To a sailor there are birds, and then there are birds. A bird to a sailor is either a helo or an airplane. “The bird needs a drink.” The bird is bringing the mail” or “The Bird is in the drink” are phrases that get thrown around all the time. Well maybe not the last one, which would be bad.

Of course this term gets used by the Air Force, the Army, and Marines. Civilians use it as do people who work around aircraft a good deal. We even had an email come in for an emergency part request saying they had a bird on the ground needing a fix.

Some of the lookouts will mess with a junior officer and call out B 1 RDS off the port quarter. The Jr. OOD will run out on the port bridge wing and look like crazy for the B 1 RD. He might even call combat to ask them why they had not told him about the incoming aircraft. Training and fun can go hand in hand.

Not only do lookouts call out B 1 RDs, they also call out G U 11’s. So sometimes they are called an ID 10 T, by the OOD. I would get a call in the oil lab telling me a stray bird was coming in for a drink. So, that started a whole new evolution.