Toasty in my workshop

[fossil]

Yeah, we had a lot of fruits in the Navy. :smirk: Rick

 

[R&D Guy]

Nice stove Rick! This long winter has really made we want to rip out the gas fireplace and install a wood stove. I hope everyone gets a summer this year.

 

[BrotherBart]

Nice stove Rick! This long winter has really made we want to rip out the gas fireplace and install a wood stove. I hope everyone gets a summer this year.

It is 92 here. Supposed to be 96 tomorrow. If somebody needs a summer I will loan them this one.

 

[burntime]

BTW 2 thumbs up on the avatar, its redneck in a good way ;~)

 

[fossil]

...It is 92 here. Supposed to be 96 tomorrow. If somebody needs a summer I will loan them this one.

I think it actually broke 50* here today. By the middle of next week we could even see something like 65*. By all means, BB, send me some of that warmth...but please keep the humidity. That's one of the things I ran away from. Rick

 

[stoveguy2esw]

I went in the Army in 68 and was put in the army’s navy in Ft Eustis …

Sounds like we were at Eustis at the same time. I used to sneak down to the boats where a friend worked to eat the good meals they had since they bought provisions at the grocery store and cooked their own.

For field exercises we climbed on those things and invaded Fort Story.

gawd! i was at eustis in 86 (not 68) but the "army's navy" still does "t school" there. we shared a barracks with them , was "e co 2nd training bn".

as for chinooks, biggest thiing i remember about them (was in a hook company in korea in the early 90's) was, if it wasnt leaking hydrolic fluid , dont get on board! the crew guys called em boeing rainstorms but they are dang good birds.

 

[Elderthewelder]

Rick

Former Midway sailor here, just wondering if you were on the chitty Kitty when she was homeported in Yokosuka?
I had some real good times their and on shore duty in Atsugi

 

[fossil]

Rick

Former Midway sailor here, just wondering if you were on the chitty Kitty when she was homeported in Yokosuka?
I had some real good times their and on shore duty in Atsugi

Nope, Elder, I was in the Pentagon in the Carrier Program Office when the decision was made to send Kiity Hawk instead of Constellation to replace Midway. This was after my tour on KH. Back in '86-'89, I was a member of the dreaded PACFLT Propulsion Examining Board, and had occasion to visit nearly every conventionally powered ship in the 3rd & 7th Fleets, including Midway. Did an exam on Midway in Subic Bay in about '89 or so. I've been to Yokosuka a number of times (as well as Sasebo, and even Kujiro on Hokkaido), though never stationed in Japan. Always had a great time, and enjoyed & respected the Japanese very much. Been to Atsugi once, too, waiting for a MAC flight home in '79 ( I think). Take care, shipmate. Rick

 

[Elderthewelder]

Rick

Former Midway sailor here, just wondering if you were on the chitty Kitty when she was homeported in Yokosuka?
I had some real good times their and on shore duty in Atsugi

Nope, Elder, I was in the Pentagon in the Carrier Program Office when the decision was made to send Kiity Hawk instead of Constellation to replace Midway. This was after my tour on KH. Back in '86-'89, I was a member of the dreaded PACFLT Propulsion Examining Board, and had occasion to visit nearly every conventionally powered ship in the 3rd & 7th Fleets, including Midway. Did an exam on Midway in Subic Bay in about '89 or so. I've been to Yokosuka a number of times (as well as Sasebo, and even Kujiro on Hokkaido), though never stationed in Japan. Always had a great time, and enjoyed & respected the Japanese very much. Been to Atsugi once, too, waiting for a MAC flight home in '79 ( I think). Take care, shipmate. Rick

Actually (not that it matters) it was the Independence that replaced the Midway in 91 and the Kitty replaced the Indy not too long after that. It is my understanding that the George Washington is in progress of replacing the Kitty now. It will be interesting to see the outcome of that, having a CVN homeported their

Speaking of the Connie, I made my first cruise on her in 85, that was the first cruise of any carrier with the F/A18

 

[fossil]

...Actually (not that it matters) it was the Independence that replaced the Midway in 91 and the Kitty replaced the Indy not too long after that. It is my understanding that the George Washington is in progress of replacing the Kitty now. It will be interesting to see the outcome of that, having a CVN homeported their

Speaking of the Connie, I made my first cruise on her in 85, that was the first cruise of any carrier with the F/A18

