Gentle Readers,

An alert reader noted that Point Loma stood bridge watches on big ships. Most intelligence officers did not stand underway watches, since they are (were?) commissioned as Special Duty- Intelligence officers.

That was not true in the Amphib Fleet. The leadership there felt an officer was an officer, and I recall visiting big-deck Iwo Jima underway and seeing fellow intel officer Vince Tolbert standing tall as OOD. I think he qualified for his water wings.

That was the case with Jeff Bacon, a shipmate on the 3rd Fleet Staff. He was a Meteorological (METOC) and the Fleet Oceanographer. He began these sometimes painfully accurate jibes at our Navy and the strange culture that shaped our lives.

Jeff has some great books, as well. Check him out at: http://broadside.navytimes.com/category/broadside-cartoons/

If you need me, I can assure you I will not be on the bridge. You might try my rack up by Frame 32, O2 Level Portside.

– Vic