Question for USN vets

Factual Questions
1

The term “Goat Locker.” To what does it refer?

2

  1. It’s the nicest place on any ship. Nicer than the wardroom or the captain’s quarters. (On base the O club is nice, but the CPO club is palatial)

  2. I once listened through the bulkhead while a chief’s initiation ceremony was being conducted. As nice as it is in there, the price of admission is steep.

3

Hmm - I assumed that it was where the ‘vets’ took the goats for the ‘two bricks’ ceremony. Seems I was wrong - or was I?

4

I’m active duty Air Force, and served with an EOD Mobile Unit. I got “invited” to the ‘wardroom’ which was more a social thing than an actual location (we were ashore anyway). The CMC had a ‘Goat Locker’ in a similar function to ours, and I was warned sternly that one does not intrude onto the Chiefs’ meetings without a damn specific invitation. Officers hold the rank, but Chiefs do have their power.

Tripler
Rule #1 of the Goat Locker: ‘You don’t talk about the Goat Locker.’

5

The tradition that I learned was that Chief Petty Officers (E-7 and above) were generally exempted from the prohibition on growing/wearing beards.

Billy goats have beards, so the CPOs became collectively and colloquially known as “Billy Goats.”

The CPOs aboard Naval vessels are given quarters/conference room space that are for their exclusive use. Because the Chiefs bore the name “Billy Goats,” that space became known as the “Billy Goat Locker,” a term that, over time, was shortened to “Goat Locker.”

6

That’s a new one on me - when, other than since 1 Jan 85, were beards prohibited?

I heard it’s called the goat locker because that’s where the smelly old goats are stowed.

Oh, and -

It’s the chief petty officers’ berthing and lounge, more formally known as the “chiefs’ quarters.”

7

This.

8

It’s the place on the ship or on base where the chiefs (CPOs of the ship) hang out, eat their meals, shoot the shit and do whatever it is that chiefs do. Even officers have to ask permission of the chiefs to enter. One so lowly as myself was never invited in. :stuck_out_tongue:

9

What everyone else has said. I’ll add that the term is not really official (maybe semi-official at best).

Chief Petty Officers (E-7 to E-9) hang out in the Goat Locker. On a submarine, it consists of a small anteroom with a table and benches, along with a TV in the wall. The Chiefs’ head and berthing area were immediately adjacent.

Officers hang out in the Wardroom. The rest of the crew hangs out in the crew’s mess.