A chaptered story told on many blogs starts here and continues here:

Chapter 11

Chapter Twelve: Great Americans
We have a great team assembled at my FOB, which could be considered unusual. My commander didn’t get to hand-pick his team, whether the members that came from our parent unit or the various attachments, some of which came from within our brigade and others from Reserve units or even other branches. The guys here take their jobs seriously and many take the initiative to find ways to support the mission despite an occasional lack of support or other challenge that may keep us from using “conventional” means to get the job done.
I am excited to have had the opportunity to serve in this position. I have grown professionally because of it. More than I thought I would, which is an unexpected surprise. I am a lucky man in this respect.
I would like to thank the folks working here at FOB X with me. These are truly great Americans. I look at all these troops and am amazed, not only at the tremendous effort they put forth under crazy conditions sometimes, but also because these are people that could be doing anything but putting their lives on the line for Iraqis. And yet, here they are, volunteers each and every one, working hard, sweating, laughing, crying, sometimes bleeding for something that is beyond day-to-day comprehension, something that transcends the individual and actually makes a difference in our world. I am privileged and honored to serve with such selfless and open-hearted people.
The irony is not lost on me either, how we are ready to kill those that would threaten us but we are dedicated to making life better for normal Iraqis who just want a taste of what many Americans take for granted: freedom.

I found this on Little Green Footballs yesterday afternoon and see it has made it’s way to Cdr Salamander’s blog, too.

A Polish woman, Irena Sendler, saved 2,500 Jewish children between 1940 and 1943, before she was arrested by the Nazis and then tortured. She never gave up the names of the children. 2500. Think about it: 2500 lives snatched from the jaws of certain death, by a woman, who was not Jewish, and knew full well of the penalty for such rescue work. 2500 people, many of who, by basic demographics, have had generations flow from them, which would have otherwise been truncated forever. She is still alive and was honored in Warsaw by a ceremony the 93 year old woman was unable to attend. The Boston Herald has a detailed story of this woman’s heroism:

WARSAW, Poland – Irena Sendler saved nearly 2,500 Jewish children from the Nazis, organizing a ring of 20 Poles to smuggle them out of the Warsaw Ghetto in baskets and ambulances.

The Nazis arrested her, but she didn’t talk under torture. After she survived the war, she expressed regret – for doing too little.

Lawmakers in Poland’s Senate disagreed Wednesday, unanimously passing a resolution honoring her and the Polish underground’s Council for Assisting Jews, of which her ring of mostly Roman Catholics was a part.

Poland’s goverment-in-exile set up the secret organization in 1942 to help save Jews from the Nazi-established ghettoes and labor camps.

Anyone caught helping Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland risked being summarily shot, along with family members. The resolution honored Sendler for organizing the ”rescue of the most defenseless victims of the Nazi ideology: the Jewish children.”
[…]

It seems to me, as I have seen others commenting around the blogosphere, that she is the very kind of person who deserves to be held up as a role model, and not these bored little rich girls we see splashed about the media.

I, for one, have faith that this woman will most certainly be greeted with “Well done, my good and faithful servant” when she leaves this life on Earth.

Go, read, and have a renewing of the mind with this story.

The customer base is overactive this week, which is a good thing, but, cuts into blogging time.

Besides the superior trackbacks you readers might send, I refer you to a post I wrote after finding a comment on another blog. The title: “How to Bury a Hero” by (then) HM3 James Pell.

In the spirit of the movie “300,” some reminder from a modern day Spartan on how to lay your comrade to rest.

James, last I could track him down, made HM2 (Petty Officer Second Class Corpsman), but his email address wasn’t working. About 6 months ago, a friend of Marine LCpl Antoine Smith sent me an email after finding the post linked above, asking how to get a hold of James, so she could thank him. I sent out a few queries and was able to get a lead for her.

It’s all about connections and relationships, when you peel all else away.

Back when Jack Army was still in the Army recruiting business, I asked him what was allowed to give to Recruiters. I know back in my dark ages, there was a $4.95 retail value limit on “gifts,” which was revised to be something more intelligent just before I retired in 96. I thought the troops at the local station might enjoy a pizza or something like that, but I wanted to make sure so they weren’t in an uncomfortable position, If I sent a few large pizzas to their door. Not worth losing a career/position over. He gave me permission to provide some info extracted from his two emails.

