A short, but very sweet, visit to the USS Pinckney
Bookworm on Oct 09 2010 at 8:14 pm | Filed under: Military
I’ve probably mentioned here about a couple of thousand times the fact that I just love Fleet Week. It’s the one weekend of the year when I get to step out of my suburban lawyer/mom rut, and do and see things that are entirely different from my ordinary life. I’m too old and too set in my ways, not to mention too prone to seasickness, to want the naval life for myself, but I sure do enjoy these brief glimpses.
By the way, I get these special glimpses, not because I’m a special person, but because I’ve had the good sense to join the Navy League. For those of us who live near federal maritime waterways, the Navy League is a wonderful opportunity to interact with the Navy in a way most people never do. Even if you don’t live near an ocean or Great Lake, you’d do well to send some money to the Navy League. It’s a wonderful organization that provides two incredibly useful services:
First, the Navy League’s public education efforts are designed to inform the nation, and its political leaders, of the vital importance to the country of comprehensive and fully-prepared sea services. Second, the Navy League, primarily through its councils, provides support for active duty sea services personnel and their families.
You can’t beat that. Still, being near the water is, well, more fun than not.
Today, Mr. Bookworm and I were the official greeters for the USS Pinckney, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. In the ordinary course of things, being a greeter means that, once the ship docks, you get to attend the officer’s briefing. (I should warn you before I go any further that my grasp of naval terminology is slender at best. I’ll try to use the right word here, or at least give the right sense with the wrong word, but all you navy people should feel free to correct my inevitable errors.) We attended a briefing a couple of years ago, on the USS Bonhomme Richard and, as I wrote at the time, it was quite a formal affair.
I expected the same thing this time and have to say that I was a bit nervous. You see, this time I was the one designated to give the speech. I’m great at speaking extemporaneously on subjects near and dear to my heart (some would say I’m boring, but I say I’m great), but I’m not so good when I’m trying to convey information that doesn’t naturally float about in my brain. And while I agreed wholeheartedly with the text of my Navy League speech, most of the information was new to me. After some abortive efforts to memorize the short speech — abortive primarily because I hate memorizing things — I printed the darn thing out, and hoped that my dulcet tones would offset that sinking feeling most audience-members get when they see someone approach a podium with a printed speech in hand.
In addition to the speech, I came bearing gifts, courtesy of the Navy League. These bags are awfully nice. Depending on the donations the Navy League receives on any given year (plus the Navy League’s own contributions to the bag), they might have mugs, t-shirts, posters, candy, magnets, and gift certificates. The CO, XO, and CMC (that would be Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, and Command Master Chief for those of you as unversed as I in navy talk) each get a bag, although the gift certificates are pretty much for the whole crew to share around.
So, there we were, Mr. Bookworm and I, bearing gift bags and, in my case, one crumpled speech clenched tightly in my sweaty palm. It was a beautiful day and the pier was quiet. The only ones on the pier aside from us were Navy and USGC security, and the crew tasked with putting up the gangplank leading from ship to shore. We watched as the ship slowly and carefully crept up to the pier, with a tug boat pushing her closer and closer until, with just the right amount of space between ship and pier, she stopped. As someone who has had a few ugly automotive run-ins with pillars and posts, I was deeply impressed.
The whole landing process took a while. It then took an even longer while for the gangplank, a fancy one with stairs, to get installed. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ship, which we couldn’t see from where we stood, another ship was being “piggy-backed” onto the Pinckney. Apparently there wasn’t enough pier to go around. The whole thing was very complicated.
Eventually, the public liaison officer found us, and explained that, because of exigent circumstances, the briefing wasn’t going to take place. Hmmmm. Now what? We’ve got those gift bags and I’ve still got that now-grubby speech in my hand. Our blank expressions must have conveyed volumes, since she snagged the CMC, who cheerfully volunteered to see what she could do for us. Her graciousness impressed me, since we must have been dragging her away from more pressing business.
