What do Marines do aboard a battleship?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Duncandl

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Aug 17, 2008
Messages
1,194
Reaction score
1,331
Location
South OKC
Coast Guard height requirement kept me from joining the luxurious life of a Coastie. Usually best “E” Club around, especially the Coastie Club at Barbers Point, Hawaii.

I’m only 5’10” tall but minimum height is 6 foot in case their ship sinks so they can walk back to shore...
 

RickN

Eye Bleach Salesman
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Sep 7, 2009
Messages
25,335
Reaction score
34,089
Location
Edmond
Coast Guard height requirement kept me from joining the luxurious life of a Coastie. Usually best “E” Club around, especially the Coastie Club at Barbers Point, Hawaii.

I’m only 5’10” tall but minimum height is 6 foot in case their ship sinks so they can walk back to shore...


Got to stay close to shore so we can keep those Navy wives company!

Yea I spent 2 years at Barbers Point. It was tough duty but someone had to do it. :rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao:
 

Seadog

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Sep 22, 2009
Messages
5,664
Reaction score
6,971
Location
Boondocks
Go back to post #20 and read at the link provided. I think it said that they were also "militarized" during WWI.
I don’t trust Wikipedia very much. And even it infers they are a part time branch used once in a blue moon. It also said it is one of 8 branches. Besides the new Space Force what the heck are the other 2?
 

SoonerP226

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Messages
13,430
Reaction score
13,845
Location
Norman
I don’t trust Wikipedia very much. And even it infers they are a part time branch used once in a blue moon. It also said it is one of 8 branches. Besides the new Space Force what the heck are the other 2?
I thought it said six when I looked at it last night, but I know there were eight armed services back in the late ‘80s. There was an armed service under NOAA back then, and it said it was the smallest of the eight. I don’t recall what its name was, but I think it was either disbanded or folded into one of the other services. (I was a meteorology student at the time, and was looking into possible career paths; NOAA looms large on that particular stage, so I was looking into their offerings.)

I never did figure out what the sixth and seventh armed services were.
 

TerryMiller

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Jun 4, 2009
Messages
18,617
Reaction score
18,194
Location
Here, but occasionally There.
I don’t trust Wikipedia very much. And even it infers they are a part time branch used once in a blue moon. It also said it is one of 8 branches. Besides the new Space Force what the heck are the other 2?

I thought it said six when I looked at it last night, but I know there were eight armed services back in the late ‘80s. There was an armed service under NOAA back then, and it said it was the smallest of the eight. I don’t recall what its name was, but I think it was either disbanded or folded into one of the other services. (I was a meteorology student at the time, and was looking into possible career paths; NOAA looms large on that particular stage, so I was looking into their offerings.)

I never did figure out what the sixth and seventh armed services were.

Well, there was a link in that article at Wikipedia about "uniformed services." Here is a link to THAT Wikipedia article.

Uniformed Services of the United States


From that Wiki article:

"Uniformed services
The uniformed services are, in order of precedence, when in formations:[10][11]

  1. United States Army
  2. United States Marine Corps
  3. United States Navy
  4. United States Air Force
  5. United States Space Force
  6. United States Coast Guard
  7. United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
  8. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps
Each of the uniformed services is administratively headed by a federal executive department and its corresponding civilian Cabinet leader"

And, just for the record, I also don't put confidence in Wikipedia either. I want to verify some of their "facts" before presuming their articles are true.
 

1911er

Marksman
Special Hen
Joined
Mar 16, 2021
Messages
63
Reaction score
66
Location
Locust Grove
Screenshot_20210414-181955.jpg


"Let's screw with these space cadets."
 

Glocktogo

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Jan 12, 2007
Messages
29,424
Reaction score
15,659
Location
Collinsville
Over the years, I've found that vets from any service can trash talk any other service and smile afterward, fist bump and have a beer.
Not so much between Marines and Sailors. It usually ends up in the street outside the bar.

Being a Stinger Gunner in the Corps we got detached all over the place, so I remember bar (and some not bar) fights with squids, army dogs and flyboys. Well, they were more tiffs than fights with the flyboys. ;)

But the overwhelming number of fights? Marine Tow Gunners. :D

In the long past of my Navy days I’ve heard the Marines referred to as cargo.

We always did appreciate you coffee drinkers giving us a ride! :)

It has baffled me for a long time. Growing up an army brat I knew of the other branches. There were four. I knew how they came to exist. Originally there was only two branches Army and Navy. The Air Force branched off of the Army. The Marines branched off from the Navy. The thing is when did the lifeguards become a branch of the military? Never once did I hear them referred to as a branch of the military

I remember as a Navy sailor that I was a bit envious of the Coast Guards working schedule. . Reveille Piped at six on my ship and we would be at quarters at seven. Those Coastie‘s didn’t pipe the reveille whistle untill 9 in the morning. We had this old World War II Coast Guard ship called the basswood that would moore not far from us. From my Machine shop I heard their whistle every day. They had it pretty easy.

I’ve seen them repeatedly insinuated as a DOD branch with the other four. Right up to 911 they were DOT. Then they got swapped to DHS. Never have they been DOD. When did this all start?

So basically the one time during WWII? Sort of how most all merchant mariners were?

