Retired Military Checking In

Naturally

Naturally

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Couldn't find a thread in "Military Veterans" to introduce myself. Maybe there's a reason there isn't one?

My name is Jim and I'm a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer. I was an "elderly recruit", joining the Navy when I was 33. Graduating high school in 1971, I had two first cousins (brothers) in Vietnam (Army and Marine Corps). Both of them advised me that "now" was not a good time to join the military. My dad, a Navy vet, said, "Son, I'll support you in anything you choose to do but please do not join the military." ... and I didn't in my dad's lifetime. I went off to college and received a 1-H (educational) deferment from the draft board. I was breathing YOUR air and using YOUR water. It bothered me greatly that I hadn't served MY country and finally did the right thing and enlisted in 1986. I knew going in that I would take it one reenlistment at time but do no more than 20yrs, figuring a 53yr old was just about too old to stay in as an enlisted service member. And so it was that I retired after 20yrs in 2006. I was a quitter ;)

I enlisted as an E3 (because of eventually getting a Jr college and trade school degree) non-rate Airman. In boot camp I was Laundry PO and the company commander said I was the best Laundry PO he'd seen and rewarded me with a talk to the boot camp detailer about an "A" school. I was discharged in boot camp as an Airman and reenlisted as a Seaman. The detailer found I'd virtually aced the entrance exam, not because I'm particularly smart but because the entrance exam is pretty much a common sense type test and I had a little of that, and the detailer offered me Data Systems Technician (DS) "A" school or nothing at all. I took it.

The Navy did away with the DS rating in 1998 when I was a DS1. I transferred over to Electronics Technician (ET) for year. After that year, I decided to transfer to the Fire Controlman (FC) rating. As a DS I'd worked with both ET's and FC's and figured FC's were dumber than ET's and I'd stand a better chance of being picked up for Chief as an FC. ;) I'd passed the E7 exam as a DS, ET and FC but it wasn't until my 17yr mark that I was tested, selected and initiated Fire Controlman Chief Petty Officer.

Maybe it took so long to make Chief because of so many rate changes. Maybe because I had some eval marks to "outgrow". Chief on my first ship said, "Harrell is the best technician I've ever seen, just don't let him off the ship." I worked hard and played hard(er). Another thing was I hadn't punched enough tickets until I served Instructor Duty at Dam Neck Virginia and was Branch LPO. I was selected and initiated at Dam Neck in 2003. There were some 100 or so Chiefs to welcome us aboard. Fun times.

I served aboard 4 ships and accumulated over 11yrs sea duty while making port visits to some two dozen foreign countries. South Pac, Med Cruises, NATO ops and Persian Gulf deployments. Never did a West Pac. Was stationed on the East Coast, West Coast and Gulf Coast. I retired from the USS John F Kennedy CV67 where I'd been CS5 and CS6 LCPO.

Serving in the U.S. Military was one of my better life choices. Arguably the best choice I ever made.

If you'd like to chime in with your military experience, I'd appreciate it and perhaps others would too !!! Cool beans :cool:
And to all those who have served our country in the military ... :SALUTE:

Some random pictures taken at different times and found scattered on my computer ...

1987 "A" school graduation. Front row Right with "Class Honorman" certificate in hand (highest class average and such) ...
oK7NoIo.jpg

List of duty stations and chest candy ...
bcx5KVG.jpg

Signed artist's rendition of the four ships I served aboard ...
1loLwPV.jpg

Shellback and Bluenose ... received both in about a month's period when outchopping from a port visit in Kenya to escort the "Ike" carrier during NATO ops above the Arctic Circle ...
uDkUtPk.jpg

KLBIErm.jpg

Chief Selectee charge book and cover ...
K2zYNTa.jpg

RFsxgt1.jpg

YN15sHx.jpg

Chief's Cutlass on Oak board ...
jpvnx4O.jpg

Chest candy, Anchors and specialist device from retirement uniform ...
E92pHfS.jpg

USS John F Kennedy CV67 from which I retired but photo taken before reporting aboard and while steaming the Hudson River with Twin Towers in background. I was on instructor duty at Dam Neck when the towers came down ...
tjCZlpf.jpg
 
You did well for yourself. For those that don't know increasing in enlisted rating is not a who you know way to go up the ladder of the enlisted rank.

