Tag Archives: navy

The Mail Buoy – A Practical Joke on New Sailors in the Navy

Nationality: Vietnamese
Age: 50
Occupation: Financial Management Analyst
Residence: Ewa Beach, HI
Performance Date: April 14, 2019
Primary Language: Vietnamese
Language: English

Item:

T: With new sailors, we go out and say “Hey! Watch out for the mail buoy so we can pick up our mail!  Keep an eye out for that mail buoy, if you’re not gonna get that mail buoy, we’re not gonna get our mail!”

Q: So the new sailors would go out and they would look for it?

T: Yep.

Q: So how long is it gonna take them before they find out it’s a joke?

T: [Laughs] They will never know unless somebody tells them.

 

Context:

I collected this practical joke in a conversation about the informant’s time in the U.S.  Navy; I asked him about a few of the traditions I had heard about before and he also told me about a few others including the mail buoy joke.  The informant is denoted by the pseudonym ‘T’ and I am ‘Q’ in the exchange above.  The informant served in the U.S. Navy for 26 years before retiring as a Senior Chief Petty Officer in 2017.  He learned this joke from other sailors in 2002 when he was stationed on a ship for the first time since enlisting in 1990.  He never got this joke played on him since he was more experienced when he was first on a ship, leading others to believe he had been stationed on a few before, nor did he play it on other sailors, mentioning how there were plenty of younger sailors to play pranks on the new seamen fresh out of boot camp.  He remembers this joke as a humorous part of the time he spent stationed on a ship, and also mentioned other funny rituals and jokes played on new sailors later on.

 

Analysis:

The mail buoy prank on new sailors is a classic example of practical jokes played to establish who is in and who is out of a particular identity, further distinguishing who has the knowledge and experience from who doesn’t.  In this case, the mail buoy practical joke is a way of legitimizing the change in identity from a new to a seasoned sailor.  Particularly in the military where a power structure determined by rank already officially exists, these kinds of practical jokes and other initiation rituals serve as a further distinguisher between those of different power, experience, and knowledge levels.  There are also other identities that transcend the official structure, such as being a sailor in the Navy since members may not always be initially stationed on a ship.  When the more knowledgeable, higher power, or more experienced individuals initiate the joke, they display the fact that they are in that particular identity (though it may not yet be known to those the joke is being played on).  Once the other individuals learn about the joke, though, or get the punchline in other words, they are now also in on that group.  In the mail buoy joke, seasoned sailors would know that mail is not actually delivered in a buoy to the ship, but the seamen straight out of boot camp may not and actually take the warning to find the buoy seriously.  The fact that the new seamen would believe in the buoy would clearly mark them as new sailors.  The humiliation of realizing the mail buoy is not a real thing would serve as an initiation ritual to the group of seasoned sailors and the recognition of the joke would be an internalization of this new change in identity.  These types of practical jokes, particularly in the military, are significant ways in which people ritualize a change in their identity and studying them, like in the mail buoy piece above, can indicate what change is occurring.

Seagulls are Dead Sailors

Nationality: American
Age: 51
Occupation: Social Worker
Residence: Tulsa, OK
Performance Date: March 16th, 2016
Primary Language: English

The informant for this piece is my aunt, who worked for the Cherokee Government for several years and is still heavily involved in the organization. She grew up in Tulsa, OK, but has also lived extensively in Tahlequah, OK.

In this piece, my Aunt talks about how seagulls are dead sailors watching over you.

AJ: Did your mom ever tell you about seagulls?

Me: That’s a crazy way to start a sentence.

AJ: [laughs] I guess that’s true. Well, when I was thinking about folklore I remembered this thing I think your grandpa told me. It was after his brother Dean died, shortly before you were born. We were both really sad, and he had just come back from taking his ashes to California, and we saw a seagull. Now, we don’t see many seagulls in Tulsa, do we?

Me: Nope.

AJ: So I pointed it out to daddy and he told me something he learned in the Navy. He said that when a sailor dies, they come back to life as a seagull.

Me: Oh yeah, mom told me that after he died.

AJ: Yeah. I don’t think your grandfather necessarily believed in reincarnation, but I think he thought in some way maybe he could come back as a seagull.

Me: Is that why you like the idea?

AJ: Yeah, I think so. It’s a comforting thought, right? That he’s watching over us, even if it means he’s a bird. [laughs] Every time I see a seagull I think of him. You probably see them a lot in California.

Me: Yeah, especially after the tailgating.

