may result in a dishonorable discharge or extended
REFERENCES
imprisonment.
Master-at-Arms 2, 1, & C, Volume 1, NAVEDTRA
Far more than civilians, we in military service
10255, Naval Education and Training Program
depend on each other. The lives of all hands on a Navy
Management Support Activity, Pensacola, Fla.,
ship or aircraft may depend on the alertness of one
1985.
person and that person’s assignment. Commanding
Naval Military Personnel Manual, NAVPERS 15560A,
officers cannot trust their units, ships, or planes to a
Naval Military Personnel Command, Washington,
person who may be under the influence of drugs, may
D.C., 1987.
be ill from hangover or withdrawal symptoms, or may
have a drug flashback in a moment of tension or combat.
The safety of the ship and the independence of America
depend on the top performance of everyone in the crew.
HORSE LATITUDES
THE WORDS OF SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE “IDLE AS A PAINTED SHIP UPON A PAINTED
OCEAN” WELL DESCRIBE A SAILING SHIPS SITUATION WHEN IT ENTERED THE HORSE LATITUDES.
LOCATED NEAR THE WEST INDIES BETWEEN 30 AND 40 DEGREES NORTH LATITUDE, THESE WATERS
WERE NOTED FOR UNFAVORABLE WINDS THAT BECALMED CATTLE SHIPS HEADING FROM
EUROPE TO AMERICA.
OFTEN SHIPS CARRYING HORSES WOULD HAVE TO CAST SEVERAL OVERBOARD TO CONSERVE
DRINKING WATER FOR THE REST AS THE SHIP RODE OUT THE UNFAVORABLE WINDS. BECAUSE SO
MANY HORSES AND OTHER CATTLE WERE TOSSED TO THE SEA, THE AREA CAME TO BE KNOWN
AS THE “HORSE LATITUDES.”
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