Officers

[Mrs Glockrunner]

[Rellik]

Damn right. 

[Batesmotel]

Knew a Second Lieutenant who was an idiot. But he got a commission because he had a degree and somehow made it through USAF OCS while in college. Just a summer OCS. Not ROTC. Went to college on a water polo scholarship. Took just the most basic classes and got a degree in Sport Science. (Physical education and physical therapy for sports) basically high school gym coach.

Air Force put him in charge of maintenance on C-130s. He had no mechanical or electrical education. But he had a Butter Bar. Just had to approve work schedule for his crew. 

[DWARREN123]

I have known a few who's butter bar was worth more than them.

I have also known some really good ones.

[janice6]

3 hours ago, Batesmotel said:

Knew a Second Lieutenant who was an idiot. But he got a commission because he had a degree and somehow made it through USAF OCS while in college. Just a summer OCS. Not ROTC. Went to college on a water polo scholarship. Took just the most basic classes and got a degree in Sport Science. (Physical education and physical therapy for sports) basically high school gym coach.

Air Force put him in charge of maintenance on C-130s. He had no mechanical or electrical education. But he had a Butter Bar. Just had to approve work schedule for his crew. 

Had a new Ensign assigned to our ship as the "Operations Officer", that's, radio, sonar, and radar.  He went from college into OCS and then to our ship.  His hat was too big for him.............  In every way!

He also had to de-crypt classified messages for the officers.  I watched him during a battle stations simulation, run into the radio shack and whip out the key to the crypto room, then break the key off in the lock.

He immediately sat down on the deck cross legged and cried........  The Captain had to get a classified rated welder for BuShips sent to our ship to cut into the crypto room from the weather deck, to verify that all classified documents were still where they should be.

To say the captain was pissed would be an understatement.

The first time this same Ensign went to sea and we had "target practice".  We had a 20mm bow gun but it was for shooting mines, not for defense, it took two people a gunner and a trainer to aim.  We couldn't hit anything with it.  He ran to the bow, scooped up a stick magazine and a Thompson.  Since we were to sweep mines close to shore, every man had a Thompson assigned to him. 

He hadn't stopped moving while shoving the magazine in place and working the bolt with one had, and pulling the trigger with the other.  With only one had on the Thompson, the recoil spun him around and put a few slugs through the canvas over the flying bridge, while the Captain was sitting in his "chair" underneath.

Immediately, the Captain restricted the Ensign to quarters for 30 days.  This all happened in one fell swoop.  I think the Ensign was still moving when sent to his quarters.

We all had a good laugh at that. 

[T Smith]

I've seen some pretty useless 2dLTs in my time and was probably one myself for a while.  Fortunately, most grow out of it as we mature.  (May have helped that I had 7 years enlisted time before gaining a commission...)

[Batesmotel]

I’ve known a few great ones. We had a 1Lt that was a mountain of a man from Tonga. Good leader. Super fun. His ENTIRE family helped throw a family day. Slow roasted pigs, tons of food. Just to support the company families.

Anyway, he would NEVER touch a map or compass. Just didn’t understand them. He was from the islands. Get lost? Walk downhill. Hit the ocean. Walk left or right. Find people.

He knew a lot including his limitations and how to trust the Marines he trained. 

[janice6]

39 minutes ago, Batesmotel said:

I’ve known a few great ones. We had a 1Lt that was a mountain of a man from Tonga. Good leader. Super fun. His ENTIRE family helped throw a family day. Slow roasted pigs, tons of food. Just to support the company families.

Anyway, he would NEVER touch a map or compass. Just didn’t understand them. He was from the islands. Get lost? Walk downhill. Hit the ocean. Walk left or right. Find people.

He knew a lot including his limitations and how to trust the Marines he trained. 

I've said before, I didn't like my Captain and he didn't like me.  He was USN and I was USNR.  I was able to draw lots of good attention to him through my abilities to provide him superlative communications anywhere in the world.

Aside from the fact that I'm from Minnesota and white as can be, I don't tan, my mother was a full blooded Redhead and I got the skin from her but not the hair coloration.

My Captain was of Mediterranean descent with Olive skin and he couldn't burn.  He said all I needed was time in the sun, so he ordered me outside for two hours each day around noon or so, in the Mediterranean sea.  I burned really bad.  The Executive officer told the Captain to let me go or he would get into trouble for my burns.

However, if we every went into battle, he would be my choice for my Captain.  I wouldn't like him, but he was the best choice to lead a ship as far as I was concerned.

Overall, I had a great time in service.  I went places I only read about in ancient history, I saw them in person.  All the places I read about as a youngster in Greek mythology and history.  I actually walked in: Malta, Crete, Gibraltar, Naples, Rhodes (I saw where the colossus stood to span the harbor, Athens, Piraeus, Saw Mt. Stromboli, Beirut, and many other cities of the Mediterranean countries.

I got to do what I loved doing and I had only to answer to the Captain for my job.  I was very good at my job.

After I got out of service, I asked my wife to go back to Greece as a vacation, but she has no wanderlust in her.