The Big Picture, Book 1

The Sum of Man

Chapter 5

Company 608K (Fat Boys Club)

Friday, February 24, 1978

Temperature – Low 23°F, -5°C High 32°F, 0°C – Partly Cloudy - Always windy.

As Bill packed up his duffel bag he reflected on the time he’d spent in Company 013.  The first three weeks the company commanders tore him down.  The second three weeks he was built back up.  Throughout the entire period he’d been sick.  Now after coming within two weeks of graduating, he’s leaving for an unknown fate.  He’d seen Company 608K around boot camp.  The company looked like a ragtag bunch marching to the chow hall.  They didn’t even bother to keep in step.  He’d also seen them running around the track at one of the drill halls. 

After packing everything Bill and Phil, his buddy who also ASMOED for failing his PT test, made their way out of what had been their home for six weeks.  They reported to the quarterdeck of the division and were told how to get to Company 608K.  Both recruits were feeling depressed.

Normally as you walk into a barracks in Navy boot camp there is a sentry standing watch.  He’ll turn and say, “Halt, who goes there?” at least that’s how every other sentry had done it, but not the 608K sentry.  He was sitting down with his feet on top of a desk.  “I’m going to &%$# you in the @#% tonight.” the sentry said.  Bill knew that the sentry was trying to mess with his head and ignored him.

“We’ve been transferred into this company, here’s our paperwork,” Bill replied, trying to look as neutral as possible.

“You along with about 10 other guys, they come and go.  Find yourself a rack and stow your gear.  The other guys will tell you what’s going on.”

Out of the 80 racks in the barracks only about 15 were taken and there seemed to be as much space as possible between each man.  Or, to say it simpler, the men were scattered throughout the barracks.  It struck Bill as odd, that he was allowed to choose his own rack anywhere in the barracks.  After stowing their gear Bill and Phil went into the lounge and found the rest of the company kicking back, smoking cigarettes and drinking cokes.  “Hi, I’m Phil and this is Bill.”  The guys in Company 608K introduced themselves including one guy called Sheridan.

Sheridan went on to explain the routine.  “Our Company Commander is CPO Brown.  You won’t see much of him.  Our theory is he doesn’t want to be seen with us, which is fine.  You can retake your PT test anytime you want.  If you pass within the next two days you’ll be able to rejoin your company.  Most of the guys that manage to get out of here quickly do it by passing the PT test.  Our routine is simple.  We get up at 05:00 and we walk to the chow hall.  Then we come back here and get our gym clothes and go to the drill hall.  We change clothes and then we run.  We run until lunchtime.  In the afternoon we do the same thing.  By 16:00 we come back here and we can do whatever we want.  You can go to the exchange (on-base store) and buy whatever you like.  You can smoke as much as you want.  There are no inspections or classes.  The only thing that sucks besides running is we still have to stand watch.

“What normally happens is after a day or two trying to run for eight hours you’ll find that you have some kind of injury.  So you’ll go to the infirmary and get a light duty chit.  Then you eat more and do less and can smoke all day long if you want.  If you’re really lucky you’ll get injured seriously enough so that you can get a waiver from running.  Then you get to pass a bicycle test, which is harder than the running.  If you’re in a hurry to get out of here your best bet is to do it within the next few days.  I’m on light duty right now, but I had to bang my knee against the wall until it was really sore in order to get it!  The rest of the company is running.  They’ll be back in a few minutes and then we’ll be going to dinner.”

‘I’ve died and gone to hell,’ Bill considered.  ‘This entire experience is counterproductive.  It’s like taking one step forward and two steps backward.’  The one thing that Bill did like was the chow hall was only about a quarter mile away.  The Navy exchange was also very close.  After dinner Bill went to the exchange and bought a carton of Camel non-filter cigarettes!

Saturday, February 25, 1978

Temperature – Low 26F, -3°C High 32°F, 0°C – Partly Cloudy - Always windy.

Bill came into boot camp out of shape and 30 pounds overweight.  He’d lost 20 pounds and could do 50-pushups and 25-tricep pushups.  That was a great improvement but not good enough.  What Sheridan had said was basically true.  After breakfast CPO Brown took them to the drill hall and told them to run.  No warmups, no stretching, just run.  Bill’s buddy Phil along with most of the other recruits who had been ASMOED out of Company 013 also took a PT retest.  Bill couldn’t be bothered.  He knew that he couldn’t pass it and had for the most part given up.

Bill noticed that one of the guys in the company was running by himself.  He was about Bill’s height 5’ 3” and about 50 pounds overweight.  The guy would jog about 50 yards and then walk the next 100.  Bill felt drawn to him and went over.  “Hi, my name is Porter, Bill Porter.”