There is time in rate to prove an understanding of what your job is & you are rated by officers in how well you do your job. <-- By the I mean it takes knowledge of the field you choose, demonstrated ability to do that job. Understanding of the uniform code of military justice. And testing in competition with others for positions that have limits on how many the Navy has openings for in that slot.

It isn't easy but the camaraderie developed in a short amount of time can last a life time.

In 1959 I joined the Navy & in the shortest amount of time possible I made E-6 I didn't make a career out of the Navy but the time I was in & the job skill I had did help a lot in civilian life. I didn't save nor do I have any mementos of my time in the Navy. Just good memories of the experiences while serving.
 
I didn't serve myself, but I'm the widow of an Army vet and the daughter and girlfriend of Navy vets.

My dad was a medic during WWII in the Pacific.

My late husband was a Russian translator, graduating from the Drfence Language School (go figure, he spoke fluent French but the Army sent him to Russian school). We ended up in Turkey for 2 1/2 years.

The Spousal Equivalent did 11 years in the Navy in Fire Control during Caribbean, South America and Med cruises and then was an instructor at Great Lakes. He served Father-and-Son duty with his dad on his first ship. His dad was career Navy, a medic. One of his sons served in the Coast Guard and the other in the Navy.
 
Forgot to mention the Caribbean cruises ... several of the Islands visited, even GITMO in Cuba. @jujube ... we made a port visit to Antalya Turkey but I didn't venture from there. Warm Pistachios from street vendors was a treat. Picked up some nice Meerschaum from there too, all of which I've unfortunately given away over the years since. Oh, and the belly dancer bars ... man those gals were the real deal !!! Loved it. They only served coffee, Turkish coffee in the dancer bars. Boy was that some strong coffee. Couldn't sleep all night D'OH.

OH and got one of those fun certificates when doing the "Ditch" (Suez Canal) but can't remember where it's stored around here. Also don't remember getting a fun certificate for the Panama Canal. The Suez was interesting because there were still structures on both sides of the "Ditch" and burned and abandoned military assets, long rusted, left from the Egyptian/Israeli war in the 60's. Much of the Panama Canal was just beautiful jungle.
 
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Was in the Gulf for Operation Iraqi Freedom and thought back to the first Gulf War (there for that too) and remembered when Kuwait dinar was ten cents on the dollar and a few people made a "killing" when the Kuwait dinar was revaluated. SOoooo, I purchased $3million Iraqi dinar and waited for a revaluation that never happened. Was lucky several years later to get back my original investment plus a couple of hundred. Had the Iraqi dinar been revaluated as the Kuwait dinar had been, well, I'd own the Internet today or something HA

Anheuser-Busch made a challenge coin available to the first 350,000 troops in theater for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Looks like I was 325,602 ... barely made it ... Cheers
puIsbWn.jpg

o0gnCLk.jpg
 
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IKE said:
Enlisted and proudly served in the Army from early July 1967 till late June 1970.....was discharged as a Sgt. E-5.

Volunteered to go to VN while in Panama and arrived in country Feb. 1969.
Click to expand...

Made a port visit to Rodman Naval Station during a South Pac. Howard AFB and Fort Kobbe welcomed us. Attended the enlisted club on Fort Kobbe one evening and had a great time ... although some of yous Army guys while calm, seemed intense, and with a thousand mile stare ... a "little" different training than I'd had. Respect. All those bases and posts are gone now I think.
 
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@Pinky ... You're in Canada I think and Canadian(?) but see you are "liking" some of these posts.
Often while in the military, we would either serve together with military from other countries or run into other countries military personnel during port visits. This is a memento from one such latter occasion.

We were in the Caribbean and made a port stop at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico. The Canadian Navy had four Oberon class submarines in their fleet at the time and one of them, the HMCS Ojibwa, was also in port there. I ran into some of the sailors off the Ojibwa one night, just off base at a dive bar called Papa Joe's. I swapped one of my brass ship's lighters with an Ojibwa sailor for one of his. Got a hat pin too :cool: HMCS Ojibwa is long since decommissioned and is now a museum located in Port Burwell, Ontario. Papa Joe's is long gone but I still have a wooden nickel good for a free beer ... compliments of a fine Canadian submariner sailor. Good people and good times :SALUTE:

PYeyJh0.jpg
 
@Naturally, welcome to the forums Chief. I enlisted in the Army at age 17, was in the Army's navy aboard LCUs, tugboats and a Yankee class fuel tanker. Went from basic shipboard firefighting up through the Harbor Craft Engine Officer's Advanced Course, had to sign an "intent to re-enlist" to go to that school. But the Army didn't need any WOs at the time in Vietnam, so I shipped as an E-5.
 
