On Oct. 15, sailors from the carrier Theodore Roosevelt and the cruiser Normandy entered the royal court of King Neptune to participate in the time-honored crossing the line ceremony, where sailors leave behind their former lives as Ppollywogs and earn the most noble title: shellback.
Sailors are considered slimy wogs until they have crossed the equator, at which point they are initiated into the ranks of the Sshellbacks.
"Sailors of the past used it as they crossed the equator to test the worthiness of their crew," Master Chief Damage Controlman Mark Geer, who ran the event for TR, said in a release. "It's a day of camaraderie and events that both shellbacks and pollywogs should enjoy. It's a day of fun to relax, break the ice and the monotony. It's good old-fashioned Navy fun."
According to the TR's Roosevelt’s blog, the ship initiated 3,100 into the order of the Sshellbacks.
On Normandy, the shellbacks kept the details of the ceremony a close secret from the wogs ahead of time.
"To be honest, the shellbacks have been so mysterious," Ensign Matthew Jacksons said in a release. "Not knowing what's going to happen makes me a little nervous."
The event started with the wogs performing skits and music for the Royal Court the night before. Then, after an early wake-up, the wogs were put through a series of messy obstacles and challenges, and were put on trial before Neptunus Rex.
At the end ofAfter the ceremony, the newly minted shellbacks were given a certificate, announcing that they were members of the "Solemn Mysteries of the Ancient Order of the Deep."
At the end of the ordeal, a good time was had by all, said Normandy skipper, Capt. Scott Robertson.
"We did our very best to make it fun, memorable, challenging and in keeping with all the positive aspects of traditional pageantry," he said. "Based on all the smiles during and afterwards, I think we pulled it off."
Normandy and TR Roosevelt got down to serious business over the weekend, participating in Exercise Malabar with the Indian and Japanese navies, which wrapped up Monday.
David B. Larter was the naval warfare reporter for Defense News.
