Reply #15: So we're in Guam picking up our Marines on the way to 'Nam... [View All]

[MindPilot]

I'm rigging the brow (that's the stairway that goes up the side of the ship.) lights as a few hundred Marines are coming aboard. Guam is an open harbor and the sea is a bit rough so the ship is bouncing around a lot even while tied up to the pier. I hear a horrible scream and look down to see the heavy steel roller on the bottom of the brow rolling up this Marine's leg. I'm now the only one on the brow and dead center. Everyone on the quarterdeck is yelling at me to get off the brow. The brow easily weighs a few thousand pounds so my scrawny ass isn't going to make a bit of difference, but I know that if I run up or down, that brow will whip and make the Marine's life even more miserable. Next, I hear over the 1MC, "This is the XO! Get off that brow, IMMEDIATELY!!

I vaulted over the rail. On the way down I was *really* hoping I didn't fall between the ship and the pier. As it turned out I landed on a pile of cables and was just bruised up. I got put on report and had to go to mast for not following orders. The Marine was fine; just some bruising.