Royce Sears-Sci-Fi/Fantasy Author

I found myself standing at the rear of a small boat with the lights of my ship, the USS MISSISSIPPI, ahead of us on the dark harbor. Beside me stood my division officer—we’ll call him Ensign Longfellow. “Sears, aren’t you out past curfew?” Ensign Longfellow asked. I glanced at my watch and noted the time as 01:22 AM. He was right. The Captain’s rules for this port visit were for E3 and below to back aboard ship by midnight. I remember the panic settling on me at that moment, but we’ll get to that later. These are my first coherent memories of our first night of liberty in Naples, Italy. Now I’m guessing, you, my dear reader, are probably curious about the events leading up to just how I found myself out after curfew and standing beside my division officer at the rear of the liberty launch. I am too, but I will try to give an accurate accounting—to the best of my ability. The ‘Ole’ Miss ‘(CGN-40), having departed Norfolk in late February or early March, (I honestly ...

Gaeta, Italy is a quaint little Italian town just south of Rome and I knew it as home for a little while. The USS Belknap, flagship of the US Sixth Fleet, called Gaeta her home port. I remember watching the pier, and the rocks I had sat upon so many times, drift away for the last time as we left Gaeta for the last time in November of 1994. Those rocks had become my solace. I would sit on those rocks, high above the rolling tide of the ocean’s waves, and listen to my Sony Discman while scratching out plots for short stories, writing poetry, or just daydreaming about anything and everything. We were heading back to the United States, and Belknap was heading for the mothball fleet. We passed the Rock of Gibraltar which, after all I had heard about it, was a bit of a disappointment. I remember being excited about going out on the Atlantic for the first time; my first ‘crossing of the Pond,’ as sailors like to say. Let me just say this here, ‘Crossing the Pond’ in November­—especially ...

The 'Roman Coke' Incident I arrived aboard the USS Belknap on September 21, 1994. (but my bags were still in Chicago) It was my first real duty station beyond Great Lakes. I was a real sailor! After a trip to the Navy Exchange to acquire some new working uniforms that would carry me over until my seabag arrived, I was good to go. The things I remember most vividly were the walk down the long concrete pier and crossing the gangway onto the quarterdeck. The long walk down the pier was windy and there was a chill salty breeze on the air. The waters around Gaeta were absolutely rank, stinking of human waste and filth, but it was my first experience with the ocean and I didn’t know any different. Maybe the whole ocean smelled that way, how was I to know? I simply remember the crisp, cool salty breeze that carried with it the smell that I would grow to love-that briny smell of the ocean. I was nervous as I crossed the gangway and approached the quarterdeck. The quarterdeck ...

I’m Not Supposed to Be Here After bootcamp and ‘A’ School, my first duty station was in Gaeta, Italy, aboard the USS Belknap . Looking back on things, I probably resembled the Clerks character, Dante, in my recurring echo of, “I’m not supposed to be here.” While I was in college I learned about something called the “Peter Principle” from a very good friend, Dr. Marty Laubach, who is a sociology professor at Marshall University.  This principle set forth by Lawrence J. Peter states "In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence... [I]n time every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out its duties... Work is accomplished by those employees who have not yet reached their level of incompetence."   Lawrence J. Peter is also quoted as saying, “Fortune knocks but once, but misfortune has much more patience.” How was I not supposed to be there? That’s a long story. I entered the Navy under a guaranteed contract...

This is the first of many posts in which I will be relating some of my experiences in the Navy. Some will be funny and some will be sad, but all are a culmination of adventures and life experiences that I hope will be entertaining.  We've heard it said many ways: "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step," "Focus on the journey, not the destination," "...it is the journy that matters in the end," but I think Tolkien said it best, "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." I read The Lord of the Rings when I was in ninth grade, so maybe that's where my love of adventure began...who knows. This is the tale of my journey, my adventure, into the United States Navy.  The date was June 7th 1994, and I remember it like it was yesterday. I was eighteen years old and I thought I knew what was ...