Yup, Elder, yer absolutely right. :red: Forgot all about Indy being there, even though she was there when we (KH) visited in '94, and I knew her Engineer...he was the guy who relieved me in my Pentagon job. The debate I remember in the Puzzle Palace was whether it should be KH or Connie that replaced Indy...Midway was long since departed, and is now a museum in San Diego. I've been retired for 8 years, and those sorts of things are kind of blurring for me. It's rare that I get a chance to talk about any of that with anyone who has a clue what I'm talking about (as if I do!). It took a loooong time to get the Japanese to consent to having a nuke carrier homeported there, and some major mods had to be done to the facilities in Yoko to support her. Yes, it will be interesting. In '85 the Hornet was a darned near brand new aircraft, wasn't it? First ones I became familiar with up close were flying off Ranger in '89, along with the F-14's, & the good ol' A-6's, & etc. Rick

 

[myzamboni]

Wow, this is bringing back memories. My dad was COMPATWINGSPAC ~'82-'85 out of Moffett Field. I feel like what I am reading is a conversation he would have whenever ran across other former servicemen. At the time I was a kid so it did not seem that interesting., but since he's been gone for 20 now it makes me wish I paid more attention.

 

[fossil]

Well, Zambo, now you're bringing back memories. I was born in Oakland in 1948. Moffett Field was just "always there". The blimp hangars! I wish I'd listened more to both my grandfather and my dad. Rick

 

[Jags]

First ones I became familiar with up close were flying off Ranger in '89, along with the F-14's, & the good ol' A-6's, & etc. Rick

Rick, I would of been there on the flight deck, wearing a green shirt.
More than likely, I would have been carrying a SIMS cable and a tool pouch. VF2 (F14's) and Jags on the back of the cranial. Did you see me? :cheese:

 

[fossil]

...Did you see me? :cheese:

I'm sure I must have...spent enough time watching the plat monitor down in Central Control. I was a temp fill in the Main Propulsion Assistant slot while they found a permanent replacement for an unscheduled loss, just before deployment. I met the ship in Pearl, and was aboard until Australia. Had hernia surgery aboard out in the IO somewhere. Rick

 

[Jags]

...Did you see me? :cheese:

I'm sure I must have...spent enough time watching the plat monitor down in Central Control. I was a temp fill in the Main Propulsion Assistant slot while they found a permanent replacement for an unscheduled loss, just before deployment. I met the ship in Pearl, and was aboard until Australia. Had hernia surgery aboard out in the IO somewhere. Rick

Yep, I was on that cruise. Believe it or not, I remember some scuttle butt about someone having "emergency" hernia surgery. Was that you?

 

[fossil]

Yep, I was on that cruise. Believe it or not, I remember some scuttle butt about someone having "emergency" hernia surgery. Was that you?

I s'pose it was...but it wasn't exactly an "emergency". The Flight Surgeons found that I had a hernia while I was getting a physical (who knew?). They offered to fix it for me, and I said OK, let's do it. CAPT Hickey wasn't thrilled, he thought I should just wait until I got back home, but he said if I wanted to do it there, go ahead, so we did. It was interesting. Still sore as all get out when we had our brief sojourn at Diego Garcia, but I managed to get off the ship for a while. Gotta love that Percocet. ;-) Rick

 

[Jags]

Yep, I was on that cruise. Believe it or not, I remember some scuttle butt about someone having "emergency" hernia surgery. Was that you?

I s'pose it was...but it wasn't exactly an "emergency". The Flight Surgeons found that I had a hernia while I was getting a physical (who knew?). They offered to fix it for me, and I said OK, let's do it. CAPT Hickey wasn't thrilled, he thought I should just wait until I got back home, but he said if I wanted to do it there, go ahead, so we did. It was interesting. Still sore as all get out when we had our brief sojourn at Diego Garcia, but I managed to get off the ship for a while. Gotta love that Percocet. ;-) Rick

Burner Bob (Hickey) was a pretty cool dude. As it turns out, we both knew where a VERY secluded bar in the jungles of PI (Philippines) was, and got to hang out a drink beers with him as his "personal" lieutenant got to chase them for us. Always loved to see him go off the pointy end. Kept the flames rolling until he was out of site (hence burner Bob). Got to meet him for other reasons, but we are not going to go into that.

Had fun in Diego G, but nothing to do but shoot sharks, play volleyball and drink. Better not touch those damn birds!

 

[fossil]

...Burner Bob (Hickey) was a pretty cool dude.

I liked him a lot. Last time I saw him was in about '93. Inport North Island, I was Engineer on Kitty Hawk, and we had a USO show on the flight deck, I think it was 4th of July. Country music singers/groups. Clint Black among them. Burner was a one-star then. I was glad to see him make Flag, he deserved it more than some others I saw make it. Oh well, we didn't get to "vote". Rick

 

[Jerry_NJ]

I had passed on this thread several times, the title just didn't attract my interest..who knew it would be a bunch of sea and war stories from a bunch of vets.

