Helicopters are a ships lifeline at sea. They bring food, mail and other supplies. Pilots skillfully position pallets on the flight deck. It's fascinating to watch, but that's where the fun ends.

All these boxes need to be carried down to the store rooms for use. Sound easy? Well you have about 100 shipmates out there screwing off, talking, and day dreaming. They obviously aren't getting anything done. Carrying boxes while sweating from the intense heat down a ladder can be a challenge in itself. Oh, and the weight of each box, not all puffed rice in these. One container of milk weighs 40lbs.(which you have a lot of) and if you don't get these baby's in the chill box soon, it's sour milk for the next two weeks. The frozen meats, stamped "rejected' from the Air Force, are still good enough for us sailors. When your done, take two aspirin, rub on some Ben Gay and hit your rack, (that is, unless you have watch) So, when your Recruiter tells you "how cool" an Vertrep is, tell him you saw the real story on Navy B.S.

US NAVY PHOTO