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Or hell even a command that is entirely in a scif. Imagine trying to show up and no one knows who you are and you have no idea what to do. Sponsors are universally a good thing so long as it's done right. Expecting anyone that was dumb enough to join the military to suddenly gain some smarts when it comes to new situations is just as dumb as joining the military. By the time you make it to e-5/6 range you obviously know the score but more junior folks are going to be lost.
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Oct 19, 2015 12:57
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buttplug posted:This. My first station wasnt over seas but being from the west coast flying all the way out to NC was interesting. Airport was an hour away from LeJERRRRRRN and it was 1am so I was about to just say gently caress it and sleep at the airport. Then a SGT who was PCSing snagged my boot rear end up and put us both up into a hotel. He put it all on his gubb'nt travel card and I got to get drunk and pick a SGTs brain about the fleet. Years later I was able to return the favor of that random sgt by picking up a car full of boots and dropping them off at receiving. I dont know if its improved but landing at Jacksonville in the middle of no where airport with no communication is the ultimate test of " lets see what this dude does. "
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Oct 19, 2015 13:19
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MaxPowers posted:I dont know if its improved but landing at Jacksonville in the middle of no where airport with no communication is the ultimate test of " lets see what this dude does. " You mean like grabbing one of the 20 cabs sitting outside the airport and telling the driver to take you to the front gate of Camp Lejuene? I mean I get that doing adult things is hard for 18 year olds but even my dumb rear end managed to drive from Camp Lejuene NC to California with a Rand McNally Road Atlas and my boot camp savings. It's not like it's your first time traveling. By that point most folks have flown to boot camp, SOI and/or follow on schools. So they should be familiar with airports, public transportation, and cabs. Hekk fucked around with this message at 14:05 on Oct 19, 2015 |
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Oct 19, 2015 13:29
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My "sponsor" was one of the pilots from the squadron who just showed up in jeans and a T-shirt at LAX, told me to get in his Tacoma and asked me if I had ever had In N Out burgers before, which I hadn't. So before we went to check in he bought me a burger and shake and said "This Cali poo poo's alright, huh" when a few girls walked in to the place in tank tops and bikini bottoms. Then he dropped me off at the wrong barracks, but I figured that out pretty quick and walked to the correct one.
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Oct 19, 2015 13:37
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Nostalgia4Ass posted:Yeah, it's totally unreasonable to expect a grown man or woman to be able to google the name of their command followed by quarterdeck (or Officer of the Day for Marines) and actually talk to a human being about their checking in. Before google, I could still call the operator and ask for the base operator's number. I first reported to a shipyard. There are 3 carriers, 2 and a half subs in yard, and a destroyer undergoing repairs and a MTS was here at the time. I know you are a jaded sea warrior but if my ship did not have a good sponsor program navigating the security situation in the yards alone would have been a nightmare, not to mention the fact that our offices were scattered across downtown Newport News, Norfolk and Porthsmouth. Please tell me why you expect people to navigate Norfolk Naval, San Diego or even a smaller base like bremmington or Guam
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Oct 19, 2015 14:00
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Ryand-Smith posted:I first reported to a shipyard. There are 3 carriers, 2 and a half subs in yard, and a destroyer undergoing repairs and a MTS was here at the time. I know you are a jaded sea warrior but if my ship did not have a good sponsor program navigating the security situation in the yards alone would have been a nightmare, not to mention the fact that our offices were scattered across downtown Newport News, Norfolk and Porthsmouth. Please tell me why you expect people to navigate Norfolk Naval, San Diego or even a smaller base like bremmington or Guam Call the quarterdeck and ask where you report in at? Do you have people pick you up at the airport every time you go to a school?
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Oct 19, 2015 14:18
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Nostalgia4Ass posted:Call the quarterdeck and ask where you report in at? Do you have people pick you up at the airport every time you go to a school? I don't understand why you are mad about sponsors. Being nice and kind is a good thing. Why are you butthurt about treating people well?
