It's amazing how much pops out of my head as various posts prompt long dormant memories. Years ago I sat down with my stack of spiral-wound notebooks in which I kept bits and pieces of my naval career written down and committed them to a Word file. It took six months of on and off work and ended up as 92,000 words. I should check and see if I included some of this stuff here.
OMG, here's a funny one.
On one of the several trips north along the US Atlantic coast running home toward Norfolk, we had a US Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) aboard. These detachments, led by a USCG LT, ride US Navy ships of opportunity and act as the law when any drug smugglers or other illegal activity is discovered. US Navy personnel, being military, cannot be used to enforce the laws of the United States, but the “Coasties” can. So when a law enforcement action is contemplated and a LEDET is aboard, the US Coast Guard flag is run up the mast and voila, the ship is officially a Coast Guard cutter with the LEDET officer-in-charge and running the show.
Thinking, “What trouble could we possibly get into on a leisurely cruise from Florida to back home in Norfolk,” I let the Marine officer-in-charge (OIC) liaison with the USCG LDET, and I think at some point they roped either the Gunnery Officer or his direct junior in the chain of command, the Secondary Battery Officer (in charge of my 5”/38 guns and all small arms), into their scheme of maneuver for handling encounters with possible drug smugglers. At some point I guess I got the thumbs up that Weapons Department was well represented in the thoroughgoing support of our sister service’s efforts and protecting our coasts. Good enough for me because I knew my guys were the best!
So one calm, clear day oof the Carolinas, our lookouts spied a small “head boat” fishing off the Carolina coast, and the LEDET decided to check it out. When I remember this episode, I always think of a cartoon I once saw of a battleship with its big guns trained out toward a small vessel with the ballooned caption from the bridge saying, “Pull over!” I heard the call, “Away the LEDET,” and thought I’d wander out the the main deck to watch the unfolding events.
So here was the battleship, pulled to a stop about a quarter of a mile away from this fishing boat with a bunch of scruffy looking Carolinians with their poles over the side. All of a sudden a bunch of Marines came boiling out of the superstructure and plopped down prone on the teak deck while above me a couple of decks I heard the unmistakable “kerchunk” of the bolt of ma-deuce (.50 caliber M2 machine gun) slamming home on a belt of ammo as gunner’s mates loaded and pointed this awesome weapon at the hapless fishermen. Shortly, our heavily armed motor whaleboat, with LEDET embarked chugged off from our side headed over to board and search the fishing boat. I can only imagine what the innocent fishermen were thinking as I stood aft on the main deck watching this circus. Finally, I thought that discretion was the better part of valor in case the fishermen were the shoot back kind or more likely the captain might be staring down from the bridge, and I departed the scene for my officer safely out of sight and behind the armor belt on the second deck.