Replies

You have more fire fighting experience than I. Never had to deal with anything uncontrolled.

It has been some time, but if I recollect at Norfolk there was a two story concrete structure with a little bitty stairway entrance room on the roof. This was used for OBA demonstration. The fires in the simulator were minor, you could see a battle lantern held up to your facepiece. I suppose they were looking for claustrophobia freak outs. Could easily have somebody stuck in there if the fire was too intense.

The hot fires were run in a single story structure (maybe two) with the fires let run longer and longer as the two day school went on. I recall running a lot with charged 2 1/2” hoses. That nozzle work is team work, for a fact.

Only had my last 16 months aboard ship, the rest of my time was “brown water” or mud, mostly. Certainly rear echelon enough, here I am.

Looking back I think that those Fleet guys thought I was a bit crazy. Mostly I was just tired.

It sounds like the same place to me. Nothing real fancy just functional enough to suit the purpose. There was a class room also IIRC. I first went there in 1978 I think then a number of times afterward. That whole area outside the main gate did some radical changes. Some guys told me a year before outside the main gate there were diners, bars, etc within walking distance. When I got to the ship if you wanted a meal off ship close the base was the only place. From there the next place was Denny's in Oceanview up from the Greyhound depot. The amusement was torn down on my 77 MED Cruise.

I went back to Norfolk a few years ago and Oceanview as it once stood was gone even the apartments up on the curve. It looked like somebody had ran a dozer from one end to the other. I found my old apartment the only one still standing across from where Best Western was.

Outside the Main Gate on the pier side of the base was several miles of fast food and businesses. I managed to drive by memory the roads from the main gate towards town across to Military Hi-way, to Little Creek Road and to Oceanview. I used to walk it LOL. Heck me and some friends used to walk to the mall on Military Hi-way from the ship.

A bit Crazy was a good way to survive it all. I was one of the crazies myself. I used to growl and bark at my First Class LOL. He was crazier than I was but one great man to work for.