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Bill over at my other blog, The Lexicans, has been posting archived posts from Neptunus Lex. And today’s entry was “The Goat Locker.” The Goat Locker is the traditional name for the Chief Petty Officers Mess aboard a warship, or a naval organization in general. Chief Petty Officers (E-7), Senior Chief Petty Officers (E-8) and Master Chief Petty Officers (E-9) are a breed apart in the Navy. When a sailor advances from Petty Officer First Class to Chief Petty Officer, they not only advance in paygrade, but they don the khaki uniform, much as officers wear. Gone are the blue crackerjacks of the sailor, and on comes the double breasted navy blue coat so similar to officers.

The Army really has nothing like that. From Private to General, the uniform for every troop looks pretty much the same, though of course, some have more badges and geegaws to adorn it.  But I grew up in a Navy family, so I was well aware of how special Chiefs are.

So, here’s a story.

After Desert Storm, I had a chance to come home on leave for a month. I was, at the time, a rather long in the tooth Specialist (E-4). I happened to get in touch with a friend from high school, Kevin, who had gone the NROTC route, and was then serving as a Lieutenant, Junior Grade (LTJG, or O-2) aboard USS Nimitz as a division officer in her Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department. Maintenance of aircraft components that was beyond the capability of the squadron’s organic maintainers would be performed by the AIMD ships company folks.

Kevin was kind enough to offer to give me a tour of the Nimitz. We went aboard early in the morning at the Naval Shipyard at Bremerton. We had a very nice breakfast in Wardroom Number One.* We toured the bridge, visited his stateroom, and wandered the flight deck and hangar deck.

And then we visited the the AIMD spaces. He introduced me to his boss, the department head, a Lieutenant Commander. And as it happened, the AIMD Master Chief just happened to be in the spaces.

What astonished me was when a Master Chief Petty Officer of the United States Navy, a man at the very pinnacle of his career, a man that most junior officers are timid before, actually asked if I wanted a cup of coffee. Yes, please. And then he proceeded to pour me a cup of coffee.

Understand this- Master Chief Petty Officers simply do not pour coffee for lowly Army Specialists. Or anyone else for that matter. To say I was gobsmacked would be something of an understatement.

And I’ll say this, my estimation of my friend Kevin as an officer rose quite a bit that day. There’s simply no way the Master Chief would have extended that courtesy to a guest of Kevin if he didn’t think he was a pretty good officer.

 

*Carriers have two wardrooms, that is, the officers dining room. The Number One Wardroom is the “formal” dining room, in which the uniform of the day must be worn. The other wardroom is less formal, and flight suits or other working rig is permissible. And so, it’s known at the “Dirty Shirt” wardroom. As a practical matter, the air wing officers almost exclusively utilize the Dirty Shirt, and ships company officers use Number One. It’s not against the rules to for an aviator to use Number One, nor for an black shoe surface type to use the Dirty Shirt. It just rarely happens that way.