Thoughts on MSC

rest in pieces to a garbage organization with dirtbag people in the office and on the ships. hope you all are slinging french fries soon

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Me every night remembering I don’t work for MSC.

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did you ever work their?

I work there. It’s really really bad right now. I think it will be several years before things improve. Laying up these 17 ships is going to have very little impact. We will all start getting additional 6 days of leave per month soon but more leave means nothing if there is no one to relieve you so you can use it.

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God bless you. The office reallys needs a complete overhaul. The majority of the people working in the office are prime targets for an IG investigation. It shows you how incompetent they are or they just dont care about letting the situation develop into what it is now. Treating mariners like trash and punishing the loyal who stick it out in the tough times is really not the best way to conduct business. I think you are correct that it will be several years before any positive change occurs.

How is the safety on the ship you are on? I hear horror stories about officers walking on egg shells around the unlicensed.

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I hear stories of literal gangs…fresh from the streets of a certain N FL town, and friends have first hand experience with same. Both are quitting sailing as soon as they get relief. According to them there are compartments in some MSC ships that licensed officers do not enter and they are done with low performing, insubordinate crew. Certainly can’t report things up the chain to Norfolk or MSC headquarters because evidently that will get you a stern rebuke about sensitivity and inclusion. Good Lord, what is so hard about expecting people to do their job??? Frustrating

WTF is going on here? I initially thought, “No way is it that bad”, but now I have doubts. I suspect most of us have stories of half speed ABs and OSs from various regions of the country, but it is beginning to seem the center of the issue is from one area. Does anyone want to say it? Have we PC’d ourselves to the point of no return? I don’t know but I DO know I am glad I am in the countdown to swallowing the anchor and walking away from this mess.

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Yes.

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They’re doing great I hear

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MSC is great. I would highly recommend a damage control course and many of their ships run aground.

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I quit in disgust after 17 years there. That was in 1997. I’m still in recovery.

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1997? that’s when msc was good

It had already gone to the dogs. It wasn’t called DEI yet but it was there beginning of it. Mates and Engr’s wouldn’t right up anyone who was a minority because of the EEO people in the office.

Wish you’d given the rest of us a heads up, could have saved me a few years of disgust in 2006 :joy:

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Happy they came out with that beard policy so I could take my cue to leave and not waste anymore time there. Also only working half the year after leaving was very refreshing. I’m still pleasantly surprised every time I call someone and they answer the phone or call me back. I guess MSC set the bar so low that everything now seems great. I did learn from some great sailors (all of them have quit by now) and I did have some good times, so thankful for those couple things. MSC needs to stop pushing the Navy BS on civilians and get in line with standard industry practices.

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I’ve seen pics of captains in choker whites with side boys for retirement and guys in full khaki with the pancake dress/combo cover on and always wondered if that was just some loser who wanted to play navy or an actual MSC directive.

Khakis are the actual uniform if I’m not mistaken. The long sleeve, working type khakis, though. At least that’s what I was told I had to buy when I went over there as a cadet. Was shocked when I got there to find only one hardo chief mate every actually wore them /s

I mean I’ve seen guys wearing Dickies and Red Kap brand khaki shirts all over the place but these guys were in full choker USN uniforms with the USMM shoulder boards or the actual Navy khakis with the combo/dress cover and MSC flag-over-the-USMM officers insignia. It looked super official and dressy but also oddly corny. (And this was in 2013-14…)

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The formal officer’s uniforms were used for formal occasions. The collar devices were a real thing when I was there but khakis could be any brand. They wanted the unlicenced to wear chambray, navy work shirts. That probably changed when the Navy deep sixed them.

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Yes, those are real authorized uniforms, but you’ll typically only see NOB warehouses Captains/Chiefs wearing them for special occasions. Once in awhile you’ll get some ex/retired enlisted hawsepiper trying to flex his O-6 collar devices, but that typically gets shut down pretty quick if they try to do it around the actual Navy.

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It’s been a while.I followed MSC’s pre-employment advice and brought denim pants and chambray shirts to my first hitch but found everyone wearing street clothes when I got to the ship. That was in 1999.

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