Gabby’s Blog: My shipboard life begins
- Published on Sunday, 22 January 2012 22:00
- Category: Opinions
“Request permission to come aboard, Sir”
“Permission granted. Welcome aboard”.
Finally I had reach my destination, To join the Navy and see the world. I went thru the process of checking in to the command, meeting important personalities and getting a warm welcome. The leading petty officer of our group onboard the ship escorted me to get me checked in with the least hassle and complete the check in process ASAP. I encountered this word “ASAP” and lived with it until I left the service.
Officially I became a member of the Supply Department and I joined the SD(Steward) work center. There were six of us in that group, one PO1, one PO2, one PO3, two TNs(Stewards Mate) and myself, a TA(Stewards Mate Apprentice). The two TNs were Pinoys so I felt good that there were at least a couple of shipmates I could relate with. They had been in the Navy for several years and also onboard for a couple of years. We did not speak Tagalog in Baguio then, so these two Pinoys from Cavite taught me to speak Tagalog and after a few months I was able to communicate with them using more Tagalog words. There were only three of us Filipinos in the ship.
I can not remember names(40 years ago) that I am unable to mention the names of people I had worked with as I write.
The PO1 gave me as much information about the ship and how I fit into the organization. Stewards took care of the needs of the officers onboard. Most of what we learned in school were applicable onboard the ship but to do things as we were taught in school I would not be able to complete the routine jobs in a days time. My two Pinoy friends taught me shortcuts to accomplish jobs and be able to enjoy shipboard life. The officers were satisfied with the services we were doing, I learned to be a sailor so early.
The officers pantry was the place for us stewards to get the daily additional information of the ship’s Plan of the Day from the PO1. The PO1 mustered with the different division heads at 8 AM on weekdays. The Plan of the Day was printed each day and distributed to the crew after 8 PM however additional tasks to be done from the Captain(CO) and the Executive Officer(XO) were passed on to Department Heads and the Department Heads delegated these task to their group supervisors. The supervisors meets with their men and the Work Center supervisor ensure that the task assigned to them got done ASAP. That was the destroyer’s Chain of Command set up that got things done.
As a new member of the group I was assigned to different cleaning spaces to get me indoctrinated on how things were done. I had to get up early to help prepare breakfast and the time to hit my rack depends on the movie for that night. Operating the movie projector was one of our jobs. Some movies took longer to show.
The first time I was informed of the spaces I had to clean I thought I would not finish all the tasks even if I worked the whole day. My Pinoy friends gave me all the pointers on how to get things done so I can have time to fool around like the rest. I learned all the tricks and added my own tricks to complete all the daily routine task had to be done ASAP to the satisfaction of our PO1. As days went by I got used to the routine work of feeding the officers three times a day, cleaning the officers country assigned to me and fixing all the bunk beds of the officers. I must had been doing a good job that I became the CO steward so aside from the assigned spaces I already had, the captain’s cabin was added to my cleaning spaces.
The responsibilities of a CO’s steward was a grey world, the crew thought that anything that had to be done for the CO I had to be involved. I just accepted their way of thinking and that added additional work for me. The involvement that was expected of me by different work centers got me to know most of the crew. I came to know more of my shipmates and I was able to enter their work spaces. There was so much work for the CO in preparation for our scheduled underway. I learned a lot in the short break-in period onboard a destroyer.
Before I applied to join the Navy, the only thing we knew were sailors walking around Baguio in their white uniforms. They looked so smartly dressed and our idea of their way of life was that they must be just dressed like so walking around the ship with nothing much to do. We did not hear from those who joined the Navy before us so here I was learning the real life of a sailor.
