Keeping the blogosphere posted on the goings on of the world of submarines since late 2004... and mocking and belittling general foolishness wherever it may be found. Idaho's first and foremost submarine blog. (If you don't like something on this blog, please E-mail me; don't call me at home.)
[Intel Source: Decks Awash!] It looks like one of my favorite submarine blogs, The EM Log, has returned to posting after an unexplained hiatus. The archives aren't up, but I expect we'll continue to see the same high quality posts we saw previously. Welcome back, FTN!
posted by Bubblehead at 8:58 AM
I'm Joel Kennedy -- a married, 50-something year old retired submarine officer and esophageal cancer survivor with three kids who has finally made the transition to civilian life. Politically, I'm a Radical Moderate. (If you don't like something on this blog, please E-mail me. Don't call me at home.)
40 Comments:
The archives are still there via RSS anyway. Glad to see it back.
3/03/2009 9:18 AM
No story or explanation for being gone...
3/03/2009 10:07 AM
Why hasn't anyone else noticed that the 2 posts that are up are re-posts from a long time ago?
I don't think EM Log is really back. Imposter perhaps?
3/03/2009 10:54 AM
I'm thinking the post's may have been posted about a year ago.
Some Google error may be causing them to be re-posted every March XX.
Still no word from FTN.
3/03/2009 11:32 AM
I don't know about the writer's identity, but damn those are some funny stories!
3/03/2009 11:32 AM
Those are old posts, unfortunately. I remember reading them a while ago.
3/03/2009 12:25 PM
Is this going to be one of those, " I think I saw Elvis in my cornflakes." Indeed they are old.... Oh how I miss his posts.
3/03/2009 1:30 PM
OK, now "he" has a post up with some b.s. story about taking the blog down due to a joke from his division, etc.. But he says he was about to deploy, which is b.s. because the real ftn was on shore duty.
Total b.s.
3/03/2009 5:58 PM
The ELT asked what I thought about the latest skimmer scandal. As my first chief used to say, "if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying". I don't remember many tests that weren't taken in shaft alley, open book. The problem is the people giving the tests want your ass on the watchbill, and want an outstanding on ORSE, so there's a huge incentive to provide Maximum Proctor Assistance. I didn't really know shit until I was studying for EWS, and that was because I had the time to do a proper job of it.
3/03/2009 6:01 PM
It's a blog full of sea stories, and you're complaining one of them is BS? Seriously?
3/03/2009 6:06 PM
"Outstanding" on ORSE?
This guy who has hijacked FTNs blogger account sounds like he might not even be a nuc!
And what's up with the bit about confusing RL div with F*(S(ing Electricians?
And, come on: all tests taken open book in shaft alley?
Gimme a break.
Mulligan, is that you posing as FTN?!?!
3/03/2009 6:12 PM
RL = Real Life
We used to send the nubs to shaft alley to take qual exams underway, since it would have been a little obvious to have them parked in the horseshoe with the books wide open. Where else you gonna take them? Crews mess?
3/03/2009 6:27 PM
OK, it's clear we're going to have to do some sort of proof-of-life verification thing!!
3/03/2009 6:32 PM
I thought FTN was out of the Navy?
3/03/2009 6:32 PM
Sorry to hijack your comment section Joel, but I have breaking news!
The famous and amazing Pat Hrabe, creator of Hey, Shipwreck will be on our show tonight.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/navywiferadio
9pmCT
Listen for the exclusive updates to Hey, Shipwreck, Join the Navy and more....
(Thanks)
3/03/2009 7:49 PM
I'm glad the EM Log is back.
Hopefully, he'll be able to maintain a new post or two once a month when he has the time.
As to why he was gone for so long...well, that's his own damn business. He sure as hell doesn't owe anyone an explanation. I highly doubt we can charge him with dereliction of duty, and bust him back to E-1. Besides if it happened, he'd be an FSA for life and have no time to update his blog. So let's take a breath and see what happens next.
Gotta admit, he's got some great stories which seem to ring true regarding time, place and circumstance.
3/03/2009 9:54 PM
Todays posts are repeats as well.. IS it True the EM was on the board for the uniforms for Warrior Wednesday? Joel, I hope you continue to feel better. You have been in our prayers.
3/04/2009 10:27 AM
That ain’t me. I am glad Joe is feeling better.
3/04/2009 2:25 PM
What's an FSA?
3/04/2009 3:32 PM
That is nothing but a hijacked blog with archives posted... jeeez...
3/04/2009 6:05 PM
FSA stands for Food Service Attendant.
