Living on ships...

[FSTO]

Very sound advice.

X2

 

[px90]

Just my two cents. I'd always been told to try and foster a cordial relationship with the NCMs, both in my department and those in the rest of the ship. Being friendly, and being friends are two entirely different things. Officers, junior officers especially, should make an effort to involve themselves with their department when possible, and go to any departmental golf days, floor hockey, all-ranks events at the mess when invited, etc.

What you shouldn't be doing, however, is spending every night in the Jr. Ranks Mess, or going out with them every time you're in foreign port to get trashed. Be friendly, not buddy buddy. And still, it's not too big of a deal if you're actually friends with a few of them, but do your best to keep that away from work.

And for god's sake, don't be the one dating cross messes! Especially if you met on ship.

Thanks for the advice it all makes good sense to me, I was just wondering if I was going to be restricted to being friends with however many other junior officers were on the ship. I'm a pretty friendly guy , ha. I'll keep it all in mind.

 

[LordVagabond]

Well, after talking with a friend's brother that has just finished MARS IV (and passed!) and having a good long chat with PO2 Woodward at CFRC Calgary, I am now going for NESOp (with NCIOp and NAVCOMM as 2nd and 3rd choices). It's much more in line with a career I would enjoy everyday  :warstory:

So, I have one of those really silly questions that I would like to pose: How is lunch handled? As a NESOp (assuming I get the trade), I understand that one is stuck in a dark, windowless room and watches a CRT monitor. So... if the ops room has to be 24/7 manned, how does the operator on duty partake of the midshift meal? I'm assuming that food around the equipment is a no no, so the operator would have to travel to the messing facility (cafeteria) to munch.

I know, it's a stupid little thing to worry about, however it's just one of those little tidbits of information I would like to know

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

In laymans speech your section is divided into watches, so when one is working the other is off. BTW the OPS Room will only be manned that way when your at sea not when you are tied up alongside.

So no worries you will eat.

 

[hugh19]

it is very easy we never eat sleep or shower hehehe, We have 2 shifts and you eat when you are off.

 

[LordVagabond]

it is very easy we never eat sleep or shower hehehe, We have 2 shifts and you eat when you are off.

Well, I'm assuming a 1-in-2 shift rotation, so you're saying pack in lots during pre-shift and have a munch post-shift?

 

[Occam]

So, I have one of those really silly questions that I would like to pose: How is lunch handled? As a NESOp (assuming I get the trade), I understand that one is stuck in a dark, windowless room and watches a CRT monitor. So... if the ops room has to be 24/7 manned, how does the operator on duty partake of the midshift meal? I'm assuming that food around the equipment is a no no, so the operator would have to travel to the messing facility (cafeteria) to munch.

The Ops types normally stand a 1 in 2 watch rotation - which is one watch on, one watch off, repeat.

Meal hours are designed around the watch rotation.  Watches are 0800-1300 (morning), 1300-1800 (afternoon), 1800-0100 (eves), 0100-0800 (mids).  So if you're on afternoon/mids, you eat your three squares at 0800 just as you're coming off watch(breakfast), 1200 (lunch) just before going on watch, and 1800 (just coming off watch).

If you're on morning/eves, you eat at 0700, 1300, and 1700.

The meal hours are designed to accommodate 1 in 3 and 1 in 4 watches as well, which some of the other crew will be standing.

 

[hugh19]

We also get breaks while on watch for coffee, smokes, and snacks if you want one.

 

[LordVagabond]

Occam: thanks I thought the 1-in-2 meant that you were at station for 12 hours, and off duty for 12 hours. Doesn't leave much rack time though, does it? Ah well, such is the life I want  Woo Navy!

 

[hugh19]

So 12 hours a day is not enough rack time for you??? Or was that sarcasm?

 

[Occam]

No, 12 hours would be a ridiculously long time to be stuck to a SID (display), and while you'd get a longer (hopefully uninterrupted) period of sleep, it would make meal hours a nightmare...and the cooks have a tough enough job as it is.

