What’s the percentage of Servicemen and Servicewomen who never get to actually use the type of vehicle that defines their branch of the Military?
I would imagine that cooks, supply clerks, dentists and electricians in the Navy are deployed to sea on a regular basis whereas airmen in these specialties typically only get to fly when they are moved to an air base overseas.
In the Army we saw plenty of dirt. If that helps.
The Navy’s Seabees, the construction arm of that service, almost never go on board a ship. While deployments in the past were done that way, it’s all by air nowadays. There are presently seven battalions, down from nine at the peak of the recent wars. With about 600 per battalion, that means there are about 4,000-5,000 in those units. Additionally, there are shore duty stations scattered all over the world. When I was active duty, the total number bandied about was 10,000, which included the Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) officers who make up the upper echelon of the Naval Construction Force. There are some Seabees who are in units that have closer ties to seagoing commands, such as the Amphibious Construction Battalions, but by and large all Seabees are land-based. I spent 23 years with them and never set foot on a ship. For most Navy personnel, however, when your sea duty rotation comes around, you’re probably going to be on a ship.
FWIW, I was a Hospital Corpsman (Navy). I don’t have numbers (so take with a grain of salt), but the understanding was that the majority of Corpsmen wouldn’t see sea duty. The explanation was that most would be working in hospitals or detached to Marine units (Marines get their medical support from the Navy).
Well, I was in the AF and the only time I flew was when going home or back from leave.
There was a big old airport right outside my office, though, if that counts.
I was in communications.
They may get to float with the Marines!
um… under what circumsances would they send somebody to sea sans ship?
In the AF, 95% of people who fly are officers. (not counting passengers) I think the only non officers are guys who lower the boom on the tankers.
um…there are quite a few.
For example, sailors attached to a P3 squadron are fulfilling a sea duty position sans ship.
Loadmasters on various cargo planes are enlisted.
There’s also some enlisted who are members of helicopter crews: flight engineer, gunner, rescue specialists.
I don’t think any B-52s have tail gunners anymore, but they were enlisted, too.
I was a cook with the 6th Air cavalry in the 80’s. I logged thousands of hours in helicopters flying to and from field assignments, though my job was in the mess hall.
ETA: Well, hundreds of hours flying, at least.
I was going to say that there are approximately 10 P-3 squadrons with about 300 sailors each who never see ships, although I only did one tour in P-3’s and then went back to the “Real” Navy…
I also did a four month deployment on a boat full of Seabees. We were doing humanitarian work in South and Central America. We had Seabees as well as Air Force construction crews, and various units from all of the services, as well as Doctors w/o Borders on board. It was a strange deployment.
The Navy also has transport squadrons that are mostly crewed by Full-time support Reserve personnel. They fly C-9’s (same as a DC-9), and C-40’s (same as a Boeing 737).
Also, many security personnel never see a ship. They rotate between stations in CONUS and overseas stations.
Walking the plank, matey! Arr.
Sea duty doesn’t always mean going to sea. Sea duty for Seabees means going on deployments to places like Okinawa, and there is a large contingent of regular Navy support people that go with them, such as cooks, personnel folks, medical people, disbursing clerks, etc. Being stationed at a base overseas also qualifies as sea duty, so a Personnelman could spend part of his sea duty rotation on a base in Japan instead of as a Boat Person. In the aviation community, some people spend their entire careers at one base in the US, going from one side of the hangar to the other, but basically doing the same job.
Are there flag officers who never went to sea? (Cue Gilbert and Sullivan.)
So, “sea duty” really just means you have to cross an ocean to get to your post, rather than spend time on an ocean. And it’s got nothing to do with seas.
Why do sailors have to make everything so confusing?
Ethilrist <== former sailing instructor
I don’t know all the proper terminology regarding what is sea duty and what isn’t. All I know is that the three cruises I made were sea duty. Wouldn’t trade it for the world. To paraphrase Tickle, “If you love your country, you gotta love sea duty”.
It’s a catch-all term as opposed to shore duty. And you don’t have to cross an ocean: Alaska is (or was) considered sea duty, and I would assume the same applies to Hawaii. After my year in Vietnam, I had to complete my sea duty tour, so they sent me to Adak, Alaska. Normally, when you are on sea duty, you collect a little additional pay. But since my home of record was Alaska, I got zippo. I’m sure the Navy thought they were doing me a great favor by sending me “home” after Vietnam. Unfortunately, Adak is a thousand miles from Anchorage, and was about 4,000 miles from my girlfriend in CA. Yeah, that relationship died after about three months.
Most sailors who end up in billets overseas instead of on board a boat are support staff, rather than technical (there are exceptions, like translators and others). I would doubt there are many billets overseas for a Boatswain’s Mate.
Somebody has to paint things. 
And let’s not forget neutral duty, which is neither sea duty nor shore duty…
NM…