I was a chipper for about a year, 1975-76, so would you mind typing larger so I can hear you.
Chippers elbow still gets me every now and then.
Shipyard work isn’t for a candy ass is it, and not just the dirty part, and it is dirty work.
Even the women that worked there weren’t candy asses for the most part.
Needle guns were the absolute WORST. I hated those things.
As a Sailor, I won’t say I had the highest opinion of “yard birds” at the time, but looking back, those people (and you) were skilled craftsmen.
Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference between the men and the women, because everyone dressed the same (basically walmart chic) and because men and women did the same jobs. Man or woman, they were there to do their job, and they did, quickly. I don’t think I ever saw a woman ask a man for help with something.
When I first arrived on the Iowa, it was 47,000 tons of nonworking rusted junk. When we left the shipyard (and loaded up on ammo) she was 58,000 tons of floating justice.
I thank you and respect you for all you’ve done to keep our Navy the best in the world. :)