tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31558164.post116009842893113814..comments2024-01-17T06:25:55.587-05:00Comments on The Old Coot: A man's bunk is his castleRM1(SS) (ret)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13101367196599109034noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31558164.post-1160589799442804622006-10-11T14:03:00.000-04:002006-10-11T14:03:00.000-04:00I also spent my time aboard FBMs. My first patrol,...I also spent my time aboard FBMs. My first patrol, just out of sub school got me the rack at the bottom of the ladder from second level ops. This rack contained the end of the vent pipe from SAN1. Every time sanitaries were blown, I got to breath the vent fumes.<BR/><BR/>Just before flyover from Groton to Holy Loch for my second patrol the COB opened the signup sheet for racks. As an E3(SU) I was pretty far down the list.<BR/><BR/>For some reason on the Stoney J, all the nucs liked to have racks in the outboard port side of bearthing. This included the 1st class nucs. When my turn came to pick a rack, I noticed that there were still several unclaimed racks in the first class bearthing, just off the crew's lounge. I asked the COB if I could have one of these first class racks. Since Chief Wellich was a great guy, he said I could have it. Several other E3s followed suit and thus the first class bearthing became the first class and under bearthing. I kept the same rack for 5 more patrols.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31558164.post-1160372483745378082006-10-09T01:41:00.000-04:002006-10-09T01:41:00.000-04:00Reporting aboard the SSN 575 as an unqualified QM3...Reporting aboard the SSN 575 as an unqualified QM3 right out of A school and Sub school, I learned that we were deploying in 6 weeks for a very long time, with a very large crew. Because of the very large number of "special" crew members, certain economies were enacted. In my case this meant sailing with 2 QMS aboard. Port and starboard watches. Since the other QM was a chief, I couldn't hot rack with him. God smiles, or not.<BR/><BR/>I got my own bottom rack with pan locker in the Torpedo Room. My pan was countersunk into the decking. seventeen inches of headroom. On the deck, stores for the very long deployment. A layer of #10 cans, a layer of cardboard, repeat, repeat, repeat. To access my rack I had to dig in, then reach out and carefully replace the cans and cardboard. Cozy. Like a coffin. Never bothered me.<BR/><BR/>There were those clostrophobic nightmares where I would wake up screaming, but that was years later, and I'm better now.reddoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15823251385710299262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31558164.post-1160191955510603902006-10-06T23:32:00.000-04:002006-10-06T23:32:00.000-04:00great post. i remember having sesame street sheet...great post. i remember having sesame street sheets. and a small tobacco shop's worth of smokes, pipe, cigar, cigs, and loose rolling. got me a lot of free duty days in port in exchange.bothenookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09445188466344982169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31558164.post-1160136742592830712006-10-06T08:12:00.000-04:002006-10-06T08:12:00.000-04:00Great pictures...especially the one of the foot of...Great pictures...especially the one of the foot of the rack. I remember when 719 pulled into Puerto Rico a bunch of guys took wild hermit carbs home with them. It was a two week trip back to Groton, so not all the crabs made it. <BR/><BR/>I kept about half a dozen small to medium sized ones in my foot locker, just thrown in there when nothing but some sand. Lucky crabs, because that was some prime real estate that I could otherwise be using for "reading material." <BR/><BR/>I used to lay there and hear them scratching around in there. It was kind of nice. They all survived and I gave all of them away except for two which I kept and raised for a few years.Dave S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10309339301238582740noreply@blogger.com