Me in 1992 off the coast of Cuba

[bigboxes]

Here I am in 1992 at the age of 25 in the Navy. We're down in GTMO doing training. Here we're at general quarters doing Chemical, Biological and Nuclear drills off the coast of Cuba. My station for general quarters was in medical as a sound powered phone talker. The skin of the ship is sealed and ventilation is shut off. It gets pretty hot in the Caribbean with no ventilation. They're probably about to do testing of the CIWS. You don't want to be outside when they're shooting those things off. It's like 3,000 rounds of minute a plutonium tipped 20mm ammunition.

 

[Hammer of the God's]

Somebody needs to come empty your garbage can.

 

[MargotDeeper]

 

[WHCSC]

Thank you for your service

 

[GaRed]

Sounds miserable.

 

[Husker.Wed.]

Under extreme magnification I see two sheets of paper in the trash can with paragraphs labeled "(TS/SCI)". Expect a knock on your door sooner than later.

 

[Catch50]

Here I am in 1992 at the age of 25 in the Navy. We're down in GTMO doing training. Here we're at general quarters doing Chemical, Biological and Nuclear drills off the coast of Cuba. My station for general quarters was in medical as a sound powered phone talker. The skin of the ship is sealed and ventilation is shut off. It gets pretty hot in the Caribbean with no ventilation. They're probably about to do testing of the CIWS. You don't want to be outside when they're shooting those things off. It's like 3,000 rounds of minute a plutonium tipped 20mm ammunition.

Go big RED!

 

[c3o]

Had nearly an identical pic from my youth but that was a nitrous tank in my dorm room

 

[bigboxes]

Sounds miserable.

Actually, my favorite time in service was when I was deployed. Loved it!

 

[Baxter48]

Actually, my favorite time in service was when I was deployed. Loved it!

We’re you able to go ashore and buy some Cuban cigars?

 

[bigboxes]

We’re you able to go ashore and buy some Cuban cigars?

I was on the opposite side of the island. The one with the desert and the 6 ft long iguanas. The first thing I did when I got liberty at GTMO was to go run. I ran down by the Marine barracks and back because I could. It felt great to hit land and to get some exercise.

Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it?

 

[Catch50]

Go big RED!

Le Grand Orange

Rusty Staub - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

I was just getting out of the Air Force about that same time. I spent the last 10 months on deployment to NAS Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico. Flew several sorties with same awesome Navy aviators on the P3, doing our best to stop the transport of drugs, weapons and other contraband from Central and South America into the US.

Great time. I find that the thing I miss the most transitioning from the military to civilian live, was the comradery established within a crew. There was so little petty bullshit. Such an awesome work environment.

 

[Laner2]

I was on the opposite side of the island. The one with the desert and the 6 ft long iguanas. The first thing I did when I got liberty at GTMO was to go run. I ran down by the Marine barracks and back because I could. It felt great to hit land and to get some exercise.

Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it?

Not so fun fact: per diem for GITMO is standard US CONUS rate. Meaning that I could go TDY to Valentine, NE and make more money than going to GITMO. I've been volun-ordered to GITMO and it's an absolute nothing-to-do-nothing-to-see-boring-as hell armpit of a place.

 

[bigboxes]

Not so fun fact: per diem for GITMO is standard US CONUS rate. Meaning that I could go TDY to Valentine, NE and make more money than going to GITMO. I've been volun-ordered to GITMO and it's an absolute nothing-to-do-nothing-to-see-boring-as hell armpit of a place.

Yeah, they get no rain on the southern part of that island. You're not visiting the rest of the island. If you're stationed there, you want to be married and then it still sucks.

 

[Meanfarmer3160]

Try doing that on the USS Coral Sea CV-43. I did it in the mid 1980s as a engineer, down in the boiler and engine holes. It was ****ing hell.

 

[bigboxes]

Try doing that on the USS Coral Sea CV-43. I did it in the mid 1980s as a engineer, down in the boiler and engine holes. It was ****ing hell.

Oh, I'm sure. I had easy duty during general quarters. Of course, if it had been an actual battle I'd have been right in the action when all the injured were sent to medical. Then, it would have been hell.

 

[Husker.Wed.]

Try doing that on the USS Coral Sea CV-43. I did it in the mid 1980s as a engineer, down in the boiler and engine holes. It was ****ing hell.

I went down to the boiler room in USS BLUE RIDGE, an oil-fired steam ship. Closest thing to Hell on Earth I've ever seen.

 

[Husker.Wed.]

I was just getting out of the Air Force about that same time. I spent the last 10 months on deployment to NAS Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico. Flew several sorties with same awesome Navy aviators on the P3, doing our best to stop the transport of drugs, weapons and other contraband from Central and South America into the US.

Giving up Roosy Roads was one of the stupider things the Navy ever did and as I recall, was executed more or less by one guy. An Admiral, I think Admiral Chang got his undies in a bundle over protests about using Vieques (an island off PR) as a bombing range (once a year) and said fine...we're closing the base. The base was hugely important to operations in the Caribbean and was one of three guided missile ranges the US has.

Talk about biting off your nose to spite your face, the Puerto Rico FALN movement got what they wanted, Uncle Sam no longer has a huge base on the eastern side of the island and no longer owns half of Vieques. In return, Puerto Rico lost millions of dollars in rent, hundreds of high-paying government jobs, thousands of direct (contractor) and indirect (food, lumber, hardware, etc.) jobs, and tourist dollars dollars for towns like Fajardo that don't get a lot of people coming all the way from San Juan. A lot of people I knew who worked on base were horrified it closed.

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

Giving up Roosy Roads was one of the stupider things the Navy ever did and as I recall, was executed more or less by one guy. An Admiral, I think Admiral Chang got his undies in a bundle over protests about using Vieques (an island off PR) as a bombing range (once a year) and said fine...we're closing the base. The base was hugely important to operations in the Caribbean and was one of three guided missile ranges the US has.

Talk about biting off your nose to spite your face, the Puerto Rico FALN movement got what they wanted, Uncle Sam no longer has a huge base on the eastern side of the island and no longer owns half of Vieques. In return, Puerto Rico lost millions of dollars in rent, hundreds of high-paying government jobs, thousands of direct (contractor) and indirect (food, lumber, hardware, etc.) jobs, and tourist dollars dollars for towns like Fajardo that don't get a lot of people coming all the way from San Juan. A lot of people I knew who worked on base were horrified it closed.

Those TDYs were more scary on the ground than in the air. We had multiple crew members offered tens of thousands of dollars for the flight schedules. The fact that the cartels and their people in PR knew who we were and were surveilling us provided a pucker factor 10. I rarely ventured off base.

Agree with the short sightedness of the decision to give up the base. Many of my friends who are from the island agree with you assessment.

 

[Meanfarmer3160]

I went down to the boiler room in USS BLUE RIDGE, an oil-fired steam ship. Closest thing to Hell on Earth I've ever seen.

The Coral Sea was laid down in the 50s she was a old school babcox and Wilcox steam ship. Fossil Fuel Forever.

 

[bigboxes]

The Coral Sea was laid down in the 50s she was a old school babcox and Wilcox steam ship. Fossil Fuel Forever.

My ship had boilers. I wish I would have went down in the main space. I always wanted to check it out. I can't believe I didn't ask someone. I took pictures of almost everything on that ship but didn't go down to the engine room. 🤦‍♂️