US Navy Veterans - Rating call

I'm looking for all of the US Navy Vets out there.
What was your rate?
MM? ET? GM?
What did you do while you were in?
What was your highest rank? How long were you in?
Tell me a little bit about your Navy Occupational Specialty.

ctrc(sw)

Ok, kinda slow - so I'll toss in

Started as a BTFR (E-1), advanced to BTCS (E-8)
Went Warrant - CWO2 and Retired as CWO3.
Last tour was as DCA on a Guided Missile Cruiser.

Any other snipes out there?

If you can call me that Went from an E-1 IC to E-3, busted down to E-2, then again to E-1, and got out. '95 - '98

USS Ft. McHenry (LSD-43) Sasebo, Japan
They told me not to take an amphib as my first tour but, did I listen? Nooooooo. For any of you thinking of going into the Navy, DO NOT TAKE AN AMPHIB AS YOUR FIRST TOUR! TELL YOUR CHILDREN!

The Chiefs were the BEST! Senior Chief Ziggler brewed his own beer and I was his taste tester. We have a Master Chief on our ship that just stood on the bow smoking cigars all day. He had salt on his buckle lol! That's what I am talking about.

luvmysuper said:

Ok, kinda slow - so I'll toss in

Started as a BTFR (E-1), advanced to BTCS (E-8)
Went Warrant - CWO2 and Retired as CWO3.
Last tour was as DCA on a Guided Missile Cruiser.

Any other snipes out there?

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Did you ever get over that pasty white bad complexion skin problem?

petr said:

Did you ever get over that pasty white bad complexion skin problem?

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Sure did. Many days of OOD Underway on the bridge wings soaking up sunshine!

BTSN to CWO, you did well.

My last cruise and favorite wpac was on CG-32 Standley.

CEFranklin said:

If you can call me that Went from an E-1 IC to E-3, busted down to E-2, then again to E-1, and got out. '95 - '98

USS Ft. McHenry (LSD-43) Sasebo, Japan
They told me not to take an amphib as my first tour but, did I listen? Nooooooo. For any of you thinking of going into the Navy, DO NOT TAKE AN AMPHIB AS YOUR FIRST TOUR! TELL YOUR CHILDREN!

The Chiefs were the BEST! Senior Chief Ziggler brewed his own beer and I was his taste tester. We have a Master Chief on our ship that just stood on the bow smoking cigars all day. He had salt on his buckle lol! That's what I am talking about.

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I was on a ship homeported in Sasebo. USS Mars AFS-1 in 1975

petr said:

BTSN to CWO, you did well.

My last cruise and favorite wpac was on CG-32 Standley.

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Ahh, I just love those babies. I was on Horne CG-30, small world, eh?

STS (E4), advanced to STS (E6) up and down a few times but thats another story

I served as Electronics Warfare [EW] technician/spe......t, the rating then became part of the Crytography Technician [CT] rating.
I spent time on 3 ships, destroyers and cruisers, over the course of several years - then went to Pensacola to be an instructor for four years. Made it to E-6 [EW1]

Trivia;
It appears that the Navy is now going to combine all Intel ratings into one organization that will have several names, including 10th Fleet - the Fleet that was formed to fight enemy subs during WWII
http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=48723

ETR2 I was a Nuclear Reactor Operator.

luvmysuper said:

I was on a ship homeported in Sasebo. USS Mars AFS-1 in 1975

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I made two cruises on the Belleau Wood LHA-3 out of sasebo. What a pig.

I signed up for a 6-year enlistment in 1975, as part of the Navy's Advanced First Term Electronics program. This got me started off as an E-3, and guaranteed me two years of tech school before I ever saw the fleet.

I was trained as an AT (Avionics Tech) with a specialty in Airborne Electronic Countermeasures, Intermediate Maintenance. I made it up to E-5, and PNA'ed the test for E-6 several times, but there was not enough slots open for promotion.

I was assigned to the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69,) as part of the Pre-Commissioning crew (Plankowner.) I joined the ship while it was still under construction at Newport News Shipbuilding and DryDock Company.

Although I was trained to be an AT, I spent most of my tour as Division Training P.O. The work I did on a day-to-day basis was similar to what Radar O'Reilly did on M*A*S*H. Took musters in the morning, kept records, compiled reports, wrote TAD assignments, showed training films, etc.

Turns out I liked being at a desk job better than I did a tech bench.

Was in from '04-'09, came in as an ATAR and left as an AT3. spent my last 2yrs on the Lincoln in Everett, Wa which is where my promotion chance went to 0% largely cause I refused to be a kiss @#& to my chief. Fact that my work (esp. for an E4) was spot on had no play on my evals from him...

Some great stories in here, thanks for taking the time and sharing your experiences.

Gotta be a few snipes out there somewhere right?

And I thought B&B was heavy on the acronyms

cfriend said:

And I thought B&B was heavy on the acronyms

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Yes, yes there are a lot of acronyms.
I used to laugh at the looks he'd get from civillians when a friend of mine would say something like
"The DCA was the EOOW, but the CHENG told the MPA to get a DOT on the DFT ASAP because the OOD was about to announce on the 1MC that we were starting EOCC"

luvmysuper said:

Yes, yes there are a lot of acronyms.
I used to laugh at the looks he'd get from civillians when a friend of mine would say something like
"The DCA was the EOOW, but the CHENG told the MPA to get a DOT on the DFT ASAP because the OOD was about to announce on the 1MC that we were starting EOCC"

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I guess I was a bit light on my explanation .... STS4 to STS6 ..'69 to '75 SSBN 5 yrs same ship. Days, nights kind of slipped together... Any other squids out there !!!!

brianw said:

Any other squids out there !!!!

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I never liked to be called a squid ... I thought of myself as an octopus.

dpm802 said:

I never liked to be called a squid ... I thought of myself as an octopus.

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A line from the movie "Better off dead" comes to mind.