{"id":34,"date":"2020-04-01T23:19:42","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T23:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tinys-bs.com\/seastories\/?p=34"},"modified":"2020-04-06T12:27:59","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T12:27:59","slug":"the-xos-door","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tinys-bs.com\/seastories\/2020\/04\/01\/the-xos-door\/","title":{"rendered":"The XO\u2019s Door"},"content":{"rendered":"

The new Executive Officer, DB reported on board and assumed his duties as the Captain\u2019s right hand man.\u00a0 Over the years, I\u2019ve found that XOs can be one of three types.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first type is a hard ass that wants to captain his own boat some day. The hard ass XO does a lot that can make things miserable for the crew.\u00a0 Lots of field days, inspections and strict adherence to the rules.\u00a0 You had better not let your hair get a quarter inch too long or your poopy suit look untidy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The second type of XO is one that is like many sailors.\u00a0 They are just putting in their required time before they can return to civilian life and not have to put up with all that military BS.\u00a0 They will enforce the rules and regulations, but not much else.<\/span><\/p>\n

DB was the third type of XO.\u00a0 He was determined to make the submarine and the Navy a better place to live and work.\u00a0 Although he had to enforce regulations, he interpreted many of them loosely to make things easier for the crew.\u00a0 For instance, if a crew member made a boo boo, he would often assign extra duties to avoid a more stringent Captain\u2019s Mast.<\/span><\/p>\n

When DB reported on board, he announced that he had an Open Door Policy.\u00a0 This meant that he was always available for consultations with the crew.\u00a0 He even put up a sign.<\/span><\/p>\n

We had been on patrol for about a month and the crew was settled into the \u201cat sea\u201d routine.\u00a0 This is the boring life at see on a submarine where you get out of the rack, eat, stand watch, eat, watch a movie, eat and then go to sleep.\u00a0 Then, if you\u2019re not a NON-QUAL, you wake up and do it all over again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Late one night, Doc, Stretch and Tony were discussing the XO\u2019s Open Door Policy while drinking a cup of coffee and eating a geedunk.\u00a0 For those that don\u2019t know, a geedunk is slang for a sweet dessert.\u00a0 Doc, the boat\u2019s corpsman asked Tony, the cook, how there could be an open door policy when the XO\u2019s stateroom door was usually closed?\u00a0 Stretch, one of the Torpedomen said that maybe they should fix the door so it was stuck in the open position.<\/span><\/p>\n

The three obviously were having too much sugar and caffeine.\u00a0 It shorted out their brains.\u00a0 They decided that instead of just an open door, the XO should have NO door.\u00a0 They started planning \u201cOperation No Door\u201d.\u00a0 The first obstacle was where to put the door so that couldn\u2019t easily be found.\u00a0 They discussed hiding it in the freezer, under a deck plate in a bilge, under someone\u2019s mattress and many more places.\u00a0 They finally decided on the perfect spot.<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, they had to figure out how to get the door without anyone knowing.\u00a0 This turned out to be pretty easy.\u00a0 There aren\u2019t a lot of sailors roaming about the boat between 0300 and 0400 hours.\u00a0 Unfortunately, that is also the time when the XO is usually sleeping.<\/span><\/p>\n

A few nights later, they got their chance.\u00a0 The XO was called to the Radio Shack to review some message traffic.\u00a0 The three made their move and headed to his stateroom.\u00a0 They quickly unhinged the door and relocated it to their hiding area.<\/span><\/p>\n

The XO didn\u2019t get back to his stateroom for a couple of hours.\u00a0 By this time, the watch had been awakened and were eating breakfast before assuming their various duties.\u00a0 Around 0800, DB decided to take a tour of the boat.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t say anything about the missing door, but it was obvious to the crew that he was searching for something.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is generally known that there aren\u2019t any secrets on a submarine.\u00a0 By noon, everyone knew that the XO was missing a door and the \u201cOpen Door Policy\u201d was really open.\u00a0 At around 1400, he finally got on the 1MC and officially announced that his door was missing.\u00a0 He said it was a good joke and would whoever took it please return the darn thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

An hour went by and the XO was back on the 1MC asking all crew members to search for his door.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t long after that before a crew member was wearing two ball caps.\u00a0 One cap had the bill facing forward.\u00a0 The second cap’s bill was facing backward.\u00a0 He was wearing a raincoat and walking around the boat with a magnifying glass.\u00a0 He told everyone not to worry.\u00a0 Detective Shlock was on the case and would soon find the missing door.<\/span><\/p>\n

Schlock spent several hours searching and questioning various members of the crew.\u00a0 He asked everyone where they were during the midwatch and if they had noticed anything suspicious.\u00a0 There were several responses:<\/span><\/p>\n