“Jack” is a busy man and currently in the later part of his deployment to Iraq, but he made time to answer up. I got an answer I think we all might be able to give the overworked recruiters with:

As for your question, what is acceptable for a recruiter to accept? Certainly an occasional pizza will be heartily received and small tokens like that are fine. I don’t believe there is a regulation prohibiting recruiters from receiving gifts from private citizens, most would be too humble to receive much more than pizza and a soda or something similar.

I would tell you that the one thing that you could give a recruiter that would mean more than anything is a solid lead. A name and phone number of some young man or woman that would benefit from what the Army has to offer… you would have Army coffee cups, pens, desk calendars and just about any other lickies and chewies USAREC throws out there coming out of your ears!

I don’t need another coffee cup, but I think the recruiters could appreciate just what he asked for: Solid leads. Put your networking hats on, and get back into service, being an advocate for military service and the recruiters. We know they have problems in some areas getting into schools and universities, so complimenting their work would be a big boost for them. Keep your ears to the tracks and listening for that opportunity in a conversation to guide someone their way….and, just if you have the urge, maybe stop by with some coffee or donuts or pizza for them and tell them they are doing a great job.

Now, news from Iraq from “Jack:”

It has been a fast and furious time since about August 2005. As you probably know, I’m currently in Iraq. Things are going really well in our area of operations. Our Iraqi Army counterparts are progressing well and things in this zone are relatively quiet compared to zones on our borders. There are great things happening every day but there is still so much work to be done.

Somehow I don’t get the same picture from the MSM….so, from real boots on the ground, a senior NCO says it’s better.

While I tend to paint a rosy picture of things here (I am an optimist!), there are challenges. Corruption has been a problem. For example, Iraqi Army Soldiers and Iraqi Police officers used to demand bribes to get through some of the checkpoints in our area. The Iraqi Army commander here had signs put up at the checkpoints with his phone number on them stating that bribes where illegal and call the number to report IA or IP who demanded them. Also, obviously, he ordered the practice to be stopped as well. After he put the first violator in jail for a few days and took away a few days’ pay, that practice pretty much went away. Now, the only folks that will get hassled at a checkpoint is those that are suspicious or violate the law. Things are getting better.

Sounds like someone sees it’s time for a change, and it’s great to hear that the Iraqi officer is taking the lead in solving a problem.

Update 3/9/2007: In this “news” is the subtle message that changes, meaning it will take a while to change attitudes, as the poulation ages/dies off. At MilBlogs, Soldier’s Dad makes this point, but uses the Russian model and the memory of WWII as the example. The human experience, it’s new and it’s old, more times and ways that we like to imagine….

So, the recruiters are in the fight, too. Help them out if you get the chance.

Crossposted at: Third World County
Tracked back at: Woman, Honor Thyself, High Desert Wanderer, Big Dogs Weblog, Right Voices, Samantha Burns, Cao’s Blog

Open Trackbacks! Post your stuff!

Sea story of the week:

I first heard of, not by name, but by association, GSGS(SW) John “JC” Weigman, USN in the summer of 1983. I was a student at Surface Warfare Officer Department Head course, nearing completion of the 6 month school. By now, I was in the Engineering Specialty portion of the curriculum, having been detailed to be the Engineer Officer on USS CONOLLY (DD-979). There were ten of us in the class, taught by LCDR Alex Watt, sitting in two rows of chairs, 5 abreast, all destined to be in charge of SPRUANCE Class destroyer engineering plants. It was the last day of this part of the school, and Alex had gathered the current status of our ships, so we’d have an idea where they were in the training/inspection/deployment cycle. He began the class with some “good news” for one of us (I can’t recall what it was or who it was for) and “bad news” for one of us. He announced one of the ships rated several GS (Gas Turbine Specialist) Chief Petty Officers, but there was only one aboard.

Alex worked his way across the front row and then got to me in the center of the back row. He began the status of my upcoming assignment by saying “It’s you.” Great. Never wanted to be a “snipe,” had asked to be anything but a snipe, but I got to be a snipe, and then I was going to be shorthanded…..There’s about 2-3 more sea stories in that last comment, but later….

