Aparently the HMAS Suck Cess is a good ride.Do you think we should be spending our tax dollars on the entertainment of our sailors when they should be shooting up Iraqis and Afghanis to save us from terrorism?

Really Capt Cess Poole will be beside himself if this boat continues to rock and roll in this fashion.It could be a matter of, "Christ, I'd better get to Church before the earth moves for us all!"

I'm confused, Arjay.

You haven't mentioned the international cabal of banksters, nor the 9/11 conspiracy, nor the need to adopt the gold standard, nor Ron Paul for president, nor the evils of the Fed...

Are you OK?

Pericles,
I was beginning to worry myself as Arjay doesnt realise sailors sail the open seas not Afganistan and Iraq.

Philo,they do have surface to air missiles.Pericles,I have to give you laugh sometimes to break the monotony.

It's been happening for a long time Arjay it only just gets reported on from time to time. There does need to be a big re-think about defence culture. Having had friends go through the 'system' despite what defence mouthpieces might tell you, the traditions of bastardisation and misogny still run rife.

How do you change that sort of culture? Very difficult and it takes a long time, and can only be achieved by accountability for actions. Where there is no discipline there is no change. Trouble is many of the senior ranks of the old guard continue to turn a blind eye until the media get wind of any misdoings.

Don't be so unfair to yourself Arjay.

>>Pericles,I have to give you laugh sometimes to break the monotony<<

I don't think that you have ever posted here without providing me with a good laugh.

It's the way you tell 'em.
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Oh.

And timing.

Obviously none of you have any idea what it's like serving on a navy ship.

Can you imagine living a life where your only personal space measures 6Ft 6inches, by 2Ft high by 2ft 9inches wide. They can't even lie on their back & read, not enough room. There is no privacy. They can't watch TV with sound, as others are sleeping. I could not believe it when they announced women were to serve on these ships.

Navy ships are dry. Yes totally dry. There's no sitting down with a bear or two, even after a watch in a 45 to 55C engine room. Can you imagine working physically hard, with heavy bits of iron in that environment.

This is all carried out in a yes sir atmosphere. When these ships get into port it has always been the case that the sailors go a bit wild. After some weeks of total obedience, & not a single drink, this is to be expected.

Now the stupidity that is women's lib with the compliance of weak gutless politicians force the navy to introduce girls into this environment.

The girls who join the navy, [or other branch of the services], are somewhat different to your average checkout chick, or office girl. Some of them however are still terribly lonely, missing family & friends more than most males. However you kid yourself if you don't admit that many are every bit as predatory as any male sailor. Like music & football groupies, some want notches on their butt, just like a western gunslinger.

If you put girls on ships, there will be sex on ships, accept it. If you can't, send the girls back to the office.

We are at the stage where we no longer really have a navy. So many of the men needed to make ships go have had enough, & got out. About 50% of our ships do not have the engine room staff to be able to move. Too much more garbage, & we will have to wire the ships into shore power, permanently.

I wonder if Australia could have been out of Iraq & Afghanistan by now if they had paid mercenaries instead of the armed forces ? Cheaper too because no need to spend money on hero ceremonies & medals.

As you surmise Arjay, a woeful tale of high seas lust and debauchery at tax payers’ expense, but at least it's good to see that the buggery has gone off the boil.

Put the class nerd from every school in Australia all together, in the one place and you have the ADF. What do people expect?

Pelican,it is the sheer waste within the armed services which no party has ever addressed.There are too many in the corporate sphere who are profiteering from this corrupt system.

Hasbeen,don't take this as a personal assault on all within the armed services.It is the present corrupt system which make the decadence possible.It is just a reflection of our society which is in serious decay.

Individual,it costs $80 million to kill one Taliban.So you are right, but is Afghanistan really a threat to the most powerful country on the planet? The drugs are back and so are endless wars.War is all about profit and power.The war on terrorism is a lie and so is the demonisation of Muslims as agents of hate.58% of the world's oil is in Muslim countries.Iraq was a lie and so is Afghanistan.The USA's own inspectors say Iran has no WMD's or the capacity to produce one, yet we have sanctions against Iran?Israel has 200+ nukes and the disposition to use them.

I have no favourites and will send up all human foibles in a satire to make us a bit more aware.

Stopping the expansion of war should be our objective.Ordinary folk have never wanted war but the elites wage it constantly by deception.

You cannot have a limited nuclear war even with micro nukes,since a losing side as we see with suicide attacks,will always consider the unthinkable.

Hasbeen <"Navy ships are dry. Yes totally dry. There's no sitting down with a bear or two, even after a watch in a 45 to 55C engine room".

