Iwo Jima skipper takes whole crew to see Top Gun:Maverick

| June 12, 2022

Captain Judd Krier (USN)

Here’s a feel good story. Captain Judd Krier, who commands USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7), took his whole crew to see the latest Top Gun movie. He even bought popcorn and soda. Excepting for those on the duty watch, this amounted to some 700 sailors.

From Navy Times;

Ship life is hard, and ship life while said ship is in dry dock for maintenance in Norfolk is its own kind of suck, as anyone following the Navy in recent months has come to understand.

So a big Bravo Zulu to Capt. Judd Krier, skipper of the amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima, who took his massive crew of 700 sailors — minus the duty section, of course — to see “Top Gun: Maverick” at a local theater late last month.

The Daily Press first reported this act of good CO’ing, wherein Krier even sprang for the sailors’ drinks and popcorn.

The idea came to Krier as he huddled with his command team and looked for ways to make things suck less for his crew as the ship undergoes maintenance at the General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk shipyard in Virginia, according to the Daily Press.

“It’s a chance for everyone to connect with a great Navy movie,” Krier told the publication.

Props to Krier for looking after his men and women during this maintenance time, and for giving future COs, executive officers, and command master chiefs across the service a look at what good leadership and morale-boosting look like.

Looking at Norfolk theaters, a general admission ticket runs about $10 per person. It’s been a good while since I was at an in-person cinema (building a home theater ruined me on the experience), but popcorn and soda gotta be somewhere around $7. Captain was looking at a bill somewhere north of $11,000. Even if they gave a 10% military discount, that’s a pretty penny.

Category: Bravo Zulu, Navy

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Mick

It goes without saying that AW1Ed and I would have volunteered to stay aboard the ship and stand the Mail Buoy Watch that day.

Well done, CAPT Krier.

jeff LPH 3 63-66

While standing the Mail Buoy Watch, the watch stander is given a compass along with a 1 0unce can of relative bearing grease and a horse cock sandwich if the watch is between 1200-1600 Hrs.

SCPO USN Ret

You will also need 50’ of waterline with a grappling hook to retrieve the mail buoy!

jeff LPH 3 63-66

SCPO

I thought of the 50 ft of waterline but I didn’t occur to me of using it with a grappling hook. 50 ft of chowline ran through my head but didn’t pertain to the watch stander. Most of the Navy guys/gals on the site are a lot younger and I don’t know if all these sayings are still used in todays new Navy. Had a regulation single rolled neckerchief for inspections and a double rolled one for Liberty. Are they still in use today???

Mick

50′ of flightline

Bucket of prop wash

jeff LPH 3 63-66

Heard of the two but I never used the terms. I never put them down on my below comment with all the others I mentioned. I wrote all those terms back in 9/17/03 from memory on the back of two pick up slips for the Miami jewelery show while working for Brinks.

Anonymous

Box of gridsquares, key to the dropzone, etc.

Last edited 2 years ago by Anonymous
HT3

Watching new sailors catch a Sea Bat was always a favorite nof mine.

jeff LPH 3 63-66

Are these sayings still in Navy talk.
AJ squared away, pecker checker, cumshaw, deck ape, snipe, scope dope, skivvy waver, nookey pook, bug juice, gi gin, geedunk stand, line up asshole to belly button, roach coach, gate rat, reefer flats, steamer locker, float test, shit can, anchor pool, channel fever, liberty cuffs, gaberdeens, late sleeper, middy cruise, skinny, boot, over all hatches and gun covers,bucket of steam,spool of pipe threads, sos, minced beef on toast, early liberty, going on the beach/going over (liberty), grab assing, skylarking, rain locker,cold iron watch,colder than zero point dipshit/dipstick, pay line/shot line, chow line, left handed monkey wrench, key to start the main steam engine, horse cock sandwiches (thick cut bologna and salami), water and chow lines as mentioned above.

Mick

Scuttlebutt

Midrats

Barney Clark (cheeseburger slider with a fried egg and mayonnaise served at Midrats; Barney Clark was the world’s first recipient of an artificial heart)

Heave out and trice up!

RGR 4-78

What is it with you Navy guys watching and catching male boys? 😆 

You did good CAPT Krier.

SFC D

You two have lost that lovin’ feelin’.

NHSparky

$13.50 at Casa de Sparky Western Annex. A medium coke was $7. I didn’t do popcorn, would have been another $8.

I’m sure the ship’s Rec Fund kicked in some, but it’s a hell of a nice gesture, considering the tone-deaf comments made by the MCPON recently.

