This wikipedia article assures me I can become a USN captain

[magic princess]

We just need to get involved in a big enough war for them to stop caring very much about the personnel they've got volunteering!

When Hubbard arrived in Portland, the USS PC-815 was in the last stages of its construction. The ship, a 173 ft (53 m) steel-hulled subchaser of the PC-461 class, had been laid down on October 10, 1942 at the Albina shipworks. She was commissioned on April 21, 1943 with Hubbard in command and Lt (jg) Thomas Moulton, an officer with whom he had studied in Florida, as the ship's executive officer.[37] The ship left Portland on May 18 to travel down the Columbia River to Astoria, Oregon, where she took on ammunition. After participating for a day in an air-sea rescue operation, USS PC-815 was ordered to sail to San Diego to commence its shakedown cruise.[38]
In the early hours of May 19, PC-815's sonar detected what the crew believed to be an enemy submarine off Cape Lookout, about ten to twelve miles offshore.[39] Over the next two and a half days, Hubbard ordered his crew to fire a total of 35 depth charges and a number of gun rounds to target what Hubbard believed to be two Imperial Japanese Navy submarines. The PC-815 was joined by the US Navy blimps K-39 and K-33, the US Coast Guard patrol boats Bonham and 78302 and the subchasers USS SC-536 and USS SC-537 to assist it in the search for the suspected enemy vessels. Hubbard was given temporary command of the vessels on the afternoon of May 19. The larger subchaser PC-778 also joined the submarine search, though it found no indication of submarines and its commander was subsequently castigated by Hubbard for his refusal to lay its own larger stock of depth charges or resupply the PC-815.[40]
Hubbard stated in his eighteen-page after-action report that he had intended to force the submarine to surface so that it could be attacked by the surface vessels' guns. He reported that his vessel had seen oil on the surface, though the PC-815 took no samples, and asserted that the blimps had seen air bubbles, oil and a periscope, though the blimps' own reports did not corroborate this. No wreckage was seen, despite the heavy depth-charging. The PC-815 sustained some minor damage and three crew were injured during the incident when the ship's radio antenna was accidentally hit by gunfire. At midnight on 21 May, with depth charges exhausted and the presence of a submarine still unconfirmed by any other ship, PC-815 was ordered back to Astoria.[40]
The incident attracted the attention of the naval high command, as there had been a verified Japanese submarine attack against Fort Stevens about 50 miles further north in June 1942 and there had been an invasion scare in southern California earlier in 1942. Hubbard claimed to have "definitely sunk, beyond doubt" one submarine and critically damaged another. His view was not shared by his superiors. After reviewing the action reports and interviewing Hubbard and the other commanders present, Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher noted: "An analysis of all reports convinces me that there was no submarine in the area. Lieutenant Commander Sullivan states that he was unable to obtain any evidence of a submarine except one bubble of air which is unexplained except by turbulence of water due to a depth charge explosion. The Commanding Officers of all ships except the PC-815 state they had no evidence of a submarine and do not think a submarine was in the area."[41] Fletcher also noted that there was a "known magnetic deposit in the area in which depth charges were dropped." The clear implication was that Hubbard had been targeting the deposit all along.[41][42]

Who wants to be on the crew with me as Captain? I'm sure I can TOTALLY do better than L. Ron.

[Aaron]

Only if you name it L. Ron

[Nietzslime]

I look forward to the day when my philosophy degree is considered by the military to qualify me for leading men into battle.

But if this is a thread about Hubbard, then really it all pales in comparison to his relationship with Jack Parsons, History's Greatest Hero.

[RogueIce]

I look forward to the day when my philosophy degree is considered by the military to qualify me for leading men into battle.

Pretty sure it already does.

[Aaron]

Don't even need a degree to be an infantry officer and most officers in the combat arms have degrees that have nothing to do with the military.

So yeah, it does.

[Darksi4190]

Well then I think that's just about the only thing a philosophy degree would qualify you for.

[Oxymoron]

Wouldn't it qualify you for some teaching jobs and open the doors to some formations in the area of journalism/communication ?

[RogueIce]

Well then I think that's just about the only thing a philosophy degree would qualify you for.

Except you'd be a fresh-from-college boot lieutenant so not really.

[Nietzslime]

[standard spiel about how statistically philosophy grads actually do surprisingly well in business, guys]

there, now you don't need me to give it to you for reals

[timmy]

I'm on board!

[Aaron]

Is there a position for an unshaven, hippy who wants to shoot at garbage we toss of the back? I could also run the mess.

[Nietzslime]

it'll be like kelly's heroes

but we all just want to be donald sutherland

[timmy]

So OP, you going to live up to your name and take us to sea?

What are we cruising in

I vote Aaron to be CPO, grizzly beard and all

[Aaron]

Well sure as shit, I ain't shaving.

[Gands]

Does the ship have a... TV?

I could totally run that.

[timmy]

Gands you'd be the radar operator

We'd call you Radar

[Gands]

Cool.

CHOPPERS!

[The Spartan]

Can I be in charge of blowing shit up?

Cause I think I'd be good at that.

[Aaron]

Who's the poor bastard that gets to be the stoker?

[magic princess]

Don't worry, a subchaser has diesels. You think L. Ron could have walked within ten feet of a steam engine without it blowing up?

[Aaron]

Lol, sorry we still call the engine techs that.

Surprised the boat just didn't blow up when he took command. What a tool.

[Oxymoron]

You would need a Scotsman for that job.

[Aaron]

Call Ewan MacGregor

[timmy]

No no no put Oxymoron in the engine room and every time the ship needs to haul arse the Duchess calls down:

"Frenchie! I need more power!"

[Oxymoron]

" I'm giving all I have to give, bordel ! "