Peter Mims, the lost sailor
You probably remember Peter Mims, the Navy sailor who was thought to be lost at sea for a spell while US and Japanese Navy vessels searched the seas for him, but he was discovered below decks of the USS Shiloh after 50 hours. Well, David sends us a link to Good Morning, America which reports the latest on the Navy’s hide-and-seek champion 1st Class;
He attended an “Admiral’s mast,” a non-judicial punishment within the Navy, “due to the seriousness this had on the strike group and our Japanese allies,” Newell said.
The charges violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice’s Article 86, abandoning watch, and Article 92, dereliction in the performance of duties.
Newell said the Navy is looking into pursuing additional administrative actions against Mims. He could not speculate on whether other sailors on board the Shiloh were implicated in his disappearance.
Category: Navy
So the young lad has already had his Admiral’s Mast and whatever punishment was awarded with it…. most likely reduction, fine and EDP and restriction.
The follow on actions are probably ADSEP….. buh bye.
Just my thought, but I have been doing this for a day or two. I just don’t get what he was doing… but I am an old fart.
Attention-whoring, Chief. Nothing else.
Off topic Ex-PH2, but do you normally call CWO’s ‘Chief’ in the Navy? Only ask because I worked with an Army CPT in Ramadi, with 2BCT I believe. He asked me upon introduction “What do I call you, Mr. or Chief?” I replied something like “Well, last time I was called an E7’s rank I was a GySgt, so I guess Mr. or (‘Ret’s first name) is fine; do you prefer Sir, CPT, or Skipper?” He caught the joke, always called me Mr. ‘Ret. Only person I’ve ever had call me that. Also the only semi-joint billet I ever had. Anyhow, I’m helping my retired unca’ AWCS put in a patio this weekend, so I can also ask him. I’m one of the few who never got a deployment at sea, just overseas. Cheers, I know it’s not WOT yet, but was curious.
PA guard guy?
No, USMC activated. Commo guy. He was their Commo, we had TACON of their network so I spent a lot of time with that team.
I think it just depends on what period in history you’re talking about. In the 1960s/1970s Navy, it was ‘Mr.’ or ‘Miss’, but now it seems to have changed.
Some don’t mind Chief or they like to be called Warrant Officer or Chief Warrant. Many Warrant were Chief at one time so being called “SIR” doesn’t sit too well.
In the Army we typically call WO1’s Mr/Miss. Wobbly One is a term of endearment for new helicopter pilots, the career field where you find a large number of them.
Once they make Chief Warrant Officer (CW2 and up) it is usually Chief, but we don’t have that rank on the enlisted side. When referring to senior Warrants in the third person we will usually say the entire rank (go see CW3/4/5 Lastname) so everyone knows exactly what we are talking about. Essentially, CW3/4 are given the respect and deference one would a Field Grade officer, and CW5s are essentially given the same deference as a CSM or GO.
There are a few duty positions that are referred to as Chief (in the artillery, mainly- The senior NCO in a battery is the Chief of Firing Battery AKA Chief of Smoke or just Smoke)
NO Captain’s Mast
Go directly to Admiral’s Mast. That is an Oh-shit moment.
When the Old Man’s Boss pays you a visit, there are only 2 reasons. 1 Good, 1 really bad. Guess what visit you are getting?
I ‘spect they are working to really embarrass him, so that other idjits won’t try a repeat performance.
I can imagine the Admiral sitting there like Chris Hansen; “why don’t you go ahead and have a seat.”
More like: ‘Why don’t you stand over there at Attention…until MY legs get tired.’
I had an OIC back in the day who liked to pick up the podium and place the front of it up against the toes of the awardee’s shoes so he could look him or her right in the eye. Got their attention REAAAAL QUICK.
Another OIC decided to cut the crow off of a Sailor’s uniform immediately after awarding punishment. You should have seen the Sailor’s face.
We had a CO at VA-105 when i first got there that apparently would eat an onion before Mast, and then he would pick his podium up and carry it with him as he circled the poor bastard that he was punishing.
You could sometimes hear him yelling while down below working on the airplanes if the jet noise died down.
The guys he kicked out, he would cut their photo out of their ID card and glue it to his Wall of Shame.
I had an SMG in Italy who had a crystal sugar boy on his desk filled with the rank that he’d cut off…
Don’t get mad at me but it is the lectern he/she picked up. The podium is what you stand on. I catch the major media reporters doing it all the time but they should know better or the had a sh*tty journalism instructor(s). While I am on my soap box decimate means to reduce by 10% not annihilate.
