My Navy Experience

I have had some very bad responses about my Navy story, so I thought I better share in more detail what happened. I left the Air Force honorably (another long story for another time or found elsewhere). After the Air Force I moved to the city I now live in, here in Wisconsin. But I made a new friend and he invited me to Florida. About this time some major changes were in my life and I was "called" to Bible school. However out of fear of intimidation with friends I refused that "call" so I went to Florida instead.

While in Florida things started to go downhill because I had not followed my "calling" and I made a mistake and tried to get back in the Air Force. But the Air Force was only taking recruits for Crew Chiefs, as they had just released me and thousands of others to reduce its size. So mistakenly I walked next door to the Navy.

The Navy was glad to take me and offered to keep my Air Force rank and I didn't even have to go to Basic Training. I would only be required to take a class with other re-recruits on a refresher coarse on Navy regulations. At this point I had not signed any contract, this is very important!

But right before I was to swear in to the Navy, I told the recruiter I had changed my mind and was not going to go. He began to threaten me. I then proceeded to tell him medical conditions and other things that would disqualify me for the service. He threatened me more and told me that if I shared any of those things at the medical qualifications they would "get me". I persisted in stating I no longer wanted to go. Later I got a phone call from someone claiming to be a high ranking Navy officer (I think it was an enlisted Navy man illegally impersonating an officer, but have no proof) stating if I did not enter the Navy I would be sent to prison. However, once again I had NOT signed any contract nor swore an oath. I already knew how it all worked having been in the Air Force but at this point I was easily intimidated.

The world has a history of doing this it is called Shanghaiing or Impressment. The forcing of men into the Navy.


Shanghaiing - see here for more info

Impressment - see here for more info

I talked to my current pastor at the time, and he suggested I just go in, and try and get out of the Navy later, just to try it for awhile. So I went to Florida for training and was given a book that said I could get the 180 day discharge if I felt the Navy wasn't where I should be. So once more in error I stayed longer (though still much shorter than the 180 days) and was shipped to Japan on the USS Midway. While on ship I saw many horrid immoral behaviors and they attempted to force me into pagan naval rituals. 

Many military operations have hazings as seen in the news the last few years, but the Navy has more than that, they have elaborate pagan rituals where someone is dressed like the pagan sea God and those who cross the equator or some other Naval line for the 1st time has to be stripped to their underwear and bow down to them and then be humiliated with obsene behaviours or pagan rituals. Of coarse I refused.

You can read about the Naval Line Crossing Hazing ceremony on Wikipedia here:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line-crossing_ceremony

You can even view some of these disgusting ceremonies on YouTube here (be warned its offensive):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S9ZSRpMiLw

One death is even blamed in this newspaper article over Navy hazings:

Newspaper Article

Some might say that a patriotic and good soldier would endure such for their country. George Washington, would disagree. He would flog any soldier 25 times for using profanity. Source here: 

History of George Washington

Here is a quote from Washington:

The General (This was when he was a general) is sorry to be informed that the foolish, and wicked practice, of profane cursing and swearing (a Vice heretofore little known in an American Army) is growing into fashion; he hopes the officers will, by example, as well as influence, endeavour to check it, and that both they, and the men will reflect, that we can have little hopes of the blessing of Heaven on our Arms, if we insult it by our impiety, and folly; added to this, it is a vice so mean and low, without any temptation, that every man of sense, and character, detests and despises it.

source:
http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/revolution/profanity_1.html

So vulgarity and the profane are not to be associated with patriotic duty.

I asked to leave the Navy at that time and they refused, they wouldn't let me phone the naval station where I was given a book about the 180 day discharge and they lied and said it did not exist. (And I no longer had the book proving it existed.)

Even years afterwards some people say that such a discharge does not exist. It does and it's called ENTRY LEVEL SEPARATION. Check out this administrative discharge in one of these links:


ADMINISTRATIVE SEPARATIONS - see more here

Enlisted Administrative Separations - or here as well

At that time I became very ill. I became dehydrated and they had to intravenously add water to my system. The doctors couldn't understand why I was dehydrated even after telling them how much I was drinking. After recovery they finally they sent me ashore for duty off the ship, they were tired of my constant requests and complaints. Then one day I got news my step-grandfather died. I decided to use this as an opportunity to get to the States and get help there. I needed the signatures of all those in my command structure for permission, a total of about 5 signatures were required. I secured all but the last one, which was the highest command needed and he refused. At that point I had had enough and decided to just leave.  I then left on my own accord to the United States and went to the Bible school I was "called" to.

At the Bible school they told me I had to do things right. So I turned myself in and was sent to a Naval station for court martial. I told the judge that I believed that because I had disobeyed my "calling" that my life was in danger. In the end when the judge found that I had legitimate reason to believe my life was in danger, the judge declared that I was NOT AWOL when I left. (this was proven in my medical records with my dehydration incident) There is a little known regulation that states one can leave his post when not in war if his life is in danger. My Navy lawyer said my case is the only case he ever heard of where a christian won against the Navy and that if the media had known about it, it would have made national news. In fact my own lawyer had told my dad they were gonna put me in prison and throw away the key. A mere looking at military history can show what a miracle this was. But the Navy did not release me, instead they sent me to Virginia to get on another ship for Gulf War 1.
 
But at this time I had decided I would do what I was supposed to do right away, and pay for my error of not obeying my "calling", even if it meant my own death. I told the Navy I would not get on the ship because I had disobeyed my "calling", but was willing to die for my error instead of running, and willing to pay for it even if they called it treason in war. I was now ready to suffer the consequences of disobeying God. And yes I was threatened with death, treason, water and bread rations, and many other punishments.

This took all those in command over me at a surprise. My commander left me sitting in his empty office in an empty hangar while everyone else was on ship and left. Finally a Security Patrol found me there and took me to the Base Command where I reiterated my stance. This is where the Big Boys were, head officers of the entire base. They threatened to send a helicopter just for me to the ship, I told them I would refuse getting on the copter just as I did the ship. They could kill me if they had to, as I was willing to die for my faith. Frustrated that they had no legal course to physically lift me against my will onto the ship or helicopter they sent me away for administrative action.

This time around I did not get a court martial, but was given a Captain's Mast by a christian officer, who gave me an administrative discharge, no punitive nor dishonorable either, simply administrative. A Captain's Mast is a method of judgment or an incident finding, whether positive or negative, by a single high ranking officer rather than by a judge or jury. And I was finally allowed out of the Navy and went to Bible school.

Years after writing this, I created a video of my Navy experience. However, it is not as detailed, and is from a Christian perspective of how God dealt with me. But it may contain some details not found on this page. The video itself, is only cut from a longer video of a detailed account of my life. You will find this video on the bottom of this page.

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Links of Interest:

My Personal Testimony


 

My video with a Christian perspective of my Navy experience:

 

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