Thanks for your thoughtful response. I am going to first say that I have served onboard the Ajax, Hector and Haynesworth both tied to the dock and underway. In addition, being in control of mail destined to/from West PAC ships for two years, I’ve boarded MANY, MANY west PAC ships delivering regular mail. So, that answers your question about my service and crossing quarter decks in port.
Next, I will agree with you that “sometimes” the 1,2 or 3 guys that are on duty at the boarding deck area are horsing around.
And, I will agree with you that the Navy even in my time would give a 45 to anybody. I had one a lot because of delivering registered mail. In my case though, growing up in the country, I could sure use it.
Now though, you and I are going to differ that your “average” man and your “average” woman are the same in terms of upper body strength. My daughter is 28. I am 66 in two more days. And she is in “above average” shape for a woman due to serious, disciplined workouts. And, professionally, she is a CPA. So, she’s nobodies fool. Conversely, I am in average shape for a 66 year old. But, she knows that in a fracas I could take her down easily in 2 seconds!
So, yours and my argument seems to be several. That the Navy was at fault to some degree for lack of training. I agree and admitted as much in my original post. But, on your counter argument that ipso facto this young girls lack of strength is not a factor when we know the gun was taken away from her and used to kill, that is KILL, one of her fellow sailors.............seems on it’s face to be one of the purest illustrations of denial I have seen in a long time.
Lets REMEMBER .......it cannot be denied by anyone that ONE, the gun was taken away from HER (a female) and TWO was THEN used to KILL Seaman Mayo.
Mayo is now prematurely DEAD by fifty years and has loving family left behind. From the facts currently at hand, I think the girls natural lack of upper body strength to fight off her attacker was the primary cause of Seaman Mayos death. You don’t. So, we will have to agree to disagree.
Now, this doesn’t make Mayos death HER fault! She just should not have been put in that position by our beloved, but PC, Navy. The damn PC Navy is in denial that a woman, in a physical fight, should be put in the position of defending a billion dollar warship. Instead, that job should go, common sense tells us, to the meanest, biggest , toughest sob you have on board, and I’ve never served on a ship that didn’ t have plenty of them. 45 years ago, I fit that category pretty good. If some goon came charging up my boarding ramp it is HIGHLY unlikely he would have made it past me and quite possibly would have been dead and a Mayo alive!
Finally, Our PC Navy will cover it all up or normally u and I could rely on a competent, unbiased investigation to settle the argument.
Like everything else in our world today, there will be no accountability and poor Seaman Mayo will just be dead and the world continues turning.
I appreciate your thoughtful and sincere response to my post.
What should be and what is are always two different things.
Sure security should be in the hands of biggest toughest SOBs around. Unfortunately on a ship, and it has always been this way, they are never enough of them to assign to the QD watch all the time. In many cases strongest and toughest are hole snipes that never see a QD watch. So whose left. Anyone on the watch bill, that’s who. I have stood QD watches with 92 lbs. disbursing clerks that my sister could take. I have stood QD watches with men that I would never assign to an ammo working party, because after handling the third 5” 47 lb. projo, they would drop next one. Your point is that it happened because a woman was on watch at that particular time. My point is, that based on my experience, it could have happened just as easily with a lot of men on the same watch.