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     CP wrote --   
      
   > > Like I wrote, it was temporary duty, filling in.  I wasn't regular SP.   
   >    
   > So you didn't think much of it -- just another assigned task, eh?   
      
     Yep.   
     They were short handed for some long forgotten reason and I volunteered   
   to help out.  I think there was some bribe, uh, "perk" to the assignment.   
      
   > Look at that - a ship with its own custom URL & n ot just a Facebook page --   
   this is different! This is to continue the esprit de corps after y'all swap   
   out?   
      
     It was made by a shipmate long before FB was a gleam in Zuchkerberg's   
   eye.   
       
   > What, one of the past crewmen made the site for y'all & whoever cares to,   
   donates to keep it going?   
      
     I don't think its been updated in many years.   
        
   > > We didn't have any problems like that on my ship.   
   >    
   > You weren't in the middle of a big war, were you, or were you?   
      
      Just a little thing called Vietnam.   
      I was stateside the whole time.  I wasn't overseas, something about   
   giving aid and comfort to the enemy and wanting for us to win.  :)   
      
   > > During my time we were usually around the Caribbean visiting friendly   
   > > islands.  :)   
   >    
   > Peacetime? Why did the Navy deploy you like that,   
      
     Training.   
     There's a small island down there that was used for target practice.   
     Most of the Second Fleet would go there on a regular basis as a group.   
     I started out in a 5" gun, wrestling around big shells and helping load   
   the gun.   
     Then I got a promotion the the aft 8" gun, again in the shell room,   
   moving shells from the elevator into the breech.  From there I moved up to the   
   powder room.  Those were packed with gun powder and relatively light.   
     Then I was moved up to be a telephone talker.   
     That was a rough job.   
     I sat on the deck with a mic and headphones relating orders from the   
   control room.  So many degrees to this and that position, etc.   
     No more dancing with shells and powder cases.   
     I asked how I got there and told the other liked my smooth Southern   
   accent,  :)   
     The training* cruises just happened to during winter up north and we were   
   in the 70s and 80s in January-February.  What are the odds?   
     One year we were sent to New Orleans when there had been reports a VC   
   gunboat was seen on the Mississippi.  And just so happened to be during Mardi   
   Gras.  What are the odds of that as well?  :)   
     We hung around a week or so, never saw anything and after Mardi Gras   
   returned to Norfolk.     
     One story you might like.   
     We went to Montego Bay, Jamaica for a few days, after visiting Gitmo in   
   "Cuber".   
     Pot was popular among some crew members.   
     Walking along a street one day I saw some fellow shipmates across the   
   street buy some off a sidewalk dealer.   
     They walked away and the "salesman" pointed them out to a cop who was   
   catty-corner away.     
     The cop stopped the guys, had a short conversation and took back the pot   
   along with a full dollars.  He walked back to the dealer, handed over the   
   pot and went back across the street.   
     Shortly a couple more came walking along and the same thing happened.   
     Turnout they were cohorts, of course.   
     The dealer sold the pot, the cop busted them, took a bribe and it   
   continued, several times over.   
     *The only time we faced anyone firing back at us was on one of these   
   cruises.   
     A popular past time was watching other ships fire, with a few friendly   
   wagers on how close they came to the target.   
     A group of us were on deck when suddenly the ship made a very sharp turn   
   to starboard (that's "right" to landlubbers).  Now my ship was large and   
   this sudden turn threw us to the deck.  We were getting up and wondering what   
   in the world was going on when we   
     Someone had made a mistake in aiming and instead of the island they were   
   targeting us!     
     The shell landed just to our aft and made a big splash.     
     If the helmsman hadn't steered as quickly as he did, and the ship turned   
   when it should, that shell would have gone down a smoke stack, which would   
   have put a dent in our otherwise enjoyable day.   
      Joe   
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