 

[LordVagabond]

So 12 hours a day is not enough rack time for you??? Or was that sarcasm?

No sarcasm intended. I guess I'm still confused on the whole watch rotation thing. So, let me try to figure this out:

Assuming a morning/eves watch schedule:

0800-1300: watch
1300-1800: stand down (food, PT, maybe couple hours rack time)
1800-0100: watch
0100-0800: stand down (rack time)

By my calculations, if one smacked face first into their rack after second watch, right away, that would be about 5.5 hours rack time (assuming 60 mins to chow, shower, shave, etc and report for duty when one wakens).

Then again, I am a civilian at the moment trying to understand a military situation. I'm sure once I'm THERE, I'll understand better. I am just the type of person that wants their brain bursting at the seams with knowledge  :blotto:

 

[hugh19]

I usually find once you get into a routine, the afternoon nap gets to be less and less. But it does take more than a couple days.

 

[Occam]

Yep, watch turnover would be at 0045, and assuming you don't have anything to turn over, and you made a beeline for your rack, you'd be in bed until 0700, which is when they pipe this obnoxious, loud call ("wakey wakey") on a Boatswain's Call over the PA system to wake everyone up.  Shower, change, catch breakfast before the meal line closes at 0730, and be ready to take a turnover to go on watch at 0745.  The people coming off watch at 0800 would eat, and then crash til 1200.  Get up, maybe shower, eat lunch, take a turnover to go on at 1245.  People coming off at 1245 eat lunch at 1300.

Everyone has cleaning stations at some time during the day, regardless of which watch they're on - so that cuts into rack time.

After a while, it's all just eat, sleep, work, eat, sleep, work - and you won't even know if it's light or dark outside (unless you're a smoker).

 

[hugh19]

Except out here on the best coast for some inexplicable reason we change over on the half hour so you need to rush a little more or get a shake for earlier.

 

[Occam]

Does the west coast do anything the same way as the east coast? 

 

[LordVagabond]

That clears things up a lot Occam 

I'm used to having 5-6 hours of sleep a night anyways, so it's not that big of a shift. And I would know it was light out from the afternoon PT Because I really don't think they'd let ya jog the flight deck in the middle of the night.

 

[Occam]

Nope, it's frowned on.  Even more so during flying stations.  ;D

 

[hugh19]

We do try to avoid doing anything like the least coast.  ;D

 

[Messmom]

We do try to avoid doing anything like the least coast.  ;D

For which we are enternally grateful!

Another difference is apparently terminology for the watches. On the east coast the "eves" is the "long First" and the "mids" is the "long mids" for a 1 in 2 watch.

That all gets tossed out the scuttle of course once you get stuck steaming 1 in 3 or 1 in 4. Using three or four watches the following schedule is used.

Forenoon - 0800 to 1200
Afternoon - 1200 to 1600
First dogs - 1600 to 1800
Last dogs - 1800 to 2000
First - 2000 to 0000
Mids - 0000 to 0400
Morning 0400 to 0800

Steaming 1 in 4 you will always (in my experience) be required to "turn to". In other words when not on watch during the normal work day you will be doing departmental work.

Steaming 1 in 3 can be alright if your department does not require you to turn to. Otherwise it is a complete and utter pain in the butt.


The bunking arrangements listed so far must be for 280s (never left the harbour in one). On a Halifax class frigate, the CO, XO and Cox'n get their own cabins. The CO also has a dining and seating area as well as his own heads and a second bunk for senior officers embarked on board.

The Chiefs/MWO all stay in a mess with six bunks. The PO1s/WOs are spread out over three messes with 6 to 9 bunks per. The PO2s/Sgts are in three mess decks with 6 to 12 bunks per and the Master Seaman and below take up the final 10 messes with from 6 to 21 bunks per mess.