resulting from them, military superiority would be
unachievable. To be survivable, today’s Navy must
have the latest and most modern platforms and
systems available to deliver weapons wherever
needed.
To meet any challenge, the Navy is constantly
in a state of readiness training. Forces must
constantly be trained during peacetime so that
they will be prepared for war. Training is a major
factor in the ability of a ship to carry out assigned
operations. Personnel must be able to operate and
maintain equipment and function continuously as
a team. The best weapons and systems are useless
without skilled hands and well-trained minds to
operate them.
REFERENCES
Basic Military Requirements, NAVEDTRA,
12043, Naval Education and Training
Program Management Support Activity,
Pensacola, Fla., 1992.
SHOW A LEG
Many of our Navy’s colorful expressions
originated as practical means of communicating
vital information. One such expression is “show a
leg.”
In the British Navy of King George III and
earlier, many sailors’ wives accompanied them on
long voyages. This practice caused a multitude of
problems, but some ingenious bosun solved one
problem that tended to make reveille a hazardous
event: that of distinguishing which bunks held
males and which held females.
To avoid dragging the wrong “mates” out of
the rack, the bosun asked all to “show a leg,” If the
leg shown was adorned with silk, the owner was
allowed to continue sleeping. If the leg was hairy
and tattooed, the owner was forced to “turn-to.”
In today’s Navy, showing a leg is a signal to
the reveille petty officer that you have heard the
call and are awake.
Show a leg.
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