I arrive aboard the ship in Puerto Mont, Chile, having flown from Norfolk via Miami. GSMC(SW) Weigman is my leading enlisted man in the department. He began his career as an EN (Engineman) and had plenty of stories to tell, in particular, he was involved in the evaluation of the SeaFox SEAL patrol craft, which made for some good conversation late at night on watch. He converted to the GS rate when there was the massive build up of DDs and FFGs was at it’s peak in the early 80s, which was a great career move.

Supporting JC were GSM1 Graham, GSE1 Denny Rohr, GSE2 Walter Hook, GSM2 Belcher, GSM2 Shipley, GSM2 Roberge, GSM2 Dewberry and more I can’t recall right now, but…he was in fact the only Chief I had in the “M” (Main Probulsion) Division, led by LT Al Curry.

JC was more than a match for the task. He was a sailor and not a snipe first. His goal was always to make sure the Ship was cared for and running well. If that meant playing second fiddle in the priorities for some “upper deck” stuff, he was on board, and he was sending help as needed. He also instilled this in those in the entire Engineering Department. On the other hand, if there was a tie to be broken, he’d make sure, in the “Goat Locker” or in talks with the CO (CDR Harry Maxiner) that the snipes would get the best deal.

One of the ways he was so successful, and the point of this sea story is: When someone told him something couldn’t be done, or it had to be done some way that didn’t make sense, he’d go and seek out the guidance and self-educate. I know he took both the PN (Personnelman) and YN (Yeoman) rate correspondence courses (required for advancement in those rates), and I believe he also sat down and worked his way through the DK (Disbursing Clerk) material as well. The entire point was to know as much of their jobs as they knew. On many occasions, he found out the people had told him something wrong, or contradictory to the way things were to be done. He wanted to know what was right, and if you wouldn’t tell him, he’d go to the book, your book, then come back and quote it to you.

He did this with everything he worked with. He was an incredibly capable amn, and even though I was short two more Chiefs in the Main Propulsion area, he outdid any ten other chiefs I worked with, except three, who were cut from the same cloth, and I ran into them years later.

One particular area, where he used this process of doing things right was with the “Critical Gauge” program. Aboard the ship were hundreds of gauges and sensing devices that required periodic calibration. There were established “METCAL” teams of civil servants and contractors, who would come to the ship and go through and validate the accuracy (or repair/replace) every one of them. JC read the instruction and it said the critical gauge list was designated by the Commanding Officer, and the shore based support teams would check against the list of meter cards (one record for each gauge/sensor) listed by the Ship’s Company. JC wnet about making sure that every gauge was covered. He listed gauges in the ASROC heating and cooling system, in the electronic chilled water piping system, etc, etc, etc. Hydraulic meters and gauges in the 5’/54 guns were also included.

When we returned from the UNITAS deployment, the METCAL team paid us a call. The looked at this foot high stack of the meter card printouts and told JC (who was in charge of the program) that they only did engineering related gauges. He stared them down and told them the heating and cooling systems for the ordnance magazines were just as critical as the vibration transducers on the gas turbine engines and….futhermore, this was the Commanding Officer’s designated list, per the instruction and they were going to check them all. He was right on both counts. They left and started calling around. Net result, they did most of the work we handed them, but not all of it.

The net result of one man, shorthanded and all, was this: The METCAL team and their handlers successfully maneuvered to get the instruction changed, so the Squadron Commander would designate the “critical gauges.” That wasn’t the answer. The METCAL people needed to see he had a very valid point, and they needed to plus up their teams to cover more work aboard the ships during their visits.

So, the moral of the story is: If you do your homework, and learn what the other guy is supposed to be doing, you get a lot of work done, but sometimes, others will find an end around to keep from doing the work.

JC also took on the existing lube oil analysis program and if I recall correctly, he got them to change to a better method of detecting contaminants in the samples sent out to the labs, which helped in early detection of problems, and therefore ssaved taxpayer dollars.

By the time I departed CONOLLY, JC had made Senior Chief Petty Officer, and all of the other people I listed above added another paygrade to their sleeves/collars.

