No Longer A Pollywog
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Forum Description: These men and women put their lives on the line every day for us and we say THANKS! Forum dedicated to Lance Corporal Jeremy Scott Sandvick Monroe, USMC - KIA Iraq 8 OCT 2006
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Printed Date: 26 March 2026 at 22:28
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Topic: No Longer A Pollywog
Posted By: TasunkaWitko
Subject: No Longer A Pollywog
Date Posted: 09 February 2009 at 06:27
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No Longer A Pollywog By: HM2(SW) Brandon Nissen “WAKE UP WOG!” That was the way the morning of the 24th of May began for myself and roughly 100 other sailors onboard USS Curts. The desire to be awaken by gentler alarm clocks quickly came to mind, such as waking up to the sound of my favorite radio station in San Diego, but on this morning, the shellbacks on Curts had other plans in mind. They had been tasked with “cleansing and preparing” the Pollywogs on board the Curts for the “Crossing the Line” ceremony and the arrival of the Mighty Neptunus Rex. In ancient Roman Mythology, it was believed that Neptune, The God of the High Seas, would curse Roman ships with powerful storms, ultimately preventing safe passage in route to their destinations. A popular reasoning for these curses was the addition of new crew members tainting the ship with their supposed, bad luck brought on by their lack of seamanship experience. Myths say that the Shellbacks, the more seasoned sailors, on some of the cursed ships would simply take their shipmates or the passengers riding along and dip them into the ocean which would rid the Pollywogs of their slime and bad luck. In some instances, at least enough to create a naval tradition, these mighty storms or weather that prevented favorable sailing would quickly diminish into good sailing fortune, allowing the ships to proceed to their intended ports. Later in history, the Royal Navy and US Navy adopted these legends into a ceremony that revolved around sailors crossing the equator for the first time: the “Crossing of the Line.” The day had finally come for me to be cleansed of my slime that I have carried around with me during my 7 year Naval Career. Having never been given the opportunity to take sea duty, I had yet to cross the Equator. After eating and a short wait on the mess-decks, we were all taken to the main deck and waited for the event to begin. We were all dressed in shorts and white t-shirts with WOG written on the back. Most of the shellbacks were dressed in their most creative pirate wear. Though some wrote simply WOG on the back, some set themselves apart by writing something either personally or rate-inspired such as Sparky WOG or American WOG. For others, however, they had been dubbed nicknames by the shellbacks before the morning’s end. For instance, one individual had a “uniform malfunction” with his white t-shirt that caused a large tear exposing his chest, and will now infamously be known as Janet Jackson WOG. As we stood there waiting, the shellbacks would have different Pollywogs sing songs, dance or other silly things. For instance, at one time, the shellbacks of Curts had the Pollywogs singing a very stirring rendition of “Row, Row, Row, Your Boat;” in fact, I think we sang it for about 30 minutes straight. I have to say that it definitely has slipped from my list of favorite children’s songs, having sung it more that morning than I did in the last 20 years of my life. Along with the medley of “Row Your Boat,” other songs were song too, such as “Take Me Out to The Ballgame,” “Tomorrow,” and a true American classic, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Also we were asked to recite the Sailors Creed and sing “Anchors Aweigh,” which, because of the Crossing the Line ceremony, I now know the detailed history of its origin and creator. There were hysterical situations that some sailors were put in that made it hard not to laugh out loud until your belly ached. Some sailors had to pretend they were Jaws, some would walk up to everyone in line and ask if we had seen Flipper, and there was a high-pitched female voice that kept professing her undying love for Harry Potter. Though there were lots of smiles had that morning, there were lots of lessons to learn as well. Once the event actually started, we were escorted to a total of eight stations that expressed serious lessons in not-so- serious ways. Some of these stations included a damage control environment, general seamanship, medical casualty training, and physical fitness. As the day wore on I felt as though I was walking through an obstacle course or a playhouse at Universal Studios. The first event was the damage control drill. Teams of four or five had to don Oxygen Breathing Apparatuses (OBA’s) as we would have to if a fire were to start on the ship. After aiding each other to get our OBA’s on, we grabbed onto the “D” ring on each others back-strap and began proceeding down a passageway that was filled with overwhelming heat and smoke. As one member of the group guided us, the others had to not only hold on for dear life to the others but also trust that the guide responsible for looking out for all hazards that could cause us harm or trip us would lead us to safety. Now, in a simulated environment like this one, there was no way of getting lost, but in case of a real fire, with lots of real smoke and fire hazards, we need to be able to stay close to each other and have faith in our team. After completing the smoke-filled course, we were hit with another of Nature’s many weapons; water, lots and lots of water. As we stepped outside we were instantly soaked from head to toe in salt water from the fire main, which is used for fire fighting. As we stood there, we had to pretend to tread water, and were then given our life vests or “Rubber Duckies” as they have been so nicknamed. We manually blew up our rubber duckies as we were continually drenched with water. It is hard to express the feeling that I felt as all the water fell on my face, but I guess the best description would simply be having difficulty breathing as I was inundated with water to my face and head. After we had them on and blown up completely, we were asked certain seamanship questions that revolved around a possible abandon ship. Such questions as how many life boats are onboard, where are they located, which one is ours and the location, who orders abandon ship, and what types of supplies do you find in the life boats were all answered, including a few more. Even if we answered the question right, we usually got the chance to stand there with the water falling down on us just a little longer. Each station taught us a lesson and this was no different; if ever a disastrous situation such as an abandon ship were to arise, we need to know where to go and what to do. And let me tell you, there is nothing like cool, salty seawater falling on you that helps to implant it deep in your memory. As we continued on through the course we came across some shellbacks fallen on the deck and covered with moulage (fake wounds used for first aid drills). One member had a sucking chest wound as if inflicted by a puncture or a gunshot and another suffered trauma to the face. We knelt down by their side and as we comforted them, we treated them to the best of our ability and ensured that we would get them to medical as soon as possible. The last actual station was more for fun than to teach us a lesson. We were directed to get down into the pushup position and as we dipped down to a 90-degree plane, we had to blow the water out of the pad-eyes on the flight deck. Pad-eyes are small round holes in the deck that are used to secure the helicopter and other supplies to the hangar during rough seas. After completing the course, our time had come to face the mighty King Neptune and answer for our crimes. Though there were lots of funny answers, and it actually took my group a few times to get the answer that he was looking for, he finally forgave us of our offenses and granted us safe passage into his realm. In conclusion, I want to express my deepest and sincerest thanks to my now fellow shellbacks that took the initiative to cleanse me of all my slime. Thank you, Neptunus Rex, for forgiving me for my treacheries. I am proud to have become an honorable shellback, one of your “Sons of the Sea.” The ceremony was a great time, broke up the monotony of our everyday workday at sea, and will be a memory that this shellback will never forget. Editor’s Note: Brandon Nissen, son of Louise and Jim Nissen of Harlem, is a 1999 graduate of Chinook High School. He joined the U.S. Navy right after high school and trained as a Hospital Corpsman. Currently, Brandon is serving on the USS Curts (FFG-38). ------------- TasunkaWitko - Chinook, Montana  Helfen, Wehren, Heilen Die Wahrheit wird euch frei machen |