You Can't Silence Us

Navy Food

There is a lot of press on the Navy and the conditions on its ships. Let’s talk about a few of them:

Water

  • An aircraft carrier makes about 400,000 gallons of water per day through distillation. The total amount of water used is not just for personnel use. Water use is prolific.
  • Galleys: Preparing roughly 18,000 meals daily, beverages, washing produce, cleaning equipment, and operating dishwashers.
  • Laundry: Several thousand people generate an enormous daily laundry load. This includes the main ship’s laundry, uniform washing, linens, towels, and medical laundry.
  • Aircraft maintenance: Fresh-water washing removes salt from aircraft and engines to prevent corrosion. The Navy considers this mission-essential even during water restrictions.
  • Steam catapults: Roughly 200 gallons’ water-equivalent per launch. One hundred launches would represent about 20,000 gallons.
  • Reactor and steam plants: High-purity makeup water replaces losses in the propulsion, electrical-generation, and auxiliary steam systems. Most water circulates repeatedly, but leakage, sampling, maintenance, and steam losses require replacement.
  • Medical and dental spaces: Sterilizers, scrub sinks, laboratory work, patient care, and sanitation.
  • Ship cleaning and sanitation: Galley decks, berthing, heads, workshops, food-service spaces, and garbage-processing areas.
  • Closed-loop machinery systems: Air-conditioning chilled water and other cooling or heating circuits normally recirculate their water, but require makeup water.
  • Potable-water-system maintenance: Tank cleaning, flushing repaired piping, testing, leakage, and maintaining tank reserves.

During my six years living on a carrier, we were constantly placed on water restrictions. There were days when we couldn’t shower. We heard a constant round of complaining from the CO that he wanted us to use less than 22 gallons per person, per day.

For that reason, the Navy has special shower heads for enlisted showers that require you to hold down a stiff button to get water. Showers that simply run like the ones in your home are referred to as “Hollywood showers” and are not permitted.

Food

The food on submarines is top notch. While the food on aircraft carriers isn’t as high quality, it’s still plentiful. There were multiple dining facilities. Let me demonstrate:

  • There are three dining facilities for officers (called wardrooms) onboard. I never worked or ate in any of them, so I can’t give more details than that.
  • The Captain’s mess is for the commanding officer to have private meals with anyone he invites to dine with him.
  • There is a similar dining facility called the Admiral’s mess for the embarked Admiral and his invitees.
  • There is a chief’s mess for Chief Petty Officers (E-7 through E-9)
  • There are three different dining halls for enlisted crew members (E-1 through E-6) called the mess decks: Forward, Aft, and the Bar (which was connected to and adjacent to the Aft mess decks)

The forward mess decks specialized in fast, grab and go items like hamburgers (sliders), hot dogs (rollers), cereal, boiled eggs, sandwiches made of ham, egg, and cheese, and other quick options.

The aft mess decks were for hot meals. There were usually multiple options there- two or more main dishes to choose from, sides, vegetables, bread, and dessert.

The bar was what it sounds like- a buffet option where salads, a taco bar, a baked potato bar were available. Sailors could assemble those items with common toppings.

Here is the schedule for the enlisted dining:

  • 0100-0330: The forward mess decks open for “Jet setters,” a meal of boiled eggs, cereal, and egg sandwiches.
  • 0400-0800: Breakfast on both the forward and aft mess decks
  • 1000-1200 The bar is open
  • 1100-1400 Lunch is served on both the forward and aft mess decks. Full lunch aft, sandwiches, burgers, and dogs as well as fries and sometimes pizza forward.
  • 1400-1600: The bar is open
  • 1600-1900: Forward and Aft mess decks open for dinner
  • 2100-0100: Aft mess decks open for “midrats” which is usually composed of leftovers from dinner, as well as cold cuts to make sandwiches.