A destroyer is a small ship but with a system like a big community. It can produce its own electricity and power to sail the seas. There is water, cooling and heating services. The crew have to be nourished so there is a baking and preparing food facilities. The officers had the officers country so the crew had sleeping quarters with racks and beddings. Laundry, barber and medical services were readily available onboard. A sailor got paid every 15 days, each department can not operate with out funds and the ship needs had to be met so a destroyer had its own finance service. The records of officers and crew must be updated and safeguarded. Communication was very important onboard whether at sea or in port. A destroyer is a fighting ship, the guns, torpedoes, ammunition and other requirements have to be manned. There are several more things going on onboard the ship. All of these are manned by members of the crew. A destroyer man is a sailor with his hands full of responsibilities and he sometimes work on his hands and knees but must be dressed correctly onboard and on liberty.
I was also indoctrinated of how things were ashore. On some nights I joined some friends when they go to the Enlisted Men’s Club. The club was a walking distance from where the ships were tied up and undress blues could be worn inside so the place was always full of sailors but a few days before pay day the crowd was lesser, most of the money of the sailors had been spent. There was this big wide one storey building that has a cafeteria, coffee shop and a small Exchange store located in the pier. The place was a hang out for sailors on liberty status after working hours, we called it “gedunk”. It was a place readily available for visitors of ship’s crew to wait for whoever they were waiting for. The Navy Exchange was close by and it was another place to hang around when on liberty. The Navy paid us in checks so there was a bank very close to the pier. The Navy made everything that we need available. What else can I ask for. I was getting to like Mayport, a place where I expect to be for a few years.
Civilian attire was worn only when we were off base. We carried our civilian clothes in small bags and changed from our liberty uniform when we reached town. I checked in onboard with 2 pairs of pants and a couple of shirts. These were kept with some of my uniforms in the ship’s sea bag locker for us Stewards. We only had a small personal locker with very limited space and we had to fold and stow things in the small locker assigned to each of us in that living compartment. All the things we stowed in our locker were folded, the Navy way (what we learned in Boot Camp). I was informed of locker inspections onboard so I had to stow my things the way it should be done.
My two Pinoy friends me brought me to Jacksonville Beach, a liberty town for sailors stationed at the Mayport Naval Station where the USS William C Lawe DD763 was home ported. I was showed where to catch the bus while on base and we stopped in the center of town. The down town area was not that big, there were several locker clubs and I came to know that these locker clubs were places where sailors change to civilian clothes. There were lockers rented out for a day or longer depending on your need. My friends rented their lockers on a monthly basis and their lockers were big. They already accumulated more clothes and shoes. I rented a small locker for a day and that was what I had done the whole time I was in Mayport.
We walked the board walk and watched the people playing in the beach. It was a long stretch board walk, one side was the beach and the other side were full of various establishment where souvenirs were sold and beach necessities were available. Stalls to buy food, ice cream stalls and several places to spend money were all part of the long line of businesses that operated in the board walk. My friends showed me the Chinese restaurant where they serve good fried rice.
Our next stop was the USO(United Service Organization), this was a place where sailors can relax, a home away from home. After some minutes in the place, I told myself that now I had found a place to spend most of my liberty time. My friends can not be my guide all the time. The USO served coffee for free and even doughnuts. It had a few game machines, pool tables and ping pong tables. Their lounge had a library of various reading materials. The management put up social activities such as dances on some week ends. The USO building was located in the center of the town so the other places where to go in town were all close by. The ladies who managed the USO were friendly and accommodating that sailors felt welcome all the time.
I learned most of what I had to know about going on that day. Mayport was a small town and even if I was new in town I was not worried roaming around the place alone.
Our time in port was only for a few days and I noticed family visitors coming onboard after working hours. We were preparing for a Midshipman cruise and the salty sailors were looking forward to that cruise. I came to know that we were headed to the North Atlantic and to places seldom visited by US Navy ships. My Pinoy friends could not tell me anything about the places because it was their first cruise to that part of the world. They warned me to be ready about getting seasick because the North Atlantic was very rough any time of the year.
Before Midshipmen graduate from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, they had to experience shipboard life and the USS William C Lawe DD763 was designated as one of the ship to embark Midshipmen for shipboard indoctrination and the Navy gave them good liberty ports. I was lucky then because we were to visit, The Netherlands, Sweden and Germany in that cruise.
In less than a year in the US Navy, I would finally start to see the world. (to be continued)