7th Fleet Band--1986 Trip to Sydney, Australia on USS Paul F. Foster

Most of my 7th Fleet Band sailing was aboard the Blue Ridge, where I learned a truth given in the Bible:

Mark 6:4: A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.

Modern translation: You don't get respect from those at home.

Navy band translation: They treat you like crap on the Blue Ridge.

It took a trip on a different ship to show me this truth. In the fall of 1986, the 7th Fleet Band flew to Guam to meet a destroyer, USS Paul F. Foster, which took us to Sydney, Australia to participate in the multinational celebration of the 75th-anniversary celebration of the Royal Australian Navy.

The officers and crew of the Foster welcomed us warmly and could not have been more accommodating:

XO: Glad to have you aboard. What do you need?

LCDR Mike Pesses: Do you have a spare corner where the band could rehearse?

XO: I'll shut down the wardroom between meals. Anything else?

LCDR: Well, I wonder if you have some space we can stow our gear.

XO: The skipper says you can use his in-port cabin. It's right by the gangplank, so you'll have an easy off-load when we arrive in Sydney. Anything else?

The band members responded with equally gentlemanlike behavior--for the most part. Problem was, the Foster was crossing the equator en route to Sydney, and two of the 7th Fleet Band's personnel were polliwogs. Those two were the bandmaster, LCDR Mike Pesses, and the chief, MUC Frank Mullen.

"Crossing the line" is a unique Navy event during which rank hath no privilege. Naturally, the crew and the band spent days terrorizing the boss and me with stories of punishment that made waterboarding sound like a dip in a wading pool. But when initiation day arrived, it was all good fun. Stinking, degrading, disgusting and demeaning good fun.

USS Paul F. Foster 1986 cruise book. (Click on image to enlarge.)

I have no idea why the Blues Brothers are
patting down a Fender Rhodes piano.