Chapter 16

All she kept was the wheels and axles ... the junk she gave to Charlie.

There were rather more than 50 or 60 ... more like a hundred ... the top of the pile was 50 or 60 ... the rest were in the hole.

Ah ... yes ... I see. THE hole as differentiated from A hole.

Danger is in the very nature of working aboard ships, submarines and aircraft – and with weapons of all types. Conditions can be volatile, while precious lives and expensive equipment are always at stake.

While all Sailors are trained in the basics of damage control and first aid, Damage Controlmen (DC) are the first responders who are critical to preventing accidents. Trained in firefighting, ship stability and chemical, radiological and biological warfare defense, these Sailors are masters of it all. Whether there’s a burst pipe on the mess decks, or an explosion on the flight deck, DC is there to keep the ship and its crew out of harm’s way.

When the damage is an aircraft incident and the incident causes a fire it behooves those summoned to control that fire know what they are doing. The hole is where they practice extinguishing aircraft fires. Since one never knows when, exactly, said fire might take place, Damage Controlmen practice at the whim of their Division Commander, and because fire at sea is one of the seven no-nos ... where are you going to go to escape a fire? ... they practice often. At Naval Station Grosse Ile, The Hole is where the practice takes place. Day, night, whenever ... anytime some joker decides to set the practice pit on fire keeping the fire where it is ... is a good idea. Burning fluids flow ... when burning fluids flow under an object they tend to set said innocent object on fire. Practice fires are in the hole ... unless they’re surrounded by a berm. Some shore establishments practice their fires surrounded by a dirt berm.

And that’s just aircraft. Damage Controlmen also practice on physical structures. There is a secure area for that, too.

The fire pit became the junk motorcycle pit.

Why were there so many motorcycles?

Charlie lost his junkyard to developers. He had to move. Mr. Developer suggested the airfield at Grosse Ile. “It’s been abandoned.”

Thus the difference between The Hole and A hole. Mr. Developer, Charles Allen, is the A hole.