The Spousal Equivalent was on the crew that put the Ponce "into commission" in Seattle in 1971, thus making him a "Plank Holder".

When the Ponce put into Port Canaveral a few years ago on its farewell cruise, we went over to tour it. He brought along his Plank Holder certificate and other memorabilia and they were excited to have him on board. They had only had a few other Plank Holders on board during the various stops in the cruise. We got a private tour and he was able to show me where he slept and worked.

There were plans to sell the Ponce to Argentina but the Brits were afraid that Argentina would use it to start another invasion of the Falklands, so it looks like that fell through. I think it's in Philadelphia now, awaiting dismantling.
 
Nathan said:
@Naturally, welcome to the forums Chief. I enlisted in the Army at age 17, was in the Army's navy aboard LCUs, tugboats and a Yankee class fuel tanker. Went from basic shipboard firefighting up through the Harbor Craft Engine Officer's Advanced Course, had to sign an "intent to re-enlist" to go to that school. But the Army didn't need any WOs at the time in Vietnam, so I shipped as an E-5.
Click to expand...
Thanks @Nathan !!! Shortly before I retired in 2006, the Army had a program where they sought Navy E5's to convert over to Army, go to helo flight school and commission as WO. I had a sailor that for him, this was a dream come true and I wrote him a special eval and recommendation letter. He was picked up for the program but I lost track of him and don't know how it worked out. Today I'm retired in a town just outside Army Aviation Ft. Rucker ... which to be politically correct, was just recently renamed by congress to Ft. Novosel. I'm greatly outnumbered by active duty and retired Army around here HA. I knew no one in this town and had never even been here, but Alabama has no taxes on military retirement or social security and home prices were great, I have a property tax exemption and cost of living is low AND I can use retired benefits on post. Bonus. And 25 miles from the Florida line, Gulf beaches are just a day trip and back away.
 
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Jim, what an impressive history you shared of your Military years,
I say 'well done" proud you should be, and all you did, the pics
included, glad to have just now read this. Thank You for your
service ...
 
Naturally, thank you for your service and for your presentation of a very interesting and unusual career history. I went in when I was 17 years old, liked it and stayed for 31 years. On my last tour as an ex-enlisted Commander (O-5) I had the privilege of serving on the Chief selection board in 1990. I had two Master Chiefs assigned to me and we reviewed over 2400 service records of First-Class Petty Officers from 10 different specialties.

Your record would definitely have stood out as unique and I likely would have briefed it to the Senior Captain at the daily morning briefing because it is so very interesting.

I would have been delighted to have picked you, and the two Master Chiefs would have whole heartedly agreed.

Welcome to this forum and I hope that you enjoy it as much as you obviously enjoyed the Navy. I spent about two years as a Chief, and they were two of the most fun that I ever had.

I could not talk my son into letting me reenlist him, LOL, his wife had more influence that I did. He had a tour on the Kennedy as an AW2 (and rescue swimmer) from one of the helicopter squadrons. From looking at your timeline, it looks like you and him overlapped. But alas, he got out and became a schoolteacher. @Naturally
 
Welcome. I see your last name is Harrell. You aren’t related to Edgar Harrell by any chance, are you? He wrote the book, “Out of the Depths. The USS Indianapolis.” Do you know the story? Every Navy and Marine should at least know the story behind the title. I was a Marine doing my boot on the Island and was with the First Marines for awhile before getting moved to another Regiment.

Edgar died within the last 2 years. I wished I could have met him. The remaining veterans of the Indianapolis hold a reunion each summer. I had tickets and reservations to go, but COVID hit and cancelled everything. I forget if he died before or during COVID.
 
@911 Thank you devil dog. No relation that I'm aware of with Edgar Harrell and while I'm aware of some details about the Indianapolis incident from online, I haven't read the book yet. Thank you for sharing the video. What a sadly amazing, harrowing and inspiring survivor experience !!!
 
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Yeah, I read the book and watched the movie. It made me realize that the real men and real heroes are not the wannabes we see in Hollywood made-up movies. I remember in the movie “Jaws”, the Captain saying the scariest time was waiting until it was his time to be hoisted up into the plane.
 
