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What is your job? OT


Don Coatney

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enterprise1.jpgMarine Machinist trade what do they do? Well I did that for over 38 years for the federal government. My particular job was to test, repair and install various shipboard equipment. Oh yes also test equipment after installation. I enjoyed what I did and being I'm somewhat a mechanic at heart god helped me find this job. One of the most odd jobs I ever had was to repair the main steering helm wheel on the aircraft carrier Enterprise. The bearing on the wheel were worn out and up in the bridge that wheel could sound like a fright train. So I was assigned the task to just get that fixed. It was sort of an easy fix as all carriers have secondary pilot stations and so I just went up forward by the bow and swapped out the wheel up there to replace the one up in the wheel house. Boy the crew was happy with me but it was such a easy fix that I just didn't even think about it. Oh yes its 20 decks up to the wheel house on the Enterprise and so you do want to bring all your tools or you'll be one tired cookie by the end of the day! Loved my job and now its retirement time and headaches with the old Dodge.

Just to let you know those carriers can go pretty fast also as I have been on many sea trials. Oh yes and I have made a few test dives on nuc subs also. Big bucks when doing that kind of work also.:cool:Enterprise.jpg

you ever work on the JFK?

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Professional Standards (Internal Affairs) Officer for a 300 member police department. As I write this I am just 4 hours shy of my twenty year anniversary. Hopefully, in the next 30 days or so I expect to "retire" to a position as the facilities manager for our still-under-construction $27 million headquarters. Been working on that project since before it was a project.

Retired 3 1/2 years ago from the USAR as a LTC, operations officer for a garrison support unit.

One of these years I hope to retire and make it stick.:D

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36 years working in the Oklahoma oil fields with Schlumberger. I was going for 40, but because of the economy, was offered early retirement. I ended up retiring at age 59, not what I had in mind, but it happens. I now keep busy with the car, and working with the Baptist Disaster Relief unit. It's all good except for the days I spend inside hiding from the icy, snowy weather.

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Never work on the JFK as that never came to our shipyard. Those carriers are huge and I remember when I first started working on one of the older class that I got lost. Interesting is that I got to work on Korean vintage carriers (Old steamers) to Nuclear carriers. I even worked on disassembling part of our submarines fleet. We built them and then latter destroyed them! It would take about six months to completely disassemble and junk out an older nuc boat. Lots of paper and of course that's what the government runs on! At the end of my carrier it seemed that all we ever did was research paper work to make sure no mistakes were made but being human that happened. :cool:

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Been retired since '89. Was a excavating contractor. Dug basements,cleared sites for building,wrecking ,and street removal. Just about anything doable with Caterpillar equipment. Hard to believe Ive been away from it this long, but very grateful for the long retirement period. Ive restored and owned many old cars,and still help my youngest son, who has inherited the "disease" "habit" "interest" "hobby" whatever you call it. I am really thankful for getting involved in this because of the many really great people Ive met and become friends with. I think now that thats been as important to me as the car part of it. I hope i'm getting across with this. It would be hard to imagine life without all the nice people the cars have led me to. Car shows--Swap Meets-places I never would have gone to. Hershey,Iola,POC meets---Patti and I still look forward to. This Forum has given me a lot too. Dont probably jump in as often as I should,but try to when Ive got something to add. Hope it goes on for me to the end of the line---------

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Until the bottom dropped out of the economy here I was a home designer/building contractor. This was the last one I built when the doldrums set in. Been twiddling my thumbs for 2 years now. I'm going to go ahead and retire next summer at 62.

Reg-

If I could retire from architecture at 42, I'd be home free... Considering a career change at this point, I don't think it is going to come back in the next 3-5 years, and even when it does, it won't be like it was around here.

Glad you are moving on from the business, and hope you find lots of time to tinker with your fleet...

Pete

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Reg-

If I could retire from architecture at 42, I'd be home free... Considering a career change at this point, I don't think it is going to come back in the next 3-5 years, and even when it does, it won't be like it was around here.

Glad you are moving on from the business, and hope you find lots of time to tinker with your fleet...

Pete

Sun Valley hurting that bad?

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Sun Valley hurting that bad?

The custom home business here has been in a downhill slide for about five years, and has been in the crapper for the last two years. Much like everywhere else. There is so much inventory on the market, it's foolish to build new when you can buy existing for pennies on the dollar. And if someone wants to build anywat, and needs a construction loan, they banks aren't willing to make the loan. Our last project, an 8000 sf house in Eagle ID, is on hold because the client, a radiologist at Mercy Medical Center, was unable to get a construction loan without putting 50-60% down. And there were 1/2 price short-sales down the street determining the appraisal comps for the bank. They tried to get the load from six different lenders before they gave up. They decided to buy something else, sit on it until the market comes back, sell it for a profit, and then build.

It's a big mess...

Pete

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I've been working as an Insurance Loss Adjuster for the past 5 years - Commercial losses, home and contents losses etc. I enjoy this job, which has become my career, although things are tough in this industry at the moment, like many others...

Before that I've been a Private Investigator, Cafe Owner, Casino Surveillance Operator, Casino Croupier and Factory worker.

Still not sure what I want to do when I grow up.....:D

Rob.

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Are you kidding me? They are larger and more space efficent, I know the foot print isn't drastically different, but I visited the Stennis{I know a master chief and where the bodies are} and compared to the S. KITTY it is a world of difference. Just the shop space alone is staggering. The stinky berthing compartments, think locker room, are about the same though.:eek:

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Interesting- I was was thinking L.O.A. without taking into consideration they actually made any upgrades. Imagine that!

I was an IC guy-telephones, alarms, etc.

Greenbomb refers to the '50 Plymouth.

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