Following closely on the CMC’s heels, we zipped into the ship and raced up those ladders. Okay, here’s the truth. The CMC and my husband raced up those ladders. I minced up them exactly as you’d expect from someone with vertigo. I did go as fast as I could, though, which must count for something. We ended up in officer territory, waiting as the CMC looked around for the XO. While she was XO-hunting, Mr. Bookworm and I stumbled across the CO himself.
He was clearly chagrined that he didn’t have a briefing to offer us, but actually went one better: he invited us to join him for lunch. Yes!! A new experience, and one that promises to be both fun and interesting.
I abandoned my now sweat-soaked notes and gave the CO the quickie version of the official speech: Welcome to our fair city; enjoy the gifts; and we hope you and your crew are able to take advantage of the various gift certificates and services you’ll find in the bags. Whew! Thank goodness that’s over.
The CO then escorted us to the dining room which I, in my own mind, called the Officer’s Mess, but which my husband referred to as the wardroom. Maybe you can tell me which is the right term. [Update: I have been reliably informed that it's a wardroom. Go figure.]
The CO directed us to our chairs (very heavy chairs, to help avoid this scenario). In front of us was a small menu. He told us to circle what we’d like to eat, after which the attendants would pick up the order and deliver the food. At the recommendation of one of the officers already present, I ordered the cheese steak, and tempered that wonderful, rich, fatty rush of meat and cheese with some broccoli. The food came instantly and was delicious.
It was interesting to see people coming and going. Each asked the CO’s permission to dine there. Naturally, he gave his permission each time. A friend of mine who is in the Army told me that this tradition differs a great deal from the Army approach to dining. While the Navy continues to have separate areas for officers and crew, the Army eats in a single room. I can see where each has its virtues. The Army’s approach is more egalitarian. However, given how hierarchical the military is, it may be more relaxing for personnel to dine with similar ranks. If you have an opinion, let me know.
The captain was a lovely dining companion. (And yes, “lovely” is a girly term, but I’m a girl, so I get to use it.) As with everyone else I’ve had the chance to speak since joining the Navy League, he clearly has a passion for his job. This is not someone marking time from paycheck to paycheck until retirement. This is someone spending his time doing something he loves. Lucky man.
We didn’t linger. Things were hopping, so we said our thank-yous and farewells as soon as the meal was over. As we headed back to our car, we passed by hundreds of people heading for the same area we were leaving. I doubt any could guess what I great experience we had just enjoyed.
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27 Responses to “A short, but very sweet, visit to the USS Pinckney”
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“Wardroom” is correct. Mr. Bookworm is right.
He’s good on the technical stuff, jj. I flatter myself that I’m a big picture kind of gal, which self-definition relieves me of the burden of paying attention to useful and accurate details.
“The food came instantly and was delicious.”
You may – or may not – have heard the expression “The Navy gets the gravy…”
The other half is “The Army gets the beans”.
BTW, the correct lingo for the ship moored outboard is, well, moored outboard or rafted alongside. It is complicated in that you have the whole maneuvering alongside but this time you are the stationary object with someone else maneuvering. So lots and lots of fenders to avoid swapping paint.
Well, historically, and it may still be true on more formal vessels, the Captain ate in his Cabin and only joined the wardroom by invitation. Of course, vessel size and layout controls how formal the dining arrangements are.
I’m a bit confused, Book, and hope that I am unnecessarily so. My take on Mr. Book is that he is a man who does not like America very much, and that to him something like the Navy would be a manifestattion of this country’s malicious, imperialist evil. So what the hell was he doing helping you welcome visitors to one of our country’s machines of mass murder?
Charles, I know a lot of flaming Liberals that are pro-military. Heck, I even know military people that are flaming Liberals (one of my BILs fits in this category).
They just believe the military should be building schools for children in Timbuktu instead of fighting wars and that the Government should take care of all people the way it took care of them.
Danny, that’s like fascism, what with the sports clubs entangled with political activism building “stuff” for people.
