Good rant

www.snipeme.com/archive.php?year=2008&rant=pussy_america

has a great rant about the pussification of america.

When I see a kid who acts like the f’ng world owes him something, I know good and damn well it’s because he’s been locked in a f’ng bubble his whole damn life cuz mommy and daddy were too afraid to ever let him get hurt on his own, make his own freaking mistakes, etc. So yeah, the generation entering the workforce does indeed have a problem and that problem is AGEISM. Ageist over-protective stupidity that’s permeated our society has created a generation of FREAKING PUSSIES!

Read the whole thing.  I first started this blog to document the effect of the pussification of America on the US Sailor.

Sheepdogs

This video is from Blackfive.  At a minute fifty one is a purple fingered Iraqi women.  When I first saw that image, I phoned home and told Mom that image made our recently completed 9 month deployment worth it. 

“We love our sheep, we dogs of war.”

Blogroll reciprocation

Old Controller has added me to their blogroll.  I have reciprocated and added her.  From what I gather, she is a retired Air Force person who lives in South Carolina.

Why the Navy should be strong

War is highly competitive; we are trying to train people to endure the hardships and strain of war, and we would be doing ourselves and our country a disservice to adopt measures which would soften the fiber of the men in uniform.

                                      Admiral Robert B. Carney

ADM Carney was the CNO under Pres. Eisenhower, and the Navy Cross, the Navy’s second highest award for valor.

Another meme

From Cuz

1.
How tall are you barefoot?
5’11”

2.
Have you ever smoked heroin?
No way, zero tolerance!

3.
Do you own a gun?
Two

4.
Rehab?
Kinda

5.
Do you get nervous before “meeting the parents”?
Yes

6.
What do you think of your friends? They will either bail me out jail at 4 am, or sitting right next to me going,  “Dang, we sure goofed up, but it was fun.”

7.
What’s your favorite Christmas song?
Drummer Boy

8.
What do you prefer to drink in the morning?Diet Soda

9.
Do you do push-ups?
Plenty

10.
Have you ever done ecstacy?
Nope
11.
Are you vegitarian?
No, animals are meant to be eaten ’cause their made of meat.

12.
Do you like painkillers?
Case by case

13.
What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex?My dress uniform

14.
Do you own a knife?
Many

15. Do you have A.D.D.?I, uh, look a butterfly!

16.
Date Of Birth?
10/11/80

17.
Top 3 thoughts at this exact momentt
Almost bedtime, dog probably needs to pee, damn, duty tomorrow

18.
Name the last 3 things you have bought?
Lunch,Lean Pockets, Dinner,

19.
Name five drinks you regularly drink:
Diet Pepsi, water, beer, whiskey, protein shake

20.
What time did you wake up today?
0430

21.
Current hair?
High and tight

22.
Current worry?
None

23.
Current hate?
BS

24.
Favorite place to be?
Karate class

25.
Least favorite place to be?
Work

26.
Where would you like to go?
ISRAEL!

27.
Do you own slippers?
No

28.
What do you think you’ll be in 10 yrs?
Hopefully, a CPO

29
Do you burn or tan?
Both

30.
Last thing you ate?
Wendys

31.
Would you be a pirate?
Only if I had a talking parrot

32.
Last time you had an alcoholic drink?
Yesterday

33.
What songs do you sing in the shower?
Kiss Me Deadly

34.
What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child?
Boogie man

36.
Last thing that made you laugh?
Accepted

37.
Best bed sheets you had as a child?NFL

38.
Worst injury you’ve ever had?  Sewage overexposure

40.
How many TVs do you have in your house?
2

4.Who is your loudest friend?
roommate

42.
Who is your most silent friend?none of ’em

43.
Does someone have a crush on you?
I hope so

44.
Do you wish on stars?
Nah

45.
What is your favorite book?
Holy Bible

46.
What is your favorite candy?
Chocolate

47.
What song do/did you want played at your wedding?
I Cross My Heart

48.
What song do you want played at your funeral?
Amazing Grace on bagpipes

49.
What were you doing 12AM last night?
Snoring

50.
Do you love someone?
YES! 

Feel free to participate

PT! Mmm Good!

