THE NAVY EXPERIENCE BEGINS

Training in Boot Camp began with emphasis on working as a unit rather than as an individual. Company 614 performed all daily tasks as a group, as at left, below, where they line up for chow after marching to the mess hall. Preparation for life aboard ship also involved giving up any semblance of privacy that might have been important as a civilian (right). This photo shows Boot Camp to be a transition, as aboard ship there will be no partitions.

Foremost in preparation for the crowded conditions to be experienced aboard ship was acquiring an appreciation for cleanliness. Much of Boot Camp was spent scrubbing clothes. In the photo below, center, Art Cox and Jim Romig are securing their wash to drying lines. (At far left in that photo is Jim Flot, who will later be a Rochester shipmate). This exercise involved meticulous attachments using tiny bits of line, a procedure that was in itself training in neatness (and even line-handling). As illustrated in the photo on the right, some recruits resisted the notion of personal cleanliness. In this instance, personalized instruction administered by shipmates after hours provides a valuable lesson (an example of "tough love" many years before this term became popular).

The first navy liberty came after three weeks of training. Turned loose on the streets of San Diego (left), first thoughts were of girls and bright lights. But this (center) is as close as these two would get to anything feminine. In reality, the highlight of most Boot-Camp liberties was the San Diego Zoo (right).

As training continued, the emphasis shifted from basic personal habits to perfecting skills needed to perform naval duties. Time was spent on the firing range at Camp Elliott (left) as well as at the Damage Control facility on Coronado Island (right). And there was also the matter of learning to stay awake during a mid watch (midnight to 4 AM). It would appear here (center) that Hobson has not yet developed that ability.

Mail Call was the highlight of any day there was a delivery, not only during Boot Camp (left), but throughout all the navy years that followed. As the weeks passed, there was steadily increasing proficiency in performance of standard naval procedures, like bag inspections (center). During their seemingly endless marching drills, Company 614 progressed from a rag-tag assemblage to a distinguished performance in the Graduation Parade.

With Boot-Camp training now history, the sailors of Company 614 prepared to leave for their next duty stations. Over half of Companies 613 thru 615, including the four sailors from Ventura, were assigned to the heavy cruiser U. S. S. Rochester, at that time undergoing a major overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Northern California. (Romig had requested submarine duty, but was ignored.) In the photo below left, they wait for busses that will carry them to the San Diego railroad station.

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