As far as not wanting the job? Well, it was one of the most rewarding tours I had. I credit a lot of sailors who didn’t want me to screw up for making me look good in that job. They are subjects of future sea stories, for they all have lessons and tales of their own.

And onto the topic of Explosives Handling Personnel Qualification Certification Program (EHPQCP). There is a history to this program (like all others) and it has it’s good and it’s bad sides. Like the Personnel Qualification System (PQS), the EHPQCP arose from disaster, and formalized what has been done in the past by less bureaucratic means. PQS will be dealt with later in detail, separate from this series.

One of the bad parts of the EHPQCP was it “pig-piled” on other qualification processes, which increased the administrative loading on the Fleet operators, which takes time away from actual training efforts.

While the EHPQCP does not play a direct role in how this incident occurred, it was something we had been checking on surface ships for compliance during the Combat Systems Assessments, and during Cruise Missile Certification exams.

EHPQCP has it’s roots in the flight deck fire on the USS FORRESTAL (CV-59) off Vietnam on July 29th, 1967. Just about an hour before noon (local), as the air wing began it’s launch cycle. The story of the heroism and tragedy of that day are well chronicled in “Sailors To the End” by Gregory Freeman. That story is about East Coast sailors wanting to do well, and “modifying” the approved procedures, coupled with a starined logisitcal system that sent WWII bombs to fulfill the requisitions of the carriers, whihc cause more loss of life.Side historical note: LCDR John McCain was strapped in his A-4 Skyhawk, waiting to launch, when the initial missile was fired from an F-4 Phantom due to electromagnetic interference (EMI), starting John’s plane on fire. He crawled to safety off the nose and refueling probe of his flaming Skyhawk, dropping to the deck clear of the flames from the ruptured fuel tanks and ran to safety. It’s a great read, I highly recommend it.Net result of the fire: Another layer of training and qualification, titled “certification.” In addition to this efforts, the certification must be renewed annually. The basics of the program is that all persons who handle or “operate” ordnance must be certified for the discrete actions (loading, maintenance, firing, etc) on specific systems (Mk13 GMLS, Mk45/54 Gun, NATO Sea Sparrow, etc). Demonstration of knowledge of the tasks to be preformed is the intial step, and then the annual renewal to make sure the knowledge is retained/updated for newer procedures/system modifications.That, in and of of itself is not bad, but, with it’s proscribed forms, it was easy to “pencil whip” the paperwork for inspection and assist teams, which is the problem.

In the surface Navy, the program had been emphasized at the paperwork level, in detail by the Combat Systems Assessments. Surface Navy sailors would routinely question the need for such “extra” work, as there were systems such as PQS in place for the ordnance systems, complete with plenty of safety knowledge requirements, but they did it, albeit most times grudgingly.

Then, an incident in the surface Navy brought the EHPQCP right to the forefront: USS IOWA (BB-61) on 19 April 1989. The loss of 47 lives in that explosion resulted in a Court of Inquiry, in which a co-worker of mine had to sit at “the long end of the green table with no coffee cup and no ashtray” and answer some uncomfortable questions. He, a few months before, had been the inspector that gave a passing grade to the EHPQCP after scanning a small portion of the many thick notebooks of records aboard the ship. Needless to say, this brought a whole new level of attention to not only the forms, but the process in place aboard any vessel in the surface Navy. The inter-community friction over this program was that aviators caused the problem, but it was the surface ships who were chastised for not keeping up the extra paperwork, while the air Navy thumbed their nose at it. Even the Naval Air Forces, Atlantic Ordnance Handling Officer thought we were way too obsessive with the program (and that was in the early 90s, after IOWA’s accident)

As a result of the carriers I had to visit in the wake of the SARATOGA incident, I can say many ships did not use the program.

There’s a little history involved in several other parts of my Naval experience, that also was an area we would inspect.

The saga will continue….

I know…a day late…I can make excuses, but not worth it.

I believe the other blog is gone, banished to digital nothingness by a hosting firm who wanted more money than this one did…

For this day, a blast from the past: “We don’t have enough fuel to reach Africa”, a true story of too much desire for liberty in Brazil, not enough advance planning and two ships (neither one of them a logistics type vessel) somewhere in the South Atlantic.

