Back on topic . . . in a stateroom with two sinks and people on many schedules, yoinking a red fluorescent tube and installing over one sink pays dividends in the ability of everyone else to sleep.
-
Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?
Go here:
Edit Account Details and Profile
Living on The Boat
- Thread starter picklesuit
- Start date
A thousand times this. We had a red filter over one dudes desk like and it was designated to stay on all the time.
*break break*
<rant>
On the food topic, I think some of you older folks had it a little different than we do now. The boat is now on some bullshit "21 Day Menu" that's more like 10 days. Most stuff comes precooked and frozen, which reduces the need for CS types and thus those billets are "Right Sized". Those guys that are left work their ass off to get food to everyone, but their ability to "ad-lib" and fancy up the ingredients they're given is minimal. A good FSO/Supply Department can make some changes, but it's tough. NAVSUP has put some serious handcuffs on them.
I know there are tons of reasons why it's difficult. Supply chains and their reliability, feeding 5000 people 3-4 meals a day, undermanning, etc, etc. But when salty ass warrants who've done a few floats are telling me the food is dog shit, I'll believe them. Going to chow was fucking depressing.
</rant>
You're right things were different years ago. The food prep was all done by navy people and it was good! Precooked and frozen, never. Mess decks on a carrier were open 23 hours a day and we had food carts that roamed the hangar deck during ops. The food was great! OOD's used to pass around the arm badge (OOD was required to eat on the enlisted mess decks to ensure we were being fed properly) and they loved it! Of course we (the E's) knew what was going on and never said a word. Must suck today. The only sand crabs we had in my day were ashore and had nothing to do with everyday sailor life. Nothing like midrats!
Oh wait... this was back in the 60's.
Last edited:
A further tangent: if you're short of red tubes before INSURV having sailors use a red marker to color in clear bulbs is an approved workaround (take notes pickle).
You're short of them because the Air Wing probably reallocated them as above. It's like the incredible disappearing wardroom/mess deck silverware that every Big XO has doubtlessly bitched about over the 1MC at some point. And the sugar and coffee creamer that no one ever ever absconded with to their ready room coffee mess.
The 21-day menu has been around for quite some time (I think it was starting to come online in ~2003). The problem with it, in addition to your points, is that it's only as good the supply chain. When steaming independently and when operating from ports that don't have a normal Navy supply chain, you get some bizarre "fill-ins" which cost a lot more than what is budgeted for. Because everything is more expensive, you end up running out of food.
All that said, I was always amazed at how, even with the 21-day menu, we always seemed to have a combination of either fish, chicken, or both every...single....day....
+1
NAVSUP has literally taken a shit in our Wheaties with the 21-day menu (yes, a misnomer for sure). Inport, you can at least bring stuff from home or go out, but underway, you're at the mercy of SUPPO and his CS's to really go out of their way to make your meals tolerable. Some SUPPOs/CSs are awesome, some are terrible. And yes, feeding 5000 on a CV vs 250 on a CRUDES probably means you guys are a bit worse off.
Rice is not a breakfast item.
It is too! Put spam and a fried egg on top...
That assumes we have real eggs. False assumption.
Spekkio
He bowls overhand.
FIFY. The infuriating part is when the boat is 'out of food' and pulls in to offload boxes of frozen steaks that have to be thrown out because the chop mis-managed the funds, and since the food comes from a foreign country it shall not enter the U.S.
I mean, yea, some stuff generally runs out because no one can foresee that a crewmember is going to use a half-cup of honey to top every meal or that 3/4 the crew is going to go on an oatmeal-only diet in a feeble attempt to lose weight in the first two weeks of deployment.
Someone at a big-base DFAC in country, roast beef and lobster tail every Sunday with all you can eat ice cream.