So, here is the rest of the story.........
After selecting, I went to the Service Selection Night party. I looked for my roommates and didn't find them so I returned to our room.
They had returned from their selections and were waiting for me.
"What ship did you get?"
"Albert David FF-1050"
"Great a Knox class....... wait a minute. What ship did you get?"
"Albert David FF1050"
"What ship? The hull number has to be greater than 1052."
For those that don't know, the Knox class frigates were the most numerous class of ships in the navy in the late 1980's. They were named for USS KNOX (FF1052), the first ship of the class. By telling my roommate, I had chosen a ship with a hull number less than 1052, I had confused him. If it wasn't a Knox class frigate, what had I chosen.
"Albert David FF1050."
I proudly show him my ballcap, picture of the ship (with the letter from the Commanding Officer) and the little sheet of paper with the ship's name and hull number. All confirming. USS Albert David and the hull number FF1050.
What kind of frigate is it? It isn't a Knox class."
"I don't know. It was the best choice left on the board so I took it."
My roommate retrieved our copy of Jane's Fighting ships from our book shelf.
Jane's Fighting Ships is a reference book which lists all of the ships of all the navies of the world. It would provide the pretinent facts of the ship I had chosen.
Flipping through the pages, he finally came upon the Garcia class of frigate and reads the description aloud.
"What is a pressure fired boiler?"
Shaking my head, I had to admit I didn't know. Although, I vaguely remember something from our Plebe (freshman year) engineering course. So, I went to the shelf and retrieved our Plebe year enginnering course book (we had this book because each year we were required to take an exam covering all of the knowledge from all the professional courses we have taken over the four years -- another story perhaps) and quickly find the page on pressure fired boilers and read that aloud.
"Well, I didn't remember all of that when I chose."
"So, how did you choose?"
I recount the events to my roommmates including my choice of departments (Gutsy or stupid, still trying to decide).
"You did what? Are you nuts? Enginnering first! They are going to think you are crazy!"
I had to admit. They probably will. But the choice had been made.
Those decisions have shaped the last 24 years of my life. I look back and think, for a decision I took about 30 seconds to make, it was a good one. Although I am sure most of you think me crazy for deciding the way I did.
Until next time..........
