Text 23192, 124 rader
Skriven 2007-11-21 17:50:59 av Glen Jamieson
     Kommentar till en text av Carol Shenkenberger
Ärende: NORFOLK SAILORS  71121
==============================
 -=> Quoting Carol Shenkenberger to Glen Jamieson <=-

 DD> I only experience their attitude when visiting a friend there. It was 
 DD> considered (by all the sailors I knew) to be more of a hardship
 
 GJ> That is truly amazing!  Living in that atmosphere would drive you
 GJ> round the bend!  How does a situation like that develop?  Did something
 GJ> terrible happen, and it was allowed to escalate?  And as Norfolk is
 GJ> now apparently a friendly place, how was that situation resolved?

 CS> Dunno except when the BRAC commission started shutting down bases,
 CS> folks here got a rude shock on what it would do to their pockets if
 CS> the Navy moved out. They got to see up close and personal what happened
 CS> to Charleston and they did have a good economic health not related to
 CS> the Navy.  Don recalls housing there
 CS> dropped price about 15% so that the 100,000$ home suddenly became an
 CS> 85,000$  home but the bank of course still got it's 100,000$.

 CS> Slowly, it sunk in.  We are the main industry of this area and last I
 CS> saw, 25% of the money here is either from Navy, or so closely related
 CS> it cant be  separated.  A study showed well over 50% of the rest of the
 CS> businesses here  would fail because of the massive money crunch.

My main experience in living in a city with a strong military presence
is Darwin, but there is no antipathy there towards people in uniform.
It is accepted that from time to time a few disruptive characters can
cause trouble, but this also happens to a greater degree with the
locals.  The general attitude of the population is very positive
towards Australian and visiting overseas uniformed personnel.  There
are few locals whose lives haven't been touched by the military, mainly
through spending on house rent and shopping, but also well-organised
ceremonies, such as the anniversary of the WW2 bombing of Darwin, which
serve to remind people of the vulnerability of Australia's North coast,
and our reliance on service personnel to defend it.

I suspect that the top Defence Force people have seen what can happen
at other places where trouble has occurred, and take pains to keep a
good image going in Darwin.  Even when a F111 accidentally dropped a
dummy bomb on a Land Cruiser parked in a panel shop, the owner was
immediately well compensated, and bore no resentment.  (He probably got
a few free drinks out of his story!)

Darwin is the departure point and home base of Defence Force soldiers
serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and was the main supply base during
the troubles in East Timor, so there is a constant reminder of the
importance of the military.

 CS> It's all well to be 'snooty' about us sailors if you want to be
 CS> stupid, but  the money we bring, is a powerful incentive. Even
 CS> Townsville and Brisbane loved
 CS> the ESSEX trip there due to the influx <g>.  And no, we didnt get in
 CS> any fights.

It is likely that the Essex was a happy ship, and its commander took
pains to make sure the crew did nothing to spoil its reputation with
the locals, wherever it called.

 CS> It's the Blue Ridge you have to watch out for.  Something wrong at her
 CS> upper  levels as they are noted for not being welcome back.

It doesn't take much to ruin a good relation-ship.

Although I have never lived at Subic Bay, while living in Manila I was
aware of attitudes of Filipinos towards the US Navy there.  That was
definitely a love-hate affair, with most of the Subic locals living on
the money which the Navy brought in, but disliking the arrogant way in
which many sailors behaved, treating the country as if it was still a
US colony, and its inhabitants as inferiors.  When that base closed,
there was a lot of wailing and despairing talk from the Subic
residents, but other sources of income were found, and Filipinos felt
more independent.  The Mt Pinatobo eruption triggered the US departure
from Clark Air Base, but once the lahar was cleaned up, that became an
important manufacturing area and air cargo centre.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05
 
      Title: Navy Bean Soup
 Categories: Soups, Beans, Pork
      Yield: 8 Servings
 
      2 c  Navy beans
      3 qt Water; cold
      1    Meaty ham bone OR
           Small shank end of ham
      1 lg Onion; minced
    1/2 ts Sugar
      2    Celery ribs; minced
           Milk or water
           Salt and pepper
 
  Quick-cooking dried beans do not REQUIRE overnight soaking. Some
  people however, believe even those are better for soaking. Others
  prefer the old-fashioned type. If you prefer to soak beans, measure
  the amount of water specified in this recipe and leave beans in it
  overnight. Next morning, add the remaining ingredients. No draining
  is necessary.
  
        2    cups beans = 1 lb.
  
  Place beans and water in kettle with ham bone. Add onion, sugar and
  celery. Bring slowly to boiling point.  Cover and simmer 4 to 5 hours
  until beans are tender and the liquid partially cooked down. Remove
  ham bone.
  
  For smooth soup, rub through a coarse sieve. Or mash beans lightly
  with a potato masher for a chunkier soup. If you prefer, you may
  leave beans whole.
  
  Cut ham off bone; add ham to soup. Season to taste. Dilute if desired
  with additional milk or water.  Serve hot.
  
  Source: Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book
  
  Typos by Dorothy Flatman
  
  Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen
 
MMMMM
 

___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 [NR]

--- FLAME v2.0/b
 * Origin: Braintap BBS Adelaide Australia (3:800/449)