The Religion Thread

[O Really]

... In the job I had, if there had been any trouble they would have hauled us off just ahead of the women and children.

That's why they call it "intelligence".

Here's a tale for our former swabbies - Back in the day, I had the good fortune to be in Brindisi, Italy, for several weeks.


All along the walkway shown next to the harbor, there was a big wine festival. As you can see, ships come into the harbor and at this particular time, there was a US Navy destroyer and a Soviet sub. So a collegue and I were hanging out at the wine festival with some of the swabbies, a couple of the Ruskies, and some locals. Eventually, the swabbies, as they are prone to do, got a little over-rowdy and started to say less than complimentary thing about the Russians. The Russians, also being swabbies, took exception to the comments and a relatively good natured altercation started. The locals, my friend and I were mainly spectators, but we may have been pushed and shoved and may have pushed and shoved back. The Italian gendarmes arrived first and started to round up everybody they could, and then the Navy Shore Patrol showed up. The Russians were sent back to their boat, the locals were mostly turned loose except for one who was drunk enough to try to toss a gendarme into the drink, and me, my friend, and the swabbies were turned over to the SP's. Everybody showed ID. Mine and my friend's were different from the swabbies. The SP's hauled the swabbies off in a perp walk and then asked us if they could drive us back to the motel where we were staying.

[neoplacebo]

I had to do Shore Patrol duty more than a few times in The Phillipines. It was a real drag, as I would have been doing the things I was supposed to be watching out for and preventing. It was a real philosophical dilemma. I'm glad that's over.

[O Really]

I had to do Shore Patrol duty more than a few times in The Phillipines. It was a real drag, as I would have been doing the things I was supposed to be watching out for and preventing. It was a real philosophical dilemma. I'm glad that's over.

Was Shore Patrol an assignment in the Navy? I didn't know that - I thought they were the cops, like the Army's MP's. These guys in Brindisi sure acted like cops.

[neoplacebo]

I had to do Shore Patrol duty more than a few times in The Phillipines. It was a real drag, as I would have been doing the things I was supposed to be watching out for and preventing. It was a real philosophical dilemma. I'm glad that's over.

Was Shore Patrol an assignment in the Navy? I didn't know that - I thought they were the cops, like the Army's MP's. These guys in Brindisi sure acted like cops.

Yes, if you had duty that day you were likely as not to be assigned Shore Patrol. It was like punishment compared to staying on the boat. The worst part was having to be in those heavy fabric uniforms and walking around in 88 degree temperatures and 90% humidity. It was enough to make one consider mutiny for the bounty that was flagrantly available. We were not armed with anything other than night sticks. We were under the supervision of regular full time Navy MP folks. They just made us do their low level stuff. All of the ships in Subic Bay would have to furnish a few guys for this purpose every night.

[neoplacebo]

I had to do Shore Patrol duty more than a few times in The Phillipines. It was a real drag, as I would have been doing the things I was supposed to be watching out for and preventing. It was a real philosophical dilemma. I'm glad that's over.

I'm often a "peacekeeper" at demos. It's a real struggle to not encourage more mayhem.

I know what you mean; sometimes mayhem is the best policy to follow.

[Mr.B]

"Yes, if you had duty that day you were likely as not to be assigned Shore Patrol. It was like punishment...."

Did you do boot at GLakes? What you've described reminded me of "guard duty" in the middle of winter when I was in boot training.
I'm sure you may recall what we had to "guard", and "guard duty" was always at night. :cussing:

[bannination]

You can post the image if you want just by clicking on the "Img" tab and putting the same link inside the 2 boxes:



What if one thinks those people do represent both religions?

Thanks, I didn't know that. I thought I had to copy and upload.

De nada, if you forget just quote someone that's done it successfully to see what they did. You can also grab a single image off of a more complex page without opening it separately by Control clicking on it with a Mac and doing something with a right click on a PC.

I don't do attachments because of the personal metadata that might accompany them.

Wait, I was told by some forum poster around here that metadata is just data about data, and nothing to worry about. I'm sure attaching files, especially office files would be completely unidentifiable. <wink> <wink>

[neoplacebo]

"Yes, if you had duty that day you were likely as not to be assigned Shore Patrol. It was like punishment...."

Did you do boot at GLakes? What you've described reminded me of "guard duty" in the middle of winter when I was in boot training.
I'm sure you may recall what we had to "guard", and "guard duty" was always at night. :cussing:

Yeah, I did boot camp at Great Lakes in January 79; it was cold. Never had to "guard" anything, though. If I remember right, someone had to stand "guard" in the barracks overnight so they could watch everyone else sleeping. Usually in the morning the company commander would throw an empty metal trash can down the middle of the row of bunks to wake us up; this was often accompanied by a recording of someone laughing their ass off on the intercom, too.

[Mr.B]

Our "guard duty" consisted of "guarding" the dumpsters. We called it dumpster duty. Bitterly cold out, we could only stay out 30 minutes at a time; warm up inside for 15 minutes, back out again. The OOD checked on us frequently to make sure we hadn't deserted!

[O Really]

You guys remind me of a story I heard from some people at Shemya (sp) island at the end of the Aleutian Chain. Like, where you really can see Russia from your bedroom window, Sarah. They would send a new guy outside to "wait for the doughnut delivery". And guys did it. What would have happened if you had declined the invitation to guard dumpsters? They'd have sent you home? OMG, the humanity!