There were choices, and as you can see, there was somewhere and something to eat 19.5 hours per day. In addition, there were multiple stores for sailors to purchase snacks, chips, candy bars, etc.. The Navy calls that stuff “geedunk” and it is sold onboard. The third deck has the ship’s “mall” where things like soap, uniform items, stationery, geedunk, and other things can be bought. It’s on the 3rd deck, next to the post office. Six floors higher, on the 03 level, there was the “Seven-11” where geedunk was for sale. It was located next to the ship’s barber shop, which offered free haircuts. On the second deck, next to the video arcade between the personnel offices and the aft mess decks, there were half a dozen soda and snack machines.

You could always eat. Now I will say that I didn’t always like the food, but there was always plenty of it. Our mess cooks had a high number of Philipinos, and that caused us to eat a lot of adobo and other foods from that nation. I didn’t like that. I tried not to eat on the forward mess decks because I didn’t want to eat a lot of junk, but sometimes I did because the lines to eat aft were long, especially when the food being served aft was good.

On the nights when there was steak, pizza, spaghetti, lobster, or other popular meals, a person could wait in line for an hour or more to eat. My duties didn’t permit me that kind of time, so I would eat a slider from forward. We would get steak and/or lobster about once per month when deployed.

The food was repetitive sometimes, because the mess cooks would screw up and order too much of something. They would get creative in naming it, in an attempt to make us forget we were eating the same meal every day for a week. First it was steamship round, then Yankee pot roast, Savory Roast beef, Prime rib, beef stew, pepper steak, etc,. We once ate chicken at every meal for 14 days straight. Even for breakfast.

Once we were at sea for 45 days or longer, each Friday we would have pizza and pasta night. During that meal, each sailor who wanted it could have two non-alcoholic beers. The enlisted got O’Douls, the chiefs and officers got Sharp’s.

I was once assigned to a working party that was onloading food at the pier in Norfolk. It sucked, because we were carrying food onboard while it was snowing. Four of us ducked into an electrical load center with a box of donuts and hid in there, snacking. The issue is that we had to get rid of the evidence or we would have been caught. So we ate the entire box. There are 144 donuts in a box. The donuts were lemon filled. Eating 3 dozen donuts made me sick. I couldn’t stand the taste of lemon filling for years after that.

Did we bitch about it? Of course we did. Our command Master Chief (the senior enlisted man onboard) used to say “A bitching sailor is a happy sailor. When they stop complaining and the crew goes silent, that’s when trouble is brewing.” The difference is that today, the sailors have social media and combined with the press looking for any reason to slam the military (and by extension, Trump) the complaints are getting traction in the press.

What should the CO do? Cut off all access to social media for the entire crew. Then have the crew scrub and paint the entire ship until it sparkles, now that they have so much free time. That way, they can’t post videos of mold in the showers or dirty berthing areas because they will be clean.

When I was an E-3, I spent a lot of time needle gunning, painting, buffing and polishing floors, and scrubbing the gadoogin deck edges. In fact, about a third of your workday is spent cleaning things when you are E-3 and below. That’s the real motivation to be promoted- you aren’t a janitor any longer.

People who have read this post: 224
By Divemedic, ago

Race

Karmelo Anthony is trying to get a new trial. His legal team claims he was going to testify, but ultimately decided against it because he feared prosecutors would introduce potentially damaging evidence from his past. Prosecutors and defense attorneys had agreed before trial not to introduce “character evidence” about either Anthony or Metcalf. Austin Metcalf would have liked to have testified, but since Karmelo killed him, he was unavailable. I don’t understand this part of the article:

During hearings on Anthony’s motion for a new trial, jurors were shown previously unseen evidence, including graffiti containing a racial slur that was allegedly linked to Metcalf.

This is an appeals hearing. There is no jury present, because there is no trial being held. I don’t get this part.

This is an attempt to get a new trial where the defense will argue that Austin was racist and deserved to die.