Enjoy! (and post your trackbacks!)

The political commentary and maneuvering these days shows something of the character of the Congress and the Democratic Party in particular that is, how shall I say this delicately? Well, I can’t. Blood lust. Pure and simple lust for the shedding of blood, specifically in the physical sense, while carrying it out in the figurative manner.

The “buzz word” of the times: “Slow Bleed” says Carl Levin (D-MI) and John Murtha (D-PA), supported by the Democrats of the House, and 17 Republicans, too. You know the ones, the ones running to the sound of the polls, as is the collective daily wisdom of the electorate, measured in quantities of about 1000 to guage, with scientific processes,
to sense the mood.

So, if the Democrats get their way through obfuscation, their slow bleed strategy, will, in their estimation, bleed the support of the voters from the President and the Republicans in general.

What will the “bleeding” look like? Well, not funding more equipment, not funding supplies, and not funding the transport of the replacement and reinforcement troops.

This, if accomplished, will most certainly lead to the withdrawal of the political will to continue the campaign in Iraq in the Global War on Terror. How So? Simple. The troops on the front line, deprived of more compatriots to show the enemy we mean business, short supply on basic combat items, such as ammo and other equipment.

What next? The extrapolated condition is our troops, faced with an already brutal and further emboldened enemy, witll begin to take casualties they should not. THEY.WILL.BLEED. Not figuratively, but literally.

Why? Simple? So Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, John Murtha and their acolytes will then be “given” positions of power, with the reward of the voters by placing a Democratic president in the White House, and securing a majority on the Senate.

Who provides the “life blood” of this path to power? The troops. The troops they support.

The same troops who weren’t supplied with armored HUMVEES, body armor and the many other things the Democrats screamed about. The troops who have changed lives by placing themselves in danger to protect the lives of Iraqis. The troops, who, despite the hypocritical posturing of the Democrats, continue to suit up and enter the streets of Baghdad to face a foe who is little more than the analog of a viral infection in civilization, but a nasty one in any case.

You know, they don’t have to spit on the troops anymore. In the 70s, most of “them” were young people and not in positions where they could control the expenditure of Federal dollars. No, I predict the “spitting” phenomena will be minimal, but this time, the troops could be bled white, like animals slaughtered, all in the name of the blood lust of politicians wanting power, unfettered by dialog with those across the aisle.

Trackbacked at: Third World County, The Pirate’s Cove

These are strange days, indeed. And interesting. Stand by for “stream of consciousness” transmission.

I’m a process guy. For as long as I can remember, I have enjoyed dismantling times to see what makes them go. In my adult years, that has taken the form of “how does it work and is there room for improvement?” more often than not. I despise those who can can only manage to lift themselves intellectually enough to identify a problem and go no further. far too many of those people, when we need problem solvers. Implied the same “problem solvers” will, because it has to be this way, get their hands, and maybe the rest of them quite “dirty” in the pursuit of making things better.

In looking at processes, I enjoy trying to find the core of the problem so that the “fix” might be done with the least amount of effort, while the effort in some cases will be enormous, going to cut the tap root directly is still superior to trying to kill a tree by plucking each of it’s leaves…

With those thoughts in mind, I get to the point of my current wondering:

What happened to the Republican Party? The title of this post conveys some of the problem, and thank God we have a number of our countrymen who still run to the sound of battle to offset the current trend at just about every level of government these days.

I think back to the President’s news conference and actions on November 8th, 2006. President Bush did not stand tall and face the changed balance of votes in the Congress with forthright consistency. I believe this was the day things went south. Well, actually the night of November 7th to be more precise, but the interviews and “conciliatory attitudes” couldn’t be showcased until the next morning. I am a supporter of the President, but wonder why he has stepped back from his upright stance he had from 9/12/2001 through the days before the 2006 election.

How does this factor in? The Republicans have fractured and jumped on the band wagon to try to exercise non-Constitutional control of the military operations of the country. It’s as though the team has lost its coach, and, seeing tough sledding ahead, they “separate” and believe running alone will up their chances of survival politically. Not a chance I’d postulate. That thought process doesn’t work well in the wilderness, nor when lost at sea. “we” as humans do better when we work together (which goes a lot further when trying to solve problems, too). This will be something I think history, and the electorate will not judge in a positive light when our days are looked back on.

