~ Navy Trivia ~ Learning the Navy can be fun....

[Craig]

I'm opening this section for those that love Navy Trivia (or whatever you think is cool) 

I hope others will hop in and join the discussion.  It's always fun to break up boot camp discussion with other stuff.  This would also be good to send your sailors in boot camp to keep them occupied and learn something they didn't know.....

I'll start with the next post:

[Craig]

Since I love Navy Trivia, I will post this....
Let's talk about "Missile Mail"
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A Regulus I missile is fired from USS Barbero, June 8, 1959

On This Day: US Postal Service Attempts “Missile Mail” for First and Last Time

On June 8, 1959, a U.S. Navy submarine launched 3,000 letters via missile from Virginia to Florida.

“Missile Mail” Test Is Successful
There had been many amateur attempts at delivering mail by rocket in the early 20th century, most of which ended in failure. In the 1950s, the United States Postal Service partnered with the Department of Defense to create a missile-based mail delivery system that could transport mail more accurately than rockets.

The USPS and Defense Department ran just one test of their missile mail system; on June 8, 1959, the USS Barbaro Navy submarine, stationed near Norfolk, Va., fired an unarmed Regulus I missile holding two containers with 3,000 letters inside them. Twenty-two minutes later, the missile and its postal payload arrived safely at a U.S. Naval Station in Mayport, Fla.

Postmaster General Arthur E. Summerfield, who witnessed the event, considered missile mail the future. He remarked, “Before man reaches the moon, mail will be delivered within hours from New York to California, to Britain, to India or Australia by guided missiles.”

History has proven them wrong, however. At the time of the launch, the Department of Defense saw the measure more as a demonstration of U.S. missile capabilities during the Cold War than a practical method of delivering mail.

The History of Rocket and Missile Mail
There were several notable efforts at rocket-propelled mail delivery preceding the U.S. government’s missile mail. In 1931, Austrian engineer Friedrich Schmiedl successfully fired 100 pieces of mail from one Austrian village to another.

German businessman Gerhard Zucker tried to popularize rocket mail in the 1930s. although he had his share of failures. In one case, he tried to launch a rocket between two Scottish Islands but an unfortunate explosion destroyed the 1,200 traveling envelopes. British officials then proceeded to deport Zucker back to Germany for mail fraud.

In 1936, an American Legion Post in a Texas town attempted to fire mail into Mexico. “The first rocket blew up in mid-air, sending its contents raining down in pieces, writes the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum. “The second rocket landed on a cantina in Reynosa, fortunately without hurting anyone or causing much damage.”

A 1957 edition of Mechanix Illustrated magazine described the possible future of missile mail along with illustrations.

[Craig]

In the Navy, enlisted members wear silver, and officers wear gold. 

However, there are only 3 exceptions to this rule for breast insignia's. 

Question: What are the only three breast insignia awarded to enlisted personnel that are gold in color. What are they?

Answer: They are:
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Navy Badge: Parachutist - 
The Parachutists insignia, also known as "jump wings", is awarded to personnel for training in airborne school. The basic insignia is issued for completion of basic parachutist training. The Naval Parachutist insignia is issued after 10 qualifying jumps.

Enlisted personnel with jump wings place "(PJ)" after their rating to indicate this skill. Free-fall/HALO qualified place "(FPJ)" in their rating. Example: "EOD3(FPJ) Smith" is Explosive Ordnance Disposal 3rd Class Smith, who is Free-fall/HALO-qualified.

The Naval Parachutist insignia is a common secondary insignia among Navy SEALs, SWCC and Navy EOD. It is one of only three breast insignia awarded to enlisted personnel that is gold in color.

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Navy Badge: Special Warfare - 
There are two Special Warfare insignia issued to Navy personnel serving under Naval Special Warfare Command, a part of USSOCOM: Special Warfare and Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman.

