THE DEATH OF NELSON

[Thomo]

It has been a hard week in our house and today I am trying to ease back a bit, apart from making the Sunday dinner I am leaving the kitchen alone and attempting to unwind. This is not easy however when something that has bothered me for some time keeps getting "stoked up". And so here I am, the sun is over my yardarm and I am having a "Tot" the first sip being accompanied by "God Bless Nelson", not that town just over the border, rather the man it was named after, Admiral Lord Nelson. I am, as some of you will already know an ex Navy man and the fifth member of my family to go to sea under the White Ensign, like my Father and Grandfathers I served before the days of EU Law and political correctness and the manifold demands of modern existence and the need to bring equality to all. Wooden Ships and Iron Men was how Navy life was often described, good old "Jack Tar" Now it would appear that we have ships of metal and an odd assortment of individuals who make up the crews, to describe them as wooden would be unfair to trees. Most of these new generation Sailors are quite bright, but something is adrift, all is not well. Six months ago I watched the first two programmes out of a series of four covering the daily routine of an Australian Ship HMAS Toowoomba as She was prepared to go on anti pirate patrol off Somalia, I could not face watching the other two, then came a bit of normality with four programmes showing how promotion to Captain hopefuls were put through their paces on a "T" Class Submarine, some of my faith was restored. Last week I watched the second of a series of documentaries about a type 42 Destroyer, HMS Manchester on drug patrols in the Carribean, the result, I swore a lot and turned the tele off. I will have to break off here as we have visitors, more later.

[Thomo]

One thing that for a long time has set this countries Armed Forces above those of other nations has been the ability to prevail in the face of overwhelming odds, outnumbered, outgunned but rarely outsmarted. Tradition has played a large part in this unique and historic past, Stand Firm, then keep going forward and overcome. This requires a great deal of determination, raw courage and sacrifice, this is not the "Gung Ho" stuff of movies, this is what made it work, but it requires special qualities and the right tools for the job. So lets look at the tools remembering that this is about the Navy, the other forces have their own specific needs. A Warship is a mobile floating weapons platform above all else, its design and quality of build in relation to its intended purpose is paramount, with a degree of flexibility to encompass whatever it may encounter. Within this there has to be accomodation for they who tend this machine, it is all about what it can do with the aid of they who serve it and this cannot work well if there is a weak link in the latter. The ship will perform well if tended properly, and will do whatever is asked of it "if" those who serve it are dedicated to their cause and set the ship above all else. In short a level of commitment far above normal life is required. Not very long ago it was accepted that if a Sailor was below a certain standard of achievement he would probably spend his career on large ships where any lack of skill could be absorbed and controlled, do not get me wrong though, many good men have served the great ships, its just that smaller ones require more attention from the fewer numbers of those on board, here there is no place for passengers. So now lets take a look at the Sailors, how they were, and how some of them appear to be now. For many years they were dependable, professional yet colourful, dedicated, tough but caring, rough around the edges but with hearts of not just Oak but Gold as well, reliable when sober, but difficult when not, used to hard conditions and hard work but they knew how to make up for it in their leisure time. More vistors, well meaning but noisy require my attention now and the cats want their dinner, back later.

[Thomo]

Anyone who has read the last two posts will probably have gathered that something has "Brassed" me off a bit, and yes it has. The past two months have been difficult, but apart from trade skills I have been able to draw on the considerable training and experience I gained in the Navy, most ex service personnel would probably say the same, that is, those whom served before political correctness etc, became paramount. Seeing young male Sailors dancing with each other, and well oiled female Sailors picking up girls ashore does nothing for me and would make "Old Nell" turn in his eternal pit I am sure. I am not nor ever have been a chauvinist and I believe in equal rights in the right conditions, a Warship does not fit in the list of right conditions. I have served on steam driven ships, combined steam and gas turbine ships and later on ships that were all gas turbine and I have also served on conventional and nuclear submarines. Anyone who has ever been aboard a steam driven ship at sea will appreciate the effort and dedication required to make them perform, imagine then what it is like in a combat situation. It requires more than just professional skill, it also needs self control and the ability to keep doing your job however bad the situation, this also applies to the modern ships, they may have engines that can be quickly replaced if a failure occurs, whereas we used to have to sort it ourselves, this needs a visit to a port, we used to keep going and do what we could as we went along. and we did not break down and cry if we were unhappy. If this sounds like some kind of emotional outpouring, then you are right, I worked damn hard to prove that I was "up to it" and it saddens me that what I now see is a Navy where the backbone has been broken.

[Thomo]

It is now well over two years since I started this topic, during this time I have been too busy to take this any further, there has been much to do and there still is. However, an announcement on the news last night bears out my concerns over this issue. The Commanding Officer of one of her Majesties Ships has been removed from her post for having a liaison with a member of the crew. This is not good for her or the ship, these ships are purpose built to fulfil a specific role, they are not cruise ships or floating dating parlours! Before WREN's became Sailors, they were not subject to the Naval Discipline act, now they are, and whilst this act may appear draconian in this day and age, it was drawn up for a purpose, and anyone who failed to obey it would be in serious trouble. not many years ago hanging was still the ultimate penalty, normally commuted to life imprisonment, a deterrent that kept control. Women are wonderful beings and deserve respect and the freedom to achieve, and whist today what has happened here may appear trivial on the grand scale of things, I am glad to be out of it.

[Pluggy]

There was a quote on the old Warship series which was taking place on the BBC about the time Wrens were starting to go to sea.

"Its a morally bankrupt nation that sends its Women to sea."
Its arguable whether 'sends' should be substituted for 'allows' in this day and age.

It happened after I left, which I'm also thankful for, but I can understand why its happened. I won't mourn the passing of the gay witch hunts that took place in my era, its entirely appropriate that the sexual act (of any description) should not take place on warships. but actively pursuing and using entrapment on people of a different sexual orientation which evidence strongly supports being outside the indivduals control was entirely wrong. Being in the military is of nessecity a young persons game, which unfortunately coincides with the 'breeding' window when hormones have a habit of taking over.

You're not going to get the genie back in the bottle.

[Thomo]

At the end of the day a Warship is just that. The survival of its occupants and in times of severe difficulty, the nation, depends on its ability to function in the manner for which it was intended. In short, and at the risk of being labelled as sexist or homophobic, or both, I still and always will believe that it has fallen prey to the whims and platitudes of a modern must do or else mantra. A Warship in action depends on the ability of its crew to perform without regard for self interests, and is without doubt no place for the faint hearted, or they who are unsure of their personal sexual orientations. Seeing a shipmate cut in half, or burnt to death is bad enough, and has to be dealt with quickly, this I know from experience. But I was not in love with either of them! they were just shipmates.

[Tizer]

Thomo, did you listen to Admiral Lord West's `Britain at Sea' series of 15-minute programmes on Radio 4 recently? If not, then I think you would find them interesting, describing the history of the Royal Navy up to the present day. You can download the podcasts to listen to on your computer (or other devices) from this BBC web page:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/britainsea/all
They are listed in reverse chronological order, so start at the bottom if you want them in order.