NationStates Jolt Archive

Okay, common sense dictates that all Navy ships carry more personnel than is necessary to run the ship. This is because, regardless of how skilled a person is, they need to sleep and eat and relax and somebody needs to do their job while they're doing something else. Most ships have two or three times the necessary crew so that they can have several shifts where they rotate the crew for rest and relaxtion. While one person is driving, two others are sleeping. But, and here's my question, what if there's an emergency?

I've been wondering (For use in my RP's) what, exactly, the off-duty crew does during an emergency (Star Trek Red Alert). I mean, I'm guessing if a ship is under attack the off-duty personnel don't just continue to sit in their bunk, but since there's multiple Gunners/Navigators/etc. on a ship and, if you're off-duty then somebody else is doing your job, do you go and share a seat with your partner or what?

Any info?

Never been on a war ship, but I suppose everyone's got their battle stations.

And if there are spare people, because they're not on shift or something, they probably try to stay out of the way.

Never been in a navy, but from talking with those who were and my own studies...

Crusing is different from general quarters (aka, Red Alert). In general, all hands go to their assigned duty stations. Usually this means back ups, double back ups, and tripple back ups (for example, when touring the USS Hornet, I got to see the Bridge, the Nav Bridge, the Exec bridge (not its name) and the steering room) all of which have the ability to take control of the ship, all needing helmsmen and navigators). Those who's normal duties include washing floors have their own dutiy stations that normally include damage control, weapons, or doing things like running food and coffee to those who are busy eslewhere.

No one, and I mean NO ONE is sitting around (unless their duty station has a seat I mean). ;)

Okay, so even those not on-duty do have assigned posts? That makes sense, but I thought it better to check than assume.

Okay, so even those not on-duty do have assigned posts? That makes sense, but I thought it better to check than assume.
Yup, they all go to those stations when the alarm rings. Space is at a premium on a ship, and in a combat situation, if you lose the person on duty, you can't wait for the replacement to be called up from wherever they happen to be sleeping at the time.

What exacty do Marines do on ships other than security?

It depends on the size of the ship, and the crew for each department.

For example. Say you have 12 signalmen assigned as three sets of watches and you only need four (1 set) to function for battle stations (whoever was on watch when the battle stations sounded). You have the four on watch go to their duty stations for the exercise and then have the other eight waiting nearby but in a better protected location. If two of them get killed, for example, you send two to replace them. If you kept ALL the signalmen at the same same spot during the drill or battle (on top at the signal bridge in this scenario) one hit might kill them all and then the ship wouldn't have any signalmen left.

At least that's the way we did it twenty years ago.

What exacty do Marines do on ships other than security?

If it's an amphibious assault ship, all they do is sit around, clean their guns twenty times a day and stand in lines wherever they find them, waiting to be put ashore somewhere…Pissing the hell out of the sailors who are doing their work and need to quickly go get something done but they can't because there are fifty marines standing in line at every service window... There used to be a joke that if you were walking to get to work and then stopped for a moment thought that maybe you forgot something when you went to turn around to go back to get it you would fine ten marines standing behind you already asking what this line was for? :p The poor bastards were pretty much bored out of their skulls on long med cruises and whatnot.

But if it's marines on a fighting ship, then they are essentially nothing but security, for anti-boarding or boarding troops as may be needed. But sailors man the ships arsenal.

During an emergency, there is a whole lot more "jobs" to do than during regular steaming.
Phone-talkers, fire-fighting teams, doubling up on the watches, repair lockers, extra look outs, engineering casualty response teams. Everyone has a job during an emergency/battle situation.