“My name is Goldwin, Samuel Goldwin.”

“Goldwin, like the movie studio, isn’t that a Jewish name?”

“Yes.”

“Cool, I’ve never known anyone Jewish before.  You want to be buddies?  We can run together.”

“That’s ok, it’s just, I can’t run very far.”

“Neither can I,” Bill lied.  At the pace Goldwin was jogging Bill could probably run 10 miles.  “What week in boot camp are you in?”

“I’m in my third week.”

Bill now really felt sorry for Goldwin.  Bill figured it would be weeks before Goldwin could even run two and a half miles, let alone do it in the required time.  Bill had noticed Goldwin several weeks before trying to run in the drill hall so he reasoned that Goldwin had been in 608K for at least a couple of weeks already.  Now he had a goal.  He was going to help Goldwin get out of company 608K and at the same time help himself.  Bill still felt bad that Goldwin would have another five weeks of boot camp left after getting out of 608K while Bill only had two.

Bill spent the rest of the day running with – well, mostly walking - with Goldwin.  Bill got to know Goldwin better and found he was a good guy.  He let Goldwin set the pace and tried to encourage him as much as he could.  Bill noticed that CPO Brown disappeared almost as soon as the company had gotten to the drill hall.  After CPO Mason, CPO Brown was like having no supervision at all. 

Six of the eight from Company 013 passed their PT test that day.   Bill and Phil didn’t!  Bill believed Phil failed just so they could stay together.

Sunday, February 26, 1978

Temperature – Low 12°F, -11°C High 25°F, -4°C – Partly Cloudy - Always windy.

Sundays, 608K was, besides standing duties, a day off.  Bill spent the time writing his friends and family to let them know he’d be in boot camp longer than expected.  He spent the rest of the day eating and smoking.

Monday, February 27, 1978

Temperature – Low 12°F, -11°C High 27°F, -3°C – Partly Cloudy - Always windy.

Bill found that as different as 608K was from 013 in a military way; it was the same as far as the type of people he met.  Phil was the closest Bill had to a best friend.  Phil ran on his own; the pace that Bill and Goldwin ran was far too slow for him.  Bill continued to encourage Goldwin to go a little farther each time they started jogging.

Tuesday, February 28, 1978

Temperature – Low 22°F, -6°C High 30°F, -1°C – Partly Cloudy - Always windy.

Bill had felt a twinge in his groin when he ran the day before.  When he got up the next morning he could hardly walk.  He went to the infirmary to get a light duty chit so he wouldn’t have to run with his injury.  After waiting around for about an hour some really ugly female nurse told him to drop his pants.  He was really embarrassed but did as he was told.  She grabbed him near his groin area and told him to turn his head and cough.  The only response from Bill was a yelp from the pain that seemed to start at his groin and went all the way down to his toes.

After two more doctors repeated the same procedure it was determined that Bill had a mild hernia.  He was told that it wasn’t bad enough to do anything about and that he’d receive a three-day light duty chit.  Bill had joined the ranks of those who sat around all day at the barracks and smoked.

Wednesday, March 1, 1978

Temperature – Low 17F, -8°C High 22°F, -6°C – Partly Cloudy - Always windy.

Bill spent his day eating and smoking and pretty much doing a bunch of nothing.

Thursday, March 2, 1978

Temperature – Low 5°F, -15°C High 25°F, -4°C – Partly Cloudy - Always windy.

When the lights went on the next day Bill was surprised that the Company was called to attention as soon as they got out of their racks.  This was the first time in 608K the recruits were called to attention the first thing in the morning.  Even at attention Bill could move his eyes to see who had commanded them to attention.  The petty officer looked like an old man, at least 50 Bill judged from the wrinkles on his face and his gray hair.

Very quietly and calmly he spoke to the recruits.  “Chief Brown is no longer your Company Commander.  Some of the problems with this company have reached the Base Commander and that’s why I’m here.  My name is Master Chief Petty Officer Wright.  You may address me any way you like as long as you do it with respect.  Chief Wright is fine with me.  I will also address you respectfully.  I’m the Base Commander’s troubleshooter and I’m not a normal company commander.  I go into and help companies that are having problems and right now 608K is a problem.  The first thing I want you to do is move.  I see that you are scattered all over the barracks.  I want everyone up here in the front.  So as quickly as possible I want you to get dressed and move.  Then we’ll go to breakfast.  The few of you that are already up front make sure that your gear is in order as we’ll be having an inspection right after we return from breakfast.  Company dismissed.”

