Reflections of a QM
Reflections of an old Quartermaster. I was recently in New Orleans and took a river cruise on the riverboat CREOLE QUEEN. As we got underway from the dock at the Riverwalk Mall, I quickly realized that I had been there before. I was suddenly awash with memories. It was Mardi Gras of 1988. USS AUSTIN was arriving there in support of the aircraft carrier, USS FORRESTAL. The big aircraft carrier was the show ship and we, as an amphibious assault ship, were there as a "hotel" ship. Our day started early in the morning as we approached the southwest passage of the Mississippi River. As we got closer to the mouth of the river, the water below us went from blue to muddy brown in a sharp boundary between ocean and river water. The entire navigation team was on the bridge for this exercise. As a Third Class Quartermaster, I was on the portside bridge wing. My task was to "shoot bearings" of fixed objects on land. Bearings from both bridge wings are transferred to the plot ...