When a young sailor, E-1 to E-4 reports for their first sea tour, (just after A-school, generally)they are required to spend 60 to 90 days in the galley assisting the cooks in various duties. Basically they are looking at K.P. duty. These "oh so glamorous" but important duties include dishwashing, scrubbing pots & pans, draining and cleaning grease traps, sweeping and swabbing the mess deck multiple times a day, emptying the shit cans, and assisting the cooks in preparing the next meal of the day as required.
Being an FSA isn't a fun job. But any Chief or LPO as a CS who's worth a damn is generally quick to tell an FSA how important the job they are doing is to the whole operation of the galley. That and give the kid a pat on the back for a job well done along with giving him or her first shot at Mid-Rats before they are announced over the 1MC for consumption.
I almost begin to shudder at what kinds of horror stories that some of the old salts on this board could tell us when they were 17-19 years old and sweating it out as an FSA during their first sea tour. Actually, I think that would be very interesting to read indeed. Perhaps Joel could create such a thread.
This is a nice bubble blog to read. I've not seen one quite like it.
CS2(SS)Anderson
3/04/2009 6:34 PM
He posted a new story tonight. Geez, you're a whiny set of bitches on this board.
3/04/2009 7:13 PM
FSA = CRANK
3/04/2009 8:10 PM
CS2(SS) Anderson,
We weren't called FSA's. We were called mess cooks. Lower case intended. E-1 through E-3 were obligated to 90 days per year. Many of us, me included only served one tour. In my case Feb - Apr 1960 in the scullery on a Destroyer. We weren't encouraged or counseled on how important our duty was. We were told to do it and we did and moved on. It's a good life.
3/04/2009 9:12 PM
CS2(SS),
Just for information, we were called mess cooks. Lower Case intended. I served my mess cook toor in the scullery of a Destroyer in 1960. Nope, we were not counseled on how important what we were doing was. We were just told to do it and we did, and moved on.
YNC(SS), Retired
3/04/2009 9:15 PM
I understand what you're saying Chief. The Navy was a completely different beast and mentality 48-50 years ago. Back then the Chief or LPO cracked the whip and the new kids sprang into action like a clydesdale hauling a cart down the avenue. It worked and that type of autocratic leadership was most effective. I certainly respect that as well. Life was so much more simplistic back then.
Nowadays we use a method of proactive leadership which involves positive reinforcement. A little feedback from the younglings fresh out of Great Mistakes is sometimes asked for. Figure out what the newbies are thinking and what they want.
That simple bit of interaction is a very nice control feature in order to get them to do what is required at hand. It's a rarity for me to have to crack the whip with the threat of taking them to mast if they don't do what they are told. Make them see and feel that they are useful and important while on shit detail and you'll get a hell of a lot more use out of them while doing their time in the scullery.
Trust me, this shit works.
CS2(SS) Anderson
3/04/2009 9:56 PM
I know where FTN has been...he's been touring the engine rooms of our fleet and leaving his initials behind.
3/05/2009 4:47 AM
First things first...Welcome Home Joel!! It's great to hear you're home safe & sound and on the mend!
That's Outstanding Sir!!
I've been reading the sea stories on the EM Log. They are both interesting and entertaining as hell. I hope FTN keeps writing and posting.
I can tell this thread has gotten a little side tracked here regarding mess duty and such. but I've got a story alot of the sailors here will get a laugh out of...
In Feb of 2002, one of our KC-135s flew into Camp Pendleton for about 8 hours. I can't even remember why we stopped there when we where going to Nellis AFB in Nevada that same day for a 3 week desert training TDY. There were 14 of us and were to remain together and not wonder off to go exploring around the base while stopped at Pendleton. For lunch, we had to go through one of the Marine mess halls that day. The Marine CWO in charge of that mess hall was not happy about having a squad of Air Force SPs going through one of his mess lines. I over heard him asking one of his NCOs, "Why is the damned 'Error Farce' here?...just get them in and get them the hell out quickly." I did my best not to laugh out loud when I heard that.
I knew we were going to catch some shit from the USMC when we went there...so we had the attitude of just roll with it and forget about it.
Now, this specific mess hall was also used to feed Marine Recruits when they go through their Infantry field training phase at Edson Range, instead of MCRD. That's another reason why we were told not to talk to anybody else outside of our squad as we entered the mess hall. When we were making our way through the mess line, recruits were serving us. I understand they have to go through a weeks worth of mess duties while in boot camp. So, the 6 or 7 recruits on the serving line where all dressed in mess whites with the paper hat. When I got to the end of the line I was served piece of dessert cake by what I thought was a recruit. I said, "Thankyou Recruit." It turned out that it was the Mess Sergeant at the end of the line who's job was to supervise the recruits. I had no way of distinguishing him from the recruits since he had no rank insignia on his whites.