  • The attorney in the case testified that his team documented more than 50 incidents dating to 2010 that allegedly involved violent or racially inappropriate behavior connected to the Metcalf twins.
  • He argued that evidence was relevant to Anthony’s self-defense claim and portrayed the brothers as having a history of violence and racism, information that jurors never heard during the original trial.

Those points mean nothing, unless they can show in court that Karmelo was aware of them at the time of the incident. Self defense cases are decided on what the person who used force in self defense knew at the time, not on what they found out hours or weeks later. What these are being used for is to secure a new trial, where the defense will do all in its power to get blacks on the jury, because those blacks have already stated they would never vote to put a “brother” in jail.

The ruling comes out today.

People who have read this post: 163
By Divemedic, ago

Drug Administration

A hospital in Nashville recently severely injured several patients when they administered potassium phosphate in place of the anesthetic Polocaine. In order to understand how this happens, it’s important to understand how medications are given in a hospital setting. This is dictated in general terms by the Joint Commission, a U.S. nonprofit organization that sets safety and quality rules for hospitals and medical centers. In order to be certified, one has to conform to the rules and guidelines of the Joint Commission. The commission inspects every hospital every three years, and will also inspect a hospital if they have had sentinel events. Here is generally how medication administration goes:

  • When the patient checks in to the facility, they ae identified by multiple identifiers, including name, date of birth, address, and others. This ensures the hospital knows which person they are dealing with. A wrist band with a barcode matching the patient’s record is placed on the patient’s wrist.
  • The intake nurse reviews medication allergies, current medications, and medical history with the patient.
  • In many cases, a pharmacy representative will repeat the verification process.
  • The provider orders the medication that will be given.
  • The hospital’s computers check to make sure the medication is proper, and there are no contraindications for the medication. If it finds any, it will alert the provider to the issue, but the provider can override this recommendation.
  • A pharmacist reviews the patient’s record and the medication order to ensure the order is proper, the dose is correct, and the patient has nothing that will contraindicate this medication. It’s then released. Sometimes, the medication has to be mixed in the pharmacy. There are complex procedures for doing this as well, with numerous safeguards in place. Still, mistakes DO happen.
  • The nurse who will administer the drug pulls the medication from the drug cabinet, which is locked and keyed to the nurse’s fingerprint and the patient’s name. Doctors do not have access to this system, only nurses and the pharmacy can open the cabinet.
  • In case of emergency, if the pharmacist hasn’t approved the medication, or a provider hasn’t ordered it, some nurses can override this and pull out a medication that hasn’t been ordered. Sometimes it requires a second nurse to also use their fingerprint to access the medication. Each unit has its own rules as to who can do this. The nurses in the ED, ICU, and other high acuity units have more latitude than do nurses from other units.
  • Some medications are marked with brightly colored bands that say “high risk medication” as a visual warning that the drug can be particularly dangerous if given improperly. In those cases, two nurses are required to administer the medication, to further reduce the chance of error.
  • The nurse then uses a computer at the patient’s bedside to scan their wristband to positively identify the patient. A prudent nurse will also ask the patient their name, date of birth, and which medications the patient is allergic to.
  • Then the nurse scans the barcode on the medication, and at this time, the computer matches what was ordered and approved to what was just scanned. If there is a mismatch, the screen gives a bright red warning overlay, telling the nurse that there is a problem.
  • As a final check, the nurse administering the medication is expected to check the medication, dose, route, and other facts to ensure the drug is safe and proper for that patient before they actually administer it.

All of this is designed to minimize the chances of a medication error, but there are numerous places where someone can take shortcuts and the result is a patient getting the wrong drug. In the case of Polocaine, it is administered by a nurse anesthetist or doctor. It can be pushed in manually, or can be given by an automated pump- in both cases directly into the spine.