I think the Republicans have lost their rudder and I just hope someone can step up to the plate to pull them back together.

Watching the Democrats since 11/8/2006, all I see is a more shrill “voice” to impose their way on the entire nation. They said they would bring a new conversation to Washington, and I’d have to agree, but it is in the form of demanding they have their way, not in bi-partisan open discussions to solve the problems of this nation. Frankly, there are big issues facing this country, and the majority party is frittering away valuable time by spending their waking hours merely trying to oppose the President.

That being said, for those on the opposing side of the political scale than I, it’s one thing to just stand up and vote your power in funding as a Constitutionally valid method to exercise “checks and balances” and quite another to waste time putting forth legislative work that will most certainly be turned down when reviewed in a court of law. You want a prime example of “waste, fraud and abuse?” The “slow bleed” strategy of the Democrats in the House is just that. For those who complain about $400 toilet seats in military aircraft projects, will you also put your elected Federal representatives on notice that they are mis-handling your tax dollars now, or will you give them a pass?

As many others have said, if Congress believes the will of the people is to get out of the Middle East and bring the troops home, that can be communicated loudly and clearly by just not giving money to the military.

“Revoting” how much authority the President was given is also a time wasting, cheap shot at halting the gears of the Nation. At least I have to acknowledge that John Edwards has the courage to say he voted one way and now has changed his mind. Hillary (the smartest women in the world, some would claim) just wants to pretend she was out-foxed. Think about that one: The “Shrub” who is the stupidest man/president ever according to many, out thought the smartest women in the world. If I were Hillary, I’d shut up now, before people realize a dumb man convinced her to do something she shouldn’t have…..

Lately I have heard accusations that the President didn’t plan adequately for this war. I agree, wholeheartedly. In retrospect, and in his favor, who could have predicted that after the deaths of 2996 people on our own soil, in a deliberate attack, that the response would have had to have included plans to counter a national and world press that would consciously not seek the truth, would accept as “news” fabricated stories, photographs and videos provided without fact checking from the enemy in caves and alleys of war torn towns, showing more Americans dying at the hands of a driven, brutal enemy, and then let the same culture demand they not be spoken of in terms to describe, at best their apathy and at worst their clearly stated blood lust and murderously conducted actions?

Who would have known to plan for those same things, pushed in the face of the world daily would be blamed on the man who was in a classroom of an elementary reading class, not having planned to, in cold blood, execute 2996 people on the same day? And, further, that that accepted meme would then cause a party out of power to use this as fodder to re-gain those positions where they could personally gain in political stature? Besides having to plan on how to combat an effort on an world-wide, internal to the nation and from without, war against us, by an enemy who would hide in plain sight, and chose to be stateless in order to confound the reaction to their attacks?

Just as the cry of concern that a fictional television show might influence someone to cross the line and commit crimes in and interrogation, the media is a powerful voice, and it’s not just “24” that may influence. Tipper Gore wanted music controlled, because of the influence. about 20 years ago, ads for smoking products were banned, as “the nation” agreed they were influential. As one talk show host said when wondering why only “24” was singled out: “If only ’24’ is influential, why are corporations spend $2.5M for 30 seconds of Super Bowl air time?” Because the media influences, plain and simple.

Quite honestly, I wonder at the depth of understanding of those in leadership who would trust the polls of the American public to guide their policy positions. For one, they were elected to be leaders, and not to just follow the crowd (which is why, duh!, we refer to them as leaders). Secondly, if they haven’t figured out we are kind of fickle in our positions, then they really have lost touch with the regular Americans and don’t comprehend the comings and goings of fashions, music, the “coolest” cellphone, the hottest movie, the “in” band/musician, do they?

So, to wrap up some random, yet connected thoughts on the state of the Union, it occurs to me that constancy, vision and dogged determination in the face of adversity has been the quality that has served this nation, in public and private affairs the best. Bickering over the “how” of the “how to get the job done/problem solved” is wasted energy and, with the issue of global warming being the impending death of Mother earth, I’d suggest the exhaled breath would serve us all better if it was used to form sounds of conversations about making the future safe for us now, and our heirs later, rather than used to call names and quibble over who had better grads in college/law school.

