I nearly joined the Navy

[Antiacus]

I always wondered how that would have turned out. Having a lifelong fascination with subs i very nearly joined up. As it was, i spent 5 years in the Coast Guard.

In the end, i was attracted to the Coast Guards mission and the fact that they employ more real "sailoring" skills. Also in the Coast Guard you get way more responsibility and autonomy way sooner. There are e6's in charge of some lifeboat stations and o3 CO's of patrol boats & other small units.

I wonder though, how it would have been had i gone for the sub service. I'm not even sure which rating i would have gone for. Something ops-wise i'm sure, perhaps quartermaster.

I ended up a bosunmate in the Coast Guard. It was cool. I had an amazing experience. I started off on a buoy tender in Alaska and ended up on a motor lifeboat station in Oregon. The BM rating is not like that in the Navy. Bosunmates are the heart of the coast guard, other than airsurvivalmen the "glamor rating" who gets all the action.

Still. The thought of tucking into my bunk 100ft below the surface after a hard days work is very appealing. I think the skill and teamwork required to make a modern sub run is on par with the experiences i had in the Guard.

Anyway, i'm just musing...

Here are some pics of Station Depoe Bay, my last unit. Smallest navigable entrance to a harbor in the world... fun to tow a boat through in cracking weather :)

http://www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Tourism/Coast-Lincoln-Walport/Depoe-Bay-Coast-Guard.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/395479538_1611f2b11e.jpg
http://www.pasty.com/~barbspage/30SRB-DepoeBay.jpg
"MY" boat... the MLB 44406 - at least she was in my care for 2 years...
http://www.44mlb.com/images/paint-diff-uscg-44406.jpg
And a nice pic of the "Vic" the MLB "Victory" i served on for a year out of Newport, Oregon
http://www.hookwhatsnew.com/images/Victory.JPG

[mcf1]

:up: Nice
you still are in the coast guard?

[Antiacus]

No, i've been out awhile.. I now work for a 9-1-1 center (emergency communications).

I'm also starting a business this summer making veggie burgers ;)

[Sailor Steve]

Nice shots. The Navy was actually my second choice. I tried to join the Coast Guard, but it was 1969 and they had a 6-month waiting list. The Navy wanted me yesterday.

[mcf1]

originally posted by Antiacus
No, i've been out awhile.. I now work for a 9-1-1 center (emergency communications).

I'm also starting a business this summer making veggie burgers ;)

:cool: Good luck with the business

[Jimbuna]

Congratulations.....a bit of time in a disciplined service never done anyone any harm.
I hope yhe burger will stay down after an experience like in that fourth photo http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/4030/winkbigid2zj6.gif

[Brag]

Duty on the Oregon coast can be pretty rough! :D

[Antiacus]

It could be Brag... Some long tows (12hrs +) in 30 ft seas could leave you wiped out for days after.

Mostly though it was just a kick in the pants. Lots of old world seamanship skills, dead reckoning, line handling, incredible skill required in general boat handling and surf operations, reading the water, calculating set & drift of a target vessel etc..

It was a great time. If i didn't have to be in the military they probably couldn't have kicked me out ;)

[AdlerGrosmann]

Nice pictures! It must have been tough in the Coast Guard eh? I'm sure the Navy couldn't kick you out either :smug: So now you are a 9-1-1 "Operator" I guess? Or you only communicate with the Police HQ and patrols?

[Antiacus]

What i meant was that if it wasn't for the problems that go with being in the military i never would have quit.

In our 9-1-1 center (and most) you rotate through the different positions, calltaker, police dispatcher, fire dispatcher, and police service channel (running people, locating warrants, figuring out who owns a certain piece of property, on and on).

It's actually a fantastic job, with great pay and benefits considering there are only 2 requirements... 1. Have the ability to do it. 2. Have a relatively clean background. I can't think of many jobs out there with the same upside without having to have a degree, experience, etc...