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Oct 19, 2015 14:24
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poopkitty posted:I don't understand why you are mad about sponsors. Being nice and kind is a good thing. Why are you butthurt about treating people well? Not butthurt. Don't hate sponsors. Don't think it's unreasonable to expect sailors and/or marines to be able to get themselves to the front gate if they are going to a base in the US.
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Oct 19, 2015 14:34
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Nostalgia4Ass posted:Yeah, it's totally unreasonable to expect a grown man or woman to be able to google the name of their command followed by quarterdeck (or Officer of the Day for Marines) and actually talk to a human being about their checking in. Before google, I could still call the operator and ask for the base operator's number. My front gate was about three miles from my duty location, under a different MAJCOM than the base's owning unit (and thus, the cops at the gate). Unit phone numbers are often not published anymore. 15 years ago, the phone part of your plan worked fine. Now that poo poo's behind a firewall if they even pay anyone to maintain/publish a list/phone book. Point is, this is a good idea that costs the military nothing and only requires that a person not be a selfish douche in order to help someone out in the middle of a usually stressful-as-gently caress time for a few days. Edit: Oh, from the airport to the front gate of the base I'm at now would be about $180. Cash only! Godholio fucked around with this message at 16:17 on Oct 19, 2015 |
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Oct 19, 2015 15:50
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Nostalgia4Ass posted:You mean like grabbing one of the 20 cabs sitting outside the airport and telling the driver to take you to the front gate of Camp Lejuene? I dont know what the gently caress happened the day I landed. It was a holiday or some poo poo, like a ghost town with the one or two other dudes I landed with and they just vanished. It reminded me of a twilight zone episode. There were no taxis, shuttles, cars or people working. I exhausted every resource I could think of and was about to say gently caress it and take a nap when that sgt rolled up. Like I said, it was 1am and at the time in my 22 year old brain I was sure eventually a cab would have rolled up and yelled at me. Besides I was two days ahead of when I was supposed to be there so I wasnt worried about being anywhere soon. gently caress I wish I could remember that dudes name, he taught me that the mcmap belt could be used as a beer bottle opener.
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Oct 19, 2015 16:06
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Gunny and Chief are arguing 
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Oct 19, 2015 16:19
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Chief's gonna get gunny's funding pulled
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Oct 19, 2015 16:53
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Oct 19, 2015 16:55
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Nostalgia4Ass posted:Not butthurt. Don't hate sponsors. Don't think it's unreasonable to expect sailors and/or marines to be able to get themselves to the front gate if they are going to a base in the US. I don't want to keep harping on this, but this attitude is really bothering me and maybe it's because you're not used to reporting to a ship. This isn't like reporting to some building on the base where it has an actual address that is stated in a google search. Like, you realize that ships move and their locations aren't published? So the sailor arrives at the gate. Then what? Walk? The gate is FAR from the piers in both San Diego and Norfolk because those bases are huge. What happens if the sailor gets dropped off on dry-side 32nd street in SD where all the housing and schools are instead of on the ship-side? Why would you expect that sailor to know the difference? Let's say that sailor gets to the piers. There are like 13 piers at both bases with DDG's and CG's (does the sailor even know the difference? The guy I dropped off saw a CG and asked me what that huge thing was) spread all up and down with dry docks interspersed in there that split the waterfront. Should the sailor just be expected to carry all their poo poo across a miles long walk up and down the base trying to identify which ship is theirs? Meanwhile the ship should take the attitude of, "Lol, I hope the guy makes it" Perhaps there is an easier way? Boon fucked around with this message at 17:53 on Oct 19, 2015 |
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Oct 19, 2015 17:49
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Mad Dragon posted:I would add -Do not own a cell phone, but it's not 2000 any more. My excuse is: The Navy doesn't pay for my cell phone, they pay for my house, here is my recall address in case you need me.... Let me know when the "Cell Phone Allowance" starts.