Master Chief Petty Officer Wright was FAR more intimidating to Bill than CPO Mason right from the start.  MCPO Wright didn’t need to swear, shout, or get in his face to motivate him.  As fast as he could Bill followed his instructions and got dressed, then he moved all his clothes.  As he put his clothes away he made sure that every fold and placement was correct.  Once that was completed MCPO Wright made them line up and march over to the chow hall for breakfast. 

After breakfast, Bill stood at attention at the foot of his rack while his locker was inspected.  “Porter?” MCPO Wright addressed him.

“SIR, YES SIR.”

“No need to shout, Porter, I can hear you fine.  I just have to say that your locker and uniform is 4.0.  You look like a squared away sailor to me.  Tell me, where are you going after boot camp?”

“I’m going to train to be a cook.”

“I suppose that running is very important for cooking good tasting food,” MCPO said with a laugh.

After inspections were over MCPO Wright once again addressed the company.  “Most of your lockers looked really good.  I’ve been told that military discipline has been kind of lax lately.  We will be having more locker inspections.  We will have marching drills.  I will have recruit petty officers to help me out. You will not be allowed to lie around all day on a light duty chit.  If you can’t run because of a bad ankle you can still do sit-ups.  When we go to the drill hall we will go as a company and that includes those of you on light duty.  There will be no more running eight hours a day either.  You will not be allowed to smoke anytime you want.  You will not be allowed to go to the Navy exchange either.  My job is to get you out of here so you can cook or paint or whatever it is you plan to do for the Navy.”

For the first time in a week Bill saw the light at the end of a long dark tunnel.  He already understood that MCPO Wright was trying to restore the recruits’ pride and teamwork.  Both of these had been stripped away.  From almost the first moment Bill knew he’d do anything for this man.

After getting to the drill hall MCPO Wright instructed all the light duty recruits to do what they could.  Bill managed to do all the exercises except jumping jacks.  That was a joke!!!!  You should be laughing right now!  Then he sat with the other light duty recruits while the others ran two miles.  For the first time the distance was used as a benchmark instead of just running until recruits were tired.  Bill was disappointed to see his friend Goldwin only make it half the quarter mile track before having to slow down and walk.

After everyone finished the two miles MCPO Wright had everyone walk one lap to cool down.  “Then I want to go back to the barracks and get to know each of you a little better.”  Everyone changed clothes and marched back to the barracks.  There were only about 20 in the company so the interviews didn’t take long.  Finally, it was Bill’s turn.

“Have a seat, Porter; let’s talk.  Forget that I’m a Master Chief for a moment and tell me man to man what I can do to make your life better?”

“Actually, you’re already doing what needs to be done!  Before I got hurt I was running with Goldwin.  All I need from you once I’m fully recovered is to allow me to continue to work with him.  If you don’t overwork us I’m sure we’ll be able to keep up someday.  Until then don’t get on our ass if we’re behind the others.”

“That sounds reasonable and I’ll allow it.  Anything else, Mr. Porter?”

This really freaked Bill out.  The last thing he ever expected was to be addressed in a formal manner.  “That’s it for now, Master Chief.”

“Very good!  Come see me again if there is anything else I can do for you!”

What Bill failed to realize was that MCPO Wright was just as impressed with him as Bill was impressed with Master Chief Wright.

Later that afternoon, Anderson, a recruit built much like Bill – short and fat – think football (one of my editors keeps saying that) was appointed RPO.  Other leadership positions were also announced.  Bill managed to not get volunteered.  By the end of the day Bill realized the company kept busy all day without running for eight hours.

Friday, March 3, 1978

Temperature – Low 17°F, -8°C High 23°F, -5°C – Partly Cloudy - Always windy.

Bill felt much better and because he wasn’t required to run eight hours he once again ran with Goldwin.  Bill constantly encouraged Goldwin to do better and to go farther.  Bill told him how strong he’d heard Jews were and how they never gave up choosing to die first.  MC Wright had them doing two-a-day workouts and in the morning Bill and Goldwin managed to make a quarter mile without stopping.  In the afternoon they managed to make a half a mile.  It was still a very slow jog.

Saturday, March 4, 1978

Temperature – Low 5°F, -15°C High 18°F, -8°C – Partly Cloudy - Always windy.

