My first cruise (of seven) was about 6.5 months long on the USS America (CV-66). This was circa 1983.

The "news" I read about mental health on the USS Lincoln was pretty much the same as it was on the America - ESPECIALLY for those on their first cruise. My first cruise was 6.5 months and I was deployed with shipmates who deployed during Vietnam and their first cruise(s) was/were 13 months.

Also, NEVER (with exception of two weeks while in dry-dock at Bremerton) was food horrible and NEVER as bad what the "news" claims it to be on the Lincoln even on my 9-month cruise on the USS Ranger or 7-month cruise on the USS Tarawa.

Has anyone here, who actually deployed, ever seen food as bad as the "news" portrays or, maybe in hindsight, would consider some of those mental health "issues" as being anything except normal for someone on their first or second cruise?

The worse food I saw was "Hot Dog Soup" during the transit from Spain back to Norfolk. Reason for this soup - the Supply Officer made the mistake of ordering too much lobster and we ran out of money (for a week we had lobster for all four meals).

My take - 49% of the "issues" the news portrays - with regards to mentality on deployment - is normal/typical. The 51% is a result of the softening of our military by politicians who never served or were, by definition, pussies who should never should have joined.

NOTE: NOTHING detrimental or judgemental against those who served and got out because the military just wasn't for them. You / they served the USA and did what less than(?) 10% of our politicians did.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: LS1 GTO,

I was never deployed or ship's company.

I did ride a Battle Group from Charleston to the Med as part of the Mobile Technical Unit support team.

In a 12 day period I was on half-a-dozen different ships of pretty much all ages and classes from old FFG's to the America.

The food was pretty consistent. Good, not great. Hot and nourishing. I think once I had a choice of rollers or sliders, otherwise it was a regular meal: meat, some sort of a starch, veggie and Bug Juice or milk.

I WILL say that had my career taken it's originally intended path: ET and Surface Warfare, I'd probably have gotten out after my first hitch. Those guys on the ships work too hard! 16 hour days are the norm, and often a midwatch on top of it.

17 years as a Surface Warfare Officer. The media is full crap and pushing an agenda. I was never underway when something didn't go wrong. Ships now have email to allow sailors to communicate with their families much easier and the families have access to social media.

There are ALWAYS challenges on ships. ALWAYS. This is just the media being incredibly selective about what they are reporting and doing so in the manner that does the most damage to this administration. Shame on them.

Check out the images.

https://www.usatoday.com/story...le-east/89609308007/

Now compare to this and tell me what you swabbies notice...


Fuck the lying media.

Ask the men that served in the Pacific in World War Eleven about hard ship.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Check out the images.

https://www.usatoday.com/story...le-east/89609308007/

Now compare to this and tell me what you swabbies notice...


Fuck the lying media.

Ask the men that served in the Pacific in World War Eleven about hard ship.

I notice cinder blocks and a burrito bar. God Bless

quote:

Originally posted by VBVAGUY:...
I notice cinder blocks and a burrito bar. God Bless

Yeah, brick boats and next, submarines with screen portholes and baseball diamonds.

I remember crossing the Atlantic as part of the USS America battle group when a sailor jumped off the flight deck of the America. We were less then 4,000 yds from them with a helo already spinning on deck that we got airborne over the carrier’s wake in moments. 36 hour search by the entire battle group never found him.
Sailors have been having issues with deployments sometimes with drastic results for as long as ships have been deploying.

I've had to endure my share of suckage while deployed. They make for good stories later.

Not a swabby, but is that fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables on some of those other trays? Plus, the block walls.

I’m a CTI, I've never smelled a ship. But nobody joins the Navy under the promise that shit is always gonna be golden.

Don’t even get me started about moms calling when their kids cry on phone calls at boot camp.

Besides obviously being an ashore mess hall, every chow line I ever saw was self serve. So if your tray didn't have much on it, it was your choice. Often there was a master-at-arms at the GI can where you scraped off your tray at the end of the meal to send you back if you had not eaten everything you put on it. "Take all you want, Eat all you take" read the sign.

The Navy knows how to do replenishment at sea. So you don't run out of food while forward deployed. The carriers have their own Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) cargo plane and fly stuff in from ashore. Sometimes they will helo it to ships in company.

Been on several 6 to 9 month deployments. Never went hungry, but I always lost weight.

I spent four years in the Navy and never went to sea, thank God. Many of the sailors that did said that one or more people jumped or fell overboard every deployment.

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
Don’t even get me started about moms calling when their kids cry on phone calls at boot camp.

Hey, that's on you, Otto...

You forgot to use Recruit Brayden Makinleigh's preferred pronouns, and to soften your voice when addressing them, and to utilize inclusive language, and to bookend any criticism with a compliment sandwich, and to provide a trigger warning before you begin speaking, and most importantly to ensure they had sufficient cookies and milk before nap time.

Honestly, man. Do better.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
Don’t even get me started about moms calling when their kids cry on phone calls at boot camp.

Hey, that's on you, Otto...

You forgot to use Recruit Brayden Makinleigh's preferred pronouns, and to soften your voice when addressing them, and to utilize inclusive language, and to bookend any criticism with a compliment sandwich, and to provide a trigger warning before you begin speaking, and most importantly to ensure they had sufficient cookies and milk before nap time.

Honestly, man. Do better.

You’re not far off! I pick up another division Wednesday, let’s see how soft these are.

Yeah, it’s all BS.

Food was never great but never as bad as depicted by the media.

I was stationed on the JFK (CV-67) during the Marine barracks bombing in 1983 and was there for some time. I never once though about jumping into the ocean and we had nothing like they do now. What the hell did they join the military for if they are complaining about being deployed?

Bitching is one thing. Most members of the armed forces do that.
Putting up with it is what the good ones do.

.

Dad was aboard the America (Vietnam era) and spoke highly of the food. Dad then deployed with the Marines in country later as a corpsman and spoke less highly of getting shot at and the food. . 2 totally different Yelp reviews.

4 1/2 years sea duty on an SSBN…it was steak, lobster, and cheesecake 24/7/365!

May have done a couple deployments... Yeah, nope on all the stuff the press is doing.

As for the bonehead that posted the head that was a bit nasty. I regret to inform you there is NO SUCH rating on U.S. Navy ships as a janitor, they're ALL janitors. The sailors that occupy a berthing compartment are the very same people held accountable for cleaning it.