A close
family member used to tell a story that has a valuable lesson for everyone.
While serving in the Navy, he did a tour of duty in a place called Adak , Alaska . It was pretty cold, windy and
snowed a lot.
He was a
storekeeper and was in charge of a large warehouse with all kinds of supplies
for the military base. The most popular items requested were always blankets,
boots and booze. There were also lots of other items in the warehouse. The most
important of which was snow shovels.
His story
was really quite short. It left you with the sort of feeling that if you failed
to plan ahead, you may not survive very long. It’s the simple things you fail
to prepare for that will quite literally ruin your chances for survival. Here
is that story.
“He looked
up and saw a new recruit entering the warehouse. He knew immediately that he
was going to have to drag out some blankets and boots. He doubted the rookie,
who had just entered the building, knew what he was in for now that he had
arrived at base. He knew the extreme weather conditions could be a real “SOB”.
He also knew most raw recruits doing their first tour of duty had no idea of
what they were going to be in for now that they had arrived.
The rookie
walked up to his desk and reported that he was here to pick up his gear and
presented the standard requisition form. He took the form and proceeded to tear
it up. The rookie spoke up quickly saying, “Sir, why are you doing that?” He
then stated, “Forget all this stuff son. You won’t be needing most of it
anyway. Besides, I’ve already got your gear ready and waiting for you in that
pile right over there.”
The rookie
looked at the pile of gear and the first thing he noticed was a shovel. He
hadn’t requested a shovel and had already seen lots of shovels stacked inside
the doorways of most of the buildings already.
He then
remarked, “But sir, I shouldn’t need a shovel because I’ve already seen plenty
of shovels inside most of the buildings already. Besides that, I’ve seen the
heavy equipment outside and it’s a lot more efficient in moving snow than a man
with a shovel.”
The
grizzled old veteran looked at the rookie and could only shake his head. The
rookie had given very little thought to his present situation. It was time to
tell him about the way things really are and what the rookie was about to
experience. He then instructed the rookie to take a seat while he explained how
things worked in the real world.
The
grizzled old veteran took a few moments to get his thoughts together and then
went on to explain a few things to the rookie.
“You see
son, life requires you to plan ahead if you want to survive. You’ve already
noticed all the shovels everywhere and you should have realized that they must
be important. You can look at your pile of gear and there’s another shovel for
you there also.” The rookie responded, “I didn’t even include a shovel on my
original requisition form you tore up.”
The old man
responded, “Of course not, the newbies never do. But that’s because you don’t
know what you’re up against and it’s my job to make sure you have the equipment
you need to survive. This place can be one of the coldest and most God-forsaken
places on earth and if you’re not prepared, the weather will kill you faster
than the enemy. When we get a bad blizzard, it gets bad enough to make a polar
bear cry and they’re a lot better equipped to handle the weather than you are.
You need to remember that we need shelter to protect us from those really bad blizzards
and snow storms.” The new recruit then asked, “But how’s a shovel going to help
me survive?”
Once again
the old veteran spoke to the rookie. “It’s like this son. When we get a
blizzard, you’re going to need that shovel because it’s going to be needed to
dig your way out of here.” The rookie briefly interrupted saying “There are
already plenty of shovels and therefore I shouldn’t need one.” The old veteran
just shook his head and then continued with his explanation.
“Hopefully,
there will be two things that you will learn while you’re stationed here. The
first thing you need to learn is that everyone is expected to do their share.
That’s why everyone, including you, gets a shovel. The second thing you need to
learn is that when there’s only one way in, you need to have a plan for getting
out. Otherwise, a box with only way in is only going to become a coffin.”
The rookie
rose slowly from his seat and walked over to the pile of gear and picked up his
shovel. On his way out of the warehouse the old veteran heard him say just one
word, “Thanks.”
Staying
above the water line!
Riverwalker
4 comments:
That is a great story. What I took out of it - if you are snowbound, you are dead. If not from the hypothermia, than its being stuck with no resources.
RW
The feeling you got from the story is correct. Adak is definitely a place where not planning ahead and taking precautions can get you killed in a hurry. The weather there is absolutely unforgiving. They call it the "birthplace of the winds".
I spent 18 months there as a kid when my dad was stationed there. I also spent 6 months there as an adult deployed with Patrol Squadron 48 in 1989. Adak is a place you will never forget if you ever spend any time there.
Mark
To: anonymous 7:37
One of the main points he always tried to get across was that everyone has to do their part if you want to survive. Too often we seem to forget that aspect.
Thanks anon.
RW
To: Navy91
I've never been there but have heard many a "horror" story from that "grizzled old veteran" who just happened to be my Dad.
Sounds like you may have a few stories of your own after having actually lived there for a while.
Thanks Mark.
RW
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