[neoplacebo]

Heh, if you declined guard duty, or anything else, that would certainly involve some sort of extreme discipline; boot camp was all about weeding out the ones who may not be suited to military life. I myself was relieved to know that "military life" was nothing like boot camp. I used to buy pot from an officer on one of my ships, I once smoked pot with a gunner's mate who had the keys to the magazines on the ammunition ship I was on while we were sitting on a missile that was about twelve feet long. And there was a lot of other dangerous stuff down there too.

[Mr.B]

I determined that Navy boot-camp was based mostly on discipline; mental and physical, as well as personal hygiene. I can remember young kids coming in that learned right quick that you don't ask why, you don't say no or I don't want to; you don't leave clothes hanging on your rack (bed) or on the floor...and you don't go pouting in the corner. As well, you took a shower DAILY.

What used to get me about dumpster duty was that you'd be standing out in the cold at 3 am and some jerk would walk by within your boundary area and you'd have to challenge him. After identifying him/herself, and they were superior in rank, they'd ask you to recite one or all of the Seven General Orders of a Sentry.

As neoplacebo said, you don't wanna shirk any order given you. Although discipline wasn't physical, I had much rather someone slap the heck out of me and go on rather than undergo the treats that was in store for you. neo...did you ever hear of having to bury your uniforms, dig 'em up and wash them by hand?

[O Really]

So - sort of like old-school frat hazing, eh?
So you don't go along and they make your life miserable for a few weeks and then send you home? Banish you from spending the next three or so years with people who don't say no, don't ask why (don't think for themselves)...and don't like to shower? Sounds like a pretty good trade to me.

I once read that the only difference in being in prison and being on a ship at sea is that on the ship you have the added danger of drowning.

[billy.pilgrim]

So - sort of like old-school frat hazing, eh?
So you don't go along and they make your life miserable for a few weeks and then send you home? Banish you from spending the next three or so years with people who don't say no, don't ask why (don't think for themselves)...and don't like to shower? Sounds like a pretty good trade to me.

I once read that the only difference in being in prison and being on a ship at sea is that on the ship you have the added danger of drowning.

yeah, the navy does frat hazing, but bb is having a tough time reconciling the hazing he did with his attitude for gay rights

might say, it's his conundrum

[neoplacebo]

I determined that Navy boot-camp was based mostly on discipline; mental and physical, as well as personal hygiene. I can remember young kids coming in that learned right quick that you don't ask why, you don't say no or I don't want to; you don't leave clothes hanging on your rack (bed) or on the floor...and you don't go pouting in the corner. As well, you took a shower DAILY.

What used to get me about dumpster duty was that you'd be standing out in the cold at 3 am and some jerk would walk by within your boundary area and you'd have to challenge him. After identifying him/herself, and they were superior in rank, they'd ask you to recite one or all of the Seven General Orders of a Sentry.

As neoplacebo said, you don't wanna shirk any order given you. Although discipline wasn't physical, I had much rather someone slap the heck out of me and go on rather than undergo the treats that was in store for you. neo...did you ever hear of having to bury your uniforms, dig 'em up and wash them by hand?

Nobody I know from boot camp had to bury their stuff and then dig it up and wash it. There was one guy who didn't have something stowed properly and the company commander threw all his stuff out the third floor window and made him go down and get it all....one piece at a time. After that, he stowed his stuff the right (Navy) way. I once had to run laps in the gym that we "trained" in one time because one of the guys in my platoon (I was the "leader" of it) had his dog tags outside his t shirt instead of inside. But that didn't make trouble between me and him; he knew he screwed up, though.

[Mr.B]

Fer shure they didn't send you home!

There was no such thing as "gay" rights, either. Musta been b.p's conundrum. "Nun" being the key word here.

[neoplacebo]

Fer shure they didn't send you home!

There was no such thing as "gay" rights, either. Musta been b.p's conundrum. "Nun" being the key word here.

Nah, they didn't send me home, but I think about three or four of about ninety were sent home. As for gay rights, back then I guess if you were gay you didn't mention it. I guess it was the origin of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. I can't recall ever thinking any of the guys I was with were gay, but it's not something I thought or wondered about. And even if any of them were, it wouldn't matter to me; hominy don't play that.

[Mr.B]

Fer shure they didn't send you home!

There was no such thing as "gay" rights, either. Musta been b.p's conundrum. "Nun" being the key word here.

Nah, they didn't send me home, but I think about three or four of about ninety were sent home. As for gay rights, back then I guess if you were gay you didn't mention it. I guess it was the origin of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. I can't recall ever thinking any of the guys I was with were gay, but it's not something I thought or wondered about. And even if any of them were, it wouldn't matter to me; hominy don't play that.

Same here. Thoughts of someone being "gay" wasn't an issue; however when we showered, most of us faced the wall anyway....more concerned with....well, you know.

"....they'd ask you to recite one or all of the Seven General Orders of a Sentry."

My bad...it's been almost 50 years. Eleven General Orders of a Sentry. And they didn't ask you, they told you. Well, at least it rhymed.

[bannination]

Same here. Thoughts of someone being "gay" wasn't an issue; however when we showered, most of us faced the wall anyway....more concerned with....well, you know.

Getting a boner?

[Mr.B]

That's silly . . .

. . . others seeing his boner.

Close.....comparison.