Sailors and Coffee

[mike24d20]

You be talking about the USS Dykeson ( dixon ). She was morred to Sperry pier when I was there.

[Hal O'Peridol]

When we used to go to the field, coffee was a luxury that only came out with hot chow...maybe once every other day if we were lucky. We had to depend on C-rat or MRE coffee. Most of the grunts would make field 'mocha' with the coffee, sugar, creamer and cocoa packets. Most of the guys used heat tabs but I carried a small "GAZ" propane stove. With it's blue flame in the bottom of the fighting position it couldn't be seen ... and warmed up the hole. In the mid eighties, I was assigned to the 9th ID at Ft.Lewis as a platoon sergeant. We had been in the field for a week and were in a stand down period before our ARTEP. We had just been issued the new MRE's and were still getting used to the different items. Two of my squad leaders came over to my hole and asked if they could use my stove to brew up some mocha. As we sat on the edge of the hole waiting for the water to boil these two got out their condiment packets and began preparing the "brew". We were sitting there enjoying a canteen cup of hot drink when one of the squad leaders said that it tasted funny. The other guy denied it did and then asked the rest of us what we thought. It did taste funny ... and was gettig thick. A quick click of the flashlight revealed the problem ... in the dark, two packets of creamer had been missed and two packets of dehydrated ketchup had been added instead. Being wet and cold, the two packets of creamer were quickly added and we all enjoyed a cup of "tomato soup mocha".

Bear, I was at Ft. Lewis from 1985 to 1987, HHC 109th Mi Bn. Got stuck as unit armorer since they had no slots for my MOS. When/where were you there?

[ut1seabee]

Was never much of a coffee drinker,but the green machine ran on coffee and cigarettes. When stationed at Barbers Pt. Hi. ,
was in a command with mostly fleet sailors. One chief had a cup that was black inside, a non rate wave decided she could
earn some points by scrubbing it out like new. Wrong move, the chief had a s---fit because it took him years to get the cup
"just right". Most of us were filled with secret delight, because the chief was a nimrod. I had also seen everything from soap
to piss added to the coffee by those who felt it the only recourse they had to get even with the chiefs and senior p.o.'s
which were the predominant coffee drinkers. Another reason I never drank much coffee in service.

[Griff Murphey]

A friend, now, sadly, passed from lung cancer, was a snipe on the DDG USS RICKETTS. He told me the engine room gang drank mostly tea, made very strong, and mixed with Myers dark rum!

[Rick]

One day I was mixing photographic chemicals for the photo lab. The Chief put his coffee cup down on the counter outside of the chemical mixing room and walked away. So I put a pinch of acid in his fresh brew. The same chemical we used to make lemonade. Then on the shelf above the cup I put a canister of something with the big skull and crossbones. So back comes the Chief and takes a big sip of coffee and his eyes got big. The next thing is he sees the canister with the skull land crossbones. So he runs to the sink, spits out the coffee, and started the fresh water flush for ingesting poison.

I kept a straight face as I was probably looking at brig time for this prank and acted completely innocent. One of those deals where you had to keep it to yourself and couldn't even tell your best friend. The Chief never said a word to me about this prank but I had to watch my back for a long time. Chiefs didn't serve 20 or 30 years without learning a thing about practical jokes.

[Sarge]

I was never a big coffee drinker and still am not. I much prefer a cup of hot chociolate!
I largely quit drinking what little coffee I did drink because the Navy stuff was so damned strong.
I used to comment that I could not understand why the bottoms of those big stainless steel coffee urns hadn't been eaten out.
As Ordnanceman on P2Vs it was my job to do the cooking and make coffee on long patrol flights. The cooking I liked, but since I did not drink coffee that job irrated me. It only took me one flight to get the radioman assigned the job. I screwed up the coffee making good and, bingo!
Sarge

[P. Greaney]

Right before I reported onboard the McKee, 60 minutes did a story on the forty lesbops they busted on the Dixon. Hence the name dykeson.

[mike24d20]

Greaney: I was too report onboard the McKee in 1980. Got a busted lip an messed up jaw while on leave, an thus got sent too the NWS 48 shop at goosecreek. was there from 80-84. Small world.

[jon_norstog]

When I was in the Coast Guard I remember a sea story: I guess it was the CGC Taney, on Vientnam duty, had pulled in to Subic for repairs and R&R. They sent a diver down to inspect the screws. The diver said everything was ok, but there was a coffe cup sitting on the skeg for the shaft!

jn

[Ltdave]

If someone said a Navy ship was grounded on coffee grounds. It meant they rarely went to sea and were tied to the pier most of the time. Something I would have liked to serve on.

my dad served his last 3 months on bldg 8* in virginia beach oct 54- jan 55

*also known as AGC-8 USS Mt Olympus...

ive heard of guys making coffee using brown paper towels for filters while out to sea when they run out of the normal kind. that and the coffee having an oil slick on it...