AJ: [laughs] Well, next time you see one, it might just be your grandpa.

Much like a lot of the folklore I collected from both my mother and my Aunt, this piece relates to those we have lost coming back and being around us. I think my aunt finds comfort in the fact that my grandfather is watching her and is guiding her in life. It’s interesting, because if you asked my aunt if she believed in reincarnation, she would say no. Yet, this folk belief is can be considered reincarnation in a certain way. It’s always interesting trying to figure out where the line is in people’s folk beliefs and their religious beliefs, as some seem to contradict the other, yet it’s totally fine that they do.

“Pin Me Chief!”

Nationality: United States
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 27APR2015
Primary Language: English

Kropp was a secret geek in high school. He thoroughly enjoyed sports, rap, and women but had a soft spot for cartoons. He says he would secretly want to be a superhero if he had the chance – “a dope superhero” at that. He is currently a USC student studying environmental science, is enrolled in the NROTC program and loves to skateboard. He has very close ties with his extended family. He hopes to one day commission into the navy as an officer.

One of the roughest part of being in the military are the old traditions. One of them is the “Pinning Ceremony”. In the military there is a rank system. You start at the bottom and slowly start making your way up the ladder. A rank is worn on the collar of the uniform shirt. The rank is a small metal insignia about an inch in length and width. It is pinned to the collar by two prongs that are closed at the back of the collar with frogs (the way an earring is pierced to an ear). One of the oldest traditions in the military is what you do with this pin. Kropp was invited to an advancement ceremony of one of his fellow sailors down in Camp Pendleton a few months ago. The commanding officer speaks and lots of pictures are taking; sailors are dressed up in their uniform. Sailors invite family and friends to these so that they may place the rank on the sailor, give them a kiss and that concludes the ceremony. Kropp said that after the ceremony was when the tradition took part.

Sailors were taking back to their individual commands and then spit up by rank. All of the third classes (4th rank) went with their department heads – their chiefs. And the seconds and first classes with theirs. In order to truly earn your rank, you had to bleed for it. Chiefs would tell sailors to remove the frogs from the back of the rank (the rank still easily remains on the collar). Then all of his department, mostly those that ranked above him would “beat the living hell out of ’em” Kropp says. They punch the rank into your collar bone until you bleed. When Kropps friend came out, he asked him how it went. His shoulder bled and there was a smile on his face. Weird, huh? He just got a beating and he was content.

Analysis: This is not a tradition that is validated by the Navy. All sorts of hazing are both frowned upon and illegal by mandate of the Chief of Naval Operations. This tradition still continues because of how most traditions survive. “If I had to do it, so do you.” In the military, you’re not supposed to be able to skate by. It’s one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. It’s a job meant for tough men and women. Traditions like this may not be sane in the least bit, nor are they supposed to be happening. But the sailors want it. They look forward to it. Because they know they will not belong with their fellow chiefs unless they went through what they went through. One of the fastest ways to build brotherhood in this world is to shed a little blood for each other. And who does that better than the United States Military. 3042100_34e3a666-e788-4964-b3fc-c53c0044c261_grande

You Owe the Lot!

Nationality: US
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 23FEB2015
Primary Language: English

Steele is one of my friends I train in the ROTC program. Very interesting character. He is a freshman at USC. In his spare time he reads The Prince by Machiavelli on the Realism; an International Relations school of thought. He dates 5 women at a time and loves clash of clans.

Steele fell victim to an old navy tradition a few days ago. In the military, we wear what is called a “cover”. In the civilian world you would call it a hat or cap. The military is known for its discipline, stiffness, and tidiness. We keep our quarters spotless and smelling good. There’s also a high level of respect. When a military personnel leaves their cover (cap) on a table it’s considered disrespectful. The way you take your hat off before entering a building, or close a wet umbrella before walking in. Anyone can call you out for leaving your cover on the table. If you’re caught, for the painful disrespect you have befallen, you owe who ever is in the room a round of drinks. Let’s just say when Steele got caught, he said that it was a very expensive (potential buy). Luckily in the program, not all of us are 21 yet so they can’t hold us to it unless they’re keeping a tab.

Analysis: One of the navy’s oldest traditions. When you think Navy, you think “Drunken Sailor” on an old rustic sail ship. That’s where the tradition comes from. Sailors spent gruesome, cruel hours under and on the poop deck of a ship maintaining the large wooden object for sea. But when they weren’t hoisting the colors, or manning the helm, they had to do something. Many of today’s drinking games and chanties come from the world’s finest Navy.