times, being locked behind a 6 in steel door with a safe combo and a cipher lock with 26+ males. Don't forget having Marines on board and trying to get through the chow line. All they do is eat, sleep, work out, shine their boots and eat 12 times a day. Sorry for my rant.

Demankat

You almost forgot! Nowadays some jerk who looks like this: pulls up and parks outside your bedroom window in a beat-up piece of junk that makes the Beverly Hillbillies' truck look like an '04 Hummer. He then proceeds to blow himself and the thing up--reducing your house by 3 rooms and creating some extreme "air conditioning" effects.

There were somewhat worse conditions in the bygone days of the Maritime Service (MCSC, MSTS, USMS, etc.) Perpetual duty on a "Flag of Convenience" Vaseline Tanker?

"Should we prosper it shall be as is our custom...by Miracle!"