It is not so much due to you being a big picture person, Book, that you aren’t intimately familiar with Navy lingo.
Rather, Mr. Book is a product of social liberal indoctrination and brainwashing. Thus he tends to naturally understand how to comprehend and use alien linguistics in order to better fit in a group. What to the rest of us would be complex Navy lingo that is learned only as a balm for our curiosity, Mr. Book sees it instead as a lifeline of survival.
For after all, one mis step in linguistics will spell your death amongst the Death Cult of the Left. The wrong accent? The wrong word choice? Double plus ungood thinking? You know what’s going to happen then, Book. The Left will excoriate such a person, for they will have demonstrated that they are not Part of the Collective.
Mr. Bookworm respects high levels of efficiency and accomplishment. The military offers that, in spades. I think he sees it as set apart entirely from any specific political philosophy. And Danny’s right about the way the military is one institution that cannot always garner predictable political responses, whether from inside or outside of its ranks.
Hi Book:
Does this mean that Mr. Book would be open to your kids joining the military as a career? It seems that you are doing a great job sparking such an interest. I have to say that my son enlisted in the army reserves and I have never seen him happier or more personally fulfilled. He is also getting a great education.
I honestly don’t know, Danny.
>>Mr. Bookworm respects high levels of efficiency and accomplishment.>>
That’s actually a bit scary. Not that I disagree – if I became dictator, I’d use the military to run the country…but that’s exactly the reason for “Oathkeepers” as an organization, loose though it may be. US military take an oath to support the Constitution – not the CIC.
Although I _must_ point out that the expressions “Hurry up and wait” and “FUBAR” both – among others – originated in the military, with reason.
Not to be overly nit picky, but we are deeply involved in Naval terminology here. The term for mooring ships outboard of other ships is “nesting”. It is the usual method with smaller, certainly destroyers sized ships.
Captains of carriers definitely have their own dining arrangements in their in-port cabins. I was fortunate enough to spend a few days on the Nuclear cruiser USS Virginia (since layed up), and unfortunate enough to spend a couple of weeks on a conventional cruiser and those Captains did also. (I was a senior member of an Admiral’s staff and we “dined” with the Captains, when they had time to leave the bridge). Interestingly, when at home on the carrier, we ate in the Flag mess; while the ship’s officers ate in the wardroom–unless, of course, invited to dine with the Captain. The enlisted ate in the crew’s mess.
I spent a couple of months on a joint staff that included a number of Officers from the 82nd Airborne and some Green Berets. They never tired of razzing me about eating off of linen table cloths and sleeping on sheets. I cautiously pointed out how smart I was to choose that lifestyle. (Didn’t want to irritate those guys too much.)
Has not your son talked to Mr. Book about his interest in the military? Or does Mr. Book simply take that as admiration akin to his own.
Sue, your comment is interesting in #12. That only seems to work up to a point – though there are a great many more historical specimens of its working than there are of it not working. (Supporting your dictatorship with the military, I mean.)
Generally it works more or less OK – but sometimes it really doesn’t, and the military remembers that they aren’t creatures dropped here from another planet, but “they” are “us” too. I remember most vividly when the old Soviet hard-liners forced Yeltsin to hole up in the Russian version of the “White House” while they took back the country – only they couldn’t take back the country. The kids driving the BMPs and tanks wouldn’t fire on the people. “They” turned out to be “us.” Same in the Tienanmen Square revolt in China and the famous film: the kid driving the tank wouldn’t run over the kid standing in front of him. Now, the political cocksu****s they handed the kid who stood in front of the tank to had no such compunction, and the kid who stood in front of the tank hasn’t been seen since – but that wasn’t the kids in the army who did that. And I even have some faith (not much, I’m not really naive, but some) that the kids int he army will some day say: “that’s enough of that, you old bastards. We’re not going through life with our boots on other people’s – our own people’s – necks.”
Using the army to control things doesn’t always work out so well for dictators. The kids in the army occasionally remember that before they were kids int he army, they were kids from the country that’s supposed to be getting controlled. Not always, but occasionally.
jj…
I understand. Plus the fact that even within the military there are dictator personalities just awaiting an opportunity.
I’d be in favor of the military taking control of our government in the case of an emergency – however…the problem is that the person in the military who was willing to take control – now _he’s_ the problem!
Yeah, you have to watch out for people who want the job. I’m always somewhat suspicious of people who actually want the job.
I’ve occasionally thought this about the way we elect presidents and the congress. Have occasionally thought we should replace elections with something like:
We co-opt Mensa’s membership list, so we know the available candidate pool at least has the intellectual horsepower (actual political views irrelevant, here it’s just about: do you have a brain?); and then run a series of examinations of some sort to discover who on that list wants the job least. That person becomes President. No choice, no input, no opportunity (barring health) to duck out of it, just: “for the next four years it’s you, Charlie.” Ditto both houses of congress. People who have zero ego on the line, but manifestly possess the brains to do the job. Many in Mensa are borderline housebroken, and I occasionally think damn few of them ever heard of table-manners – but they do have the raw pie filling between the ears. And, qualification #2: most of them have zero interest in actually harnessing the brain to run anything, like a legislature or a country.
Have to watch out for people who actually want to do it – whatever “it” may be.
JJ, I am afraid I don’t understand your point. Are you being sarcastic and I can’t see it?
If you are serious, let me assure you that the military–probably the police and firemen—better be full of people who actually want the job. Who actually believe in the job. For the most part, these are not jobs that you do for the easy life, or to get wealthy.
People desire responsibility and power for different reasons. Not all of them will fit under JJ’s perception of corruption, since they really only fit under the manifold arena of human beliefs.
Always interesting, isn’t it! No way would I be interested in Mensa’s list. I’d look for people who have been in charge and who have accomplished something while in a position of responsibility. Learning and the ability to learn are terrific assets, but they don’t actually get anything _done_. And obviously, the greater the scope of that responsibility, the greater the likelihood that they can do the job.
As far as I know, the military is the only organization that actually teaches leadership. Adult organization. Boy Scouts try to, and so does 4-H, but of course where you have parents and children involved there’s a lot of funny stuff that goes on. Leadership is a learned skill, as is teaching. Both can be learned, but just as we know there are good teachers and bad teachers, there are good leaders and bad leaders. The question is to distinguish between the two before they do any harm. A good teacher/leader _knows_ when something is outside their knowledge/skill base, and will either go out and learn it or will find someone who has the skills s/he needs who can fill in the gaps. Your Mensa people have a tendency to think that because they’re above average their knowledge is greater, their judgment better than anyone else’s. And that’s the problem we have with O. He never met a solution he liked better than his own. He thinks he’s the cat’s pajamas – and that’s a tendency of _many_ Mensa candidates…because they’re all from Lake Woebegone, and they’re _all_ above average.
Average and hard working – that’s what I’d look for. And humility – in the sense of _knowing_ what your limits are, but also a recognition of what you know and can do.
There was a very funny Simpsons episode some years ago about the Mensans’ efforts to govern in Springfield. Some might say, given the academic credentials we have in the Obama administration, that we’re seeing Mensan government in action right now — and it’s ugly.
I remember getting lectured by the nuns on “false humility”…the “oh no…not me” thing. It’s one of those “opposite” temptations – you know…”Let the first among you be last, and the last among you be first”…the message from the gospels of the host asking the guest who had seated himself at the host’s right hand being asked to move over to make room for the guest who had placed himself at the lowest position at the table, and who was then made the guest of honor. So…you then have people fighting for the “last” place, thinking that somehow that makes them among the first.
True humility is recognizing and acknowledging that you have a particular talent or ability in order to use that talent or ability for the benefit of others. It is _not_ a humility that allows someone with less talent/ability to get stuck with a job you can do better because you don’t want to speak up. And if you just don’t want to do the job, then we get into the “shirking responsibility” thing – not the humility thing…!
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