No Longer A Pollywog

No Longer A Pollywog

By: HM2(SW) Brandon Nissen

“WAKE UP WOG!” That was the way the morning of the 24th of May began
for myself and roughly 100 other sailors onboard USS Curts. The desire to
be awaken by gentler alarm clocks quickly came to mind, such as waking
up to the sound of my favorite radio station in San Diego, but on this
morning, the shellbacks on Curts had other plans in mind. They had been
tasked with “cleansing and preparing” the Pollywogs on board the Curts
for the “Crossing the Line” ceremony and the arrival of the Mighty
Neptunus Rex.

In ancient Roman Mythology, it was believed that Neptune, The God of
the High Seas, would curse Roman ships with powerful storms, ultimately
preventing safe passage in route to their destinations. A popular
reasoning for these curses was the addition of new crew members
tainting the ship with their supposed, bad luck brought on by their lack of
seamanship experience. Myths say that the Shellbacks, the more
seasoned sailors, on some of the cursed ships would simply take their
shipmates or the passengers riding along and dip them into the ocean
which would rid the Pollywogs of their slime and bad luck. In some
instances, at least enough to create a naval tradition, these mighty storms
or weather that prevented favorable sailing would quickly diminish into
good sailing fortune, allowing the ships to proceed to their intended
ports. Later in history, the Royal Navy and US Navy adopted these legends
into a ceremony that revolved around sailors crossing the equator for the
first time: the “Crossing of the Line.”

The day had finally come for me to be cleansed of my slime that I have
carried around with me during my 7 year Naval Career. Having never been
given the opportunity to take sea duty, I had yet to cross the Equator.
After eating and a short wait on the mess-decks, we were all taken to the
main deck and waited for the event to begin. We were all dressed in
shorts and white t-shirts with WOG written on the back. Most of the
shellbacks were dressed in their most creative pirate wear. Though some
wrote simply WOG on the back, some set themselves apart by writing
something either personally or rate-inspired such as Sparky WOG or
American WOG. For others, however, they had been dubbed nicknames by
the shellbacks before the morning’s end. For instance, one individual had
a “uniform malfunction” with his white t-shirt that caused a large tear
exposing his chest, and will now infamously be known as Janet Jackson
WOG. As we stood there waiting, the shellbacks would have different
Pollywogs sing songs, dance or other silly things. For instance, at one
time, the shellbacks of Curts had the Pollywogs singing a very stirring
rendition of “Row, Row, Row, Your Boat;” in fact, I think we sang it for
about 30 minutes straight. I have to say that it definitely has slipped from
my list of favorite children’s songs, having sung it more that morning
than I did in the last 20 years of my life. Along with the medley of “Row
Your Boat,” other songs were song too, such as “Take Me Out to The
Ballgame,” “Tomorrow,” and a true American classic, “The Star-Spangled
Banner.” Also we were asked to recite the Sailors Creed and sing “Anchors
Aweigh,” which, because of the Crossing the Line ceremony, I now know
the detailed history of its origin and creator. There were hysterical
situations that some sailors were put in that made it hard not to laugh
out loud until your belly ached. Some sailors had to pretend they were
Jaws, some would walk up to everyone in line and ask if we had seen
Flipper, and there was a high-pitched female voice that kept professing
her undying love for Harry Potter.

Though there were lots of smiles had that morning, there were lots of
lessons to learn as well. Once the event actually started, we were escorted
to a total of eight stations that expressed serious lessons in not-so-
serious ways. Some of these stations included a damage control
environment, general seamanship, medical casualty training, and physical
fitness.

As the day wore on I felt as though I was walking through an obstacle
course or a playhouse at Universal Studios. The first event was the
damage control drill. Teams of four or five had to don Oxygen Breathing
Apparatuses (OBA’s) as we would have to if a fire were to start on the
ship. After aiding each other to get our OBA’s on, we grabbed onto the
“D” ring on each others back-strap and began proceeding down a
passageway that was filled with overwhelming heat and smoke. As one
member of the group guided us, the others had to not only hold on for
dear life to the others but also trust that the guide responsible for
looking out for all hazards that could cause us harm or trip us would lead
us to safety. Now, in a simulated environment like this one, there was no
way of getting lost, but in case of a real fire, with lots of real smoke and
fire hazards, we need to be able to stay close to each other and have faith
in our team.

After completing the smoke-filled course, we were hit with another of
Nature’s many weapons; water, lots and lots of water. As we stepped
outside we were instantly soaked from head to toe in salt water from the
fire main, which is used for fire fighting. As we stood there, we had to
pretend to tread water, and were then given our life vests or “Rubber
Duckies” as they have been so nicknamed. We manually blew up our
rubber duckies as we were continually drenched with water. It is hard to
express the feeling that I felt as all the water fell on my face, but I guess
the best description would simply be having difficulty breathing as I was
inundated with water to my face and head. After we had them on and
blown up completely, we were asked certain seamanship questions that
revolved around a possible abandon ship. Such questions as how many
life boats are onboard, where are they located, which one is ours and the
location, who orders abandon ship, and what types of supplies do you
find in the life boats were all answered, including a few more. Even if we
answered the question right, we usually got the chance to stand there
with the water falling down on us just a little longer. Each station taught
us a lesson and this was no different; if ever a disastrous situation such
as an abandon ship were to arise, we need to know where to go and what
to do. And let me tell you, there is nothing like cool, salty seawater falling
on you that helps to implant it deep in your memory.

As we continued on through the course we came across some shellbacks
fallen on the deck and covered with moulage (fake wounds used for first
aid drills). One member had a sucking chest wound as if inflicted by a
puncture or a gunshot and another suffered trauma to the face. We knelt
down by their side and as we comforted them, we treated them to the
best of our ability and ensured that we would get them to medical as
soon as possible.

The last actual station was more for fun than to teach us a lesson. We
were directed to get down into the pushup position and as we dipped
down to a 90-degree plane, we had to blow the water out of the pad-eyes
on the flight deck. Pad-eyes are small round holes in the deck that are
used to secure the helicopter and other supplies to the hangar during
rough seas.

After completing the course, our time had come to face the mighty King
Neptune and answer for our crimes. Though there were lots of funny
answers, and it actually took my group a few times to get the answer that
he was looking for, he finally forgave us of our offenses and granted us
safe passage into his realm.

In conclusion, I want to express my deepest and sincerest thanks to my
now fellow shellbacks that took the initiative to cleanse me of all my
slime. Thank you, Neptunus Rex, for forgiving me for my treacheries. I am
proud to have become an honorable shellback, one of your “Sons of the
Sea.” The ceremony was a great time, broke up the monotony of our
everyday workday at sea, and will be a memory that this shellback will
never forget.

Editor’s Note: Brandon Nissen, son of Louise and Jim Nissen of Harlem, is
a 1999 graduate of Chinook High School. He joined the U.S. Navy right
after high school and trained as a Hospital Corpsman. Currently, Brandon
is serving on the USS Curts (FFG-38).