Lock up your daughters, the subs are pulling in!!

Sailors and our reputations...what a loaded subject.

Back on my last boat on WestPac '02/'03, we made a port call in Okinawa. I had been pestering the EDMC about getting in an EDPO that month (we were to have very few days in port) for my monthly proficency, and of course I drew it on the one full day we had in port (we pulled in on Tuesday afternoon, pulled out on Thursday morning, and I was EDPO on Wednesday). With also having the reactor shutdown as RO, I was looking at little to no liberty.

Oh, well...all I really wanted to do was eat some "real" food and do my laundry. Of course by the time I got off the boat the laundry on base was closed, but the barracks (across the street from a bar/restaurant on base) had a laundry room and one of the residents hooked me up. I started my clothes washing and headed over to the club for a drink and some dinner.

Now we had this JO, a young "pretty boy" LTJG. I'll not give his name (protecting the guilty) but he was a damn smart guy, top notch EOOW and OOD, knew the boat like the back of his hand, and was an all around good officer. He was also the wardroom's "player", if you know what I mean. You've heard the term "a girl in every port"...well, LTJG "Smith" was a prime example of the phrase.

I got over to this little club an hour or two before closing, and saw several guys from the boat playing pool and swilling beer. I grabbed a Coke (don't drink), got some fries (the kitchen was closed...I ended up having dinner next door at a "sit down" restaurant) and kicked back to relax for a while until my clothes were done.

A few minutes later, Mr. "Smith" came in, along with two of our sonarmen (brothers, it turns out). After a few games of pool, they were joined by a nice young lady who had an obvious attraction to Mr. "Smith"...and it was mutual. And obvious as the sun in Hawaii.

I remember seeing them once more, as I was heading back to the BEQ for my laundry...she apparently was stationed on the base, and had a car, which they were in heading in the general direction of the beach. Fill in the blanks...

Now, here's where it gets interesting. Mr. "Smith" was the Duty Officer the next day, and it always seems folks want a tour of the visiting sub. A buddy of mine, an STS1, was the Duty Chief, and he got called topside when a group of folks showed up asking to tour the boat. Now STS1 had been at the bar the night before, too, and recognized one of the group as the girl Mr. "Smith" had spent the evening with. She was now in uniform...an MA2 from the base security force. Turns out Mr. "Smith" hadn't bothered to mention his rank (he made a vague reference to being in Weapons Department, which was true, he was the AWEPS), and also hadn't bothered to call her the next day. Apparently he was the "love 'em and leave 'em" type. I don't think he ever expected her to show up for a tour.

STS1 called down for permission from the Duty Officer to bring the group down. And, of course, to warn Mr. "Smith". I happened to be in the Wardroom at the time, trying to coordinate something between forward and aft, and the look on his face was classic. Deer and headlights come to mind. See, it appears she was asking for him by name.

Mr. Smith suddenly found the Engineroom (where tours cannot go) very interesting. Never saw a forward Duty Officer spend so much time aft on a duty day. And STS1 simply told the young lady that "Jim" (not his real name, still protecting the guilty) wasn't available. Somewhat true, since he took it upon himself to thorougly audit a quarters worth of primary and secondary chemistry in Nucleonics during the tour.

And for the rest of the deployment he restricted his adventures to establishments that were off base...making sure his "targets" were of the civilian persuasion.

posted by Robert Schumacher @ 11:49 PM