Posted on 12/06/2018 10:26:34 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
ATLANTIC OCEAN (WAVY) -- Shy Riggins is no stranger to military life.
"My father actually was in the Navy. He always told me stories about his traveling."
So when the now Third Class Petty Officer joined the Navy himself, Veterans Day took on a new meaning.
"It feels great that people acknowledge we do this for them."
He chose to be a become a barber, a role he enjoys.
He says the best part of his job is meeting different people, something that comes easy given the location of his barbershop aboard the George H.W. Bush, a Nimitz class aircraft carrier.
When you think of these cities at sea, images of jets and busy flight decks come to mind, but with a floating like this there are jobs to fill.
"Everybody has their own unique job. and the reason we have all those jobs is because without them we could not complete the mission," said Electronics Technician Second Class Tamara Capodanno.
"My job is highly important on an aircraft carrier. Without the planes, it is just a ship."
There's a mailroom, food to be cooked and electronics to fix.
There's even a Starbucks, which is also run by sailors.
And while these jobs may not be as glamorous as what happens above, sailors know that working together is what makes the Navy a cut above the rest.
"Different ranks do different things but they all work together to make this ship run appropriately," Riggins said.
I was just looking for that! How far SNL has fallen since those days.
Then I returned to my buffing machine...
“My grandfather was 1st Lieutenant on the Bunker Hill. A lot less creature comforts on a carrier back then, but still the challenges of keeping a floating small town running.”
There is no such thing as a 1st Lieutenant in the Navy, you are either a Lieutenant Junior Grade, Lieutnenant, or a Lieutnant Commander! Army, Air Force, and Marines have 1st Lieutnants!
1st Lieutenant is a role, not a rank. My grandfather was a Lt. Commander at the time.
In the US Navy, the First Lieutenant is a specific job, not a rank. From Wikipedia-
“In the US Navy or US Coast Guard, the billet of first lieutenant describes the officer in charge of the deck department or division, depending on the size of the ship. In smaller ships that have only a single deck division, the billet is typically filled by an ensign; while in larger ships, with a deck department consisting of multiple subordinate divisions, the billet may be filled by a lieutenant commander. On submarines and smaller Coast Guard cutters, the billet of first lieutenant may be filled by a petty officer.”
On a destroyer type ship the First Lieutenant is usually a division officer in the Weapons Department. On a CVN he is a Department Head.
OK, I will buy that, thought you were talking about rank, not role!
A carrier is divided into the flight deck, engineering and everything else, and my grandfather as 1st Lieutenant was in charge of everything else. He also was damage control officer - for a ship that got kamikazied.
The first Lieutenant on a Ship is the deck department head.
He is responsible for all of the topside spaces of the ship, the boats, the anchor windless, the capstains etc.
his men moor the ship, drop the anchor, handle unrep operations. On a unrep ship, such as an oiler, ammo ship, etc the First Lieutenant is the senior watch officer. The First Lieutenant, can be a JG, Lt, LCDR, or a CDR, depending on the size of the ship
That is the way it is on ships. Go on watch, get off watch, got to work, go on watch, get off watch, GQ drills, HDQs
sleep, repeat, day after day, week after week.
Had a PO3 on JFK who was told by our Chief to get a haircut. Next day at quarters, no haircut. Said he couldn’t get in the barbershop. Chief called the S-3 LCPO and sent the PO3. Still no haircut. Our Chief then took him down to MARDET. He sure got a haircut then, and never had a problem with his hair again.
“And to all of my fellow Airmen, I say “Fore!”
To anyone who has read Bat 21, we know this to be true.
USAF/ ANG 1980 - 2004
Did you just assume the Virtue Signalman gender? Shouldn’t that be signalperson???
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.