Here They Are: All-Navy Dragon Boat Champs (cont'd)

Ribbon Precedence

SIR: I was appalled by the glaring discrepancy on the front cover of the July issue. The first class machinist's mate is depicted wearing a Good Conduct Ribbon between two other ribbons.

Obviously the MMI is out of uniform. The Good Conduct Ribbon should be worn in the senior position with the campaign bars to the wearer's left.-R. C. P., TN1, USN.

• Who says they were campaign bars?
  We asked our artist who drew the cover. He said the ribbon to the right of the Good Conduct Award was the Silver Star. That and more than 20 other military decorations, unit awards and non-military decorations take precedence over the Good Conduct medal.-ED.

Engine Room, Boiler Room.

SIR: In your July issue you had a very interesting article entitled "Navy Ratings: Key to a Career". One question, however, concerning the picture on page 12. Since when do boilermen stand watch at engine room throttle boards where machinist's mates are supposed to be?-R. D. N., EM3, USN.

SIR: I am a BT with over five years in the Navy. I've been on five different ships, and I've yet to see a ship that has the throttle board in the fireroom or boiler room.-R. 0. F., BT2, USN.

SIR: An item in your July issue is incorrect. In the ratings section, under the heading Boilerman, you show a man at the throttle station in the engine room. In an extreme emergency, a BT might have to man that station, but not normally.

Actually, the man in the picture is a machinist's mate, J. C. Cunningham, MM3, presently stationed with me. He says the picture was taken in the engine room, and that he doesn't recall having been a BT at the time.

Why not be accurate, and show somebody cleaning a steam drum, or changing burners, or testing boiler feed water? There are hundreds of pictures you can take in the fireroom to show the real BT in action.-D. A. P., BT1, USN.

• All of you are right, of course, and we're embarrassed at not knowing our boiler rooms from our engine rooms. 

  We would like to add, however, that we depend on the Fleet for our photographs, as well as our information. Rarely do we receive good photos of the Black Gang at work. 
  

  While we are on the subject, your attention is invited to the back page of this issue, where, among other things, we say that the man on the scene is best qualified to tell what's going on in his outfit. The same applies to photographs.-ED.

FIRST TIME OUT - USS Tripoli (LPH 10) steams in Gulf of Mexico during trials.