FROM THE SCULLERY TO THE BRIDGE

If you served in the Navy during the eighties, chances are you remember mess cranking. It was a rite of passage nobody requested and everybody remembers.

Like many young sailors, my first Navy assignment wasn't taking bearings on the bridge or plotting courses as a Quartermaster. It was learning the fine art of washing enough dishes to feed a small village. My first stop was a month in the scullery. The scullery was where stacks of dirty pots, pans, trays, and utensils went to be scrubbed until they shined again. It was hot, wet, noisy, and endless. By the end of a shift, your uniform was soaked, your hands were wrinkled, and you wondered how one ship could use that many dishes.

After surviving the scullery, I moved on to my next assignment as a mess crank in the officers' wardroom for 30 days. Some sailors thought this was a promotion and compared to the scullery, it probably was. The wardroom was cleaner, quieter, and a little more civilized than the enlisted mess decks. But you were still carrying trays, pouring coffee, serving meals, clearing tables, and making sure the officers had everything they needed before you finally sat down to eat yourself.

The work wasn't easier; it was just different. You learned the expectations of formal service, attention to detail, and the importance of professionalism. It also gave you a glimpse into another part of shipboard life that most junior enlisted sailors rarely saw.

After completing my time in the scullery and the wardroom it was time to report to my actual duty station, the bridge as a Quartermaster (QM).

The scullery taught you that no job was beneath anyone wearing the uniform. The wardroom reminded you that service comes in many forms, whether you're turning wrenches, standing watch, or serving breakfast to a room full of officers.

Those life lessons stay with you long after your enlistment ends. The pride of service, the commitment to something bigger than yourself, and the willingness to do whatever needs to be done become part of who you are. That is the mindset VETS1775 represents.

Today's junior sailors still pay their dues in the galley. The equipment may be newer, the procedures more streamlined, and the title may have changed from "mess crank" to Food Service Attendant, but the lesson remains the same: every sailor learns that no job aboard a ship is beneath them when the mission depends on everyone doing their part.

Mess cranking wasn't anyone's dream assignment. But like so many things in the military, it taught lessons that stayed with you long after the last tray was cleared.

And if you served in the Navy in the '80s, there's a good chance that somewhere in your sea stories is a tale that starts with, "Back when I was mess cranking..."