Not just WWII. When I was in the Gulf in '88, we had two USCG minesweepers with us. I had to give them props for sailing their little wooden boats all the way over there. They weren't much bigger then the Iranian dhows, and I always wondered how much they leaked being so old!

Edit: It's tough to find much info on the old wooden minesweepers, but they remained in service till around 1991 IIRC. There's a blip about them on this page: USS Guardian and the Navy's Navy's Post-World War II Minesweepers | Naval Historical Foundation (navyhistory.org)

All kidding aside, when we needed close air support, we didn't care what was painted on the side of the aircraft. When we needed artillery, we didn't care if it came from the Army or the Marines. When we needed aerial flares we were damned glad the Air Force was there to give us light, let alone the job Spooky could do! B52s dropped from so high you never knew they were there until the ground started vibrating from the bombs. Army Hueys did most of the Med Evacs, and the Cobras were amazing. There was a battle ship off shore(don't know which one) but when they lobbed those gigantic shells overhead you could hear them pass over.

It was, and is a team effort, I'm glad I was on the team.

As a Stinger Gunner, our secondary role was forward observer. As such we trained with the FAAC's to call air support and how to call for arty. We even trained on calling naval gunfire. Always wanted to call for fire from a battleship! LOL

I don’t trust Wikipedia very much. And even it infers they are a part time branch used once in a blue moon. It also said it is one of 8 branches. Besides the new Space Force what the heck are the other 2?

You'd be right to question them. Wiki doesn't even mention the coasties who were there when I was in the Gulf: Operation Praying Mantis - Wikipedia

I don’t trust Wikipedia very much. And even it infers they are a part time branch used once in a blue moon. It also said it is one of 8 branches. Besides the new Space Force what the heck are the other 2?

Maybe they're mentioning the unnamed branch flying all those UFO's? :)

Pentagon Confirms Leaked Photos, Video Of Unidentified Flying Objects (yahoo.com)

Well, there was a link in that article at Wikipedia about "uniformed services." Here is a link to THAT Wikipedia article.

Uniformed Services of the United States


From that Wiki article:

"Uniformed services
The uniformed services are, in order of precedence, when in formations:[10][11]

  1. United States Army
  2. United States Marine Corps
  3. United States Navy
  4. United States Air Force
  5. United States Space Force
  6. United States Coast Guard
  7. United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
  8. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps
Each of the uniformed services is administratively headed by a federal executive department and its corresponding civilian Cabinet leader"

And, just for the record, I also don't put confidence in Wikipedia either. I want to verify some of their "facts" before presuming their articles are true.

Didn't know about the NOAA and almost forgot about the hospital ships. Another element we rely on to be fully effective is the Military Sealift Command. While they're ostensibly a department of the Navy, the operative elements are operated by civilian Merchant Marines.

Great thread! :)
 
Last edited:

Seadog

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Sep 22, 2009
Messages
5,664
Reaction score
6,971
Location
Boondocks
Being a Stinger Gunner in the Corps we got detached all over the place, so I remember bar (and some not bar) fights with squids, army dogs and flyboys. Well, they were more tiffs than fights with the flyboys. ;)

But the overwhelming number of fights? Marine Tow Gunners. :D



We always did appreciate you coffee drinkers giving us a ride! :)





Not just WWII. When I was in the Gulf in '88, we had two USCG minesweepers with us. I had to give them props for sailing their little wooden boats all the way over there. They weren't much bigger then the Iranian dhows, and I always wondered how much they leaked being so old!

Edit: It's tough to find much info on the old wooden minesweepers, but they remained in service till around 1991 IIRC. There's a blip about them on this page: USS Guardian and the Navy's Navy's Post-World War II Minesweepers | Naval Historical Foundation (navyhistory.org)



As a Stinger Gunner, our secondary role was forward observer. As such we trained with the FAAC's to call air support and how to call for arty. We even trained on calling naval gunfire. Always wanted to call for fire from a battleship! LOL



You'd be right to question them. Wiki doesn't even mention the coasties who were there when I was in the Gulf: Operation Praying Mantis - Wikipedia



Maybe they're mentioning the unnamed branch flying all those UFO's? :)

Pentagon Confirms Leaked Photos, Video Of Unidentified Flying Objects (yahoo.com)



Didn't know about the NOAA and almost forgot about the hospital ships. Another element we rely on to be fully effective is the Military Sealift Command. While they're ostensibly a department of the Navy, the operative elements are operated by civilian Merchant Marines.

Great thread! :)
I remember the Patriot and Gardian mine sweepers. I remember seeing both of them in the dry docks back in Yahkouska Japan in the mid 90s. I thought the were cool looking little ships. I had no idea they were Coasties or that they were old WWII ships. Must have been majorly retrofitted because I’m good at aging ships by their design and they didn’t look it at the time. I did know that they were made of wood. It was under Dinglebarrys administration that one of them ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef. Instead of saving the ship they chopped it up on sight with chains and barges. I still think it could have been saved. But they were more concerned about the stupid reef.

I came real close to joining up in the merchant marines in the military sealift command and getting my seaman’s license. Twist of fate and things not going based planned so that chapter never happened.

Most all of their ships used to be active duty ships. They are predominantly US Navy ships with a small complement of active duty officers in command with crew being civil service. The last ship I served on is now part of the military sealift command and as far as I know is the last tender in service.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom