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What is the symbolism of the WT crow? We have several ideas, but does anyone have a definitive source that will give us the "official" answer?
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Here are responses: Arthur Allen: "I was on staff duty in Spain when we switched to WT. The word I got from NavPers was: 1. Trident is for Strategic (i.e. C-4/D-5) 2. Lighting bolt signifies a technical rating 3. Bomb puts rating in ordnance" Lynn T. Rivenburg: "This from a 1988 Bluejackets’ manual: Weapons Technician: The rating symbol is a Spark, Exploding Shell and a Trident. The rest in the manual is the description of job that WT’s did. I hope this help some. If we could find a WT rate training manual from 1986-1993, there is a description of why it was selected in it, but at that time the manual was classified. JRDR05597: "... 3 Trident missiles, Flaming ordnance pot and a bolt of lightning giving the regular pot a boost. That is what they told us when we switched from GM to WT. I was on the USS Coral Sea when they let us vote on the 3 rating badges that was proposed." Retired GMC (Ex-GMT/WT) Tom Jarvis. When This rating badge symbol came out for vote, it was simply put out as: The trident signifying our nuke sea launched weapons, the lightning bolt as our air dropped/launched nuke weapons, and the flaming ordnance pot signifies our ground launched nuke weapons. Jerry Noll tells us: The trident signifies the ocean ie neptune thus sea launched The lighting bolt is for air launched lighting is from the sky The flaming pot is ground systems ie: pressure cook Gerald O. Terrell, Jr. offers this: "I was a GMT2 on the USS Enterprise when we voted on our new crow. We were told the trident was for subsurface/underwater weapons, the lightning bolt was for missiles, and the piss pot was for bombs." Raymond Lucas offers: "Looks like: Trident for Neptune, the ultimate hunter of the sea, symbolizing nuclear weapons as being the most powerful Bomb pretty obvious, nuclear weapons Lightning bolt to symbolize the power of nature, in this case the power of the atom being split." "Jarvis is correct." - K. Shiparski, WTC Ret Jim Hunt serves up this gem - "When I was ask "What's that device...are you in the BAND???" I would reply Proudly, "I'm a WT..a Whiskey Technician, That's a Cocktail Fork, that's a Maraschino Cherry, and that's a toothpick!" CHEERS!" |
