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Page 33 text:
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bb6A6 S One of the time-honored traditions of sea-going ships is the unique initiation that sailors endure when they enter the realm of King Neptune and Davy Jones upon crossing the equator. Before crossing the line at 00 degrees latitude, all sailors, no matter how seasoned they may think they are, are merely Slimy Polywogs. Only after they are judged as worthy by King Neptune and his court and suffer prescribed trials and humiliations, are they deemed worthy to assume the mantle of Crusty Shellback. The crew of the DIXON had two opportunities on this cruise to prove themselves big enough to walk with Davy Jones and his crew. As the ship made her way south in the Indian Ocean, preparations wer e made by the few members of the crew who had been initiated in the past. A loyal but small group of shellbacks conjured up a series of agonies and tortures that did indeed make Old Neptune proud and happy. 25 February, 1981, began very early for the lowly Polywogs, mustered from bed before the break of day the wogs ate specially prepared wog food on the mess decks then began their trek around the ship to prostrate themselves before Neptune and seek his approval. It was a difficult day for the Shellbacks as they were few and the wogs were in multitudes. On their knees the wogs crawled. Each in turn kissed the belly of Neptune ' s baby. Many special cases wore a layer of eggs on their slimy bodies as they made the journey. Several hard core wogs had to go through the trails more than once in order to become cleansed before Neptune would receive them. Through garbage and filth, the line of crawling wogs went. Under the blasts of water from fire hoses they went. Little respect was shown by these wogs. Two of their members even stole the Jolly Roger from the mast shortly after Neptune and his Court took command of the ship from the Head Wog. They were dealt with severely to be sure. At the end of the long crawl down the deck to the helo deck, Neptune cast his terrible gaze upon them. He was pleased and the wogs then completed their voyages with a dive into the purifying waters of the sea bath. In they went as Polywogfs only to emerge as proud and wonderful Shellbacks. The newly cast Shellback, as he or she began to clean the grimy residue of wogdom from their bodies, looked forward to the time when they too would have the chance to deal with Slimy Polywogs. The opportunity came not many months later for on 30 May, 1981, the ship again crossed the equator, but at a very special place, at the International Dateline. Polywogs initiated at this point in the world become the much respected and revered Golden Shellbacks. This initiation was different from the one previous in that there were now many Shellbacks and very few Polywogs. This was as it should be for the honor of Golden Shellback is accorded few. Again the initiation was conducted properly and Neptune was pleased. After the crew was finally rid of the last horrible wog, they, as before, cleaned up and commenced to feast on a Royal Picnic on the helo deck. King Neptune and his Court left the ship full of confidence that another ship of trusty Shellbacks would sail the Raging Main. 2
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Page 32 text:
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Training One of the continuing functions on DIXON is training. Everyone aboard must be trained and proficient not only in the specific areas of their rating, but also in ship-wide areas, such as General Damage Control and 3M. From the moment a new member of the crew steps aboard, training starts with Indoctrination Division or I Division. This one week course provides the new hand with an idea of how the ship operates, its mission, what is expected of him or her and the chance to meet and talk to many of the influential people on the ship, such as the Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, and others. When a sailor leaves I Division, the ship is no longer as mysterious and frightening as it was when he or she first reported aboard. Another facet of training provided while we were deployed was the chance to crack the books on PACE college courses or a high school completion program. Several PACE classes were held during the cruise with instructors from Chapman College and Central Texas College participating. Many of us gained some more formal education in both our jobs and our personal goals while we were gone.
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