Originally posted by Sceadu Sorry missed that question in all the other crap about a weasel and close-mindedness. My apologies. I was a nuc MM. Between A school and nuc school in 1979, I was stationed on the San Diego (AFS-6) for a med cruise. I lost part of my hand in a losing argument with the reduction gear in shaft alley during sea detail coming out of Naples, and had the mangled portion amputated in the Navy hospital there after being flown back to Naples on one of the ship's two choppers. I finished nuc school, as an MM2; but ended up taking a medical discharge prior to shipping out for prototype school when it became obvious I was going to spend my intended career riding a desk rather than keeping a sub's power plant functioning. There's not a lot of call for a machinist mate, especially a nuc, who can't hold tools.