Surface Effect Ship (SES) 100-A
March 1971 to January 1976.
It sure pays to have a different number of NEC's. I had all of the required NEC's needed for the position of ships operating engineer except one. I needed to be certified as a navy diver self contained (no mixed gas). Off to Key West to accomplish this with the current age cutoff being thirty at that time. If I remember, I was around twenty nine, a first class and used the club more than I should. The hardest part was running, the only thing behind me was the ambulance wanting to know if I wanted a ride back to make me drop the course. I made the mistake of going to club and running into some of the instructors which made it rough the next day. I passed, earned the NEC but it was rough on me. It was a great day when I picked up the navy divers NEC and my diver pin.