Naturally said:
Couldn't find a thread in "Military Veterans" to introduce myself. Maybe there's a reason there isn't one?

My name is Jim and I'm a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer. I was an "elderly recruit", joining the Navy when I was 33. Graduating high school in 1971, I had two first cousins (brothers) in Vietnam (Army and Marine Corps). Both of them advised me that "now" was not a good time to join the military. My dad, a Navy vet, said, "Son, I'll support you in anything you choose to do but please do not join the military." ... and I didn't in my dad's lifetime. I went off to college and received a 1-H (educational) deferment from the draft board. I was breathing YOUR air and using YOUR water. It bothered me greatly that I hadn't served MY country and finally did the right thing and enlisted in 1986. I knew going in that I would take it one reenlistment at time but do no more than 20yrs, figuring a 53yr old was just about too old to stay in as an enlisted service member. And so it was that I retired after 20yrs in 2006. I was a quitter ;)

I enlisted as an E3 (because of eventually getting a Jr college and trade school degree) non-rate Airman. In boot camp I was Laundry PO and the company commander said I was the best Laundry PO he'd seen and rewarded me with a talk to the boot camp detailer about an "A" school. I was discharged in boot camp as an Airman and reenlisted as a Seaman. The detailer found I'd virtually aced the entrance exam, not because I'm particularly smart but because the entrance exam is pretty much a common sense type test and I had a little of that, and the detailer offered me Data Systems Technician (DS) "A" school or nothing at all. I took it.

The Navy did away with the DS rating in 1998 when I was a DS1. I transferred over to Electronics Technician (ET) for year. After that year, I decided to transfer to the Fire Controlman (FC) rating. As a DS I'd worked with both ET's and FC's and figured FC's were dumber than ET's and I'd stand a better chance of being picked up for Chief as an FC. ;) I'd passed the E7 exam as a DS, ET and FC but it wasn't until my 17yr mark that I was tested, selected and initiated Fire Controlman Chief Petty Officer.

Maybe it took so long to make Chief because of so many rate changes. Maybe because I had some eval marks to "outgrow". Chief on my first ship said, "Harrell is the best technician I've ever seen, just don't let him off the ship." I worked hard and played hard(er). Another thing was I hadn't punched enough tickets until I served Instructor Duty at Dam Neck Virginia and was Branch LPO. I was selected and initiated at Dam Neck in 2003. There were some 100 or so Chiefs to welcome us aboard. Fun times.

I served aboard 4 ships and accumulated over 11yrs sea duty while making port visits to some two dozen foreign countries. South Pac, Med Cruises, NATO ops and Persian Gulf deployments. Never did a West Pac. Was stationed on the East Coast, West Coast and Gulf Coast. I retired from the USS John F Kennedy CV67 where I'd been CS5 and CS6 LCPO.

Serving in the U.S. Military was one of my better life choices. Arguably the best choice I ever made.

If you'd like to chime in with your military experience, I'd appreciate it and perhaps others would too !!! Cool beans :cool:
And to all those who have served our country in the military ... :SALUTE:

Some random pictures taken at different times and found scattered on my computer ...

1987 "A" school graduation. Front row Right with "Class Honorman" certificate in hand (highest class average and such) ...
oK7NoIo.jpg

List of duty stations and chest candy ...
bcx5KVG.jpg

Signed artist's rendition of the four ships I served aboard ...
1loLwPV.jpg

Shellback and Bluenose ... received both in about a month's period when outchopping from a port visit in Kenya to escort the "Ike" carrier during NATO ops above the Arctic Circle ...
uDkUtPk.jpg

KLBIErm.jpg

Chief Selectee charge book and cover ...
K2zYNTa.jpg

RFsxgt1.jpg

YN15sHx.jpg

Chief's Cutlass on Oak board ...
jpvnx4O.jpg

Chest candy, Anchors and specialist device from retirement uniform ...
E92pHfS.jpg

USS John F Kennedy CV67 from which I retired but photo taken before reporting aboard and while steaming the Hudson River with Twin Towers in background. I was on instructor duty at Dam Neck when the towers came down ...
tjCZlpf.jpg
Click to expand...
First I have to thank you for your service and welcome to the forums. My Husband served in the Navy during the Viet Nam war. He was rejected by the Army and luckily was accepted by the Navy.
 
