Herb, I don't know how long Jim will let us old sea-dogs post off-topic, but your post about the spit-and-polish assignment reminded me of an experience I had in that regard.

I was assigned for a time to a light cruiser which served as flagship for Commander 1st Fleet when we were at San Diego, then flagship for Commander 7th Fleet when we were deployed to Subic Bay.

It was my first (and only) exposure to duty aboard a flagship, and I was surprised at how strict the regulations were on uniforms, haircuts, etc., even when we were way out in the middle of the Pacific. The XO was continually on the prowl for uniform violations, even to the point of making his rounds of the various duty stations (the Combat Information Center, the aft missile shack, the forward gun turrets, etc.) at all times of the day and night. It was like living in a sea-going boot camp. Strictest command I was ever in. I think the Providence set a record on the number of disciplinary masts held in the course of a cruise. Needless to say, morale among the ship's company was lower than whale doo-doo.

I remember when we were providing naval gunfire support off the coast of Vietnam. We were all squared away, as usual, but I noticed the skipper of one of the destroyers nearby was wearing cut-off khakis and tennis shoes, and a lot of the crew was wearing cut-off dungarees -- which made a lot of practical sense in that hot and humid part of the world. That's when I realized that there was flagship duty, and then there was the "real" Navy.