Dang…Just for reading this comment I feel like I got grounded for a bad grade. Guess I’ll go read in my room for a while. hmmmppphhhhhh
oldrmepilot: Decimate is one of my pet peeves but I’ve stopped calling attention to it. The media does it and they know EVERYTHING.
CB Senior, non Navy guy asking. So, in this case does an Admiral actually sit and ask this clown the questions or more likely, tell him who shot John?
Admiral stands at lecturn…accused is brought in standing at attention with his Chief, Division Officer, and most likely in this case Commanding Officer flanking him or in a formation facing the accused.
From what I remember from the Captain’s Mast I was a witness at. I can’t imagine an Admiral’s Mast be much different.
Thank you Sir.
I suspect that is a place I would much rather not be, even as a spectator.
Will admit had heard about Captain’s Mast, but Admiral’s Mast is new to me. I guess it’s for when you REALLY want to make an impression.
I’m surprise it wasn’t a open Admirals mast!!!!
as a recipient of both a captain’s mast and an admiral’s mast, they are near identical. I shit my pants (not literally) both times. the difference is the level of punishment that can be awarded. an admiral can demote to E1, a Captain can only reduce by one pay grade. a captain can only take 1/2 months pay for 2 months; an admiral can take all pay for 6 months (when coupled with jail time). etc. etc.
I always loved how they made it sound like a good deal:
SN Schmuckatelli was taken to mast for Art. 92, 86, 134, and was AWARDED….
Awarded? WTF is this, a game show?
As Atkon also mentioned. The soon to be Awardee is paraded in by the Master at Arms. Put at Parade Rest until Presiding Officer is at the Lectern. Then they are given his instructions to “Hand Salute”, Uncover. Awardee’s Chain of Command is present standing in Formation to the side. They may be called on for character input, also there as witness. Before they enter the Sailor is instructed to follow all Commands from the MAA. Any hand movement above the waist that is not directly ordered can and will be constituted as an assault on the Presiding Officer and the Sailor will be forcefully subdued onto the deck by the MAA standing next to the Sailor at all times.
Yep that’s the way I remembered it when I worked security on the USS Nassau. Had 2 full birds as the CO and XO.
In 25 years, I never even heard of an enlisted Sailor going to Admiral’s Mast. I’m sure he was shitting in his pants when he was in front of the good Admiral…GOOD.
GOOD = Shack.
And he rates everything that he received at Admiral’s Mast, being that his little game of shipboard ‘hide-and-seek’ caused the Navy to delay/divert an entire Carrier Strike Group to search for his stupid ass for 2+ days.
We had a guy in the Truman years back just put on AO1. We pull into Marseilles, France on our way to deployment and he gets into an alcoholic incident. Went straight to Admiral’s Mast. Got busted down 3 paygrades….all the way from AO1 to AOAN. His paygrade was still E5 since he just got frocked AO1 so going from three chevrons to three stripes. Play stupid games win stupid prizes.
I’m sure the Admiral is looking forward to this shitstain showing up in his office with baited breath…
I never heard of Admirals mast. The best I ever did was an XO hearing then to Capt’S Mast for that busted low pressure air compressor that ran out of oil and I didn’t check it while on cold iron watch in the Philly Yards back in 1966.
Definitely needs to be separated after all the trouble he’s caused, for the good of the Navy.
Before that they can have “Man Overboard” drills using him for the “dummy”.
Oscar!!!!
I hope his supervisors are not destroyed in the process.
Cannot resist this:
All Mimsey were the borogoves
And the mome raths outgrabe
Please don’t step on the Mome Raths.
You know, I’ve been a part of a Captain’s Mast as well as a Courts-Martial (witness, etc) as well as an Admiral’s Mast. If I was in the hot seat, I’d take any of those actions over any civilian court procedure. I found them to be straight-forward, absolutely objective and beyond fair. In each case, the only thing that was of interest to the court was the truth and uncovering any and all factual information.
Having said that, in this case, I am a bit perplexed and undecided. Were it up to me, I’d give the kid 3 day’s confinement on bread and water, followed by a big chicken dinner.
If this kid just didn’t want to be in the Navy anymore, then fine by me. Give him the dishonorable discharge so he can’t ever claim any veteran’s benefits, and hand him his personal effects, and a one-way bus ticket to his home of record.
Fuck him.
YMMV, of course. That’s just how I see things.
Used to laugh at the bubba’s that thought 3 days bread and water was not just a Navy expression and that was exactly what they were going to get. Lots of tears at the Sally Port.
“learned”
Did they have that punishment in the Seabees? I thought it only occurred at-sea?
Had a previous life as a Black shoe.
