[DKO]

1988-2008
DKC(SW)

Ships - USS Peterson (DD-969) and USS Simpson (FFG-56)
Overseas - GTMO and an IA tour in Baghdad
Shore - Groton, Norfolk, Mayport, and Buckley AFB CO

[pineappleshooter]

1986-2007, YNC(SS) (Ret)

USS BREMERTON (SSN 698)
USS ALBANY (SSN 753)
SEAWOLF PROGRAM MANAGER
Naval Sea Systems Command
Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic

[pbrfish]

1975-1979 photographers mate PH2. Orlando bootcamp,Pensacola photography A school,NAS Bermuda.Norfolk,back to Bermuda,NAS Patuxent River VXN-8,Photography C school Key West,Finished off my tour back at Pax.

[glock30user]

July 2001 - Present
ET1 (SW) Nuke

[scrunt]

1990-2010, HM1(FMF/CAC)

NH Jacksonville, Fl
1/2 2D MARDIV; 2D MAR, 2D MARDIV MCBCL, NC
BMC Mayport, Fl
1/10 2D MARDIV MCBCL, NC
NMCRC Orlando, Fl
MAG-24, HMH-463, MALS-24 MCBH K-Bay
NOMI Pensacola, Fl

[G26S239]

Originally Posted by scrunt

1990-2010, HM1(FMF/CAC)

NH Jacksonville, Fl
1/2 2D MARDIV; 2D MAR, 2D MARDIV MCBCL, NC
BMC Mayport, Fl
1/10 2D MARDIV MCBCL, NC
NMCRC Orlando, Fl
MAG-24, HMH-463, MALS-24 MCBH K-Bay
NOMI Pensacola, Fl

Enjoy your retirement.

[Harrison]

Navy Nuke 1973-1981 MM1

USS South Carolina CGN 37
USS Nimitz CVN 68
USS L.Y. Spear AS 36


I also did some time on the USS Dixie AD 14 in San Diego waiting for my nuke class to form up.

[A6Gator]

Before the Navy was a "global force for good." Back in the days when we were supposed to kill people and break things.

[Doc8404]

A6's?
I started with VA-34!

[2010flhrc]

1982-2004 etc/ss nav/esm

[skcscw]

Skc(sw/aw/scw) 1983-2006

[jim65809]

1968 - 1990 YNCS (Ret)

[Merlin40]

Originally Posted by Bob Hafler

US Navy 66 to 69. 66/67 Keflavic Iceland. 67/69 USS Bushnell AS15. Third class Boatswainsmate.

I Was a Sailor Once ...
*** I liked standing on the bridge wing at sunrise with salt spray in my face and clean ocean winds whipping in from the four quarters of the globe - - the ship beneath me feeling like a living thing as her engines drove her swiftly through the sea.

*** I liked the sounds of the Navy - the piercing trill of the boatswains pipe, the syncopated clangor of the ship's bell on the quarterdeck, the harsh squawk of the 1MC, and the strong language and laughter of sailors at work.

*** I liked Navy vessels -- nervous darting destroyers, plodding fleet auxiliaries and amphibs, sleek submarines and steady solid aircraft carriers.

*** I liked the proud names of Navy ships: Midway, Lexington , Saratoga , Coral Sea, Antietam, Valley Forge - - memorials of great battles won and tribulations overcome.

*** I liked the lean angular names of Navy "tin-cans" and escorts - - Barney, Dahlgren, Mullinix, McCloy, Damato, Leftwich, Mills - - mementos of heroes who went before us. And the others - - San Jose, San Diego, Los Angeles, St. Paul, Chicago - - named for our cities.

*** I liked the tempo of a Navy band blaring through the topside speakers as we pulled away from the oiler after refueling at sea.

*** I liked Liberty Call and the spicy scent of a foreign port.

*** I even liked the never-ending paperwork and all-hands working parties as my ship filled herself with the multitude of supplies, both critical and mundane in order to cut ties to the land and carry out her mission anywhere on the globe where there was water to float her.

*** I liked sailors, officers and enlisted men from all parts of the land, farms of the Midwest, small towns of New England, from the cities, the mountains and the prairies, from all walks of life. I trusted and depended on them as they trusted and depended on me - for professional competence, for comradeship, for strength and courage. In a word, they were "shipmates"; then and forever.

*** I liked the surge of adventure in my heart, when the word was passed: "Now set the special sea and anchor detail - all hands to quarters for leaving port," and I liked the infectious thrill of sighting home again, with the waving hands of welcome from family and friends waiting pier side.

*** The work was hard and dangerous; the going rough at times; the parting from loved ones painful, but the companionship of robust Navy laughter, the "all for one and one for all" philosophy of the sea was ever present.

*** I liked the serenity of the sea after a day of hard ship's work, as flying fish flitted across the wave tops and sunset gave way to night.

*** I liked the feel of the Navy in darkness -- the masthead and range lights, the red and green navigation lights and stern light, the pulsating phosphorescence of radar repeaters - they cut through the dusk and joined with the mirror of stars overhead. And I liked drifting off to sleep lulled by the myriad noises large and small that told me that my ship was alive and well, and that my shipmates on watch would keep me safe.

*** I liked quiet midwatches with the aroma of strong coffee -- the lifeblood of the Navy permeating everywhere.

*** And I liked hectic watches when the exacting minuet of haze-gray shapes racing at flank speed kept all hands on a razor edge of alertness.

*** I liked the sudden electricity of "General quarters, general quarters, all hands man your battle stations," followed by the hurried clamor of running feet on ladders and the resounding thump of watertight doors as the ship transformed herself in a few brief seconds from a peaceful workplace to a weapon of war -- ready for anything.

