Living Onboard

Friend of mine, in the army, just got his first draft after training. Anyway he now has his own cabin which he can do what he wants with. He can paint it, wallpaper it, put a double bed in it, etc. And whats more, this cabin remains his even when he is on a six month TOD ( which he will be in couple of months time). Same thing applies to the RAF. My ex missus had the same arrangements.

Anyway my point is why is everyone who's not RA still living onboard while in base port?

Ok there's obviously not enough room in Nelson with out going thirty to a cabin (cozy), but something should be done to change the situatution. Surely in the 21st century, and with fewer people in the navy, Jack and Jenny should not be living in sea conditions when along side in Pompey, Guzz or wherever.

 

There should be quite a bit of space in Nelson once the new block is completed and there are quite a few living in the accom. Admittedly, they are on their Topmast shore time.

Building more accommodation is probably not an option due to lack of space, besides living onboard is supposed to generate a messdeck spirit - so I'm led to believe anyway.

 

It is free to live onboard, if you fancy ponying up a few hundred pounds a month for another cabin in barracks fine, or several times that for living ashore like home owners have to then that seems fine also. In fact everything is fine!
So would a married man living in Portsmouth also have a cabin in barracks as well as a pit onboard? or is this a vision only for single people?

 

So what the 'ell you join the Navy for? Live in a 'otel? Crews on ships mean ships can go to sea, it's what ships do! If you want a cosy barrack room go join the army - and live in an hole in the ground when on exercise or at war!

 

Go to sea?!?!?!? The way things are going half the navy's going to be chopped and the other half tied up alongside.

All I'm saying is the Army and Air Force don't live in tents when in barracks, so why do we have to live on board in base port????

 

I am assuming that the crabs and percy have to pay food and accomodation charges as well, right? In which case you always have the option as a matelot to live RA which is nice if you don't like having to stand up for evening rounds and get involved in fire exercises and try to pretend to be sober when coming back from shore without getting a night in cells.
I allways remember that people would kick and scream and try to get a place ashore when a ship had to go into refit. Most matelots love living on the ships, it's convenient and free, all well and good until you grow out of it, by which time you normaly have a place ashore anyway.
How anyone can compare a matelots life onboard / ashore with that of a soldier is beyond me.
However the RAF is a different story, but they are just civvies in rig lol

 

Doh! because you are in the navy! If you want to live ashore become a Wafu or submariner............

 

PS 'onboard' is actually two words: 'on board'!

 

I left the RN over 20 years ago and one of my bones of contention was service single accommodation. As a married man I mainly lived ashore, however at times when my home was too far I was forced to live in. My gripe was that navy living in accommodation was inferior to that of the other two services. At Daedalus as a PO it was 4 to a cabin, CPOs had single but extremely small cabins. While serving at various RAF stations my cabin was always fairly large and I did not have to share. In many cases the junior rates also had their own cabins. RAF stations allowed alcohol to be kept in the cabins, beer for junior rates and anything for senior rates. In fact at RAF Honington one PO used to brew his own beer and make wine. Group captain was most impressed at being offered a glass of plonk during crab equivalent of rounds.
Its long past the time for single cabins for all for the RN. After all living at sea can be extremely cramped so why have to endure similar conditions ashore?

 

I currently live ashore. And hate the fact i have to pay for the privelidge. Im looking forward to the bonus of not paying charges. GIVE ME A PIT ON BOARD!!!!!

 

so noted

beg your pardon

 

It's worth noting that we are now given an unpleasent living allowance for living with 3 or more people in the compartment, unless at sea where LSA kicks in. ULA is about £3 a day.

 

Hammocks now all gone Slim & the juniors don't have to sleep beside the Cannons anymore. :cry: :lol: The 60+ Messdeck now gone also! Before I left 2 years ago I even had my own Cabin at sea as the MEO (mind you a previous occupant had unbolted the top bunk & float tested it-cheers).
Roll out of your pit, wash, toast & to work....great!

 

I do believe that the type 42 is still in existence, As a PO on Manchester I had my own cabin, only problem getting 26 or so other POs out of it, they seemed to think it was theirs as well. Must admit as a civie doing some work at sea on Cornwell and sharing I think it was either a six or eight berth cabin it was better.
Did Phalanx sea trials on York many years ago and shared a cabin with the SWEO, not bad but as he was a senior officer had to hold my farts in :smile: .
Must admit even with confined accommodation spaces I enjoyed my time on the Manchester and am looking forward to the reunion in June.
However as accommodation on board is normally of low quality I believe this should mean that when messed ashore the accommodation should be excellent :smile:

 

you deffinatly cant fault the new accomadation that is going up at different sites. just hope that it is maintained properly so it stays like that.

 

There are all kinds of ructions going on in Faslane and Devonport with the submariners who have no option but to live ashore in accomodation blocks. Not only are they losing their LSA as soon as they hit the wall they are also having to pay Food and Accomodation charges. Now, you could say "yeah but they are getting submarine pay", and yes they are but then if you serve on a submarine you get submarine pay, get over it. However, most guys who are living ashore at these two establishements are generally young and have not been in boats that long, therefore their submarine pay, whilst welcome, is not exactly huge. Conditions on submarines when alongside mean it is impossible to live there so it is only right to move ashore, but by the same token it cannot be right to lose £300 or more a month just because you are not at sea, when the guy on the type 23 lives fairly nicely and gets paid for it too. Is this another change in conditions brought about by the inability of JPA to live with procedures and processes that worked perfectly well before its inception?

 

Yea! but when you deploy to far flung areas you get to stay in a nice hotel and get subbies when you are alongside. Skimmers don't. Would you like to be living permanently onboard your submarine when alongside in sunny :lol: faslane/devonport. Thought not.

 

Fair one Steve

 

At least your LSA truly represents the time you spent away. Us Junglie WAFUs had to actually GO AWAY with our front line units to earn LSSB qualifying days whereas Zommies and Pingers and Teeny Weenies got qualifying days whilst at Yeovilton. We then got shat on even more by only getting 60% back on conversion.

Pissed off from VL.

PS. Was it one or two years you had to qualify for?

 

Busy then smudger