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Other Naval Terminology.

"As you were, Keklas... I just happen to have BEEN on of those... although they called them Radio Operators in my day." - Rotters2
A Radio OPERATOR is an entirely different breed. By definition, you know how to operate your equipment, while Radio Men only knew how to break it. It's the difference between being trained to operate something, and being trained to merely man it.

Other Navy term:

"Gear Adrift" - Any item not tied down, locked up, or in the immediate possession of a sailor. Such items, if not ship's property, usually disappear into the Chief Bosun's Mate's "Lucky Bag", if they're not thrown overboard.

"Lucky Bag" - Where gear adrift usually ends up, the contents of which are sold or auctioned off periodically to support the ship's recreation fund.

"Sea Daddy" - Any person of superior rank or grade who takes charge of the orientation and training of a transferree or booter until the new guy is fully integrated into the command's routine.

"Sea Puppy" - Any person who can't quite get the hang of command routine, and therefore always acts like it's his or her first day.
 
I know the follow as


"Gear Adrift" - Any item not tied down, locked up, or in the immediate possession of a sailor. Such items, if not ship's property, usually disappear into the Chief Bosun's Mate's "Lucky Bag", if they're not thrown overboard.
This is "Scran" in the Canadian Navy

"Lucky Bag" - Where gear adrift usually ends up, the contents of which are sold or auctioned off periodically to support the ship's recreation fund.
and this is "The Scran Locker"
 
Wow! I had never seen that site before. Thanx!

I doesn't contain an entry for "Sea Puppy" (see above), or "Crusty"...

"Crusty" - An adjective used to describe any sailor who has been at sea so long that even the Captain asks for his (or her) advice, and who rarely ever gets reprimanded (The "Crust" being a virtual layer of sea salt that can never come off).

A short sea story from my days at the Orlando Recruit Training Center:

There I was, walking with a crusty old MCPO/MAA (Master Chief Petty Officer / Master At Arms) when we came within saluting distance of a senior midshipman. Not knowing if it was appropriate to salute, I snapped off one of my sharpest.

The Master chief just kept walking, right past the middie.

"AND HALT!" shouted the middie.

Turning slowly, the Master Chief drawled, "And what can I do for you, son?"

The middie cursed out that Master Chief for a full five minutes (without repeating himself - I was impressed), all the while reminding him of his duty to set a good example for "impressionable" recruits. All the time, the Master Chief is standing there, hands in pocket, rocking back and forth, and grinning a sh*t-eating grin.

"WELL? WHAT HAVE YOU TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?" (the middie loved to shout, apparently).

The crusty old Master Chief thought for a moment, took a quarter out of his pocket, and tossed it to the middie, saying "Here, son. Call your momma. Tell her you met a real sailor today!"

We left that poor middie slack-jawed in front of about a dozen or so booters. About an hour later, we were both standing in front of the Old Man, who could only say "Now, chief. Don't go making fun of the midshipmen in front of the recruits, especially one so impressionable as this one."

I forget who started laughing first...
 
Originally posted by Rotters:
After reading the Naval Technology Post by Murph (qv), just thought I'd add another one of 'not-so-official Naval Terminology'. These are official and traditional words for all sorts of things in common use while I was in the Navy. Thought it might add a bit of flavour to someone's campaign.
Here's my list for the Imperial Navy IMTU.

Regards PLST
 
Here are a few terms I know from my time in the Navy.

NOB- Short for Non-qualified Oxygen Breather, someone who has not learned enough to anything on the boat yet, but still uses up oxygen.

Chicken switches- The switches that blow the emergence surface system.

People tank- The inside of a sub. Like a fish tank on land.

Tail- Any towed equipment.

The bomb- The oxygen generator. What else would call something that has oxygen, hydrogen and 3000 volts in the same place at the same time.

COB- Chief of the boat.

Things to do:
Give someone the inside of a red marker when the red lights are on.
 
Now I feel even better about calling my last Cox'n a Cob-Nobler as I was posted off that ship. Your terms of COB and NOB work quite well togther in his case. (even if I was meaning something else)
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Originally posted by Rotters2:
[QB]
A Radio OPERATOR is an entirely different breed. By definition, you know how to operate your equipment, while Radio Men only knew how to break it. It's the difference between being trained to operate something, and being trained to merely man it.
Very well, you are forgiven, Keklas. Carry on :cool:

Speaking of subs, here's a couple we had..

Skimmer - any surface vessel

Gazunder - a submarine. (coz it 'gazunder' the water :D )
 
And back in my day (1979-1987) a "slider" was a hamburger. And the proper term for surface ships was not skimmer, but "target"
 
Sardines - sub crews
Shads - reservist (shadows of the regular force)
RFPs - regular force pukes
Sandy Bottom Sailor - one who has never 'sailed' farther then the harbour entrance
 
Do you guys use the old 'Jason Pistols'?

A wonderful air-powered tool that chips rust/paint effectively enough, but numbs the hands completely for about 6 hours
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:(

Yeah, they were re-introducing the OD's in the RAN while I was in, but of course call them GD's to be more politically correct...
 
Cadidiot: any cadet, especially one who goofed up.
Cur: Pronounced "Sir"... mentally spelled out.. reference to an SOB officer. In casual speech, in a reference to an SOB officer, as in "When Lt. Johnson is around, remember that Sir is spelled C-U-R..."
In Tow: describes any group of personell dejectedly following some leader type (officer/NCO); usually implies that it is apparent they'd rather be elsewhere. as in "The Lt had Alpha Squad in tow..."
Pop-yer-tops: take your headgear off... often used to remind people to remove non-secure headgear upon going to an active flight-line.
Irish Pennant: stray fibres hanging vsibly off the uniform
Short arm inspection: Inspection fo the genetailia for signs of venereal disease.
doo-rah: person with no particular duties at the moment but available to all the unit cadre for various tasks...
Alphabet Check: XYZ....
XYZ: eXamin Your Zipper... your trousers are not zipped/buttoned.
Alphabet Test: P-on-Q. Urinalysis...
Westie: reference to USMA at West Point cadets. Derogatory.
Drunk Duty: staff runner assigned to pick up D&D personell from local authorities when released without charges, or to drive home personell after a unit party.
Shake and Bake: punishment PT at hottest time of the day while in dark field uniform... usually vigourous calesthenics, coupled with running there and back, despite heat condition restrictions.
Potty patrol: cleaning detail for the staff latrines, or detail which digs the field latrines.
SOS: Sh*t on a Shingle. chipped/creamed substance on toast. Best I've had was lobster chowder on toast. Worst was creamed eggs on crackers, where the batch had been scalded.
Pickle Suit: woodland camo or solid green field uniforms.
Vomit Flix: training movies which used gore from mishaps to make a point.
 
Ok now for one a litle somber

“Out On Patrol” – Some one who is KIA but their paper work has not yet bean finalized ,apparently dieing heroically in the line of duty isn’t reason enough to miss roll call in the Navy.
 
Its also the term used for submarines that never return to port. Hence the Thresher and Scorpion, and their crews, are "Still on patrol"

I know 313 was making a joke, but in the sub service, its a mark of respect. Or it was in my day.
 
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