shell back

Are there any shell backs in the yard?

Ahhhhh..what is a shell back???

A turtle... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Wikipedia definition "Sailors who have already crossed the Equator are nicknamed (Trusty) Shellbacks, often referred to as Sons of Neptune; those who have not are nicknamed (Slimy) Pollywogs. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

thats right pollywog.marines also.I was on the USS Saipan LHA-2 in the IO off Kenya in 80.

AHHHHHH got it!! LOL I am ARMY here!!!

Air Force here. I'm sure the NAVY guys will pipe up soon...

No, they're busy pushing their mops! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Lol. Discovery did a great mini-series on the Navy where the camera crews where on board for the entire deployment. They crossed the border and showed all the shell back games.

Must be a squid thing.

I worked with a Navy guy in Turkey when I was in a NATO unit that talked about getting his shellback. I guess its a big deal in the Navy.

Dad was a Navy man, this would have started a fight <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Dan

Oh well, I guess the truth hurts sometimes! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

My Dad was in the Navy as well. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I was Navy; we went on a Med run while I was stationed on the east coast, and I got up to Adak while stationed out west, but always kept north of the line.

Dunno about shellbacks, but I am a sourdough several times over. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Why does the Navy use powdered soap?








Because its harder to pick up.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

GO ARMY

So was mine. On a destroyer escort. Atlantic convoy duty, D Day, the Pacific campaign...the ship was bombed several times, but he lived through it.

My Dad served in the South Pacific as well. He had a framed document with Neptune on it, so I would assume it was a "Sons of Neptune". I vaguely remember a discussion we had about it sometime after I returned from VietNam. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

shell back/ sour dough i just don't get it. guess every service has their traditions.

I would guess that a "sour dough" is a Canadian who crosses the border, as I know that Chris has done. Keep in mind that he lives in "the Great White North"! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

do they call it the great white north b/c of the snow, or b/c it's so cold nothing green will grow?

Yes!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

i don't mind the cold, but that goes beyond cold up there. i think they send astronauts up there to train for life on the moon.

I suppose it's the next best thing! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> Seriously, I believe that's why the rate of alcoholism is so high - folks don't want to go out in the cold so they stay indoors and drink. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Well no shellbacks so far.How about Bluenoses?(Cross the artic circle on a navy ship.)

I've lived below the equator for a while... just barely.

But (regrettably) I've never served in any armed force. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Thank you to all of you who have and currently do! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif" alt="" />

Sourdough is slang for an experienced hunter or prospector in the Alaskan and Canadian bush. That's because experienced woodsmen treasured and used their sourdough bread starter. Many kept it in a pouch around their neck. The term is at least as old as the Klondike gold rush.

Technically you couldn’t be considered a sourdough until you'd survived the north for at least a year. But once upon a time a cheechako (tenderfoot) came into an Alaskan bar and asked "What does a fellow have to do to be considered a sourdough?"

The barkeep was willing to be amused. "Well, sir, there are three things. You have to drink a quart of rye whisky in one go. You have to make love to an Esquimaux woman. And you have to track down a Kodiak bear."

"Hey, I can do that!" says our hero. "Give me that bottle!" Soon he staggered out of the bar and Boniface forgot about the matter. A week later the cheechako dragged himself back. He was torn, bruised, bloody, and a generally horrible sight. "Whisky!" he croaked. After several drinks he asked the barkeep "Okay, tell me about this Esquimaux woman I'm supposed to track down."

I'm a Golden Shell back, WestPac 1997-98.

Its a rite-of-passage in the Navy. It shows the you earned your sea legs.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Generally speaking now, a sourdough is someone who has been north long enough to see the Yukon river freeze and then thaw.

Living just below the Arctic circle, we know that you have THAT covered!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I live in Iowa. Only sea legs I need or get is when the Mississippi floods!

Thanks, Chris. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

That makes sense. If he could survive the Yukon winter and see the spring, he could probably make it to fall.

I believe the French Canadian Voyager version is hivernant. If I am correctly informed, that means someone who has “wintered over” in the wild. Their version of a cheechako is a manguures de lard. Literally a “pork eater”. Someone who could not hunt and gather to live off the land, but depended on pork purchased at the nearest outpost of civilization.

surviving the yukon is impressive. deserve an award for that.

I don't live in the Great White North (Seattle gets more snow then Vancouver BC gets) but I do hunt, camp and fish up in the northern regions of BC.
Nothing like a nice Crown Royal while sitting around a hole in the ice while fishing

my wife said her dad was in the Navy...but he never talks about it.....i don't ask <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif" alt="" />

Air Force retired here!

"There's an Air Force guy driving from McChord to Ft Lewis, and an Army guy driving from Ft Lewis to McChord. In the middle of the night with no other cars on the road they hit each other head on and both cars go flying off in different directions.

The Air Force guy manages to climb out of his car and surveys the damage. He looks at his twisted car and says,....."Man, I am really lucky to be alive!"

Likewise the Army guy scrambles out of his car and looks at his wreckage. He too says to himself, ..... "I can't believe I survived this wreck!"

The Army guy walks over to the Air Force guy and says,...... "Hey man, I think this is a sign from God that we should put away our petty differences and live as friends instead of archrivals"

The Air Force guy thinks for a moment and says, ...... "You know, you're absolutely right! We should be friends. Now I'm gonna see what else survived this wreck"

So the Air Force guy pops open his trunk and finds a full, unopened bottle of Jack Daniels.

He says to the Army guy, "I think this is another sign from God that we should toast to our new found understanding and friendship"

The Army guy replies, "You're [censored] right!" and he grabs the bottle and starts sucking down Jack Daniels. After putting away nearly half the bottle the Army guy hands it back to the Air Force guy and says, "Your turn!"

The Air Force guy twists the cap back on the bottle and says, "Nahh, I think I'll wait for the cops to show up." <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/loopy.gif" alt="" />

That's GREAT!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Now that is funny.

Trusty ShellBack right here!
Crossed way back in 81.

Dont Tread on Me!

I thought a "sour dough" is an Alaskan who is "sour" because he doesn't have the "dough" to leave!

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif" alt="" />....................................................................... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />