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On current U.S. Navy operations at sea, do they still have sailors stand out, exposed to the elements, on watch? Do the times of the watches vary? I have been reading some WW2 and pre-WW2 books but wondered what the deal is with the modern Navy.
When I served ('74 - '78) I was a Seabee (MCB-40) and we kept the same watch schedule as the fleet, 2 hour shifts starting at 2400 hours. (Midnight) I don't know much about open bridges or shipboard life. Seabees are mostly land based in support roles. In four years I never set foot once on a ship. We flew everywhere. You stood your watch in all weather. At battalion HQ, When I had a roving patrol watch I carried a PRC-77 radio. At times for a outdoor duty, watch standers were issued shotguns or rifles, but not always. Indoor watches got a nightstick. Officers & NCO's had mostly desk jobs.
On current U.S. Navy operations at sea, do they still have sailors stand out, exposed to the elements, on watch? Do the times of the watches vary? I have been reading some WW2 and pre-WW2 books but wondered what the deal is with the modern Navy.
Do any U.S. ships have open bridges?
Yes there are times at sea, that someone has to stand a watch while being exposed to the elements.
Yes the times of the watches vary for many reasons, not enough qualified people, special details, heat or other weather issues, at sea or underway etc.
TO my knowledge there are no USN ships that only have open bridges, though many have a topside bridge where they can command the ship while being outside and exposed to the weather if they so choose.
I recall the pier guard who an officer raked over the coals because he was more focused of being huddled in the corner of the gate house with the heater than being up front checking IDs.
Somehow, standing watch where comfort is taken first over being out in the elements seems very counter productive. What has better chance of hearing someone overboard calling for help, being out on the bridge wing or being inside a closed space?
Most of my time at-sea was 6on / 12off, [three section duty].
But there were times when we did not have enough qualified watchstanders, so we would drop to 6on/6off [Port/Starboard duty].
I have seen 'Port/re-port' duty, where you stand watch for 6 hours, then someone relieves you for 15 minutes so you can eat a meal, then you go back to relieve someone else. If the mess decks are only open for an hour, you have to be quick to get any more than four watchstanders a chance to eat. That was mostly on the surface though, during the long surface transits, like Juan de Fuca.
I did two shore-duty tours, each was three years in length, and mostly 12on / 12off, a month of day shift then, a month of night shift. They usually try to get each person one day completely off each month. So you get a chance to visit your family.
Shore-duty is good for the married guys, as you get one day a month to visit the wife and kids.
Yes, lookouts are still required. For safety reasons. And, No. All ships have enclosed bridges, (excepting for small river patrol boats.)
Our Department, (Operations, CIC), was responsible for providing lookouts. One would stand on the port bridge wing, another on the starboard bridge wing, and a third on the fantail. Yes, outside! We would rotate every hour or so. (Some of my most precious Navy memories were standing on the port bridge wing during the middle of the night while on watch. So peaceful.) Usually, the Seaman or Seaman Apprentice rank would act as lookouts, however at times a 3rd Class Petty Officer may go out there for an hour.
The timing of the watch changes are designed to feed the whole crew breakfast and lunch. The dog watches cover dinner.
Almost always we had three watch sections, so we usually got a good night's sleep and plenty of time to relax. This was during the Vietnam Conflict, (early 70s). Probably has changed since then. I served on a Guided Missile Destroyer Leader, (DLG). About two years after I was separated from active duty, they were re-classified as Guided Missile Cruisers, (CG).
In-port, we still had to stand watches, but I don't remember the watch schedules.
Depends on the watchstander........and really, for security reasons, I should not say more than that.
Now, what I will say is that some may be armed more than they appear. Some of the tactics I taught was to exploit the helplessness that one might appear to have. That is, the enemy's attention is going to be focused on the one with the gun so for those without the gun, use that split second when you make your move to make it to the max advantage. If it is HtH, be deadly at point blank range with your strikes.
No jokes for if anything is out of order, if you don't obey my immediate order, it's a strike to put you in the hospital......and it is up to the Fates of whether it is the ER or the morgue.
BUT......that was my Navy, way back in the Cold War.
The POOW, (Petty Officer of the Watch), on the quarterdeck was armed with a .45 semi-automatic. None others were armed that I ever noticed or was aware of. (Again, this was in the early 70s.)
On the quarterdeck, while in port, the watch consisted of a junior officer, a petty officer, and a seaman or seaman apprentice. Other stations were manned, as required to get the ship underway in an emergency, (a change in policy as a result of Pearl Harbor - 1/3 of the ships complement had to remain on board at any specific time).
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Standing watch
