Note: In the
U.S. Navy, all officers below the rank of Commander are addressed as "Mister."
SCENE
Aboard the U.S. Navy
Cargo Ship, AK601, operating in the back areas of the Pacific.
TIME
A few weeks before
V-E day until a few weeks before V-J Day.
MR. ROBERTS . . . Then
and Now
By Lieutenant James E. Brooks,
U.S.N.
Mr. Roberts is a
story about war. It’s a story about men on a small Navy supply ship combatting
the sailor’s deadliest enemies — boredom and monotony. While the backdrop
of the play is the decks of USS AK 601, the play could take place aboard
any U.S. Navy ship, on any extended deployment, on any ocean, during any
era.
At sea, every day is exactly
like the one before. Often the only way to distinguish a Monday from a
Saturday is whether or not the laundry is picked up to be washed. Work-stand
watch-eat-sleep regimes are broken up through letter writting, reading,
exercise, and practical jokes. Now seamen fresh from boot camp may be sent
to obscure locations on the main deck to stand watch for the illusive "mail
buoy. Another new crewmember may receive a startling blow on his backside
while hunched over for a glimpse at a rare "sea bat."
There are two sacred days
held by sailors at sea in the highest reverence. Those two days are the
date of the next liberty port and the day they arrive home. Despite the
regularity of 20-hour work days filled with watches and drills, a sailor
can look at any calender aboard his ship and see a scrawled countdown of
days to the next liberty or arrival home. In the case of the men under
the care of Mr. Roberts, or the naval ships now involved with "Operation
Desert Shield," these anticipated days of salvation aren’t known. Sailors
must turn their attentions to other thoughts and plans to break the tedious
routine.
The crew of an anchored AK
601 find an escape from their day when female nurses are spotted with binoculars
on a nearby island. Sailors today still attempt to satisfy their curious,
wandering eyes with the modern, high-powered "Big Eye" binoculars for the
uplifting look of a woman whether she be in a passing sailboat or on a
nearby beach. Current deployments of Navy ships in the Persian Gulf often
include 100 consecutive days underway without pulling into a port. Women
within binocular range often become a high-visibility target for all-male
warship crews.
The play Mr. Roberts is as
timely as it was when it premiered in Broadway in 1948. It’s a war story
about deadly and unseen enemies who plagued and will plague sailors on
extended deployments far from home: boredom and monotony. Navy veterans
may look at the officers and men of AK 601 and say with a grin, "That was
just like my ship!" And, most likely, they will be quick to add, "But my
captain wasn’t like that — and there was more than just one Mr. Roberts
on my ship."
