Goat locker

[FastFrog]

So I'm out here in the land of Porsche and Mercedes and was given a new coin from my Chief. Too cool not to pass on. Yes, that is a goat in the center.


Sorry for the double pic, I had trouble uploading.

[Seahawk]

That is the best coin I have ever seen!

Can I buy one?

[kach22i]

Why the goat?

Some sort of German humor?

[Bob Kontak]

Hennes VIII? The football mascot?

Well, it does say Stuttgart Chiefs? Guessing local if a team mascot.

[John Rogers]

Dammmmmm, I haven't heard that term in many, many years! I figured the "new" Navy had outlawed it?

[FastFrog]

Navy Chief's have a lot of tradition. They have their own space on a ship where they eat/have meetings /solve world problems etc. The space is referred to as the Chief's mess or "goat locker" . I'm sure some of the CPOs on here will have further explanations.

[Balloonmeister]

Originally Posted by kach22i

Why the goat?

Some sort of German humor?

My guess is that he is referring to US Navy Chief's, E-7 to E-9s. You can see their symbols in the lower left quadrant of the pin, the anchors with no, one or two stars reflecting those worn by these Navy senior NCOs. Goat locker refers to the Chief's berthing compartment on a ship. Why it got named goat locker, I have no idea - I only made it to E-6 when in the USN

OP: are you at Patch Barracks, home of EUCOM near Stuttgart? I had the distinct pleasure of visiting there several times when I worked at the US Dept of Energy.

[FastFrog]

Paul, I have not seen them sell any.
Harry, I'm on a small base called Panzer. The coin is for all the surrounding commands.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by kach22i

Why the goat?

Some sort of German humor?

It's a Navy thing, not just Chiefs

https://www.usna.edu/PAO/faq_pages/BilltheGoat.php

Bill the Goat

Long before midshipmen began tossing the pigskin around the site of old Fort Severn, goats were an integral part of Navy life. Over 200 years ago, livestock was kept aboard some sea-going naval vessels to provide sailors with food, milk, eggs and, in some cases, pets.

< rest of the article if you follow the link >

Bill the Goat is the mascot of the Naval Academy.

[Danimal16]

So are we having Chief's Initiations again? Seriously need to re-envigor that tradition.

[FastFrog]

Yes, we still have initiation season. Kind of tame compared to years past, but a good way to transition to the mess.

[John Rogers]

Jeeeez, I retired before they were giving out coins like that! Chiefs initiations are way different today that when I made it in 1973. About the only thing I see similar is the log book you have to carry around and have all the command CPOs sign off on you becoming a chief. I was at the USS Midway several years ago helping with some issues they had with the main engine in the space that allowed tours to go through and there were a whole bunch of men and women in yellow tee shirts and blue pants and they were doing all sorts of things on the flight deck. One of the folks told me it was the latest batch of new chiefs. The issue with the main engine got resolved as the supervisor did not want to have to put oil in the main sump and run a noisy oil system and jacking gear but I convinced him the bearings (especially the bull gear's) would probably not last long at all!

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by masraum

It's a Navy thing, not just Chiefs

https://www.usna.edu/PAO/faq_pages/BilltheGoat.php

Interesting, and thanks to all that answered my question.

Makes sense, I once took a tour of a replica ship of the Santa Maria/Nină/Pinta. They told us passengers live topside, the animals (more valuable than people) lived below protected from the elements.

Aug. 9, 2017
Step aboard replicas of Columbus's tall ships Nină, Pinta in Wyandotte this weekend
https://www.freep.com/story/news/2017/08/09/step-aboard-replicas-famous-tall-ships-nina-pinta-wyandotte/553642001/