When I was assigned to the Yorktown as G Division Officer. I was made the "driving officer." As a new W1 (Warrant Officer), they figured that would be a good experience. I was responsible for the ships vehicles, and parking places, etc. Also I had to provide my ordies (ordnance personnel) as drivers, where-ever we went into port. One morning about 4 am, I was awakened by a very irate Commander.
He proceeded to yell and scream at me in the worst way. What would you think his problem was? I had trashed his state room or something. Turns out his parking place was one spot down from another Commander. But that other Commander was junior to him. (promoted to the rank of Commander after this one) The "senior" Commander didn't want to walk one extra parking space if it meant that his parking space was one further down from a more "junior" Commander.
Dean Ab-Hugh
CWO3 USN Ret.
I was in 2nd division for a time and when we were in port in Hong Kong or somewhere I was assigned to be a "Sideboy." That meant I had to get all dressed up in my whites, put on my ribbons and stand there with a bunch of other boats. When a dignitary or some other important person came aboard the Yorktown we would line up and salute him as he walked through out two lines and as the Boatswain of the Watch would blow his boatswain whistle.
So a small but fiery Commander is there...he's giving me hell for hair too long.. giving another sailor hell because he was wearing a loose fitting charm bracelet, another was slouching too much and so on and so on with every one of the side boys.
Another Commander came by and saw this and said "Got the duty today Commander?" The surprised reply, "No, I've got liberty, today but I wanted to come up here and square things away on the quarter deck."
by Airman Daniel A. Bernath 1968
Another time, I was OOD (Officer of the Deck) in Singapore. I got a call from the American Ambassador about a problem that some of our sailors had caused. When I tried to call the XO (Executive Officer), his line was busy. So, I told the boatswain mate of the watch to lay below and notify the XO that I was holding a phone line from the American Embassy. A few minutes later, the XO came storming up to the quarterdeck and proceeded to yell at me and cuss me out, and how dare I a lowly warrant officer summon him to the quarterdeck. Before I could say anything (I still was holding the phone in my hand), he stomped back down below.
I turned to the BM of the watch and asked him what he had said to the XO. He just shrugged his shoulders and said the he told the XO that the OOD wanted him on the quarterdeck. I directed the BM of the watch to lay back down to the XO's office and notify him politely that I was still holding a call from the American Embassy. A few minutes later the XO came stomping back up, grabbed the phone out of my hand and had a nice polite conversation with the Ambassador. Then he hung up the phone and went below, without saying another word or apologizing to me. I found out that the very worst officers in the navy for the most part, were Cdrs who had been passed over for Capt.
Dean Ab-Hugh
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