Crossed 4 times, first as an enlisted man in 1979 aboard the good ship USS Dixie (AD-14) enroute to
Chagos a.k.a. Diego Garcia BIOT. Got off fairly easy as we had a large crew which equals less time harassing each scurvy wog...
As a shiny new Ensign in 1984 I crossed again aboard USS Proteus (AS-19), once again enroute to Diego Garcia. At least we went to Freemantle afterwards - what a great time! Anyway, the
skipper was a slimy wog and I have a great
photo of him being "fed" from the urinal... He was a great sport about the whole thing and a good time was had by all. Best C.O. I ever worked for - knew his stuff and partied hearty...
Unfortunately, the
Navy has its share of idiots who get carried away and ruin these ceremonies for others. During my second crossing I came upon some jerk who was using a cattle prod on the wet Wogs crawling around the mess decks. I almost fed it to him I was so mad.
The submarine force has their Bluenose" ceremony for crossing the Arctic circle, and unfortunately in the 80s someone got carried away and a shipmate died. Seems that the tradition includes "greasing" which is what it sounds like applied between the cheeks. Some nuclear rocket scientist used a pneumatic grease gun - inserted no less - and the poor sailor died.
Similar stupid
events with Chief Petty Officer initiations.... all this led up to a crack down after bad press, etc. So now things are much more sedate and closely monitored.
It's a shame that the actions of a stupid few spoil things for everyone.