Mail call was special for Bill because he received another letter from his buddy Mike.  This time there was enough pot for two joints.  But Bill had no one to smoke it with - at least anyone he could trust.  Learning from past experience, he quickly got rid of the letter and after rolling two joints he stashed it someplace far away from his locker.  That night Bill had the Junior Officer Of the Deck (JOOD) watch.  This meant he had to walk around the entire building.  Each building consisted of two wings.  Each wing had six barracks and was three stories high with two barracks on each floor.  The buildings were built sometime before WWII but because of the way the buildings were maintained it looked more like they were built in the 1960’s.  Most of the barracks in this building were empty.  Only holding companies were in the building.  Each barracks had a washroom that was designed for the recruits to wash their own clothes.  These rooms no longer had a function and Bill figured he could smoke his joints by himself while he was supposed to be doing his tour of the entire building.  Having the 24:00 to 02:00 watch he figured that he could get away with it.

When Bill went on duty that night he had to go through a routine to relieve the current JOOD.  Logbooks were signed over and Bill officially started his duty.  He found it took 30 minutes to tour the entire building but only five minutes to tour the part of the building that was occupied.  Whenever the JOOD went into a company the visit was recorded in the logbook.  He figured he could have 20 minutes to smoke his two joints if he didn’t do the rest of his tour and went straight to the third floor washroom.  All the companies in the building were holding companies.  One had recruits on some kind of medical hold and one was a company which held recruits on their way out of the Navy.  Another was a company learning how to swim and then there was ‘fat boys club’.

Bill walked into the barracks where the ‘on their way out’ company was and was immediately surrounded by two guys about half dressed.  They started hitting on him, telling him how cute he was and asked him if he wanted to go into the bathroom and have some fun.  Bill figured that these guys were probably trying to get out of the Navy by acting like homosexuals and that is why they were in this holding company.  Bill just ignored them and kept on walking.  It was also possible that they were just trying to get him going.  Bill’s not the type of person who can be classified as secure in his sexuality.  He hasn’t tried everything yet so he’s not sure that he has a preference.  One thing he did learn from this encounter: he didn’t like getting hit on.

On Bill’s last tour of the night he found that everyone was in their racks and he had no more close encounters.  He went right to the third floor washroom and quickly smoked the two joints.  Mike had said it was really good pot and as Bill made his way back to the quarterdeck he felt as high as he ever had on any drug.  It was like what he was seeing was animated.  Bill had a very hard time going through the routine as he was relieved by his Company RCPO Anderson.  Bill managed to convince Anderson that he was okay and was able to go back to the barracks.  It seemed a shame to waste such a good buzz; there was nothing for Bill to do but go to sleep.

Sunday, March 5, 1978

Temperature – Low 0°F, -18°C High 20°F, -7°C – Partly Cloudy - Always windy.

Master Chief Wright didn’t wander into the barracks until almost lunchtime.  Even though Sundays had been a day off from working out he wanted to do an afternoon session.  The recruits had the routine worked out for these sessions and it wasn’t really that bad.  They did exercises to warm up and then ran two miles at their own pace.  Bill ran with Goldwin and with some encouragement they managed to make it one mile without stopping or slowing down.  Goldwin hadn’t lost much weight, but his endurance was improving.

After the workout the recruits were allowed to do pretty much as they pleased.  Bill sent Mike a letter thanking him for the buzz and letting him know that with the changes being made he hoped to be able to graduate soon.

Monday, March 6, 1978

Temperature – Low 23°F, -5°C High 31°F, -.5°C – Partly Cloudy - Always windy.

“Porter! I want to see you in my office,” announced MCPO Wright.  Bill went into his office and was told to have a seat.  “Porter, I think I might have a way to get you out of this company and back into a regular company.”  You have probably heard of the expression ‘he was all ears’, this certainly applied to Bill at that moment.  “I had a conversation with a medical officer this morning and I think I can get you out on a medical waiver.

“I told him I have this little short &^%$ that has no business in 608K.  I told him that you are a 4.0 sailor with good military discipline.  You have a squared away locker and you know how to drill.  You know your general commands of a sentry and your chain of command.  You can do every exercise without any problem, but when it comes to running you have these short little legs.  I told him that you have to work twice as hard to keep up as the rest of the men.  I went on to tell him that if I let you run at your own pace you can probably run 20 miles.  He said that if you can run a three-mile endurance run in less than 30 minutes that he would sign a waiver so you’ll never have to run in the Navy again.  You’ll have to take a bike test instead. 

“Now I have a favor to ask you, Porter.  I’d like Anderson to join you and Goldwin when you run.  I’d like the three of you to train together.  You’ll need to increase your run to three miles.  Let’s have you guys train together for several days.  Then I’ll test you.  All three of you fall into the same category.  I feel that I can get waivers for all three of you when you pass the endurance test.”

“That sounds great to me, Master Chief.  Can I tell the others?”

“Sure, tell whoever you like!”