Although I have no direct knowledge of this specific incident, here is what I suspect happened. The hospital says it was a pharmacy error. In the pharmacy, Pharmacists or certified techs prepare it inside a sterile, laminar-flow hood to ensure complete sterility. The ingredients to be mixed are placed on a table and photographed for later tracking. A second person (usually a licensed pharmacist) then checks the medication to ensure it is correct. They are then mixed, a tracking tag with a barcode are placed on the medication, and it is sent to the point of use. With some medications that are high risk, more than one person is required to sign off on the blend to ensure there were no mistakes.

It seems likely the pharmacist or tech who mixed the drug put the potassium phosphate in the medication instead of the Polocaine, and the person whose job it was to check it just signed off on it without looking. People tend to make these sorts of mistakes when they are overloaded with tasks. I’ve had this mistake happen three times in my career, and each time I caught the error before I gave it to the patient. Once was with half normal saline being confused for normal saline, the second was a unit of packed red blood cells that were not properly matched, and the third was a bag of phenobarbital that was improperly mixed. The mistake with the phenobarbital was unusual, as it was the hospital’s computer that made the error, and a subsequent investigation showed this error was system wide, with hundreds of patients receiving the incorrect medication. I was just the first person to catch it. It seems likely that some patients experienced negative consequences, although no one can really know for sure.

Administering medications is one of the riskiest things a hospital does. A busy hospital gives medications millions of times per year. Every step and precaution is taken, but no policy or procedure is 100% foolproof. This is why medical careers like nursing, pharmacy, doctor, and others have such high barriers to entry and licensure. We could have cheaper healthcare by lowering those barriers and creating more licensed personnel, but we do so at higher risk of errors.

People who have read this post: 153
By Divemedic, ago

Forfeiture

Brought to you by the same people who keep your cash if they find it in your car during a traffic stop:

Police request public’s help to find suspect who picked up $30 off ground in Walmart

Since they couldn’t solve the case of the murder of 9 year old Nigel Brown and the charges against his killer, Gerdnardric Pittman, were dropped by the District Attorney’s office, I would have taken my chances. This would never have gone to court.

Black men who murder 9 year old white kids walk free, but an old white man who finds 30 bucks on the ground are the subject of nationwide manhunts.

People who have read this post: 227
By Divemedic, ago

Oh Dear Lord

This is why our military is spending so much time whining, it’s filled with faggots. Its become a jobs program instead of a war machine.

People who have read this post: 583
By Divemedic, ago

I’m Sure Most of Them Aren’t Like This

Just this past February, an FHP trooper was driving down US 192 near Melbourne and sawa a motorcycle blow by him in the opposite direction at 111 mph. He is heard to say on his dash camera: “That guy’s going to jail,” as he turned the car around to give chase.

I know this area well. There is a spot not far from where this stop took place where the road enters a curve and the speed limit drops from 45 to 35. I took my foot off the gas and entered the curve. When the curve ended, I saw a cop sitting there. I got a speeding ticket for going 42 in a 35.

FHP troopers are well known for ticketing everyone. After all, traffic enforcement is their entire job. That’s all they do. Florida has a law called the “super speeder law,” making it a crime to drive more than 100 mph. First time offenders can face up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine if convicted of the misdemeanor. It also turns out the rider didn’t have a motorcycle endorsement. In Florida, you must have a motorcycle endorsement on your license in order to operate a motorcycle. FHP troopers are well known for ticketing everyone. After all, traffic enforcement is their entire job. That’s all they do. This motorcyclist was in a world of trouble.

Or he would have been, except the motorcycle rider was a fellow cop that had worked for Brevard County as a Deputy since 2024. Not just any cop, he is the Brevard county Deputy of the Year. He was awarded the medal of valor for shooting a suicidal man he had claimed charged him with a knife. One same day as the awards ceremony, the deputy’s ex-girlfriend sent an email to the sheriff’s office detailing numerous allegations against the deputy. They are pretty serious (see below).

