More Bootcamp

So it was that I was emulating Beetle Bailey (who had come into existence in September 1950) as I progressed through bootcamp.  Soon it was “Service Week.”  This was a one week period during which all normal training was suspended while the entire Company was farmed out to complete various work details of every description.  A majority of our men were selected for the dubious distinction of working in the scullery, that wonderfully hot, wet, smelly, steamy, sodden, grotto where all the mess utensils were cleaned.  This included eating trays, silverware, pots, pans, and all of the various needs of providing meals to thousands of hungry men three times a day.

That was not to be for me.  I, for whatever reason, was selected to be the office cleaner for the Captain of the entire Bainbridge Basic Training Command.  When I learned of this I supposed it was because I had volunteered for Color Guard, and then was evicted from that sanctuary.  It had to be an onerous task to work around an officer somewhere up near God in status.  In actuality I had to arise at four each morning, proceed to the office, clean it THOROUGHLY, and be done and out of there before the Captain’s arrival around 0800.  The remainder of the day was mine.

All went well for the first four days, but on Friday I finished my cleaning duties, and I was oh so sleepy, so I sat on a sofa in a corner and fell fast asleep.  I awoke with the Base Captain leaning over me urging me to arise.  As I came out of my fog, I realized I was in the worst trouble anyone had ever been in, in the entire Navy, in all time.  Captain Howe ordered me into his inner office (where I thought I’d never emerge from), and as soon as I had entered he told me to sit down.  I did as ordered, and for the next half hour he asked me all sorts of questions about my Bootcamp experience, including, Naval training, military drill, my personal feelings toward the Navy, and my boyhood background, etc.  I supposed this had something to do with how long I was going to spend in the Navy Brig, but at the end of the interrogation, he shook my hand, said, “That is all.  Have a good Naval Career.”

I finished my Bootcamp experience soon after that, and took the good Captain’s advice.  I went on to a fifteen year career that I can’t say I ever enjoyed, but, on the other hand, it more or less treated me well always.