Hasbeen bemoans the addition of women to the navy. Does he want bears on the ships instead? Lol.
Sorry, I couldn't resist it! :)

Suze, it depends just what that bear is likely to bare.

The sailors could get into even more trouble here.

That's why I could never join the Navy.

>>There's no sitting down with a bear or two<<

The thought of leaving them at home is simply too much to... contemplate.

Many's the wonderful evening spent in their company, shooting the breeze about the various qualities of rabbit-fur "in the woods", sharing reminiscences... "do you remember that time in Jellystone Park? Yogi and his bear-fart jokes"... "and that magical encounter in Hundred Acre Wood with Pooh - he really should come out, you know, he'd feel so much better about himself"...

Nope. Couldn't bear the thought.

Arjay

"it costs $80 million to kill one Taliban"

Interesting...where did you get that figure from?

How many of you have actually stood behind Customs or Navy personnel in a Supermarket shopping for the crew ? Have you any idea how much top shelf tucker & prime food is being bought at taxpayers' expense for these crews to live like on a pleasure cruise ? it makes your eyes roll in amazement. No business could afford to feed it's crews like a Government can that's for sure.

I'm surprised at you talking such rot Individual.

The last time my son was called back from leave, for an emergency which none of the crew on board could handle, was when the refrigeration plant in use had broken, again.

It was an emergency because they had just loaded 12 tons of frozen & chilled food, for a short exercise they were to attend. He had about 4 hours to save the navy/government quite a bit of money.

I don't know about customs, as public servants, not defense personal, I'm sure they are a little better treated than naval ratings.

Those navy personal you followed through that supermarket must have had a bigger than usual trolley to take 12 tons back from the supermarket.

When I was flying Venoms off HMAS Melbourne nobody ever had the steak, when it was rarely on the menu. We used to reckon the navy had done a deal with some dairy farmer for the meat of his old clapped dairy cows. Where ever it came from those cattle had had a tough life.

Nothing has changed. My son tells me he believes they are still recycling that same steak, the stuff they are offered is just as tough, & gives the appearance of being well aged, or at least very old.

Hasbeen,
Perhaps the little patrol boats up here are run somewhat differently to the large cruisers.
I have seen their shopping trolleys chockers with Deli food & that's no rot.

A few corrections-
Sailors aren't exactly able to reach Afghanistan to shoot at anyone, which is entirely land-locked.

And surface-to-air missiles, as the name suggests, are designed to be fired into the air to shoot at aircraft.
Surface-to-SURFACE missiles are another story, but that is still quite a distance for most missiles to travel (contrary to popular belief that the average SSM can fly around the world effortlessly, it is actually a big deal if a missile can travel a few 100ks).

Then there is the fact that it would require shooting the missiles over the airspaces of either India, China, Russia, or Iran- who aren't exactly going to be very happy.

King Hazza,Get real.This was intended as a satire on the stupidity and avarice of war.Whether it be a naval blockade on Iran or Libya,the intent is there.

War is now waged by the military/industrial complex to take energy and resources from Muslim countries,who own 58% of it.That is the reality.They are being demonised not because of religion or their backward ways,but the fact they own energy lusted after by power brokers in the greedy West.Zimbabwe was left to the jackal despots because it didn't have oil.They now want to save the people of Libya because it has energy,the power to placate their inadaquacies.

When our humanity cannot raise it's aspirations above pure self interest and hedonistic indulgences,then self destruction is a hair's breadth from our door.2012 will become a self fulfilling prophecy not because of any pre-ordained rethoric,but because of what we have allowed ourselves to become.

Sorry I didn't answer before individual.

Don't forget those patrol boats are now getting big enough to go out in the real world of nasty oceans. They are no longer semiprivate Whitsunday cruise boats.

These larger boats have more officers, & can go on 2 month patrols. You may not be aware that officers pay their own mess bills. Sure there is some allowance, but their choice of food, & its cost is up to them. I think you may have seen the officers steward, although it would not be unreasonable for the men on those things to be well fed.

Patrols in them have been described as 8 hours work, 8 hours sleep, & 8 hours of absolutely stuff all to do, for 8 weeks. Food is about the only distraction.

It can get worse. When I was a young fly boy on HMAS Melbourne one trip included stops at Singapore, & Hong Kong. I did not get shore leave in either port, but we had a couple of official receptions on board. At those we were "issued" with guests. I had 3 in one port & 2 in the other.

All costs of their food & drink went on my mess chit. The navy has ways of making sure it's young officers & men, [& now even ladies] are too poor to eat too well. It took most of us 2 months to pay off those mess bills.