In the short time I was in the Navy, this happened on base or on ship more then once.
The one that always sticks with me is a guy I didn’t even know. He got to the USS Monterey after I left her, and the Navy.
He was a 20 year old seaman apprentice named George Schultz. He fell into a concrete trench beneath a pier filled with condensate from a leaky steam pipe. The poor guy was basically cooked alive. It took him two days to die.
None of us are immune to accidents, including fatal ones. But the military suffers from a disproportionate number of them, due to hazardous working conditions and the demographics of its members.
It is a terrible thing to witness, and is a very tough thing for any unit to deal with.
I do thank you guys for your good thoughts, wishes, and vibes. I’ll pass them along to his shopmates as appropriate, but, they ain’t Dopers. I wish they could read 'em as I do. I’m afraid if I post 'em they won’t take them as we Dopers do, so I’ll just have to carry the sentiment along [sub]I hope you all understand[/sub].
Tomorrow is his viewing service. I go not because I know the guy, but because I know those that did. We gotta stand together as family. And, we will. As a Red Horse family–especially over something that was so trivial as hitting livestock in the middle of the road.
I think most of us are taking this in stride. There is no good side to this, but I hope it tells my NCOs and Airmen to pay attention to details. We’ve got a good friend behind us for an accident. No use putting oneself in the way of a known danger.
I’m mostly keeping an eye on our Section Commander (the “Exec” for the Army, I think) who’s prior enlisted, and personally taking care of going through SrA O’s things for his mother while she comes into town. I think he’ll do fine, but after losing . . . someone damned close to me this past year, I’ll lend him an ear.
Tripler
Squadron is family–be it good or bad. I thank you guys for an extended family, though.
That reminds me of one of my boyfriend’s troops who died earlier this year. He was a young 19-year-old airman with a wife and new baby. He was down at Keesler AFB in Mississippi for training, and him and some buddies went out for a night partying in New Orleans. They got drunk, and he crossed the street without looking and he was struck by a car and killed. All the airmen in the suqadron were really upset and they wanted to go to his funeral, but it was on the other side of the country, and a lot of them could not afford to go. My boyfriend secretly gave some of the airman’s closest friends a few hundred dollars so they could go. He takes especially good care of his troops, probably since he’s a prior enlisted officer.
I thought it was so incredibly sad. Also, apparently several airmen die every year here at the base we’re at in motorcycle accidents! They have this campaign going on pushing motorcycle safety since motorcycles (and risky driving) seem to be really popular amongst the younger guys.
Air Force is family. As a grown AF brat people have often asked me if it was hard moving around a lot as a kid. The thing is, most people will never understand the support you get from other military families wherever you ended up. We were all in the same boats, our dads all worked together, and on the bases we all lived closely together. You can’t help but be family.
And the best thing about families is how they come together in times of need.
My buddy, the Section Commander, and our “Commander” Commander (the Colonel) went to meet his mother and some uncles this week. I’m watching my buddy closely. I’m thinking he’s going to be doing some serious thinking this week: he’s prior enlisted (was a SSgt, but went to OTS to become a Lieutenant), got a family and kids, and I think this might drain him in some ways. I’ll just be a sounding board for him in the meantime.
Man, this sucks though. Yeah, we’ll gradually come back to life, but losing SrA “O” has cast a quiet pall lately. . .
Tripler
It was a beautiful service yesterday though. The chapel was packed. Standing room only.
