Hey Navy people, what's up on the Washington???

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

This has been in the news for a few weeks now.......


Navy chief visiting USS George Washington, ship linked to string of suicides

The Hill|1 hour ago
Navy Secretary Carlos del Toro will visit the USS George Washington on Tuesday, making him the most senior official to visit the ship amid a string of suicides among sailors assigned to the ship.



Comments? Experiences? Is it the Command? The mission?

 

[shortylickens]

This irritates me.
And it irritates anyone who knows what a chief is.
I wish they'd call him something besides "the navy chief".

Anyway........

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Without looking at the link, I read something last week where the ships remodeling progress was far behind where it should have been and they left port. Sailors were reporting getting next to zero sleep due the the continuous Jack hammers running. I think there was something about bedding too as in many beds were not able to be beds due to the work being done.
Sounds like something the Captain should have said or pushed back about before leaving port.

 

[UNCjigga]

This irritates me.
And it irritates anyone who knows what a chief is.
I wish they'd call him something besides "the navy chief".

Anyway........

Supreme Admiral?

 

[hal2kilo]

This has been in the news for a few weeks now.......


Navy chief visiting USS George Washington, ship linked to string of suicides

The Hill|1 hour ago
Navy Secretary Carlos del Toro will visit the USS George Washington on Tuesday, making him the most senior official to visit the ship amid a string of suicides among sailors assigned to the ship.



Comments? Experiences? Is it the Command? The mission?

Must have run out of chicken nuggets.

 

[hal2kilo]

This irritates me.
And it irritates anyone who knows what a chief is.
I wish they'd call him something besides "the navy chief".

Anyway........

You made me read it. Now I understand what you are saying. Yea, Navy chief is the wrong description of the person visiting.

 

[hal2kilo]

Without looking at the link, I read something last week where the ships remodeling progress was far behind where it should have been and they left port. Sailors were reporting getting next to zero sleep due the the continuous Jack hammers running. I think there was something about bedding too as in many beds were not able to be beds due to the work being done.
Sounds like something the Captain should have said or pushed back about before leaving port.

Their careers are basically at the mercy of the building schedule. Some sailors like the yard period so they get to go home most nights, but that delay just sucks. Believe me, if you are a contractor, if there's nothing waiting in the wings then you just go along for the ride. Lots of show up, and ask the question, is there power, is there air, is there chilled water.? No, OK, who's got the cards.

 

[gorobei]

there is a tv news report on it, its on youtube.
the ship is in dock for refuel refit, so 24/7 heavy industrial work and noise going on. the enlisted sailors who arent local to the shipyard area are forced to quarter aboard the ship unlike some of the officers who can afford to have an apartment or house away from the shipyard. the noise, disrepair of toilets, lack of food due to not being accessable by normal supply tender lines, and inability to sleep led to the suicides. the visit by the navy chief(highest ranking enlisted) was and insult amounting to "suck it up and get used to it". some enlisted were sleeping in their cars in the parking lot because of the noise.

some congressperson toured the ship and raised the riot act. proposals were to rent/build temp housing off the ship.

refit/refuel from what i can gather can take years (captains basically spend 2 or 3 years not on the sea).

 

[hal2kilo]

there is a tv news report on it, its on youtube.
the ship is in dock for refuel refit, so 24/7 heavy industrial work and noise going on. the enlisted sailors who arent local to the shipyard area are forced to quarter aboard the ship unlike some of the officers who can afford to have an apartment or house away from the shipyard. the noise, disrepair of toilets, lack of food due to not being accessable by normal supply tender lines, and inability to sleep led to the suicides. the visit by the navy chief(highest ranking enlisted) was and insult amounting to "suck it up and get used to it". some enlisted were sleeping in their cars in the parking lot because of the noise.

some congressperson toured the ship and raised the riot act. proposals were to rent/build temp housing off the ship.

refit/refuel from what i can gather can take years (captains basically spend 2 or 3 years not on the sea).

The Navy should just get out of the housing business and give out vouchers. They let perfectly good housing on the Bangor base almost go to shit. They were finally fixing it a couple years before I retired, but then they started to offer it to the general public for some reason. I guess if you were super paranoid, the security might be an attraction, but otherwise just no!

 

[MtnMan]

I was stationed aboard the USS Saratoga CVA-60. The ship was in the Philadelphia shipyard from January 1968 until February 1969 for a major overhaul.