Back to the traffic stop: The entire stop was caught on the trooper’s dash cam. Since the stop had been called in, the trooper had to do SOMETHING, so the cop returned to his patrol car and called his sergeant for advice. The sergeant told the trooper it was up to him what he did, so the Deputy got a citation for 9 mph over the speed limit. The deputy has resigned so as to avoid being terminated and losing his ability to be a cop somewhere else.

This story would have been enough for a blog post on its own, but there is more, far more to the story.

The email from Deputy Crime Wave’s ex-girlfriend caused some of his crimes to come to light:

  • placing his department issued firearm in his ex-girlfriend’s mouth and pointing it at the back of her head during sex
  • making an inappropriate Facetime call from his patrol car while wearing his uniform as he masturbated
  • appearing to perform a “Nazi salute” in a photograph captured shortly before he was hired as a deputy
  • using racially insensitive language in text messages, calling some of the people he came into contact with “niggers”
  • accessing the agency’s Flock camera license plate reader system to stalk his ex-girlfriend

After Sheriff Wayne Ivey expressed his intent to terminate the Deputy of the Year, he resigned. Even though the Sherriff’s department’s investigation revealed criminal acts on the part of the Deputy, there is no indication that he was criminally charged or even investigated. It turns out the FHP trooper’s stop wasn’t the first time he had been stopped for the same offense- there were at least four occasions in two months while riding his motorcycle off duty. 

The investigation of this one man crime wave eventually caught up other cops, including the FHP trooper. The FHP’s Office of Professional Compliance is reviewing the trooper’s actions.

“Trooper (Joshua) Provencher was aware that Deputy Fultz’s speed, along with the traffic conditions which made his speed a danger to other drivers, met the statutory criminal requirements for the new ‘super speeder law’,” sheriff’s investigators wrote. “Deputy Fultz admitted the speeds at which he was travelling did violate the ‘super speeder’ law, and he was aware that BCSO and FHP were in a current campaign to aggressively curtail excessive and unlawful speeding.”

This isn’t a story about one criminal wearing a badge, as bad as that would be. This deputy was caught multiple times (at least four) violating the law, but other cops let him go. The FHP trooper in this story even called his supervisor, who also told the trooper it was fine to let him go.

There are people who read this blog that would say I am anti-cop. That’s nonsense. I just want cops held to the same standards as the rest of us. Others would say this cop is just a bad apple. That’s also nonsense- at least five other cops permitted this behavior and let him go when the law clearly demanded they do something.

The FHP trooper falsified documents, showed favoritism, and his Sergeant was a willing accomplice with a “It’s up to you whether or not you let him go,” wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

This is a widespread practice amongst cops, although many or even most will deny it. There are bad cops, then there are also good cops who overlook the criminal of the bad cops because they are cops, which makes all of them bad cops.

That’s the reason why we as a society need to limit the powers we grant to our police, and need to closely supervise and monitor them.

Source Material

111 mph: Brevard Deputy of the Year avoids arrest under Florida ‘Super Speeder’ law

Brevard Deputy of the Year quits after ‘egregious misconduct’ exposed

FHP reviewing traffic stop of Florida deputy caught speeding 111 mph

People who have read this post: 269
By Divemedic, ago

Your Kids Are the Target

The Wake County school board in North Carolina hired a male teacher who says he’s a transgender nonbinary and demands to be called ‘Ms’ by students and shows up in dresses and skirts. Some speakers appeared at the school board meeting to demand the Wake County school board provide alternatives to elementary school parents who don’t want their children educated by a transgender teacher.

The board responded by telling the parents if they don’t like the school hiring transgender teachers than then they could pull their kids out and homeschool them.

“Here’s what our detractors are telling us by the way. You don’t support school hiring a trans teacher? Maybe public school isn’t for you or your family. Maybe homeschool. Maybe private school. That’s right. Maybe pay taxes into the school system and then pay again to escape from it.”

A cheaper option would be for parents to ban together and elect themselves a new school board. Failing that, tar, feathers, and rope my be an option.

People who have read this post: 255
By Divemedic, ago