The Special Warfare insignia (aka the "SEAL Trident" or the "Budweiser Badge"), is awarded to personnel who completed BUD/S training and qualification, and have been designated as Navy SEALs and assigned to Navy SEAL Teams or Special Delivery Vehicle (SDV) Teams. The insignia is the same for both officer and enlisted personnel and is one of only three breast insignia authorized for enlisted personnel that is gold in color.

The Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman (SWCC - pronounced "swick" AKA "Bud Light") insignia is awarded to enlisted personnel who complete SWCC training and qualification, and have been designated as United States Navy SWCCs assigned to Special Boat Teams in support of Navy special warfare units (i.e. SEAL Teams, etc.)
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Navy Badge: Aircrewman - 
The Aircrew insignia is issued to enlisted personnel trained to operate equipment aboard airborne aircraft. It is one of only three breast insignia awarded to enlisted personnel that is gold in color.

Navy aircrew assigned to Navy aircraft place "(NAC)" after their rating to indicate this skill. Navy aircrew qualified to wear the Marine Corps combat aircrew insignia place "(CAC)" after their rating. Example: "AW1(NAC) Jenkins" is Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 1st Class Jenkins, who is Navy Aircrew qualified.

[Bugsmama]

" YOUR MAMA WEARS COMBAT BOOTS! "

During WWII, Poor women followed American Army troops around and offered the men their services in exchange for a good pair of Gov't issue combat boots. The boots were of good quality and allowed the women to follow the troops thru the muck and lasted a long time. The services these ladies provided included laundering, mending and cooking as well as intimate favors. The women wore these combat boots as rationing was in effect and womens shoes or shoes for that matter we're hard to come by. So the comment "your mama wears combat boots" is an insult implying that your mother is a prostitute.
.

[Craig]

Trivia - 
Only one time has a U.S. Navy ship ever been named for both a husband and wife.... What is the name of the ship?

Answer: 
The USS Roosevelt (DDG-80). Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton named the 30th ship of the Arleigh Burke-class Roosevelt in honor of both the 32nd U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his wife. 

(Note for Craig: Even in death, FDR can't get away from his wife saying "Just pull over and ask for directions"....)

[JackFlash]

Ship 04 at Recruit Training Command--- The USS Arleigh Burke...

My youngest son brought home "Battle Ship" from Red Box last night, so I sat and watched it with him.... I think he's really missing his big brother.  Anyways-- at one (of man) scenes of panic-- One of the Sailors cries out that they need a Arleigh Burke class Destroyer!

 

I was like.... What?  What did he just say???  I made my son replay that part. Funny how things catch your ear.

[Craig]

Jack - What funny is my nephew is stationed on the USS John Paul Jones.  They just got back from the Gulf 1 1/2 months ago.  When ship return home from a 8 months deployment they usually have a "Tiger Cruise".  

For those that don't know what that is, When a ship hit Hawaii a lot of the crew will take leave and fly back to San Diego to be with their families (Tigers).  That means a lot of the ship is empty.  The Navy, to promote itself, will allow family members to use those empty racks (bed) and will let then cruise back to San Diego on the ship.

The crew loves "Tigers", because the Navy puts on a show and gives the crew great food and other things not normally given.  So all the crappy food is gone, and the great Surf & Turf appears.  

My sister went on this Tiger cruise.  They actually played the movie "Battleship" on the outside deck one night for the families.  Since the USS John Paul Jones was in that movie, it made it really awesome.  What's funny is the Tigers thought that the sailors had a movie night all the time.  We never get those.  The best the sailors got this time was a "swim call".

[Craig]

Battlestations:

The final test for sailors to graduate boot camp is passing "Battle Stations".

Battle Stations is a 12 hour program and can handle four (4) divisions of 88 recruits = 352 recruits, along with their facilitators. It is designed to operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and accommodate these 352 recruits and facilitators simultaneously every night of the year. However, due to funding and significant contractor cost it isn't used on Fridays or Saturdays.

