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Old Salt
Posts: 461
Location: Medina, OH | Subject: Spooks and Submarines
On Gentry's www.submarinesailor.com noticed a couple of links to Spook sites, including Casper Society among them. Interesting to read about submarine experiences, see photos of memorable boats. Not sure which link, but there's a roster of spooks, rates, duty/service. Question: Do spooks keep anonymity long after retiring? |
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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 2561
Location: Rapid City, SD | Subject: Oh, yeah, Nancy -
I was told by several on this board that if they told you, they'd have to kill you!
Cora |
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Old Salt
Posts: 461
Location: Medina, OH | Subject: RE: Oh, yeah, Nancy -
Interesting as I do have one quote for my sub cookbook from a former "spook," although we're careful to use Navy Security xxxx tag line. |
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 781
Location: Port Orchard WA | Subject: RE: Spooks and Submarines
most will not tell thier tales as they have almost all signed the same type of paperwork that we did on the Glow Boats that prohibit telling where and what we did except to say we trained. However their Societies are much like ours from my experiences and thier exploits in many cases are far more varied as they not only rode boats but many rode aircraft as well as surface ships. Very much like Corpsman in variety of assignments. Best bet is to plead your case on one of thier BBSs. We had one on USS Aspro that rode out of Pearl in the early 70's that was known to be a prtetty good cook and the irony was he was a Marine (used to harass the new guys by Sharpening an big old K Bar knife all the time and when the would ask why he would make a comment like Dead Men tell no Tales. (Same reason the Messenger Bouty was welded in Place was another answer, which scared most of the new kids as they did not know that either)
Edited by Bear 2008-07-30 1:13 PM
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 566
Location: Inyokern, Ca. | Subject: RE: Spooks and Submarines
Bear - 2008-07-30 1:09 PM
(Same reason the Messenger Bouty was welded in Place was another answer, which scared most of the new kids as they did not know that either)
Having stood MOW I can assure you my bouty was NEVER welded in-place! 
BB |
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Old Salt
Posts: 489
Location: San Freakcisco CA area | Subject: RE: Spooks and Submarines
I guess the rules have changed a lot over the years ala Tommy Cox "coming out of the closet" as it were --
The association of NAVSECGRU types (i.e. CTs) with submarines was TS+ throughout my career - which included working with them during the initial deployments of the WLR-6 "WATERBOY" in the then-new seagoing Club Med spas called 637s. That is where I first met some roly-poly fuzzy cheeked RM3 by the name of GUMBA ...
But I digress.
Anyway, the CTs came aboard by the dark of the moon, wore dungarees with crows but not the crossed quill and lightning bolt (looked half YN, half RM) pretty much kept to themselves, and if some inquisitive boat sailor asked, they claimed to be ETs.
When in WESTPAC, the wardroom would get an indoctrination tour at a huge NAVSECGRU site at an undisclosed location and we removed our dolphins and plugged in aviator's wings to backfill the holes because again, any association between NSG and subs was top drawer stuff. I guess nobody ever thought about the distinctive eau d'diesel ...
I personally know three CTs who did 4.0 jobs qualifing in subs but they could not wear their dolphins for reasons already given. Kinda made the effort a wasted trip in my book - the three I have in mind would have been welcome shipmates in any boat I ever served in. Years later - sometime after 1979, I began seeing CTs in blues wearing dolphins so, as I said, the rules obviously changed. Then I've seen them posting hereabouts (Mabel??) so unless the proverbial plain black Ford bearing two MK-1 MOD-1 FBI guys show up at their doors, I guess the rules have indeed changed.
Like submariners can admit they were submariners, spooks can admit that they were spooks - but also like submariners, they can't (or aren't supposed to) discuss the sensitive details of their experiences. The oaths we all signed have no expiration dates - they are lifetime. That is why seeing books like Blind Man's Bluff never fails to get my skivvies all knotted - even though a lot of what is written there is, at best, a stretch of someone's overly fertile imagination. We promised to not talk - and obviously some sub sailors blew a bit of smoke up at least one skirt.
Edited by SOB490 2008-07-30 10:13 PM
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Master and Commander
Posts: 1107
Location: Tucson AZ | Subject: Yeah, SOB, but ...
SOB490 - 2008-07-30 11:10 PM
{SNIP}
We promised to not talk - and obviously some sub sailors blew a bit of smoke up at least one skirt.
... thus it ever was!
What was the old saying? "Smoke 'em if you got 'em!"
You've never blown a whiff of smoke hither or yon?
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Master and Commander
Posts: 1796
Location: Albany, GA. | Subject: RE: Yeah, SOB, but ...
I got into trouble at Miller Brewing for even mentioning Spooks riding the boat. Of course the over zealous female that reported me thought I was referring to people of color serving on the boat. Fortunately some other Navy types came to my rescue, but I was still admonished for her stupidity. I had caused a needless misunderstanding. She was sitting at another table, and overheard the comment. I was protesting having to give up my choice bunk for a Spook rider. |
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Old Salt
Posts: 489
Location: San Freakcisco CA area | Subject: RE: Yeah, SOB, but ...
>>>You've never blown a whiff of smoke hither or yon?
To paraphrase General Patton's response to the visiting chaplains about reading the Bible on his nightstand that Geroge C. Scott portrayed so well in the movie --
Every g**da** time! |
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Spooks and Submarines
