Yeah first capt. was a Mustang alcoholic. My Chief and I could set our watches by him.
If we left the docks in the morning about 4PM he would barge into CIC and the first person he laid eyes on he would find fault with and tear into em. Same thing would happen the day before we pulled into port.
Chief and I figured he was aching knowing he couldn’t get a drink or just had a little time before he could. So we would watch the time and when it got close we would put ourselves by the hatch and present ourselves as the target. Got to the point he decided to head down to engineering instead - the poor snipes :)
When Chief left my replacement was a Senior Chief who could taste retirement. All hell broke loose for a while before one of my PO1s stepped up in a big way. I ended up off ship for TAD for about 6 months and while I was gone the “new” “old” guy got busted down to 1st class. Never did find out what happened as my transfer came in thereafter.
My qualifications had been impacted and I knew it would hurt my promotion chances career wise. Put me off the Navy, I knew there were others out there just like him and they took care of their own.
Still miss driving ships.
Still miss driving ships.I know what you mean. Shortly after I got my SWO qualification I figured out that I was not cut out to be a ship's CO.
Fortunately, I had other talents the Navy and DOD needed that gave me a different career path. I would still go through my JO tour again because of the GREAT foundation it gave me in life. I don't miss the North Atlantic in winter though.
BTW - I was CICO for the second half of my JO tour. I got instant cred with the men when they found out that the only person who could beat me at Maneuvering Board was the Chief. I even beat the 1st class who made Chief the next year.
WWG1WGA
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)