Elder Child Joined the Navy

[Mobile PC]

I agree with you. I would love to have your daughter on the tip of my spear......... Oh my god, I am just kidding. But you lobbed it up there.....Just saying.... :0

[slgrieb]

I agree with you. I would love to have your daughter on the tip of my spear......... Oh my god, I am just kidding. But you lobbed it up there.....Just saying.... :0

EC is very cute, but doesn't seem to be interested in sex with either gender right now. She has plenty of male friends, but as she often tells me, the only thing men are good for is dancing. All the same, I am sure she's hetero, but just a late bloomer like her dad. I hear plenty about hot guys she knows, but so far it doesn't go beyond drinks and dancing.

Younger Child is a little more confusing. She's going to the Junior Prom with a guy, but most of her friends are female and she just doesn't discuss who she's attracted to with me much. However, she recently told me that Anne Francis in Forbidden Planet was hot. She might be gay, but I'm not sure. I'm fine either way. Mostly, she's just immersed in her art and doesn't socialize much.

[Pinnacle-Project]

I know the Cost Guard serve with honor, and play an important role in search and rescue and interdicting illegal traffic. I know they sometimes lose their lives in the service of their country. All the same, if the U.S. were to get involved in a major conflict, the Navy would be the cutting edge of the sword, the tip of the spear. That's where my daughter wants to be.

It's great that she is serving. Everyone has to make their own choice on what branch is best for them. Thankfully, not everyone makes the same choice or else we would have one branch that is too full and the rest would be extinct.

[slgrieb]

It's great that she is serving. Everyone has to make their own choice on what branch is best for them. Thankfully, not everyone makes the same choice or else we would have one branch that is too full and the rest would be extinct.

Actually, she hasn't been inducted yet. There is still that little medical hurdle to clear. Again, I don't think that's an issue, and the Navy doesn't seem to think it's a problem. I have ambivalent feelings about the Coast Guard. Back when I was a canal sailor, the Coast Guard administered my tankerman test and later my wheelman's test. For what it's worth, I still hold a Class B Merchant Mariner's Document that permits me to transfer any cargo as inflammable as gasoline from ship to shore or between vessels. I still hold a license that permits me to operate any uninspected towing vessel on any inland water ways of the United States, excluding Western Rivers. Trust me, there is a whole bunch of legal speak here. Bottom line is that I could still push a 1750 foot tow along the Intracoastal Canal. I've done that, it was scary, and I wouldn't do it again if I had the chance.

But, most of my interactions with the Coast Guard involved my boat being boarded and having our sewage treatment system checked for compliance with Federal regs. I never worked on a boat that actually complied with Federal standards, but I spent a lot of time bullshitting Coasties who didn't really care about the job.

The bottom line is that I learned to regard most of the Coast Guard as desk jockeys or ineffectual, incompetent and unmotivated jerkoffs. I know that's unfair, but I would rather have my daughter dancing in a titty bar than serving in the Coast Guard.

[Joopster]

Actually, she hasn't been inducted yet. There is still that little medical hurdle to clear. Again, I don't think that's an issue, and the Navy doesn't seem to think it's a problem. I have ambivalent feelings about the Coast Guard. Back when I was a canal sailor, the Coast Guard administered my tankerman test and later my wheelman's test. For what it's worth, I still hold a Class B Merchant Mariner's Document that permits me to transfer any cargo as inflammable as gasoline from ship to shore or between vessels. I still hold a license that permits me to operate any uninspected towing vessel on any inland water ways of the United States, excluding Western Rivers. Trust me, there is a whole bunch of legal speak here. Bottom line is that I could still push a 1750 foot tow along the Intracoastal Canal. I've done that, it was scary, and I wouldn't do it again if I had the chance.

But, most of my interactions with the Coast Guard involved my boat being boarded and having our sewage treatment system checked for compliance with Federal regs. I never worked on a boat that actually complied with Federal standards, but I spent a lot of time bullshitting Coasties who didn't really care about the job.

The bottom line is that I learned to regard most of the Coast Guard as desk jockeys or ineffectual, incompetent and unmotivated jerkoffs. I know that's unfair, but I would rather have my daughter dancing in a titty bar than serving in the Coast Guard.

This right here is why you are a douchebag.

[Mobile PC]

The intelligent thing to do after reading his post, would be to either provoke more discussion, or just refrain from being you. But, you just can't hide your ignorance. Because he had bad experiences with the Coast Guard, he's a douche bag? Try to add to the conversation.

[slgrieb]

The intelligent thing to do after reading his post, would be...

Yeah, but it's Joopster, so him doing the intelligent thing would be something like a once in a lifetime experience. I know the Coast Guard performs a valuable function, and that Search & Rescue have some real heroes, but in the Navy, EC has a shot at a serious IT career (at the least) and the Coast Guard doesn't offer the same degree of training. There aren't many positions available as a Nuclear Engineer on a dredge like the USCGC Clamp. Frankly, I don't want EC playing on the second string. In a titty bar, she could make very good money if she remembered not to laugh.

But at the same time it is hard to respect a service where most of my interactions involved a guy repeatedly flushing our toilet while his partner hung his head over the side of the boat looking for turbulence.

[Pinnacle-Project]

Slgrieb,

In each of the armed forces, some jobs are more glamorous than others. It's unfortunate that your experience with the Coast Guard was not a positive one but please don't let your individual experiences with them paint such a negative image of the entire organization. Here on the Great Lakes the Coast Guard performs a valuable service. The same could be said in other areas. I'm glad you are proud of the career path your daughter is embarking on but please show some respect to those serving in other branches. I'm sure the parents of those serving in the Coast Guard are every bit as proud of their kids as you are of yours. What do you have to gain by taking any of that away from them with disrespectful statements? It's a free country so you are free to do so but what good comes of it?

[slgrieb]

I've said some good things about the Coast Guard, but mostly, no I'm not a fan. Does "any good" come from expressing my opinion? Golly, in a larger philosophical sense, I'm not sure. But it's still my opinion. When CeeBee posts that Blacks just aren't as smart as Whites, or when Joopster posts pretty much anything, does it do "any good"?

[Joopster]

I've said some good things about the Coast Guard, but mostly, no I'm not a fan. Does "any good" come from expressing my opinion? Golly, in a larger philosophical sense, I'm not sure. But it's still my opinion. When CeeBee posts that Blacks just aren't as smart as Whites, or when Joopster posts pretty much anything, does it do "any good"?

I respect all services. You had a bad experience because you couldn't follow the rules.