Happy 235th Birthday, Navy!
Today is the 235th birthday of the U. S. Navy. From its humble beginnings, the United States Navy has become a force that more effectively controls the maritime areas on the earth than any organization in world history. Idaho's own Jeff Bacon has put out some tips on what not to do at a Navy Ball. Excerpts:
Do not throw dinner rolls. It is rude and obnoxious. Unless you have a clear shot, in which case it may be difficult to resist...What are your favorite Birthday Ball stories? (Submarine or Navy, i.e. "Spring" or "Fall" Ball.) When I was on USS Connecticut (SSN 22), we incorporated an inflatable sex doll into our centerpiece. (For those who think this topic sounds familiar, it is -- we discussed it about 30 months ago. I figure we have some new people on board since then.)
...If they parade the beef, don’t shout, “That’s my DATE!” (This applies to men and women.)
posted by Bubblehead at 2:04 PM
7 Comments:
Can't resist. Throwing dinner rolls - its tradition likely dates back to 1775 with the birth of the Continental Navy. The first toss was stunning, after a slight delay the count went from 1 to all. As a non-lethal weapon, it was efficient, silent, and high-impact. This truly might be our nation’s first-ever organized Navy exercise.
10/13/2010 6:27 PM
Following a Navy Ball, while in college, a bunch of us went out to a bar. A Marine, maybe retired, was there and picked up our tab until he left. I don't know how big it was but we did the Navy proud that night.
After commissioning, my first Sub ball in Bangor, the CO's wife said that she was from Georgia and liked the Georgia flag on the wall. Being the young Ensign that I was, I plucked it off of the wall. Nearly started a fight that night between our boats. Think we would have won being an SSN in an all SSBN world.
At my last Sub ball, HMS CARTER (lovingly referred to as the Peanut by others in DEVRON 5) centerpiece featured a crown on top of a pole. After 3 unsuccessful attempts to steal the crown, it ended up in the wardroom of my boat for a week and a half. The first rule about the crown, you don't talk about the crown.
Former Sub Nav
10/13/2010 6:28 PM
Does the phrase "show us the tops of your socks" mean anything at a Sub Ball these days??? And hopefully the battle cry, "the head table needs more rolls" still gets a great response.
10/14/2010 6:50 AM
Down here in Ozark country there’s a restaurant called Lamberts. Its nickname is “Home of the Throwd Rolls”. The roll guy comes out of the kitchen with a cart full of hot-from-the-oven dinner rolls and commences to throwing them half way across the room to anyone who has their hand raised. It’s just part of the overall fun of this truly pig-out establishment.
So it seems like naval tradition and Ozark inbred tradition have more in common than we originally thought. Both have roll chucking going on…….
Lamberts is between Springfield and Branson Missouri. A fun place to eat if you’re in the area.
10/14/2010 11:26 AM
Does any of these dining in shenanigans go on anymore post-tailhook? Most Navy or Submarine Balls I have been to are lame. Definitely no off-color jokes. Certainly no throwing food. Often no alcohol at all. Some good officers brought a flask to get throught the night.
10/15/2010 11:09 AM
1973 the goat locker on USS Barbel SS-580 invited Linda Lovelace to be our guest at the Submarine Birthday Ball at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Skipper tried to talk us out of it, finally relented and we sent the invite via Playboy Magazine as she had just done a nudie spread for them. Copies of the letter got passed around Beemans CPO Club, and it was talked about at Lockwood Hall. Turned out that CSP Chief of Staff didn't think it was funny and directed it get turned off. Turns out Ms. Deep Throat couldn't make it anyway as she was in France making a porno at the time, and we never passed that info out. Goat Locker got a lot of milage and attention from Chiefs at Beemans and we played it out for all it was worth. Night of the enlisted ball the CSP CMAA a TMCM(SS) was stationed outside the hotel under orders to prevent Linda's entering the ball. We had an extra place set for her at our table night of the enlisted ball. We would eat the salad so main course would be served as if someone was actually there. When questions came our way re: Ms. Lovelace response was, "She went to the ladies", or something like that. After the meal the Chief Torpedoman on Sargo who I knew pretty well and was quite toasted buttonholed me and said, "OK Chief where the hell is she!!??" I told him she just went up to room 213 with four of our guys off the boat. He took off and we all laughed like hell. He gave me a big F U!!! later that evening. We did get a nice thank you letter from her and very nice 8 X 12 glossy nude photo. We got both framed and posted in the Crews Mess.
Dang! Submarining was sure fun back in the day......
some day I'll tell you about the best Change of Command I ever attended.....
Keep a zero bubble.........
DBFTMC(SS)USNRET
10/17/2010 1:19 PM
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10/07/2011 1:03 PM
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