Since Battle Stations was built in 2007, how many wheelchair ramps were required for the USS Trayer?
a. none

b.1

c. 2

d. 3

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Answer: a -none
Because Battle Stations was designed to be used by "able-bodied" recruits, the designer could ignore the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

Here is a great video of what your sailors will be doing.  

http://www.teamorlando.org/case-studies/battle-stations.shtml

[Craig]

Useless Fact:

Fact - Only one Navy Ship is named in honored of a civilian - The USS Fessenden was the only combatant ship which commemorated the name of a civilian that never served in the US military, held high office or was a founding father of the United States. Mr. Reginald A. Fessenden demonstrated first voice modulated Radio transmission in 1900, and first phonograph transmission in 1906.

[Craig]

Fact - Admiral of the Navy: There is only one Admiral of the Navy and it was Admiral George Dewey.

[ellen0502]

[Craig]

I am a famous sailor, who am I?

I am Eddie Albert
aka Edward Albert Heimberger

Eddie Albert, Actor, Famous for the TV show Green Acres. Albert appeared on Broadway in the stage production of Brother Rat, and made his film debut in 1938 in the movie based upon the play, starring opposite Ronald Regan and was interrupted by a stint in the Navy during WWII. He's worked steadily throughout his 50+ years as an actor, and has an impressive list of stage, film, and television credits, including two Oscar nominations - the first for his work in Roman Holiday (1953), and the second for his performance in The Heartbreak Kid (1972).

Albert served in the Navy during WWII as a Navy as a junior officer (Lieutenant). Albert was a genuine war hero. A thousand Americans and 4,800 Japanese lives were lost in bloody battle at Tarawa, a Pacific island, and Albert fought in the first wave of the three day combat. Afterward, he was ordered to salvage usable military equipment off the battlefield, and won his Bronze Star with a combat 'V' for finding and rescuing 70 wounded Marines during the battle of Tarawa, who had been abandoned under heavy fire.

He was nominated for Oscars as Gregory Peck's pal with a camera in Roman Holiday (1953) and as a deranged military officer in Attack. But Albert will always be remembered as the exasperated Oliver Douglas, lawyer turned farmer, on TV's Green Acres. He also played a con man on Switch, and had a side career as narrator and producer of educational films. He explained the facts of life in How Life Begins (1968), and made a series of public service announcements urging people to protect the environment.

[Craig]

I am a famous sailor, who am I?

I am Paul Newman -

His blue eyes have been written about so much that he probably wishes they could be copyrighted. Perhaps less widely known is that Paul Leonard Newman enlisted in the U.S. Navy on 22 January 1943, after his graduation from Shaker Heights High School in Cleveland, Ohio. The second son of a thriving sporting-goods storekeeper (Arthur, his brother, eventually became a film production manager), Paul (born 1925) had acted in a few school productions but had never considered making a profession of show business. He attended Ohio University in Athens while he waited to hear from the Navy, and during his months there he had time to perform in another school production, The Milky Way, in which he played a boxer.

Newman was sent to the Navy V-12 program at Yale, with hopes of being accepted for pilot training. But this plan was foiled when a flight physical revealed him to be color-blind. So he was sent instead to boot camp and then on to further training as a radioman and gunner.

Paul Newman, Actor, He has been nominated six times for best-actor Oscars (Cat on a Hot Tine Roof 1958; The Hustler, 1961; Hud, 1963; Cool Hand Luke, 1967; Absence of Malice, 1981; and The Verdict, 1982), and he won the actor-of-the-year award at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival for The Long Hot Summer, with Joanne Woodward. This down-to-earth, Budweiser-drinking (counteracted by daily workouts), regular-guy superstar has made a career of turning in memorable performances. Delighting his audiences time after time in films including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Sting, (1973), and The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), Paul Newman was finally recognized with an Academy Award for his portrayal of The Hustler's Fast Eddie Felson, now middle-aged, in The Color of Money (1986).

Paul Newman is/was committed to helping make the world a better place. To carry on his philanthropic legacy, Newman’s Own Foundation donates all net royalties and profits after taxes it receives from the sale of Newman’s Own products to charities worldwide. So far, it has donoted more than $300M to thosands of charities around the world.