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Oct 19, 2015 17:52
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Schlabbalabba posted:My excuse is: Haha what I knew an LPO that would write people up for no responding to a random phone recall within an hour or whatever the allotted time is. Also command sponsors are needed sometimes. Sometimes it's pointless. There's that. Bases are confusing as gently caress to navigate, especially if you've never been to one. Hell I know a small handful of 20 year olds in the Navy that don't even have a drivers license. Some bases the part you're checking into might be 30 mins from the loving base entrance. Then you have idiots like me carrying their dress whites to the public restroom to change because no one told his boot rear end no one cares about checking in wearing blues (or whites)
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Oct 19, 2015 19:16
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When I left boot camp they told me several times "Someone will be there to pick you up at the airport." There was not anyone there to pick me up at the airport. Nor was there anyone else at the airport besides the one airport employee and the guy I flew in with, because I flew in on the only scheduled commercial flight into Groton-New London Regional Airport, which is about as big as you'd imagine. The one pay phone was out of order and only took quarters anyway (which I didn't have). The airport employee wouldn't let me use the phone behind the counter, but helpfully suggested I walk a mile and a half in dress whites with my seabag and garment bag to the nearest commercial establishment, and maybe they'd let me use the phone there. The nice girl at the coffee shop let me use the phone and I called the number on my orders, which rang forever with no one picking up. So I called a cab and paid out of pocket on an E-2 salary and never got reimbursed. (Incidentally, the commercial service into GON was discontinued shortly after this, which meant if I had flown in a couple months later I would have gotten to pay for a 50 mile cab ride from PVD instead.) Fortunately in Groton, the walk from the front gate to the BEQ is under a mile, and the gate guard was helpful enough to provide directions, so after the hour wait for the cab and the drive to the base, that part was pretty painless. Sure, I made due and figured it out, but maybe it would have been nice if I had a sponsor or something instead of having my first impression of The Real Navy stick with me for 13 years for all the wrong reasons.
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Oct 19, 2015 22:55
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Ryand-Smith posted:I first reported to a shipyard. There are 3 carriers, 2 and a half subs in yard, and a destroyer undergoing repairs and a MTS was here at the time. I know you are a jaded sea warrior but if my ship did not have a good sponsor program navigating the security situation in the yards alone would have been a nightmare, not to mention the fact that our offices were scattered across downtown Newport News, Norfolk and Porthsmouth. Please tell me why you expect people to navigate Norfolk Naval, San Diego or even a smaller base like bremmington or Guam My first report was to a shipyard, too. Nobody told me this and the quarterdeck watch told me on the phone "we're in the shipyards" and his directions were "drive to the shipyards"
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Oct 19, 2015 23:13
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I'm absolutely positive that any sailor in the US could make it to their new base from the airport without command help. They'll find a way, somehow, no matter how lovely it is. Of course, it could leave a bad taste, bad impression, financial strain, and easy target for criminals. That is why the command sponsorship program exists, because when seaman timmy bumps into the Admiral or Force CMC at the NEX and starts to tell his one and only sea story of how he made it to base all alone in the cold during while raining and cost him 200bux out of pocket, that poo poo doesn't roll down hill. Also while the Navy is really good at seeming malicious and lovely to it's sailors, it sometimes has their best interest at heart... sometimes....
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Oct 19, 2015 23:19
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My favorite transfer was the flight between A school and C school. When I graduated A school the school house CMC left it to a broken first class that was retiring to grab my ticket. They just told me be ready on Saturday. I get my poo poo, he drops me off at the airport, and hands me my ticket. I get to the counter and I hadn't realized something. The ticket they bought me was set for the same day, 2 months ago. I call down to the school house, no one picking up. I called my C school and by some strange grace it happened to be the day my lead instructor is on duty and he tries to pull strings. I ended up buying my own ticket, waited at O'hare for about 5 hours, and then flew down to Texas around midnight. I lucked out with some Army guys getting picked up so my wallet didnt bleed with a cabby taking advantage of a kid with a dead phone mapping out a quick route to a base. After a bit more, I ended up rooming with a guy getting separated for being gay/trans. After the Aurora shootings, I saw him in a picture by the theater in his NWU bottoms, unbloused boots and a blue tshirt.