I back to participating with FEP, aka dancing bears.  I passed my PT test, but the score was low, thnk C  instead of B +.  On nights before PT, I brush up on cadences, in case I get voluntold.  The Navy is no longer swaggering, rum swilling bad boys.  We are kinder and gentler.  So some of the old school cadences are heavily modified, if not banned so as not to hurt people’s feelings.  My current favorite is “Sally Goes Downtown”.  It involves a red dress and sailors being sailors.  And for anyone wondering the purpose of a formation it is to “quickly and efficiently move sailors or equipmnet from Point A to Point B.”

PT

A certain slacking Seaman(not SN Gumby) missed PT this morning.  Back in the good old days, he would have been running around an outbuilding with a large pipe over his head.  No paperwork, and when he cried or fell over, he would have been dismissed.  Not in the kinder, gentler Navy(haugh, spit).  Instead, I had to do a counseling form, and then PT with him after working hours.  No smoking, like the Army does, where the SSG kicks up their heels and calls out exercises.  The PO1 issuing said punishment has to do it with the one being punished.  So I got to PT twice in one day.  I think I might get devious on these a-holes.  We can use my way, or go Senior Chief’s(E-8 ) way.

Navy noncom stuff

Petty Officer is the term the Navy generally uses for its noncoms until the grade of Warrant Officer, which, though not commissioned, are not considered Petty Officers.  Petty Officers are appointed by the CO, Warrants carry a “warrant of service” from the CNO, and commissioned officers get their commission from Congress.  E-6 Petty Officers are known generically as PO1.  I am an HT1.  HT is my rate, MOS for you Army guys.  PO1s have two basic MOs.  I lead from the front, and I help my people.  If my boys, or one girl are right, they know that thier HT1 will step up and whoop ass if necessary.  Others don’t use the proper methods for the care and feeding of the American sailor method because they are all about numero uno.  Some admin guys are work phobic.  We were in Repair Admin to get new liberty passes because two guys had their passes fall overboard during a material onload.  We were there ten minutes PRIOR to closing time.  Thye YN2 down there was upset because it was the “last minute”.  I got to try the HT1 method of personal relations.

‘YN2″ I said, emphasizing the 2, “your door says you are open until 1500.  It is 1450.  You’re open.  GET THESE SAILORS THEIR PASSES!”  I wanted to say and eat shit, but my brain mouth filter kicked in.

One of the best military quotes ever!

“We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those that would do us harm.” generally attributed to George Orwell.

This particular quote has carried me through many midnight watches.  I will start getting bored or complacent on watch, and then I’ll hear this quote in the back of my mind, nd think of my Mom, and all of my peacefully sleeping friends in other parts of the world, and buck up and carry on.

My First Deployed Christmas

I had intended to post this on or about Christmas Day, but we got busy entertaining and visiting.  On my first ship, I was deployed to the Persian Gulf for Christmas.  I had the 02-07 sounding and security watch on Christmas morn, and I was telling my under instruction watch how cool it was to have the early watch on holiday routine, “Up for breakfast, sleep all day, etc..”.  Right about then, to steal a phrase from LawDog, things went rodeo.  I was using the phone to report all conditions normal, and was summoned to Central Control, the station I answered to.  We showed up, and were given ominous news.  One of our boarding teams was on a ship that was being scuttled by the bad guys.  They would rather sink their own ship, with our people aboard, than get hanged for smuggling. 

“Wake up the Flying Squad(of which I was a member), we have Rescue and Assistance(R&A) to do.”  So, we began waking up the HTs, DCs, and the one MR.  We spent 27 hours pumping crude oil out of the bilge of an unregistered tanker.  The HTs there were trying to stabilize it so the BMs could take it under tow.  Our fire pump, according to specs, can run for 1.7 some hours on one tank of fuel.  They ran that thing for 27 hours, using hot refuel methods.  The mufflers busted, the engine was hot to the touch, but it worked.  We had four men on there, and eight more running parts to the boat deck.  S-type pumps, JP-5 cans, and etc.  We finally stabilized it and had the BMs take it under tow.  Later on, when we tried to restart the fire pump for freshwater flush, it stood up and gave us the finger.  We had to trade our busted pump, for a good one on an outbound warship. 

Now for the difference in ships.  A Tico cruiser is one of the most heavily armed warships in the US Navy.  Our job is to kill bad guys and break their stuff.  Yet, we have working plumbing.  This haji merchant ship’s plumbing involved a hole cut in the deck so you could go 10-200* directly into the tank.

* Bonus points if you know where the 10-200 reference came from.