BartSimpson BartSimpson:
Not a disillusion at all. Granted, a lot of the old guys in Oak Bay colour my opinions and they reflect the old ways. The rest of it, though, comes from some of the guys I've met training in the USA and on leave and one rare fellow who was CN back in the early 90's and moved to the USA and went USN Reserve - considering his unique experience in both navies I tend to pay close attention to his observations.
You gotta stop listening to those Oak Bay Kippers, you know the ones with the subtle but obviously not real British accent.
I will grant you that their memories are probably about their good times, when they could act like the Royal Navy, complete with the attitude, white web gators and evening quarters, but unfortunately for them those days were gone in the sixties and early seventies along with things like the one in four home port watches, the rum issue and general drills.
I served from the sixties till into the new millenium and I will admit that some of the changes in the Navy in the last 10 to 15 years weren't for the better, but as far as still emulating the RN, except for some traditions (that they haven't politically corrected, like the toast of the day) and history they haven't done that in nearly 40 years.
If anything, they are becomming more like the USN than the RN in their attitudes and actions, which is dissapointing to me and alot of my generation since we were brought up to admire the RN's traditions and heritage.
BTW, up here we used to take everything a reserve told us as undadultrated scuttlebut.
Just kidding of course.