We lived aboard ship the entire time, and it sucked. It was dirty, it was cold in the winter, and unbearable hot in the summer. To go take a dump in the morning, you put on your boots to break the ice in the shitter first. I have seen the temperature in our berthing compartment as low as 22 and well over 100 on the other extreme. In the summer we would take our mattress onto the flight deck to sleep as it was cooler, and high enough, so the mosquitoes didn't bother us.

Some senior enlisted (E7 and above), and officers may have been moved off the ship, but the majority of the crew lived aboard the entire yard period, and we were basically just helpers for the yardbirds.

It sucked, big time, but we weren't dying in a jungle in Vietnam, so there was that, and no one off'ed themselves, at least to my knowledge.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

So, it seems to be a problem with the Command structure and lack of respect and concern for the crews.

 

[fskimospy]

there is a tv news report on it, its on youtube.
the ship is in dock for refuel refit, so 24/7 heavy industrial work and noise going on. the enlisted sailors who arent local to the shipyard area are forced to quarter aboard the ship unlike some of the officers who can afford to have an apartment or house away from the shipyard. the noise, disrepair of toilets, lack of food due to not being accessable by normal supply tender lines, and inability to sleep led to the suicides. the visit by the navy chief(highest ranking enlisted) was and insult amounting to "suck it up and get used to it". some enlisted were sleeping in their cars in the parking lot because of the noise.

some congressperson toured the ship and raised the riot act. proposals were to rent/build temp housing off the ship.

refit/refuel from what i can gather can take years (captains basically spend 2 or 3 years not on the sea).

GW’s home port is in Norfolk and the refit is in Newport News, which is not that far away. Any E-5 and up and lots of E-4s and below get housing allowance. That doesn’t account for non married and short term E-4s and below, for which it really sounds like this sucks, but a substantial portion of the crew does not live on board.

When my ship was getting refit we had a berthing barge nearby for people on duty and those who lived on the ship. It wasn’t great but it was air conditioned, etc.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

So, it seems to be a problem with the Command structure and lack of respect and concern for the crews.

I mean, last I knew they still didn't eat with them. Speaks volumes.

 

[hal2kilo]

I mean, last I knew they still didn't eat with them. Speaks volumes.

They even have stewards on subs. Nice little dress skirts on the chairs, All served in silver.

 

[fskimospy]

They even have stewards on subs. Nice little dress skirts on the chairs, All served in silver.

I think they have them on all ships, or at least they did as of the mid 2000’s. They aren’t full time stewards or anything though, it’s just a different form of mess cranking that all new people do for a few months.

On my ship most cranked in the galley for the crew but you had like 3-4 each for the chiefs mess and wardroom.

 

[hal2kilo]

I think they have them on all ships, or at least they did as of the mid 2000’s. They aren’t full time stewards or anything though, it’s just a different form of mess cranking that all new people do for a few months.

Oh, I realize that's not their full time gig, but it's just sad they way they make a big point of the separation of officers and enlisted. Maybe it's the same in all the services. Way, way back, in the early days, we had officers privileges on base, so on Fridays we used to go to the O club for a few drinks (before they started putting out the slalom course of cones on the way off base). Anyway, I saw the most pathetic display of sucking up I've ever seen in my life, when the CO, XO, and the senior officers we're having a little get together. The XO, and senior officers getting hors d'oeuvres for the CO, lighting his cigs, ect.

 

[fskimospy]

Oh, I realize that's not their full time gig, but it's just sad they way they make a big point of the separation of officers and enlisted. Maybe it's the same in all the services. Way, way back, in the early days, we had officers privileges on base, so on Fridays we used to go to the O club for a few drinks (before they started putting out the slalom course of cones on the way off base). Anyway, I saw the most pathetic display of sucking up I've ever seen in my life, when the CO, XO, and the senior officers we're having a little get together. The XO, and senior officers getting hors d'oeuvres for the CO, lighting his cigs, ect.

Oh yeah, I cranked in the wardroom and the ass kissing going on in there was off the charts. Also as a lowly enlisted we had to go around and take their orders and all this shit, it was gross.

 

[pcgeek11]

They even have stewards on subs. Nice little dress skirts on the chairs, All served in silver.

