I'm a Navy Democrat, ask me anything

[HawkerHurricane]

Except things that are
a. classified
or
b. hard to spell.

[CatWoman]

1. got a good recipe for Navy Beans???

:hi:

[HawkerHurricane]

2. That's classified

(The truth is, there is no good recipe for navy beans.)

Story about Navy Beans

In the history of the US Senate Cafeteria, there was only one time when they did not have Navy Bean Soup: during the height of WW2.
So many senators complained about the lack, that they have never again gone without.

[5thGenDemocrat]

46. Addendum about the Navy Bean Soup at the Senate cafeteria

The soup is made with beans from the Saginaw Valley (MI) -- a tradition dating back to our old rep, "Sugar Beet" Joe Fordney (chairman of the Ways and Means Committee c. 1916-22). Believe me, I NEVER thought I'd get a chance to mention that here.
John
And probably never will again.

[proud patriot]

3. My grandfather was in the Navy

At home when we ate hot dogs he made this ketchup
mustard concoction . He said they did this on the ship.

Do they still do that ?

[HawkerHurricane]

26. I still do it, so I guess it's still done.

Try it, it's yummy.
Hmmm, rollers with mustard and ketchup...

[havocmom]

4. how come the bosun

gets to have his mate on board?

Edited to add:
And why does his pipe make that awful racket?

[HawkerHurricane]

27. Bos'ns, Gunners, Electricians, Photographers...

all get thier mates...
In the olden days, their were officers who were in command.
And then thier were the experts, who were 'warrented officers', who were called by thier title: The Bos'n, the Gunner, the Carpenter...
Thier assistants where called their 'mates', so you had the Bos'n's Mate...
They just kept some of the old titles for Petty Officers.

As to the Gawd Offal pipe, I don't know: They say it's traditional, but American tradition calls for bugles...

[MidwestMomma]

5. Is life aboard a ship anything like the movie Mister Roberts?

Also, ever had a commmanding officer like James Cagney?

I can't remember how long you've been in the Navy but...do you notice a difference in your day-to-day life in the Navy based on if the Democrats or Republicans are in power in Washington?

Okay, one more, my friend at work has a daughter who has a child with a guy in the Navy. They are not married. He is a dead-beat dad. Any suggestions to get him to pay up? Do they still keel-haul(sp?) people?

How's that for some random questions.

[HawkerHurricane]

28. In order...

No Commanding Officer like that, but I've had some Executive Officers...

When Democrats are in power, people complain about the stupidest things and blame the Democrats for it (what? no steak sauce? Damn Clinton!)

How much trouble do you want to get the guy in? In order of nastiness,
a. A letter to his commanding officer or
b. the base legal office or
c. the base chaplain's office
will get you the money, whether he wants to give it or not, they'll take it straight out of his paycheck. If he's lucky, they'll tell him before they start doing it.

And keel hauling is not allowed, it's 'cruel and unusual'.

Here's a dumb one: did you know brig prisoners live better than the regular sailors? It's 'cruel and unusual' to keep a prisoner in the conditions the sailors live in, so one a sailor is arrested on board he gets to live in a cell thats nicer than what most officers get!

[DS1]

6. Any good shellbacking stories?

[HawkerHurricane]

29. That deserves its own thread!

Maybe tommorow.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

7. Do sailors still ever wear...

the pants with all the buttons?

Do you sleep in one of those sardine bunks?

What's your favorite Navy movie?

What did you get at McDonalds? :)

[HawkerHurricane]

30. in order

Dress Blues still have the '13 button trousers'.
Or, "Thirteen chances to say no!"
Or, for sailors in a hurry, the '13 button salute'.

[Forkboy]

8. Popeye...

role model or big-armed chump?

[Pepperbelly]

9. what's your rate and rating, sailor and ...

are you, too, a shellback?

[HawkerHurricane]

31. I don't give out my rate and rating

ever since a freeper figured out who I was and sent a nasty email to my commanding officer 3 years ago (different board, my nom de net included my rate and initials).

I will say I am a PO1, surface warfare qualified, and a shellback since 1985.

[DemoTex]

10. Are there still any Philippine stewards in the US Navy?

Philippine stewards worked in the Officers Open Mess at Cam Rahn Bay NAF, Vietnam. Of course, they were on board ships back then too. I was an Army puke flying Navy aircraft and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Four meals a day! Four! For those of you who don't know, there is a Navy tradition of Mid-Rats (midnight rations) for the late-night crews on the ships. We had Mid-Rats at NAF Cam Rahn and at Cubi Point NAS (Subic Bay, Philippine Islands) when I visited there.


Cam Rahn Bay NAF, Vietnam 1971

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

11. Ahhhh, midrats... what a glorious meal, and a sumptious Navy

treat. Navy beans are inedible to all but battle-tired and hungry Marines. Even the refugees we took aboard did not eat them. Thank God. Imagine the additional smells from that!

Favorite Navy movie... a couple, in order of date, I think
The Caine Mutiny
The Sand Pebbles
The Last Detail
The Final Countdown
man, that is a lot of "Thes" okay, of course,
Away All Boats and Mr. Roberts are classics and there are sub movies that are pretty good, but there is a new movie (last year?) called
Antwone Fisher which is a very good portrail of an enlisted Navy man.

[DemoTex]

12. "Das Boot"

Different navy, but great submarine movie anyway.

[Submariner]

16. Looks like a Skimmer puke convention going on in this thread :)

Remember "Cream Chipped Foreskins" on Toast

And you haven't had midrats, until you've had boat midrats...Oh no, NOT sirloin steak again! hehe. And for smokeboaters Das Boot is THE boat movie.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

18. Yum Yum, hey, warm up the acey ducey board, there shipmate

Let's eat.

