John,

So that brings me to another story about my sojourn on the USS Bronstein. We stopped in Guam for a BSF (Brief Stop for Fuel for you landlubbers) on our way back Stateside. We moored at the fueling pier and weren't allowed to leave the confines of the fueling pier area but we had a lot of beer left over from our Indian Ocean cruise with the USS Kitty Hawk so our CO (LCDR Loy) had all of the beer iced down for a BBQ in picnic area near the pier. Three of the four duty sections were allowed off the ship so we proceeded to drink every beer that came off the ship plus more from NEX "Roach Coaches" that were there selling their wares. Leave to say that there were a lot of inebriated sailors on board when we finally got underway later that day. Good thing that at least the one unlucky duty section that wasn't allowed off the ship was still sober; otherwise we might not have been able to get underway on schedule.

It was a different Navy back then. I truly doubt that I would even be tempted to make a career out of the Navy today. And I know for **** sure that I would never be able to make LDO in our "New Navy".

Rick