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Oct 20, 2015 01:16
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Pandasmores posted:After the Aurora shootings, I saw him in a picture by the theater in his NWU bottoms, unbloused boots and a blue tshirt. I paid for these pants! I'm gonna use them!
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Oct 20, 2015 01:18
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Nostalgia4Dicks posted:Bases are confusing as gently caress to navigate, especially if you've never been to one. Yeah, if Google directions worked worth a poo poo on bases, or if you could actually look up a map on the base web site, it wouldn't be too bad. Or if your cab could always get on base. Or if gate guards could give halfway decent directions. Or buildings were clearly labeled with non-random numbers. Even going TAD with a rental car can be pretty goddamn annoying because of that poo poo, and it sucks even worse when you just have your own legs and a huge-rear end seabag. And remember, a sponsor isn't just a person to pick you up at the airport. They should be giving advice and answering questions about the command, living situations, getting family support, and other useful info. You know, stuff that you can't easily find with Google.
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Oct 20, 2015 03:42
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My 'sponsor' / seadad did one thing. Showed me the rack I would be hotracking with a senior e-5 for fastcruise, the day after I got to the boat. Yep thats all I got. Lucky for me getting to the base was easy because a relative drove me there and Mare Island was in the process of shutting down and the only thing there was my boat and the barracks.
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Oct 20, 2015 03:45
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Someone being angry at the sponsor program is odd to me. Like alright I can get behind the super hand holding to an extent but if all you're thinking about is getting sailors to a base you're being incredibly shortsighted. Sponsors are useful for general information about the area, where to live, schools if you have kids, the command climate, etc. Tons of information. Transferring sucks and is always stressful, no matter if it's your first time or fourth. If you want to get angry about something get angry at Great Lakes requesting 'volunteers' to sit at airports all day to make sure adults are able to read a plane ticket and gate information.
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Oct 20, 2015 04:08
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Cerekk posted:When I left boot camp they told me several times "Someone will be there to pick you up at the airport." There was not anyone there to pick me up at the airport. Nor was there anyone else at the airport besides the one airport employee and the guy I flew in with, because I flew in on the only scheduled commercial flight into Groton-New London Regional Airport, which is about as big as you'd imagine. The one pay phone was out of order and only took quarters anyway (which I didn't have). The airport employee wouldn't let me use the phone behind the counter, but helpfully suggested I walk a mile and a half in dress whites with my seabag and garment bag to the nearest commercial establishment, and maybe they'd let me use the phone there. When I was at bess, some kid got a Nam for suggesting a student watch to walk kids down from the quarter deck to the barracks and show them their racks and tell em where to report.
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Oct 20, 2015 04:09
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PneumonicBook posted:Someone being angry at the sponsor program is odd to me. Like alright I can get behind the super hand holding to an extent but if all you're thinking about is getting sailors to a base you're being incredibly shortsighted. Sponsors are useful for general information about the area, where to live, schools if you have kids, the command climate, etc. Tons of information. Transferring sucks and is always stressful, no matter if it's your first time or fourth. LOL I am not angry. I am not even a sailor. What the gently caress do I know about sponsors? I work on a ship but I googled the name before I checked in and remembered what it looked like. I was so clueless I had to ask the guards at the ECP whether I saluted the flag or the fag first when boarding a naval vessel. I mostly just think it's funny that so many people are getting so worked up over someone having a different opinion. The Marine Corps never had sponsorship except overseas and even that wasn't official. It was more you contacted where ever you are going and ask how you get there. How does that work? Like you get new sailors straight out of school right? They have a "No later than" check in date. Some come earlier than others. How do you communicate with them before they show up at your ship? Does the school forward everyone's contact info to you before they get there?