They had Stewards when I joined the Navy. It was a dedicated job rate SD, usually manned by African Americans and Asians. That went away sometime in the 1975. The wardroom Steward Rating (SD) was absorbed in to the Mess Specialist Rating (MS) and now they are Culinary Specialist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culinary_specialist_(United_States_Navy)

Food service ratings in the U.S. Navy were historically divided into two broad groupings until the merger of commissaryman and steward ratings to mess management specialist on January 1, 1975. Before 1975, stewards prepared and served meals to the officers, maintained their quarters and took care of their uniforms.

There was also Mess Cranks which were just temporary duties for unrated personnel below E4. I did it when on the Submarines they were serving family style where we delivered food to the tables of the crew E-9 and below who all ate in the same mess. Then between meals we got to peel potatoes, wash dishes, scrub down the mess and assist the cooks doing whatever else they needed. The best place was when you got assigned to the night baker! Sticky Buns and Fresh Bread!!!

 

[hal2kilo]

They had Stewards when I joined the Navy. It was a dedicated job rate SD, usually manned by African Americans and Asians. That went away sometime in the 1975. The wardroom Steward Rating (SD) was absorbed in to the Mess Specialist Rating (MS) and now they are Culinary Specialist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culinary_specialist_(United_States_Navy)

Food service ratings in the U.S. Navy were historically divided into two broad groupings until the merger of commissaryman and steward ratings to mess management specialist on January 1, 1975. Before 1975, stewards prepared and served meals to the officers, maintained their quarters and took care of their uniforms.

There was also Mess Cranks which were just temporary duties for unrated personnel below E4. I did it when on the Submarines they were serving family style where we delivered food to the tables of the crew E-9 and below who all ate in the same mess. Then between meals we got to peel potatoes, wash dishes, scrub down the mess and assist the cooks doing whatever else they needed. The best place was when you got assigned to the night baker! Sticky Buns and Fresh Bread!!!

Did you know that the term Mess Crank is officially no longer allowed? Youngsters are so sensitive.

 

[MtnMan]

They had Stewards when I joined the Navy. It was a dedicated job rate SD, usually manned by African Americans and Asians. That went away sometime in the 1975. The wardroom Steward Rating (SD) was absorbed in to the Mess Specialist Rating (MS) and now they are Culinary Specialist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culinary_specialist_(United_States_Navy)

Food service ratings in the U.S. Navy were historically divided into two broad groupings until the merger of commissaryman and steward ratings to mess management specialist on January 1, 1975. Before 1975, stewards prepared and served meals to the officers, maintained their quarters and took care of their uniforms.

There was also Mess Cranks which were just temporary duties for unrated personnel below E4. I did it when on the Submarines they were serving family style where we delivered food to the tables of the crew E-9 and below who all ate in the same mess. Then between meals we got to peel potatoes, wash dishes, scrub down the mess and assist the cooks doing whatever else they needed. The best place was when you got assigned to the night baker! Sticky Buns and Fresh Bread!!!

In the late 60s, all the stewards aboard the carrier I was stationed on were Filipinos.

In 67, I got back from Christmas leave, probably on the 27th. Everyone warned me to stay out of way of the WO4 in our division. Seems the Filipino stewards were responsible for planning the menu. So Wednesday it was shit on a shingle... That would be Wednesday, December 25. And as their wardroom was located where they had to walk through enlisted mess to access, where the enlisted pukes were eating turkey, ham, steaks, dressing, yams, etc., etc., they dined on shit on a shingle.

 

[hal2kilo]

In the late 60s, all the stewards aboard the carrier I was stationed on were Filipinos.

In 67, I got back from Christmas leave, probably on the 27th. Everyone warned me to stay out of way of the WO4 in our division. Seems the Filipino stewards were responsible for planning the menu. So Wednesday it was shit on a shingle... That would be Wednesday, December 25. And as their wardroom was located where they had to walk through enlisted mess to access, where the enlisted pukes were eating turkey, ham, steaks, dressing, yams, etc., etc., they dined on shit on a shingle.

When I first starting in this business, many of the sailors had beards. When we went on sea trials like you said all the cooks were Filipino and were F'n great. All that changed like around 81, 82, No more beards and they started, without good protocols, UA testing. Took a few more years for all the Filipinos to basically disappear from the boats.

 

[pcgeek11]

Did you know that the term Mess Crank is officially no longer allowed? Youngsters are so sensitive.

I did not. They were still Mess Cranks when I retired in 1993.
In my mind they will forever be Mess Cranks.

Them poor babies.

Probably good they weren't around back in my era in the early 1970's....