And yeah, shipyard suck if you’re ship’s force. Seems like I was working harder there than when I was at sea sometimes.

Mick

Re: ship’s Rec Fund kicking in some. Concur.

In view of the recent (sometimes tragic) events related to ships in the yards and MCPON’s associated dumbassery in response, I’d bet that the Iwo’s leadership requested and received permission from higher headquarters to use MWR funding to support this good move by CAPT Krier.

If so, this was a great use of MWR funds in my opinion. That’s what they’re there for.

Helluva lot better than a Steel Beach picnic.

jeff LPH 3 63-66

How about adding in some submarine terms which some of us are not familiar with NH.

STSC(SW/SS)

Bubblehead, mess crank, COB (Chief Of the Boat as opposed to Senior Enlisted Advisor), Chop(Supply Officer) and of NQP (Non Qual Puke).

Topski

Most theaters now offer deals to rent the whole place for parties greatly reducing the overall price. Not belittling the captains gesture just saying it was most likely a lot less that $11,000

David

Not if you realize coke and popcorn is $7 EACH…for the small size.

Fyrfighter

BZ Captain. Way to take care of your people

jeff LPH 3 63-66

Glad to see a great generous Skipper in the “new” Navy.

KoB

Nice gesture Skipper. Too bad you couldn’t treat the troops to a real, great movie. Oh…wait…they don’t make those anymore, do they?

Baby Girl just texted me. Her, the Grands, and SiL are at the theater near Tampa. Matinee tics were $58 for the 4 of them. Snacks and drinks were $65.

USAFRetired

Took my preteen son to see TG Maverick.

Matinee price for 2 tickets $8 each plus tax. The number 1 Combo (tub of popcorn + 2 large drinks) $21.00 even.

Explaining how its only in Hollywood that flares work against radar guided threats priceless.

jeff LPH 3 63-66

It looks like the days of the $.25 cent movie ticket are over that I used to pay for two flicks, cartoon and a 3 stooges short.

Graybeard

Personally, I don’t care how Capt. Judd Krier made it happen, totally out of his pocket or with supplemental rec funds, the fact that he made it happen at all is what shows there is hope for the ossifer corpse in the modern Navy.

Daisy Cutter

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FuzeVT

Ha, ha!

“We have planes, too!”

Thunderstixx

Good on him.
We need more of him and less of milly the mophead…

FuzeVT

Well done, CAPT Krier.

I saw the movie yesterday because all of me conservative folks I listen to said it was great. It is unabashedly pro-American, obviously pro-military and a good flick on the side. Is it the high point of western art and civilization? No, but I didn’t think it would be. It is what it is and considering it’s 2022, that is pretty phenomenal. I didn’t get preached at once – if you can believe it.

One bone to pick. This as a proud member of the two NDSM club, I notice when people have the stars and when they don’t. (For the record, I went to bootcamp on Feb 28, 1995. For some reason they you rated the NDSM from Desert Storm until the end of that year. Not sure why.) I would always bust the balls of the guys I knew were longer in the teeth than I was if they weren’t wearing it. In the movie, the only people who had it were the three star admirals. No one else had them.

s-l1000.jpg
Daisy Cutter

One potential flaw I noticed is that “Ice” was presented as the current Pacific Commander. If he was terminally ill, it seems odd that he was able to still be in that position. Working from home in his pajamas, commanding the Pacific Fleet? If he was *PREVIOUSLY* the Pacific Commander, it would seem odd that he dished out orders to those admirals. I doubt past influence came into play. Anyone else question that?

FuzeVT

Yeah, there’s that, too. I was thinking it would be hard to hide not being able to talk is an admiral – that’s all they do! Maybe he was waiting for his PEB. . . .

FuzeVT

Oh, and my 21 yo son pointed out another one – if Goose’s boy was a todler in 1986 he’d be pushing 40.

As for me, if a movie is pro-American, pro-military and not woke preachy then I am prepared to forgive a lot.

ChipNASA

I’m here but trying to catch up.
NDSM 2x club too.
84-07.
Yeah, I’m even willing to overlook the super gayness but I haven’t seen the new movie yet.
I’ll probably wait until it comes out of the closet out on Netflix first  😜 

Green Thumb

Not to be the pessimist, but we had this happen in my day in the EM ranks.

A water park in this case.

A lot of dudes called this “forced fun”. I had a good time. But many would have rather spent the time doing their own thing(s).