I had exchanged with Rick a few weeks back my brief experience on the Kitty Hawk, had a non-ops ride on her in about 1963/4. I rode up on the run from Alameda NAS to Bremerton ship yards, where she got "re-fitted" or something. Oakland, CA brings back navy memories too, I went through a 90-day special (navy reserves only) boot camp there at what was then NAS Oakland, sitting on the one side of the Oakland Airport, I think. So, Small World.

My active duty was limited to a total of about 4 years, including 6 months as a drill instructor on temporary active duty, during the time I had the ride on the Kitty Hawk - Rick, were you in the engine room on that trip? I stayed in the reserves, thinking I'd put in my 20 that way. After graduation in electrical engineering I applied for a direct commission, I was an AEC (Chief Aviation Electrician) at the time, and given they wanted me to sigh up for another 4 years in the reserves, and given there was some reserve activations for Vietnam going on, I decided to take my discharge. So, I'm really a career civilian, but I liked the navy and it helped put me on the right (or at least better) path given my under-motivated mentality when I graduated from high school.

I don't understand some of the medical related discussions, I understood one of the advantages of a military career was benefits at retirement, and early retirement too. I read stuff I'm familiar with, Medicare and Secondary Health insurance to cover big ones, of which I've had one (open heart surgery).

 

[fossil]

...Rick, were you in the engine room on that trip?

Gee whiz no, Jerry. 63/64 I might have been in the engine room of my Sea Scout boat in Berkeley, but not in Kitty Hawk. I joined the Navy in '69, turned 21 in Boot Camp in San Diego. My association with Naval Aviation & carriers didn't really begin until about 1990. Rick

EDIT: I guess I'd have to say it really started with my temp duty in Ranger in '89 that Jags & I are reminiscing about. Rick

 

[Jags]

Burner was a one-star then.

No kidding? Glad to see that "one of the good guys" made it. I was out by then.

 

[Jerry_NJ]

Rick,

Yes, I've got you by 9 years, age wise.

A one-star, gee back in the good old days, a Navy Captain going to flag rank went directly to Rear Admiral, two-stars. I'm sure that didn't go well with the other services. Is a one-start still called a Commodore? Or is that now Rear Admiral?

 

[fossil]

Rick,

Yes, I've got you by 9 years, age wise.

A one-star, gee back in the good old days, a Navy Captain going to flag rank went directly to Rear Admiral, two-stars. I'm sure that didn't go well with the other services. Is a one-start still called a Commodore? Or is that now Rear Admiral?

Keep in mind I've been retired for more than 8 years, and you know how the Navy likes to change things just to keep everybody on their toes...but, the use of the title "Commodore" to designate a one-star ended sometime after WWII, I think, and nobody wore one star. We used (and presumably still use) Commodore to refer to the guy in charge of a squadron of ships, regardless of his actual rank...similar to the way we use "Captain" for the CO of a ship, even though he may actually be a Commander or whatever. At some point, the one-star rank was "reactivated", but the title Commodore was not applied to it. One-star Admirals are called "Rear Admiral", as are two-star Admirals. For some time, the one-stars were called "Rear Admiral, Lower Half", and the two-stars "Upper", but I'm not sure whether or not those terms are still used. You're really stretching the outside of the envelope of my memory cells here, Jerry. Rick

 

[Jags]

Although, not matching your guys "seasoned" status as far as age goes ;-P , I remember the upper half, lower half part, but heck, I've been out for 17 years now.

 

[myzamboni]

Rick,

Yes, I've got you by 9 years, age wise.

A one-star, gee back in the good old days, a Navy Captain going to flag rank went directly to Rear Admiral, two-stars. I'm sure that didn't go well with the other services. Is a one-start still called a Commodore? Or is that now Rear Admiral?

Keep in mind I've been retired for more than 8 years, and you know how the Navy likes to change things just to keep everybody on their toes...but, the use of the title "Commodore" to designate a one-star ended sometime after WWII, I think, and nobody wore one star. We used (and presumably still use) Commodore to refer to the guy in charge of a squadron of ships, regardless of his actual rank...similar to the way we use "Captain" for the CO of a ship, even though he may actually be a Commander or whatever. At some point, the one-star rank was "reactivated", but the title Commodore was not applied to it. One-star Admirals are called "Rear Admiral", as are two-star Admirals. For some time, the one-stars were called "Rear Admiral, Lower Half", and the two-stars "Upper", but I'm not sure whether or not those terms are still used. You're really stretching the outside of the envelope of my memory cells here, Jerry. Rick

The flyboys still used Commodore at Moffett in the early 80's (although Rear Admiral was also used but (I bet that went well during Tail-Hook)) as my father's office was right next door to the Commodore in the basement of Bldg 17 at the end of the parade field.