Naturally said:
Couldn't find a thread in "Military Veterans" to introduce myself. Maybe there's a reason there isn't one?

My name is Jim and I'm a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer. I was an "elderly recruit", joining the Navy when I was 33. Graduating high school in 1971, I had two first cousins (brothers) in Vietnam (Army and Marine Corps). Both of them advised me that "now" was not a good time to join the military. My dad, a Navy vet, said, "Son, I'll support you in anything you choose to do but please do not join the military." ... and I didn't in my dad's lifetime. I went off to college and received a 1-H (educational) deferment from the draft board. I was breathing YOUR air and using YOUR water. It bothered me greatly that I hadn't served MY country and finally did the right thing and enlisted in 1986. I knew going in that I would take it one reenlistment at time but do no more than 20yrs, figuring a 53yr old was just about too old to stay in as an enlisted service member. And so it was that I retired after 20yrs in 2006. I was a quitter ;)

I enlisted as an E3 (because of eventually getting a Jr college and trade school degree) non-rate Airman. In boot camp I was Laundry PO and the company commander said I was the best Laundry PO he'd seen and rewarded me with a talk to the boot camp detailer about an "A" school. I was discharged in boot camp as an Airman and reenlisted as a Seaman. The detailer found I'd virtually aced the entrance exam, not because I'm particularly smart but because the entrance exam is pretty much a common sense type test and I had a little of that, and the detailer offered me Data Systems Technician (DS) "A" school or nothing at all. I took it.

The Navy did away with the DS rating in 1998 when I was a DS1. I transferred over to Electronics Technician (ET) for year. After that year, I decided to transfer to the Fire Controlman (FC) rating. As a DS I'd worked with both ET's and FC's and figured FC's were dumber than ET's and I'd stand a better chance of being picked up for Chief as an FC. ;) I'd passed the E7 exam as a DS, ET and FC but it wasn't until my 17yr mark that I was tested, selected and initiated Fire Controlman Chief Petty Officer.

Maybe it took so long to make Chief because of so many rate changes. Maybe because I had some eval marks to "outgrow". Chief on my first ship said, "Harrell is the best technician I've ever seen, just don't let him off the ship." I worked hard and played hard(er). Another thing was I hadn't punched enough tickets until I served Instructor Duty at Dam Neck Virginia and was Branch LPO. I was selected and initiated at Dam Neck in 2003. There were some 100 or so Chiefs to welcome us aboard. Fun times.

I served aboard 4 ships and accumulated over 11yrs sea duty while making port visits to some two dozen foreign countries. South Pac, Med Cruises, NATO ops and Persian Gulf deployments. Never did a West Pac. Was stationed on the East Coast, West Coast and Gulf Coast. I retired from the USS John F Kennedy CV67 where I'd been CS5 and CS6 LCPO.

Serving in the U.S. Military was one of my better life choices. Arguably the best choice I ever made.

If you'd like to chime in with your military experience, I'd appreciate it and perhaps others would too !!! Cool beans :cool:
And to all those who have served our country in the military ... :SALUTE:

Some random pictures taken at different times and found scattered on my computer ...

1987 "A" school graduation. Front row Right with "Class Honorman" certificate in hand (highest class average and such) ...
oK7NoIo.jpg

List of duty stations and chest candy ...
bcx5KVG.jpg

Signed artist's rendition of the four ships I served aboard ...
1loLwPV.jpg

Shellback and Bluenose ... received both in about a month's period when outchopping from a port visit in Kenya to escort the "Ike" carrier during NATO ops above the Arctic Circle ...
uDkUtPk.jpg

KLBIErm.jpg

Chief Selectee charge book and cover ...
K2zYNTa.jpg

RFsxgt1.jpg

YN15sHx.jpg

Chief's Cutlass on Oak board ...
jpvnx4O.jpg

Chest candy, Anchors and specialist device from retirement uniform ...
E92pHfS.jpg

USS John F Kennedy CV67 from which I retired but photo taken before reporting aboard and while steaming the Hudson River with Twin Towers in background. I was on instructor duty at Dam Neck when the towers came down ...
tjCZlpf.jpg
Click to expand...
First I have to thank you for your service and welcome to the forums. My Husband served in the Navy during the Viet Nam war. He was rejected by the Army and luckily was accepted by the Navy.
 
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