Thieves

By Garland Davis, CSC/MSC, USN(Ret)

A few days ago I posted an article honoring Navy Boiler technicians (BT). I posted the information in a number of Navy Groups on Facebook to bring attention to the Blog posting. I jokingly made a comment in my introduction that BTs were also accomplished thieves. Ninety percent of the FB remarks centered on that. From all the bragging one would think that BTs just emptied the reefers and storerooms and moved everything to the lower level of a fireroom at their whim. Of course, they extolled the epicurean delights that could be cooked on or in a steam drum.

I am sure they did purloin some items and of course, there was a consequence to their actions. Not only was there less food to be served to their shipmates because the cooks did not have the stolen items, but there was also even more that could not be served. The stolen items had to be paid for. Each ship receives a dollar amount per person per day and meals provided have to be within that total number. All food items missing from storerooms and reefers when inventoried must be charged against the Food Service Department food budget.

If an item costing $100 was stolen it meant a $200 cost to the Galley to pay for what was actually used by the cooks and that which was stolen.

You were not stealing from the Galley or the Supply Department, you were stealing from your shipmates.