When I went through Navy boot camp at Great Lakes, Illinois, back in the summer of 1980, one of my least favorite people was a very tall, scrawny guy named Jeske. (He was one of two guys in our eighty man company who was taller than I was, so I got to march next to him.) It wasn't just that he was considerably less than clever- he figured it was fun to get in my face and then loudly belch. I would have liked to have punched his lights out but figured Jeske was not worth going to Captain's Mast for. After a few weeks Jeske got set back in training, but I figured I'd never have to look at his dumb, obnoxious face again.
In June of 1982, I was assigned to the USS Coronado, the flagship of Commander Middle Eastern Forces, as an Arabic linguist. At one point, another 'Arling' and I got temporarily sent out to the USS Sims. I'd just gotten onboard when I heard an announcement over the ship's PA system, "Seaman Apprentice Jeske, Seaman Apprentice Jeske, report to XO screening *immediately*" (XO screening is for someone who has messed up pretty seriously, and is about to go to Captain's Mast- just one down from a court martial.) I thought it couldn't be. It was. I later found out that Jeske was a regular at Captain's Mast- if anybody had listened to me, they would have sent him straight home from Great Lakes.
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