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New co-worker is a former sailor who never served as part of a ship’s crew back in the mid70s. I served in the 90s in the engine room of steam driven ships. His stories come across as greatly exaggerated or made up because of how he’s portrayed in these stories. Rather than call him out I just nod and accept his stories while privately having doubts as to the validity. Because we served in a different time period, different rating, and different commands I have no basis to call him out on his stories.
You ever come across people from your branch of service who told stories that seemed too good to be true? How do you handle these situations?
Hawkeye: [commenting on the ridiculous story that Major Burns just told] The Major's version of what happened was to say the least fascinating. It was to say the most perjury! No, to be fair I have no doubt that he remembers it that way. More's the pity. And there was some truth to the story. It was October 11 and we were in Korea. Other than that...
As Hawkeye said, "no doubt that he remembers it that way".......as Ben Kenobi said, "the truth is from a person's point of view"......as I have been told, "there is reason why you would believe that"
We have to remember that when someone reflects on their history, all of the above can be part of what they say.
Just as I hear a lot of people saying what a great time it was on this or that ship.........but I might not share the same opinion.
As to how to handle it, well, let it be. That is what makes horse races.
I personally call them out if I know what they are saying is false. I usually do it one on one, but if they continue, I'll point it out to a group.
Understand, though. I'm not talking about a 6" vs a 12" fish story. I'm talking obvious BS that any former military member can tell. Even met a guy telling BS tales that never made it through AIT.
I pretty much tune them out. I'm not really a fan of people who spend an inordinate amount of time talking about themselves and their deeds, anyway.
My former platoon sergeant back in infantry training school used to always say "doers don't talk and talkers don't do." That has pretty much been true in my experience.
As an old sailor that never served on a ship, there is not much that one could brag about, unless you were on a base that was attacked such as Hawaii being attacked on that terrible Sunday Morning.
I was stationed out of the United States in Hawaii for 3 months, which was as far as I went from the USA. At that time Hawaii was a territory not a state. I spent a year in boot camp and 2 Navy Schools. Then I was moved into Naval Air Transport squadrons. I can tell you from experience that there is nothing to tell sea stories about, when you are land based and not under attack from an enemy.
As an old sailor that never served on a ship, there is not much that one could brag about, unless you were on a base that was attacked such as Hawaii being attacked on that terrible Sunday Morning.
I was stationed out of the United States in Hawaii for 3 months, which was as far as I went from the USA. At that time Hawaii was a territory not a state. I spent a year in boot camp and 2 Navy Schools. Then I was moved into Naval Air Transport squadrons. I can tell you from experience that there is nothing to tell sea stories about, when you are land based and not under attack from an enemy.
According to him he was a crypto in Guam in the mid70s, knew how to tie all the same knots as a boatswain mate, knew about the latest submarine technology because of classified communications, and the tales grew taller.
If you are really interested, you could contact the US Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association and ask them about crypto techs on Guam in the mid-70s. https://usncva.org/history/ct-rating-history.html
That said, if he was in the field, he very well could have known about certain things because he had to read the classified comms as part of his job. But if he's yapping about any details in those classified comms, he may be in violation of the Non-Disclosure Agreement he had to sign when he left service -- if said info remains classified today. The only way he could know that is to have kept up on public releases and know about the declassification. Since most of us with access to classified information don't keep up with the latest declassifications after we left, we just keep our mouths shut.
Difference between a fairy tale and a sea story
fairy tale starts out "once upon a time"
sea story starts out "this is no s**t"
As far as your co-worker goes....
as long as they are not hurting you, no big deal
if they are espousing something that is detrimental to either you or the Navy and you have personal experience with the exact story then say something. Of course one must take into account possible hostility of some sort.
I for one, with over 20 years in the Navy (been retired over 37 years) I leave sleeping dogs lie.
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