I was in IM-2 on the Nassau and went TAD to the security force. We did Captains mast and yes the Skipper’s punishment sometimes was bread and water.
. Soak your bread in the water before eating it. That is what my Shipmates that participated in that event told me, in case I wound up with three days cake & champagne. Never did though.
Concur with all of the above.
And for the ‘Landlubbers’ here on Team TAH:
3 day’s confinement on bread and water in the brig of a U.S. Navy ship that is underway is no joke. I’ve got a close friend who was in the Marine Detachment aboard an aircraft carrier ‘back in the day’, and his descriptions of that punishment are downright harrowing.
True dat. You can have all the bread and water you want, but the thing to remember is that it is intended to bind you up and make shitting a surreal experience. It is not pleasant
Yep, it will have your asshole working like a playdough fun factory
Oh gawd, no thanks for that mental image! 🙂
LOL 1610! I love that description, stealing it.
When I worked in the jail we had a “disciplinary meatloaf” (no meat) that would do the same thing. They would beg for Ducolax from the nurse.
“disciplinary meatloaf” = Tofu?
Veggie cheese omelet MRE
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_leoGYAeiH44/S9Sy3RY7LhI/AAAAAAAAJqQ/Umw3Y4uUmRc/s1600/IMG_4249.JPG
http://www.susanlayton.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_5943.jpg
Ah, no wonder I had never seen or heard of that MRE menu #4. Just a little past my time by about 15 years.
Introduced in 2005, discontinued in 2009 in favor of the Maple Sausage menu #4.
It looks positively yummy.
Not!!!
Couldn’t be much worse than “Ham and Eggs, Chopped”.
wayddaminute!
I liked Ham and Eggs, Chopped”.
Nam’ 69
Me too. Good stuff as a C-Rat. Especially with peaches over pound cake as a dessert.
Don’t know about it as an MRE.
Nam 71-72
Early 90’s MRE “Omelet with Ham”, as tasty as cardboard!
Almost, Claw. They used soybean for protein, veggies, wheat and vitamin powder with NO seasonings whatsoever. It met all the nutritional and caloric standards while being as bland as cardboard. Used as a last resort for the wannabe hardasses. Never saw it fail in correcting behavior. 🙂
Loaf of bread a day and a gallon of water. Some preferred that rather than the 30 days CC. B&W was a cold cell and left alone. CC was 30 days/nights of getting supervised by MARDET, cleaning passageways in the early hours.
Yeah, CC sucked ass. One time I placed one of my Sailors in CC. I got the desired response…his knees buckled when I announced the punishment. He shaped up after that.
I had a SWO tell me once that putting a Sailor on bread and water was a big pain in the ass for the command. Medical exams, etc, etc, made it so that the punishment was “watered” down.
He could have been telling me a sea story of course. I never saw the process in action.
Oh, and to put my comment in context, i was told this back in the mid 90s.
My buddy was with the MARDET on the aircraft carrier in the late 1970s, and he says that the Marines ran the brig.
He says that 3 days of confinement in the brig on bread and water while underway was usually reserved for defiant ‘tough guys’ who didn’t want to be controlled.
He also says that at the end of 3 days in the brig on bread and water, those ‘tough guys’ were absolutely begging to get out of there, and for the most part, they stayed out of trouble for the rest of the deployment.
Then it sounds like I was told a sea story. Not the first time, but hopefully the last.
Glad it works.
I seen Marines on a carrier put a sailor down when we went to security alert, I guess his command forgot to tell him not to move and hug the wall when those guys come through!!
I had to do wellness checks on brig prisoners onboard ship. B&W meant all you wanted (but it got old fast) and sitting there in a cell, in your skivvies.
and confinement physicals? Pffft….I can whip one of those out thoroughly in 10-15 minutes.
My father wan an IDC in WWII. Joined in ’39 alongside his brother because there wasn’t any work to be had.
Dad spent the war in the Pacific, mostly with marine detachments, but a few weeks in Australia where he met his future wife (my mom) and a few months aboard LST 202 for the Leyte landings.
He got transferred to the LST when the doc and corpsman assigned were both injured in an accident. He was the sole medical detachment there.
Thanks for doing what you are/did.
‘…sitting there in a cell, in your skivvies.’
With the added fun of a Marine brig guard staring at you through the bars.
If I remember correctly, my buddy said that the only thing that brig prisoners were allowed to have with them in their cell, besides their skivvies, was a Bible.
You are allowed to only sit at attention or stand at attention. Never on the bunk. 2 Books were allowed. One being the Bible, the other the UCMJ.
