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Navy standards

True story: On USS Nimitz in 1991 we spent a couple of weeks at “condition zebra, main deck and below.” That means all watertight hatches and doors are closed from the hangar deck (that’s the “main deck” on a carrier) and all decks below that. You can open doors and walk through them; you just have to close them again behind you. But the big heavy hatches that provide access between decks are also closed, and the only way through them during such times is through a small round door in the middle of the hatch called a scuttle. The scuttle can’t be more than two feet wide, if that. It’s a tight fit. Well, on Nimitz, the CPO mess is on the 3rd deck, and the only way in and out was through a hatch, and down (and up) the ladder. With zebra set main deck and below, the only way in and out of the CPO mess was through the little scuttle in the hatch. Well…. This became an “issue” for certain chief petty officers on the ship who were, shall we say, sitting “low in the water”… Had more “ballast” than the rest of us… Ok, they couldn’t fit through the 2-foot wide scuttle! So the ship had to make an exception. “Now set condition zebra, main deck and below … except for the CPO mess!”
 
A few decades ago when I was on my first ship, I used to work for a MM1 like that. He couldn't fit thru a scuttle either. Matter of fact, he just barely could fit the small hatch that led down to the engine room. We used to offer to grease him up to make his going and out easier. :d
 
PRB said:
This became an “issue” for certain chief petty officers on the ship who were, shall we say, sitting “low in the water”… Had more “ballast” than the rest of us… Ok, they couldn’t fit through the 2-foot wide scuttle! So the ship had to make an exception. “Now set condition zebra, main deck and below … except for the CPO mess!”
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Sounds like a case of "on the spot RHIP" to me.....:icon_lol:
 
Gotta admit, I would have considerable trouble getting to my assigned battlestation if I was still on active duty.... I remember the officers yelling, "Don't run, don't run". Yeah right, everyone ran!

NC
 
To tell the truth, I'd probably have a problem fitting thru a scuttle myself nowadays. Unless they supersized it. ;)
 
Damn chief... that avatar brings back memories... except in my case... my RDC was looking up at me.

Man I swear... Philippino Chiefs are just meaner man. Guess it's that Napolean complex.

YoW!:173go1:
 
Paul, by chance was that in the Gulf? I was there around the same time on the Long Beach...I think we were part of the Lincoln BG. We set that condition the entire time we were there. I remember we had to have our masks with us at all times, and getting through those hatch scuttles with one of those things strapped around your waist was always a pita!
 
I went on a tour of Bethlehem with a Philipino shipmate of mine. He was quite short, and we lost each other in the midst of the crowds. I yelled out his name. He yelled back, but I couldn't see him. Then all of a sudden, I would see a head pop up every few seconds, as he was jumping up, so I could see where he was....... Hysterical. When we went through CPO Initiation, he was made to dress up as E.T. I had to go as Popeye.....

NC
 
N2056 said:
Paul, by chance was that in the Gulf? I was there around the same time on the Long Beach...I think we were part of the Lincoln BG. We set that condition the entire time we were there. I remember we had to have our masks with us at all times, and getting through those hatch scuttles with one of those things strapped around your waist was always a pita!
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You mean the CGN-9 Long Beach? Cool ship! I remember the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:eek:ffice:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lincoln</st1:place></st1:City> battle group relieved us in the Gulf that summer of 1991. I also remember that we were worried you would be late relieving us because you were busy evacuating refuges from the <st1:placeType w:st="on">Mt.</st1:placeType> <st1:placeName w:st="on">Pinatubo</st1:placeName> eruption in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Philippines</st1:place></st1:country-region>!
 
Yep! That was us...that evacuation was one of the more memorable experiences I had in the Navy. The Long Beach is now just a hull with no structure above the main deck, waiting to be cut up by the shipyard I work for.
 
navychief said:
I couldn't resist THIS one.

And on that note, I think it's time for a cup of coffee.

NC
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A chief petty officer does not drink. If he should happen to drink he does not stagger. If he happens to stagger he does not fall. If he should happen to fall he does so in a manner to cover his rating badge so as to be mistaken for a junior officer.

Scott Dean
FTC/SS USN ret.
 
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