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Oct 20, 2015 05:12
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Nostalgia4Ass posted:How do you communicate with them before they show up at your ship? Does the school forward everyone's contact info to you before they get there? Usually, yeah. At least an email address or something. And some (a lot of?) commands work it into people's orders who are coming there; "Congratulations and welcome to VFA-69, the World Famous Clusterfuckers, your sponsor is AME2 Bumblefutz <percival.bumblefutz@navy.mil>, feel free to contact him with any questions". We usually matched it up so that a sponsor was from the same workcenter/rate as the new guy, and a similar demographic (e.g. married people got married sponsors, chiefs got chief sponsors). And yes, even E-8's and O-4's get sponsors, even though there's a reasonable assumption that they can get to base on their own. It doesn't sound like you're really advocating anything different, it's just that sponsors are a designated point of contact rather than leaving it up to whoever is manning the duty desk when someone calls.
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Oct 20, 2015 06:07
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Also gives you someone to blame when E-2 Shitforbrains spends three days at the airport because he was told to wait there for his ride.
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Oct 20, 2015 06:13
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Godholio posted:Also gives you someone to blame when E-2 Shitforbrains spends three days at the airport because he was told to wait there for his ride. This is the reason the Navy has a "program." Definitely not because they give a poo poo.
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Oct 20, 2015 07:36
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But guys, it's one of the six points of brilliant on the basics.
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Oct 20, 2015 07:48
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Wingnut Ninja posted:Or if gate guards could give halfway decent directions.
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Oct 20, 2015 12:56
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We have contracted gate guards and I always wonder how much money they waste paying a group to check IDs when they have dozens of soldiers in casuals competent enough to do the job.
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Oct 21, 2015 01:52
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Analogical posted:We have contracted gate guards and I always wonder how much money they waste paying a group to check IDs when they have dozens of soldiers in casuals competent enough to do the job. the general line of thinking is that it's too expensive to put an active duty body on guard duty in most cases because they can be more gainfully employed elsewhere. that line of thought assumes that every person on active duty is a) productive and b) efficient, so not a good assumption, but that's how you end up there
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Oct 21, 2015 03:13
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They still make you fly from bootcamp to wherever you're going that requires flying in dress?
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Oct 21, 2015 03:59
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Nostalgia4Dicks posted:They still make you fly from bootcamp to wherever you're going that requires flying in dress? Yes. Very much so.
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Oct 21, 2015 04:11
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Nostalgia4Dicks posted:They still make you fly from bootcamp to wherever you're going that requires flying in dress? It leads to moments when people video tape sailors or whatever branch thats onboard chanting their various creeds and people eat it up.
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Oct 21, 2015 04:15
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krispykremessuck posted:the general line of thinking is that it's too expensive to put an active duty body on guard duty in most cases because they can be more gainfully employed elsewhere. that line of thought assumes that every person on active duty is a) productive and b) efficient, so not a good assumption, but that's how you end up there At Great Lakes they steal our instructors so that they can go stand gate guard for 18 months, which is half of their tour. Manning over here is great!
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Oct 21, 2015 04:16
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It was just my first introduction to how much the Navy contradicts itself "Don't ever fly in uniform it's a terrorist risk a plane will get hijacked because of you just wear regular clothes and act cool"
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Oct 21, 2015 04:30
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Nostalgia4Dicks posted:It was just my first introduction to how much the Navy contradicts itself Marines still preach that but encourage boots to get screamingly motivated high and tights and do dumb poo poo like tuck t shirts in and wear dog tags in civilian clothes.
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Oct 21, 2015 04:33
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Nostalgia4Ass posted:Marines still preach that but encourage boots to get screamingly motivated high and tights and do dumb poo poo like tuck t shirts in and wear dog tags in civilian clothes. 
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Oct 21, 2015 04:51
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