LIAR

Now, given the title of this piece, you would not be considered unreasonable if you were to assume it was a piece about Felon47 and his criminal cabal.  You'd be wrong but not unreasonable.

In this case, I am talking about me.  I'm the liar.  In my defense, the lies to which I refer are not malicious.  They will not be of financial benefit to me nor will they increase my social status.

The lies specifically reference experiences I had during my time in the USN ('73-'83).  As a routine part of my duties, I served on several different ships.  I was assigned to the USS Mitscher DDG-35 as a PCS transfer after my first tour of duty in Rota Spain.  However, that first tour of duty and my last tour which happened to be the same place/command, involved temporary duty on a variety of vessels.  Troop carriers, aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and whatever I have forgotten.  I was ferried about on helicopters, and fixed wing cargo planes.  On at least two occasions I was on a plane that "trapped" on an aircraft carrier.

While I was trained as a Cryptologic Technician - Operator, I had several ancillary duties.  I supervised the loading of a 5" gun.  I donned a purple vest and participated in vertical replenishment operations(VERTREP).  I hung onto a line while green water crashed down on me and my shipmates during underway replenishment (UNREP).  I cleaned, I drove, I trained others.  

When I lie about my USN experiences, whether I am discussing official duties or stupid stuff done on liberty, it is generally because the truth is not believable for folks that were not there.  I do not exaggerate anything, instead I tone it down.  The things I actually saw or participated in or heard about would be rejected by Hollywood for being too over the top.  

I strongly suspect that I am not the only one that lied to make things believable.  As a matter of fact, I would be amazed to find out that the conditions aboard the USS Lincoln were not significantly worse than what has been reported so far.  I served on ships that had a malfunctioning desalination unit and as such, had to go inport or pipe the water over during an UNREP.  I have seen days when every meal was hotdogs - breakfast, lunch, dinner and midrats (meal for those on an overnight shift).  I have tied ropes to my dungarees (work clothes) to wash them by towing them behind the ship because fresh water was too important to use for laundry.  I never mentioned any of that stuff to my family.  As far as I knew, no one else did either.  We just put up with it, bitched about it, and continued to perform our duties.

I'm not here to tell you that Sailors don't complain.  Complaining was as common as cussing.  The thing about complaining though, is that its effect on readiness is minimal.  OTOH, the issues being described by those aboard ships and stations in the Middle East, will absolutely affect readiness whether anyone complains or not.

If you are not there and have not been there then your best bet is to listen to those who are there or have been there.  The top of the chain of command knows what is reported to them and those who would like to be promoted (READ: everyone) are likely to at least try to soften the truth so as to minimize negative repercussions.

I believe the Sailors.  The experiences that I had or observed are the reason I believe the Sailors.  The fact that I have been places and done things in the USN that I still tone down when I tell the stories will not let me doubt those Sailors.  I can't tell you how to feel but I feel sympathy for the Sailors and disgust for Felon47 and his miserable band of incompetents.  I feel intense anger for the spineless republicans that continue to enable the worst POTUS in history.