From here, I return to my regularly scheduled analysis of just what the heck is going on. I refuse to publish a timeline for my plan, just in case you are going to demand one.

Real solutions to the real problems can be submitted in the comments section below.

“Fairness” provided by comments section below.

Common sense and reality accepted.

Crossposted at: The Wide Awakes

Tracked back at: Third World County,

Freefire zone! Trackbacks (may show up as “pingbacks,” but they still show up! I think it’s a WordPress 2.1X issue…)

Last week, the conclusion of Episode 1 of Chief Mac stomps the “competition.”

This week, more of the same. If you’re “behind the power curve,” go back two weeks and catch up….I think it’s a great sea story, but it’s told in parts…

With the tenor of camaraderie between various vessels of COMSERVRON TWO having taken a turn towards more “active rivalry,” we received another tasker to conduct an intrusion drill (Z-5-O) against the USS SYLVANNIA (AFS-2). Chief Mac took this one one, too.

The Plan: Send the exercise tested ET2 Krutsch to get by the Quarterdeck watch, once more disguised as a Navy Exchange employee bearing delivery items. One other would be the following “distractor” to inject some confusion so Mike could escape the controlled environs of the entry point of the vessel to do his mischief.

This time the “delivery item” to cause attentive watch standers was one actual birthday cake, to be delivered to the Commanding Officer, CAPT Otto Will, USN. As with the prior event (I’m sure you have gone back and caught up by now), the Chief purchased the cake and a birthday card, complete with a birthday greeting inscribed on the top of the cake, visible through the clear plastic top of the cake box, real name and all….

Mike heads off, in his civvies and hair and beard/moustache pushing the envelope of “well groomed” and climbs the ladder. On arrival, he indicates he has a cake to deliver to a Captain Otto Will for his birthday. Of course he did his best to not act clued in as to the identity of the Ship’s CO….he stood off to the side of the Quarterdeck area, as directed (but not yet asked for an ID of any sort, nor questioned as to if he might be an intruder). About this time, of course, OS1 Blazak mounted the Quarterdeck, requesting permission to come aboard. His “mission” was to find the leading operations specialist to “borrow” some charts. As it turned out, the Officer of the Deck knew OS1, so he played it off as just looking for some info, but…the personall knowledge of who he was ruled him out as being able to be a bad guy for the drill purposes. However, it allowed cover for Mike to head inboard and begin he search for the CO’s Inport Cabin.

He wandered into the deckhouse and central area of the ship, and then to the outbaord side of the main deck. He didn’t know exactly where it was, so he took a chance and asked a sailor where the Captain’s cabin was. At first, he thought he was being led back to the Quarterdeck and the drill would be over, but he was delivered to the Captain’s door and the sailoer knocked, opened the door and announced a visitor the to Captain, who was talking to a Commander and a Master Chief Petty Officer.

Mike was invited in, saying he had a birthday cake for a Captain Will. As most people would be under such circumstances as this the Co was curious as to how this had become his birthday. He looked puzzled, but invited Mike in. Mike set the box on his desk and handed him the birthday card. Capt Will took the card out of the envelope, opened it and proceeded to read.

About this time the smiles began spreading on the faces of the Commander and Master Chief, who were debriefing a human resources assessment training of the ship, so they were not ship’s company, but knew “the drill” all too well (and I’m sure they were also relieved not to be ship’s company right about then). The Master Chief said: “Captain, I think you should read the back of the card.” There, as he closed it and scanned the handwriting on the back of the card, he read “This is a bomb!”

Might I just say Mike indicated Captain Will was not amused. But, on top of the card indicating the future failing grade from the Sqaurdon Commander. But, as Chief Mac had a humorous side, when he had the cake decorated, aroound the sides, in scrolled icing was the inscription “Tick*Tick*Tick.”

And so ends the tale of the days when the gentleman’s approach to “running drills” on each other in the Fat Ship Navy took a turn for the better, or worse, depending on which side of the grade sheet you were on.