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Originally Posted by Sailor Steve
I enlisted in the navy in 1969 as I preferred it to being drafted into the army. Yes, it was VietNam. They put me through radio school, then flew me to Subic Bay in the Philippines. After a trip in two different fleet oilers, I finally reached my destroyer. We had three main tasks: escort for aircraft carriers (mainly the Ranger and Bon Homme Richard), Search-and-Rescue (just like "lifeguard duty" in the game - pilots with damaged planes tried to reach the ocean where we would pick them up; it never happened though, except for a Phantom crew who ditched just shy of Ranger when we were technically on escort duty), and fire support. ....
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Small world. I frequently flew over the Gulf of Tonkin (and Laos, Cambodia, SVN, South China Sea, etc) from 1967 through 1974. Couldn't fly into (over) the Gulf unless the carrier was on station and providing CAP. If things had gone askew, so to speak, you might have been fishing
me out of the sea.
I also did a week long 'orientation cruise' in 1962 aboard the Ranger. Believe it or not, I got a bit queasy...not SeaSick, just queasy. On a Carrier, for God's sake! What ship could be more stable. I knew the Navy wasn't for me! USAF all the way.