What is a Sea Bag Locker?
Onboard ship, Sailors are required to live in cramped accommodations with little room to store personal effects. A typical Enlisted berthing compartment will have a number of "racks" (this is what we call our beds), with a "coffin" below (the rack can be lifted, revealing a small storage compartment) and one standup locker that is large enough to hold a few uniforms. Because Sailors will need "civilian" attire for going on liberty while deployed, Sailors will often place said civilian attire in their sea bag, padlock it, and store it in a dedicated space that can be locked while access to civilian attire is not required.
Chief Petty Officers get better quarters, with larger lockers and, usually, larger coffins (Enlisted racks are stacked three or even four high, while Chiefs' racks are stacked two high).
Officers get to live in Staterooms. If you never served in the Navy, you might think a Stateroom as a luxurious suite on the Titanic. Our Staterooms are Spartan. The Ensigns, Lieutenants Junior Grade, and non-Department Head Lieutenants usually get a 3-man or 4-man Stateroom, which contains enough personal storage to make the Sea Bag Locker unnecessary but lacks a Head (Navy jargon for "toilet") and shower. Department Heads generally rate (i.e., are entitled to) a head, often shared between two or even four Staterooms. Smaller ships, such as Destroyers, might still require the Department Heads to use common heads and showers, however. The Executive Officer, Commanding Officer, and any embarked Commodores, Colonels (in the case of amphibious ships where most of my sea time was served), and Admirals rate their own heads and showers.
While I've never had to utilize a sea locker onboard ship, I chose the term because, in a metaphorical sense, I've filed away many of my thoughts and opinions in a safe part of my mind, usually because, as is the case with civilian attire on deployed ships, I never was able to use them. Now that I've opened my Sea Bag Locker, and because I think I'm a fairly nice guy, I've chosen this forum as the place where I can share my thoughts.
Chief Petty Officers get better quarters, with larger lockers and, usually, larger coffins (Enlisted racks are stacked three or even four high, while Chiefs' racks are stacked two high).
Officers get to live in Staterooms. If you never served in the Navy, you might think a Stateroom as a luxurious suite on the Titanic. Our Staterooms are Spartan. The Ensigns, Lieutenants Junior Grade, and non-Department Head Lieutenants usually get a 3-man or 4-man Stateroom, which contains enough personal storage to make the Sea Bag Locker unnecessary but lacks a Head (Navy jargon for "toilet") and shower. Department Heads generally rate (i.e., are entitled to) a head, often shared between two or even four Staterooms. Smaller ships, such as Destroyers, might still require the Department Heads to use common heads and showers, however. The Executive Officer, Commanding Officer, and any embarked Commodores, Colonels (in the case of amphibious ships where most of my sea time was served), and Admirals rate their own heads and showers.
While I've never had to utilize a sea locker onboard ship, I chose the term because, in a metaphorical sense, I've filed away many of my thoughts and opinions in a safe part of my mind, usually because, as is the case with civilian attire on deployed ships, I never was able to use them. Now that I've opened my Sea Bag Locker, and because I think I'm a fairly nice guy, I've chosen this forum as the place where I can share my thoughts.
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