That afternoon Bill, Goldwin, and Anderson started running together.  Bill set the pace and they made it two miles before Goldwin gave out.  After the workout Anderson pulled Bill aside.  “Why didn’t we keep on running?  I could have run farther.”

“We need to train as a team, Jim.”  Bill hoped using his first name might help him to listen.  “Goldwin gets his self-confidence from us.  If we keep running it could be embarrassing to him.  As long as we train we train as a team.  That’s the way the Chief wants it.  Do you understand?”

“Not really but I can live with it,” replied Anderson.  “The pace is fine and perhaps tomorrow we’ll make the whole three miles!”

Tuesday, March 7, 1978

Temperature – Low 24°F, -4°C High 29°F, -2°C – Partly Cloudy - Always windy.

The team ran the whole three miles both PT’s the next day.  The Master Chief started calling them ‘three mouseketeers’.  It still took them more then 30 minutes to run three miles.  Bill figured finishing was a good start.

Wednesday, March 8, 1978

Temperature – Low 25°F, -4°C High 30°F, -1°C – Sunny - Always windy.

Thursday, March 9, 1978

Temperature – Low 18°F, -8°C High 38°F, 3°C – Partly Cloudy - Always windy.

For the afternoon workout the MC decided to give the three of them the chance to take the test.  They weren’t required do any exercises before starting out.  Bill set the pace so that the others could keep up.  After one lap, MC Wright announced, “10 seconds behind.”  That meant that they would finish three miles two minutes overtime if they kept the same pace.  ‘We’ve got to pass the test!  I’ll just step up the pace a little and encourage them to keep up.’

After picking up the pace Goldwin was falling a few feet behind.  Bill tried to encourage him but he just fell farther behind.  At the end of the second lap they were now 20 seconds behind.  At the end of the third lap the Chief announced, “30 seconds behind.  Bill looked over his shoulder and saw that Goldwin was 100 yards behind and Anderson was no longer keeping up with him.  ‘I can’t stay here in this holding company any longer!  I have to graduate!  They aren’t going to make it, but I can!’  Bill picked up his pace about 40% and soon was lapping Goldwin and Anderson.  He kept the same fast pace until he finished the three miles over a half mile ahead of the other two runners with a time of 24 minutes.  Bill collapsed on a mat trying to catch his breath.  He had nothing left to give.  The chief told him to walk around the track to cool down as soon as he could so his muscles wouldn’t cramp up.  Bill felt good that he’d passed and bad that the whole team hadn’t made it.  Later that afternoon the Chief told him that his waiver was signed and the next day he would be taking a bike test.  If he passed he’d be returned to a regular company.

Friday, March 10, 1978

Temperature – Low 20°F, -20°C High 45°F, 45°C – Partly Cloudy - Always windy.

Bill’s friend Phil took his PT test in the morning and passed so he was packing his stuff when MCPO Wright wandered into the barracks just before lunch.  It was obvious to everyone that he was nursing a hangover.  “ATTENTION ON DECK,” the MCPO shouted louder than Bill had ever heard him speak.  He walked right up to Bill and got in his face, “YOU OWE ME $5.60, PORTER!”

“SIR, YES SIR, what for, sir?”

“Well, it’s like this, Porter.  Last night I went to the bar and I got good and drunk.  Finally when I was about as drunk as I was going to get I ordered the entire bar a round and I held up my last drink and I announced ‘this one’s for Porter.’  Of course none of them who received a free drink knew who Porter was, but I did and that is all that matters.  Buying the round cost me $5.60 so I feel that’s your fault along with this hangover.”

With that the Chief walked away from him.  He’d just been praised in front of the entire company and he didn’t get it.  ‘What did I do to deserve that?  I just passed some running test.  It would have been much better if the others had made it too.  I don’t get it?’  About an hour later it dawned on Bill.  ‘What the Master Chief is happy about is that I was holding back.  I went down to others’ level and tried to bring them up to mine.  The Chief must have realized that when I lapped the others yesterday.’

Bill took his bicycle test and passed it.  It was very hard.  He had to keep up a fast pace for 28 minutes.  He felt the running was easier.  The thing he really hated about it was CPO Brown supervised the bicycle test.  By now Bill had hoped he’d be someplace in Alaska.

The Chief wished him good luck in his new company and said he wished that he could keep him around for a few more weeks just for morale.  Bill knew as long as he lived he would never forget MCPO Wright and how his name fit him.  ‘These two weeks would make a good story,’ Bill considered, as he walked to his new company with everything he owned.  ‘I can see it now I’ll title the book “608K (Fat Boys Club)”’.

This chapter is dedicated to the late Justin Case.  We shared many experiences including most of what happened in this chapter.  He might be gone but will not be forgotten.