*** And I liked the sight of space-age equipment manned by youngsters clad in dungarees and sound-powered phones that their grandfathers would still recognize.

*** I liked the traditions of the Navy and the men and women who made them. I liked the proud names of Navy heroes:Halsey, Nimitz, Perry, Farragut, John Paul Jones and Burke. A sailor could find much in the Navy: comrades-in-arms, pride in self and country, mastery of the seaman's trade. An adolescent could find adulthood.

*** In years to come, when sailors are home from the sea, they will still remember with fondness and respect the ocean in all its moods - the impossible shimmering mirror calm and the storm-tossed green water surging over the bow. And then there will come again a faint whiff of stack gas, a faint echo of engine and rudder orders, a vision of the bright bunting of signal flags snapping at the yardarm, a refrain of hearty laughter in the wardroom and chief's quarters and mess decks.

*** Gone ashore for good they will grow wistful about their Navy days, when the seas belonged to them and a new port of call was ever over the horizon.

*** Remembering this, they will stand taller and say, "I WAS A SAILOR ONCE AND I WOULD DO IT AGAIN.." (author unknown)

I copied this, and saved it. I did 20+ years. I know the feelings this causes in me. I still dream about my time in the Navy. I'd be there still, if I could. Time and age are hell on a man. Just reading this puts a wistful tear in my eye. (no joke)

[Merlin40]

A Sailors Poem

Old Sailors sit and chew the fat

'bout how things use to be,

of the things they've seen and places they've been,

when they ventured out to sea.

They remember friends from long ago

and the times they had back then,

of the money they've spent,and the beer they've swilled

in their days as sailing men.

Their lives are lived in days gone by,

with thoughts that forever last,

of Dixie cup hats and bell bottom blues,

and the good times in their past.

They recall long nights with a moon so bright

far out on a lonely sea,

and thoughts they had as youthful lads,

when their lives were unbridled and free.

They know so well how their hearts would swell,

when the flag fluttered proud and free,

and the stars and stripes made such beautiful sights

as they plowed through an angry sea.

They talk of the bread the cook would bake

and the shrill of the bo'sun's pipe,

and how the salt spray fell like sparks out of hell

when a storm struck in the night.

They remember mates already gone

who forever hold a spot

in the stories of old when sailors were bold

and lubbers a pitiful lot.

They rode their ships through many a storm

when the sea was showing its might,

and the mighty waves might be digging their graves

as they sailed on through the night.

They speak of nights in a bawdy house

somewhere on a foreign shore,

and the beer they'd downed as they gathered around,

cracking jokes with a busty whore.

Their sailing days are gone away,

never more will they cross the brow,

but they have no regrets for they know they've been blessed

'cause they honored their sacred vow.

Their numbers grow less with each passing day

as their chits in this life are called,

but they've nothing to lose for they've paid their dues

and they'll sail with their shipmates again.

I've heard them say before getting underway

that there is still some sailing to do,

and they'll exclaim with a grin that their ship has come in,

and the Lord is commanding the crew.

[eaglefrq]

1987-2011 OSC (SW/AW) (Ret)

USS Biddle (CG-34)
NAS Memphis
USS Elrod (FFG-55)
NRS Norman, OK
USNS Kilauea (T-AE 26)
USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74)
ATRC Dahlgren

[Doc8404]

Originally Posted by eaglefrq

1987-2011 OSC (SW/AW) (Ret)

USS Biddle (CG-34)
NAS Memphis
USS Elrod (FFG-55)
NRS Norman, OK
USNS Kilauea (T-AE 26)
USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74)
ATRC Dahlgren

what a varied career! just awesome brother.

[oldman11]

1958-1962

[eaglefrq]

Originally Posted by Doc8404

what a varied career! just awesome brother.

Thanks, I wanted to get as much out of my career as possible. I think I missed out on a couple of things, but I'm very happy with the things worked out.

[subret]

1974 to 1992 SKC/SS (Ret)
OSVET from USAF

[gregs47]

1969-74 ABH-2
NAS Lakehurst
NAS Whiting Field
OLF Middleton
Ft Rucker

[rohanreginald]

92 to 95. It was the dept of the navy. I was a jarhead.


Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine

[PettyOfficer]

Originally Posted by rohanreginald

92 to 95. It was the dept of the navy. I was a jarhead.

Thank for openly admitting the Marines are Navy personnel! Usually it's a point of frustration for most marines.

Oh, and there is a Marine Corps forum where you can connect with other jarheads (your term, not mine, but I don't disagree )

[chuckman]

1994-2010. HM2/Corpsman, FMF; commissioned to nurse corps enroute care nurse/med battalion. Out as 03.

[Merlin40]

Originally Posted by pizza_pablo

STG: '87 - '95
STS: '95 - '07

Sure glad I'm DONE!

I added to your poem. Hope it was ok.:

My Evening Prayer (To the Bad Guys)

Now I lay me down to sleep,

Beside my bed, a Glock I keep.

If I should awake, and find you inside,

A Coroners van, will be your last ride.

Calling 911 is not what I do,

My hands are steady, my aim is true.

Break into my home, and take what is mine?

You create your own funeral, in a very short time.

Please understand,

This is no idle threat,

I WILL protect what is mine,

And with lethal force, you’ll be met.

So do as you will,

Let your conscience decide,

Live and let live,

Or break in, and die.

[Weste]

CMC Retired. CM A School, Port Hueneme, CA 1969. Active duty with the Naval Nuclear Power Unit from March 1970 to July 1978. Wintered over at McMurdo in1972. Drilling reserve until Jan 1994. 26 years, one month and 16 days total.