U.S. Navy logic, U.S. Marine logic
Jul 31, 2022 22:35:44 #
A high school classmate of mine and still close friend had a scholarship to attend Texas A. & M. Since he also worked on the Aggie farm, he could not participate in the Corps, which would have led to a commission in either the U.S. Army or the U.S. Air Force. Upon graduation, he chose to attend the officers’ candidate school for the U.S. Navy.
On active duty, he was assigned to the U.S. fleet at the time which was sailing just off the coast of Communist China to protect the Chinese on Taiwan. Those were tense times. His ship had a contingent of U. S. Marines aboard. Dale was on the bridge and had the con. While down on a lower deck there was a contingent of Marines. They were going through an inspection by a Marine officer and a sergeant. As the officer walked along the Sargent was directly behind him and suddenly ‘cold-cocked”
a marine, laying him out cold on the deck!
Dale, being concerned about what was going on, got on the loudspeaker, and announced, “Marine Officer in charge to the bridge!” When the officer arrived, Dale asked him what was that all about?
The Marine officer said the Marine had made a smart remark and the sergeant heard it. Since it
was an unacceptable and crude remark, the sergeant took proper action.
For some reason, known only by the ship’s commanding officer, only two other officers were allowed to
have the con while the ship’s commander was sleeping. Those were one other higher-ranking officer and Dale. Dale was at the con during the middle of the night while the entire U.S. group was sailing without any lights. Sometime during the early morning hours, Dale spotted a Chinese vessel of some type sailing across the bow of his ship and immediately called for evasive action to avoid a collision.
This also affected the evasive action of all the other U.S. ships in the convoy.
This action by Dale brought a commendation from the fleet Admiral and from then on, Dale’s ship
had the privilege of leading the entire convoy during night operations. Pretty good for a poor farm
boy from Texas if you asked me. Just Sayin…RJS
On active duty, he was assigned to the U.S. fleet at the time which was sailing just off the coast of Communist China to protect the Chinese on Taiwan. Those were tense times. His ship had a contingent of U. S. Marines aboard. Dale was on the bridge and had the con. While down on a lower deck there was a contingent of Marines. They were going through an inspection by a Marine officer and a sergeant. As the officer walked along the Sargent was directly behind him and suddenly ‘cold-cocked”
a marine, laying him out cold on the deck!
Dale, being concerned about what was going on, got on the loudspeaker, and announced, “Marine Officer in charge to the bridge!” When the officer arrived, Dale asked him what was that all about?
The Marine officer said the Marine had made a smart remark and the sergeant heard it. Since it
was an unacceptable and crude remark, the sergeant took proper action.
For some reason, known only by the ship’s commanding officer, only two other officers were allowed to
have the con while the ship’s commander was sleeping. Those were one other higher-ranking officer and Dale. Dale was at the con during the middle of the night while the entire U.S. group was sailing without any lights. Sometime during the early morning hours, Dale spotted a Chinese vessel of some type sailing across the bow of his ship and immediately called for evasive action to avoid a collision.
This also affected the evasive action of all the other U.S. ships in the convoy.
This action by Dale brought a commendation from the fleet Admiral and from then on, Dale’s ship
had the privilege of leading the entire convoy during night operations. Pretty good for a poor farm
boy from Texas if you asked me. Just Sayin…RJS
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