E-4 Mafia All time hide and seek champion
If this does not get you a court-martial, what does? I can’t believe they went for NJP.
Quicker and easier to give him the NJP and then kick him to the curb with an OTH?
He’s not worth the time and expense. Slam dunk his ass with NJP, then send him home, sans benefits. Quick andf easy.
I don’t think he could refuse NJP while underway.
I don’t think there’s a mechanism to conduct court martials at sea… unless something has changed.
Nope you can’t refuse underway…command at sea is a monarchy 🙂
IIRC, you do have the right to request a court martial.
But especially in his case, that would have been highly ill-advised.
Rear Adm. Charles Williams, the commander of Carrier Strike Group 5 in the Navy’s 7th Fleet. This man has a whole Air Wing to run and he had to leave the carrier to give mast! Sailor stand by!!!
If this is the same as an Article 15 proceeding, I would have given him reduction in rank to E-1, BCD but let him serve until he paid for the fuel the ship used searching for him. I know that’s ridiculous since he would retire as an E-1 but some money should come out of his pocket for this.
I like the idea but I think they’d call that indentured servitude, and that’s frowned upon.
Hondo may correct me, but I believe SCOTUS ruled that slavery as a consequence of a criminal conviction is legal. (i.e. incarcerated and forced to work)
I believe you are correct. Prisoners, IIRC, convicted of felonies and sent to prison (not county lockup) can be forced to work, though they must be paid, which last I read, was something like $1/day.
The Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. In Congress, it was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House on January 31, 1865. So slavery still exist in away.
Mast = Article 15
Thank you again Sir.
Kid is lucky he didn’t get a court martial. IIRC, the worst he can get as a discharge is an General-OTH, meaning he keeps most of his benefits.
Had he gotten a BCD or DD, he would have been well and truly fucked.
If he gets an OTH (other than honorable), he’s going to lose most benefits. If he gets a General (under honorable conditions) he’ll retain many benefits. You can be booted for misconduct and get a General, but for this guy I’d say smart money is on an OTH.
Isn’t a Captain’s Mast the equivalent of a field grade article 15?
So what is the equivalent of an admiral’s mast? Summary court martial?
IIRC the most a FG AR-15 can do is 60 days restriction, 45 days extra duty, reduction to E-1 (for E-4 and below, for E-5/E-6 they can only bust you one grade) and forfeiture of 1/2 months base pay for 2 months.
IOW in the Army at least an AR-15 cannot sentence a soldier to a punitive or non-favorable discharge.
Correct on the Article 15. It doesn’t determine your discharge status. Technically an Article 15 is not an admission of guilt.
Other than those special Navy additions they do for “at sea” shenanigans, I don’t see it being any different. Even General Officer Article 15s can be only so punishing as well, same as a FG.
Worst I could see is reduction to E-1 and then bar to reenlistment at the end of his current tour. Honorable discharge with whatever benefits any other veteran would be entitled to.
Pretty sure only a General CM can sentence someone to a BCD.
Incorrect, a Special Court Martial and above may award up to, and including, BCD. A General Court Martial can award all types of discharges and is the only one that can award a dishonorable.
A Summary Court martial does not award ANY type of discharges as punishment, however it may be a catalyst to start an administrative separation board which can award both flavors of General Discharge. Honorable or Other Than Honorable.
Admiral’s Mast can take a chunk out of his ass as far as reduction, restriction/ Confinement and fines. You can bet that an admin board is going to post his ass with an OTH pretty damn quick
Well I guess he didn’t hang out in the A/C chiller space lying on a mattress on top of the chilled water tanks reading Playboy magazines like I used to do when I was skating. Does the “new” Navy allow Girlie magazines on board ships in the 21st Century??
No need for girlie magazines when there are actual girlies on board . 😉
You haven’t seen some of them girlies.
Besides, one thumb drive or SD card can hold more pron than the entire Chief’s quarters had back in my day.
https://youtu.be/e4X59MHX3Go
In 1985 one of my corpsmen went to Captain’s Mast after showing an attitude. I was a brand new aggressive surgeon out of 6 yrs in a Los Angeles county trauma center. I trained these young corpsmen to think and “do” things they’d need to know when the time came and they were solo. Not surprisingly the “tude” spilled over when they transferred to another department. I spoke at MAST and he was out of line but I trained him and said I’d have him with me in combat anytime. The XO lets him off with 4 hrs EMT. Heard from him a few weeks ago. He STILL remembered the event and tracked me down here in NC to say “thanks Doc”. He did well and said he used the lessons learned that day to teach his kids ! CAPT Bones USN (ret)