Main Characters: Captain Bobbie Lee Sample, LT Steve, the Jonan Ingram’s Chief Petty Officers and me
Approx. date: Summer 1976
As I have noted, shipboard naval officers have primary billets which come with divisions or departments and personnel specifically trained to help them carry out a key function on the ship. As Communications officer, my guys included RM’s (Radiomen) and SM’s (Signalmen). As the ship’s navigator, I was in charge of the QM’s (Quartermasters).
In addition to those primary jobs, officers get tasked with other responsibilities which are termed “collateral duties”. Since I had a Top-Secret Security clearance, it made sense that I would be the Ship’s “Nuclear Weapons Security Officer” and “Top Secret Control Officer”. Neither took much time. “Immigrations Officer” was not a crunch until it came time to return to the US. The collateral duty I accepted without much thought was “The Welfare and Recreations Officer” (the WRO). Sounded harmless enough. That job nearly ate me alive. Unlike primary billets, with collateral duties you are pretty much on your own to get those jobs done. That is, unless you figure out a way to persuade shipmates to voluntarily assist you. Fortunately for me, several of the most capable men onboard came to my rescue. They were chief petty officers, the most senior enlisted men in the Navy.
I became the WRO about a month before the ship was to sail on a seven-month cruise where nearly half our ports of call would be in Muslim countries. Among them were Alexandria (Egypt), Jidda (Saudi Arabia), Dubai, Bahrain, and Bandar Abas (Iran). We were also to visit ports on both the east and west coasts of Africa. I met with Captain Sample and he identified two things that I needed to consider as the WRO. One was that soccer was a big deal in most places we would visit. It would be good if we could field a soccer team when necessary. And secondly, he explained that there was no way for sailors to get booze in Muslim ports and that would impair their welfare and hamper their recreation. I pointed out that I had never played soccer – never even watched a game. Was I supposed to become a soccer coach? No, recruit one – you just coordinate. Yes sir, I will see what I can do.
We determined that about 700 cases of beer would suffice for our 300-man crew. I said ok, have the Supply Officer buy the beer and I will see that it is properly distributed when the men are on liberty. “Well Mr. Treppendahl, we have two problems there. First of all, there is no requisition code available to use for buying alcohol. And secondly, as you know LT Steve (the Supply Officer) is a strict Mormon. He won’t bend any rules for booze. However, as Captain I do have some discretionary funds I can temporarily make available to buy the beer – but those funds must be replenished by the end of the quarter.” (That meant within about a month after we got underway.) “Do we sell the beer to the men to pay for the costs?” “No, that would be highly illegal.” So, I suggested bingo games and the Captain agreed that might work. (It didn’t).
I took the $4,000 short term loan plus about $300 of legitimate Welfare & Rec funds and bought 700 cases of beer, fifteen soccer uniforms, a dozen soccer balls, a bunch of bingo cards, a squirrel cage and other bingo paraphernalia, plus two rule books: one on bingo, the other on soccer. We put the word out about fielding a soccer team and to my surprise, a dozen enlisted men signed up. About half had actually played soccer before. One of them was SM2 Johnson, the senior signalman in my Communications Division who offered to be the coach. We had time to hold two practices before we left Mayport. It became obvious to everyone that Johnson had no coaching abilities. I bought a second book on how to coach a soccer team.
A couple of nights after we got underway, I started holding bingo games in the crew’s mess (the enlisted dining area) after supper but before the movie. Maybe ten guys would show up. Everyone else complained about the movie being delayed. After three weeks, I think we had collected a total of $200. So that left me with about a week to come up with a Plan B to generate $3,800.
I went to see Chief Quartermaster Volz, who worked for me, and I told him that I had a problem and I needed advice from the Chiefs. QMC Volz arranged for me to come to the Chief’s quarters the next evening and commiserate with the ten or so most knowledgeable enlisted men on the ship – most were a decade or more older than me. They were impressed that I had gone out on such a limb for the crew by getting the beer. So, they took ownership of the problem and said, “We can make that much money with a Casino Night.” “Uh Chiefs, would this not be illegal?” “Sure, but so is having 700 cases of beer onboard.” “Ok, so how do we do this?” One of the Chiefs was from Las Vegas and had worked in casinos. He said he would need about $150 to buy the necessary items when we got to Ponta Delgado in the Azores and he would take it from there. I went back to my stateroom, got a $150 of my own money and gave it to the former croupier from Las Vegas. He and a couple of other chiefs found a place in Ponta Delgado that sold them everything they needed for Casino Night – a roulette wheel, craps stick, dice, plunger, cards, cups, green felt, and uniforms with bowties for the croupiers. (That had to have cost more than the $150 I gave them.)
At that same meeting with the Chiefs, Chief Fire Control Tech Ramos asked me how the soccer team was coming. “Terrible – it’s going to be a disaster. We desperately need a good coach.” Turns out Chief Ramos lived and breathed soccer and had had coached a soccer team when he had shore duty in Norfolk. However, he had no interest in playing on a totally dysfunctional soccer team. He said, “Meester Treppindul, I will be your coach.” The next day he started holding soccer practice on the fantail. Most of the dozen soccer balls were lost overboard within a week.
LT Steve got wind of our Casino plans and was not about to allow an illegal activity to happen on “his mess decks”. I say again, Bobbie Lee Sample was the best leader I ever served under. He realized that there were certain provisions the ship lacked and arranged for LT Steve to catch a helo from a nearby Carrier and from there he went to the US Naval base in Rota, Spain to obtain the heretofore unnecessary provisions. LT Steve, who was fluent in Spanish, was able to spend a few days jaunting about Spain before rejoining the ship in Dakar, Senegal. He was happy and I was thrilled.
Payday occurred the day LT Steve left. That evening we held Casino Night on the Crew’s Mess deck. I got out of the way and the Chiefs took care of everything. They put on quite a show. A few guys won big; most lost their shirts. Everyone had a great time. My arrangement with the chiefs was that if we made enough to cover the Captain’s loan plus $150, any extra went to them. The next morning, the Master Chief delivered an envelop to my stateroom with $3,950. When I asked him how much we made in total, he just smiled and said “We did good.”
To the Supply Officer’s credit, when I handed him the $4,000 to repay the loan, he asked no questions, and he even gave me a smile.
This is a photo of our soccer team in Banjul, Gambia where the score was 2-2. While we lost most of the games we played on that cruise, thanks to Chief Ramos, we were never humiliated. (Chief Ramos is first row third from right.)
Would that all such knotty problems that face us now be so effectively resolved.
Where are the Chiefs when we need them?