Comments

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  Jim Decota June 16, 2013 at 12:14pm

  Doug, that would make Daniel a Carpenter's Mate!

  That is what will also make this site grow and thrive! For as we all go back and relive our experiences and trade stories and reminisce, we remember and honor all that we served with and those that passed on the traditions to us.

  I know I am repeating this....but.... that movie and book "Once we were soldiers"  had to be about the Army! Because, "Once a Navy man, always a Navy man"!

  So much of the jibber jabber  we have going on in here is so like it was in the beginning of boot at RTC. We met so many others from so many places and backgrounds (not to leave out personalities) that we "learned" to depend on, in some cases, for our very lives!
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  Douglas Karr June 16, 2013 at 11:19am

  Daniel - you hit the nail on the head. We all served, we're all brothers and sisters, and we all deserve respect for taking the oath and volunteering in the greatest military in the world. I'm proud of my time - and I got screwed over quite a few times - but it doesn't take anything away from my service. Let's continue to keep things respectful to one another here, no one can understand the sacrifices each of us made. And so many who aren't with us paid more than we could ever understand.
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  Daniel J Chesley June 16, 2013 at 11:01am

  I guess my Navy time must have been somewhat different. 4 years 3 months 15 days. My brother did 24 years. Brother Ed passed away in 2009 due to Agent Orange exposure. We both were proud to have served and  we both thought the Navy was the only branch of the military for us.

  Guys, I'd like to honor our brothers and sisters who served and gave all they had to their country and shipmates. From time to time we all had to endure some things that ticked us off. Maybe a arrogant Jr. Officer, a stewburner who could burn jello, a screwed up pay day, or a lost record. But hey thats life, stuff happens. Bottom line we are all shipmates, and sometimes we need to let things that in hindsight are really not that important go. Some shipmates lost a lot more than a shot card . There I've said my piece. 
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  Jim Decota June 16, 2013 at 9:52am

  David, I am sure the Chief has considered telling you to "hit the deck and give him 20"! But then, he would have to administer the skills of a Corpsman after the first two! So, it would be more torturous on him!

  Now that I think of it, another difference in the Navy of today as compared to our time in is that back then the only other sailor you would "bare your butt to" was a Corpsman! And .... you knew it was going to hurt a bit!
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  Jim Decota June 15, 2013 at 5:07pm

  Geez Chief! Now we have gone from "implying" to "inferring"!

  You guys lost me once you got into that "core box" stuff!

  I also seem to recall once a set of records showed up at a facility, there was this unhappy person that got to go around, collect them and bring them to the records dept. I remember when I showed up at the OOD's office at one duty station and handed over my folder they got tossed into a basket amongst a bunch of other folders that didn't look the same! For all I knew those contained the menu for the week for the officer's mess! I was quite surprised when they "did not" get lost!
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  James W Ward June 15, 2013 at 3:35pm

  I remember the brown envelope, but never signing for it.  I was one day on watch, and two hours later I was highlined to the Sacramento and then to the PI, where I had to take two prisoners to Treasure Island.  Never looked at the brown envelope except the outside that gave the orders to bring the prisoners to TI and then leave (shortened by time in PI) and TTy school.  There again, given the envelope and off to the Hornet.  Checked in. They only time I was asked to look inside was when I separated.  I then told them a lot of files are missing, they told me it could take another year to get it straightened out, and I would be transferred to my next assignment until it was straightened out extending my time in the Navy by a year or so.  Told me they could do that because I was going to reserves.  Never did get it all. My time in country was not documented as it was a favor from my Capt to a Marine Officer (I never met).  I was on a Huey to places unknown. Met up with a friend near the Hue river.  Not documented. None of my boot camp records were in there except the shots. and the shrink statement that I was home sick. Sometime It just happens. I have my brown envelope and have asked for updates to it.  They did for the medals and ribbons but nothing on the med side.  In my case, I think most of the "Lost" paperwork was as a result of personnel who handed me the file.  Never asked me to sign for it but found my signature on several not in my handwriting. My leaving the Annapolis, was done in such a hurry, I am sure things went to the round file.  I was asked 4 weeks before I left what I would like to do in the Navy. I told the TTY repair.  The Capt came down and talked to me thanking me for doing the in country thing for him and said I would get tty school. Everything verbal. by the way I went to C school in RTC San Diego. 

   
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  Lindsey E. Ford HMC (SW) June 15, 2013 at 2:55pm

  Explain this remark to me Jim - I would really like to know what you are inferring.

  I wasn't taking any implying Bill.I leave all that to the Chief and Dave. Even though it was usually the Corpsmen that handled the records, I think they usually got lost "in transit".

  Records getting lost in "transit" that was the fault of the member - if you remember when you transferred you were given a big brown envelope with your orders stapled to it and sealed inside was your health, dental and service records. If by chance one or more of those records were not in there, it was not a corpsman's fault it was a personnel men's fault. Back in the day when it was transfer time personnel gave us a check out sheet - we were responsible for going from point a to point x y or z. If the record was not found it was not the service members fault, for the most part. I have had sailors check out their med rec to go to a clinic appt, records never made it back - the clinic told them they would send it back - clinics do not send health records back to ships, it went to out patient records or where ever. So Joe sailor thought it was sent back to us, so at the beginning of month when I had to post the radiation exposures I had to go after leading petty officers, chief petty officers, division officers and a chief engineer trying to get these records back. Most thought that since their name was on them it was their property and managed to get most of those back. The ones left at clinics - retrieval rate was very low. Mainly because the Navy decided to use a terminal digit filing system, that system was so proned to misfiling it was not funny. When I was at NSSF at Groton, my first January when I had to file the record of exposure to ionizing radiation for God only knows how many sailors. I spent a week or two in that records room, I had to search for so many misfiled health records. I came up with my own identification process - the color of tape that was not used on healthe records was black - I used that color on the right color - so I could walk down a row and find the records of those that were receiving either occupational or non occupational exposure to ionizing radiation. Once I did that and showed it to Chief Lyles - he liked it and so did his crew - made it easy to find a misfiled record if it belonged to a radiation worker.  
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  Bob Coombs June 14, 2013 at 4:01pm

  I'll have to thank my mother for my never taking up smoking. My dad smoked a pack or more a day of Camels, but mom had offered me $100 if I didn't smoke until after I turned 21. That was a lot of money back then, and I took the bait. Of course I did sneak one or two, and ended up wondering where all this "flavor" and "taste" the ads bragged about was hiding. Just tasted like nasty hot air going down my throat! That may have had something to do with my having asthma as a kid. Bless mom for thinking ahead to save me from spending all that money on tobacco! I did smoke cigars until I noticed they gave me a raspy throat, but since I didn't inhale them that didn't count as cigarette smoking.
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  John Dahlstedt June 14, 2013 at 3:41pm

  Yeah, I noticed about the S%$T detail in boot to if you didn't smoke so I started.

  I quit after boot though. At current prices glad I did.
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  David W Asche June 14, 2013 at 1:17pm

  "Published Author"????

  I have had almost ALL of my stories "published" in my ship's newsletter.  BUT the one I sent to a publisher is still being held for ransom and I doubt if I will ever see it again.  Three years of work and a thousand bucks all shot in the azz.

  ANYONE care to tell me just how wondeful "Publish America" is?  I friggin' dare ya!

  It isn't fun to get shafted like this!