[DemoTex]

21. Yuk! They never served that at the CRB OOM!

I remember going in for midrats one night, half drunk after the movie, and seeing all the tables covered in checkered table cloths. There were bottles of Chianti on every table, fresh bread, and candles. WTF?

Ended up that NAF skipper, Capt. Joe Gallagher, felt morale was slipping and ordered an Italian dinner party at midrats. We had plates of antipasto, salads, spaghetti, and seemingly endless bottles of Chianti.

Fucking Navy. The next month I was TDY at Hue-Phu Bai in an Army unit. I almost starved! But after that it was back to the good life at the CRB NAF!

In another thread, on another night, I'll tell you my Olongopo City stories. Then again, maybe I won't. You have probably heard them all.

[lpbk2713]

24. I remember mid-rats.....

....when I was on shore duty in Rota, Spain 1965-69. When we had the watch on the flight line mid-rats was a half-pint of warm milk, one horsecock sandwich on plain bread, and a puny apple. Motivating the personnel to make the Navy a lifelong endeavor was not a high priority.

[bleedingheart]

42. One of my old beaus was a Navy man

and his favorite movie was Sand Pebbles and the one with the nun and the marine on some island...

[DS1]

13. Why did you start this thread, if you aren't going to answer ?

[Skittles]

15. HE'S DRUNK

HE'S A F***ING SAILOR. :evilgrin:

[HawkerHurricane]

32. I started it and had to turn the computer off

Real life intervened.
I've got 3 kids, things get hectic at dinnertime.

[Skittles]

14. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF THIS JACK HANDY OBSERVATION

"Our hopes that one day we will communicate with dolphins; our fears that they will cuss like sailors." :D

[HawkerHurricane]

33. hehe

I remember visiting my grandma, and my dad kicking my shins to death...

[Kenneth ken]

17. ?

I was just reading a different thread that mentioned "light, sweet, crude" oil. Who/why/how/when did anyone decide that was a good name for oil?

thread: <http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=90400&mesg_id=90400&page=>

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

19. As opposed to heavy, dark crude oil, you mean?

That is a trade description of a specific type of oil. There are lots of such designations.

[SEAburb]

20. did you get hazed the first time you crossed the dateline?/ nt

......

[HawkerHurricane]

34. No

The Marines were though...

"Now hear this, we are now crossing the international dateline. All interested personnel, come to the flightdeck with your cameras!"

500 Marines on the flightdeck, with cameras, looking to get a picture of the dateline...

6 months later, on the way back, they made this announcement...
"Now hear this, for those of you who missed it, we are now crossing the dateline again!"

Same 500 Marines, all lined up looking for the line...

[DemoTex]

22. Does the Navy still do "short arms" inspections?

Skin it and wring it sailor.

[HawkerHurricane]

35. No

But corpsmen are still called 'pecker checkers'.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

23. How come you haven't pm'ed me to hook up with you

Since you are in Seal Beach 15 minutes away from my house? *tapping fingers*

[HawkerHurricane]

36. I wasn't allowed off the ship.

And I'm back in San Diego now, that was on Thursday.

[KG]

25. where did your fondness for the Hawker Hurricane come from?

:shrug:

[HawkerHurricane]

37. Long answer

I have a fondness for WW2 history and equipment, especially stuff that was NOT the best but still soldierd on...
The Douglas SBD Dauntless (Champion aircraft carrier killer of all time)
The Grumman F4F Wildcat.
The Ju-87 Stuka.
The 'Old "S"' class submarines.
The M4 Sherman tank.
The M10 Gun Moter Carraige.
I could go on.

I also like alliteration.

[redeye]

38. Hmmm...

...are you in the navy for the money, for the country, both, or what?

[HawkerHurricane]

39. Yes

I joined for a mix of patriotism and poverty...
re-upped for the same...
But I could have made more money on the outside.

[commander bunnypants]

40. Our mess had great sliders

How are your sliders. Damn I miss sliders. good ole memories


DEMMAN

[trof]

41. OK...they're always weighing the anchor,

so how much does the damn thing weigh?
;-)
p.s. Nice job on the summer "patriot".

[HawkerHurricane]

43. Ours weighs 2000 lbs

Navy standard stockless.
Of course, the bigger the ship, the bigger the anchors.
(And the word 'weigh' means 'lift'.)

[MaryBear]

44. How unusual are you,

as a Democrat in the Navy?

[HawkerHurricane]

47. Rather

I'm not the only one who votes Democratic, but I am the only one who announces it.
Given latest conversations (not a poll!), I'd give about 30% going to vote Democratic next election, 40% for Bush, and 30% going out drinking that day (isn't there a game on?).

[5thGenDemocrat]

45. Seriously

I have a friend (liberal Dem) who has enlisted in the Navy (enters in March) and needs some good advice from a Navy vet re: what to do and what not to do to make his time as easy as possible. I'm an Army vet -- so I can only offer generalities (don't piss off the drill sergeant, do what you're told to do when you're told to do it, etc etc).
Is it possible to hook the two of you up via email?
John
Glenn wants to be a hospital corpsman -- well, hell, what are ya gonna do?

[HawkerHurricane]

48. First Off

Never volunteer in Boot.
Never lie to your Company Commander.
Do everything you're told when you are told to do it.
Never break a rule out of ignorance.

I guess that's the same as what you told him.

As for corpsmen, I never say bad things about the people who hold onto my shot record. I'd hate to have to get them all updated suddenly. The Marines have found a few good men: Navy Corpsmen!

I'll PM you with my shipboard email.