The Sergeant piped up quite loudly at me..."I'M A SERGEANT, NOT A RECRUIT!!!!!" I said, "Thankyou Sergeant," and went on to sit down and eat. As I walked to the table, I over heard our Flight Sergeant (an E-7) who was watching his squad move through the mess line, tell the Mess Sergeant (an E-5) that "it might be a good idea to pin your respective sergeant chevrons on your whites, so we can tell the damned difference between you people." I had my back turned at this point but I don't think the Mess Sergeant had much to say after that. Plus my Flight Sergeant was not the type of guy very many people argued with either. All 14 of us were red in the face in trying to hold back a series of laughter while eating. Even our Flight Sergeant was trying to hide a grin as he told us to hurry up and eat, we gotta go. He's the type of SNCO who had absolutely no patience for blatant stupidity. At that time, I was also aware that he was having marital difficulties at home. So we walked a tight line around him for a while. But still a damn good supervisor and leader.
When we got settled at Nellis the next day, we all pitched in and bought our Flight Sergeant two cases of Heineken from the nearby Class six. That was just because we knew he was having a hard time in his personal life then, and it was for the on the spot correction he made in the Mess hall the day before. Even today, I still chuckle when thinking about it.
Thanks, J.
3/05/2009 3:41 PM
For those of you wondering why The EM Log disappeared, he actually explains it in a post - buried in the midst of all the reposts, so I copied it for pasting here:
"I know, I know... "What happened?". Quite simply, I screwed up.
A few months back, you might remember, I was getting ready to deploy. Literally minutes before my ride showed up I got an official-looking email from my command, asking me to take the blog down or else. I couldn't figure out a way to temporarily do so, and I didn't have a lot of time to screw around, so I just scrammed the whole thing.
A month later, when I'm out in the middle of BFE, I found out it was just some guys from my div screwing with me. I never told anyone in RL I had a blog... but I saw people reading it from time to time so I guess something like this was inevitable.
I wasn't planning on re-opening, but some of the posts I've read on Joel's board recently convinced me to give it a shot. The good news is I have most of the old posts, which I will re-post as soon as I can. The bad news is that the interesting part, your comments, are lost.
FUCKING electricians."
3/05/2009 7:29 PM
Ok, now I am confused. Several of FTN's posts (including the latest one) gave the impression he was out of the Navy.
3/05/2009 8:00 PM
Anyone who spells the word "nuke", as in US Navy Nukes, as "nuc" or "nucs", is completely gay.
Get fuckin' with it.
3/05/2009 8:16 PM
It's probably a multiblog like the Sub Report. Stories come in from all over the nuke and ex-nuke world, and one guy does the IT.
No nuke would be dumb enough to run a blog like that without plausible deniability. Well maybe a nuclear-trained XO.
3/05/2009 11:21 PM
Nuke = nuclear weapon
Nuc = NNPP janitor
and anyone using the phrase 'completely gay'... probably is.
3/06/2009 8:00 AM
It doesn't make sense for it to be a multiblog. If it is, where does he get his stories from? I don't see any contribution link, and he said he doesn't tell anyone in RL about the blog.
3/06/2009 11:52 AM
His email is logkeeper@live.com (linked under the cat on the frontpage).
He could be collecting stories in real life.
He could also be inserting random disinformation into his posts to throw off stalkers.
Based on all the stories, it doesn't seem too likely that this is one guy.
3/06/2009 12:21 PM
i still say nuc. i suspect anon doesn't like tubedaze because they say nuc...or nuke...or, well you have to spell it somehow. Who cares anyway.
3/06/2009 1:00 PM
The only reason I spell it NUKE is because Tom Clancy spells it NUC.
3/06/2009 7:43 PM
"Nuc" is pronouncd "nuck", and rhymes with "suck", and also stands for "Navy Unit Commendation"...not that I would expect someone who has only served on boomers to know what a Nuc is (or have one).
3/06/2009 9:00 PM
But Clancy is an expert... just ask him. And, compared to other insurance salesmen, I guess he is.
3/06/2009 9:35 PM
N.U.C= Non Useful Cock.
Tell me that ain't the leading cause for divorce in this country.
Nuke= A weapon us PRP certified guys guard with our lives and actively use or see used against another Sonuva' bitchin' country who's managed to piss us off one too many times in life.
My last thought, Boomers are too slow and they suck canal water.
Leave it to Fast Attacks to get the job done would ja' Please??!!
3/06/2009 9:37 PM
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