Hi everyone,
This site that Marissa and Lisa are putting together here is a fantastic idea. The Cubi O' Club "experience" was just that - you had to be there to understand it. Prior to Cubi, I managed clubs and hotels for the Government all over the world, though none of them ever came close to the tight knit feeling that was Cubi O'. The staff was a very close "family" and if anybody gave one of the staff a hard time not only were they protective of each other, but the customers were just as protective of them too! The customers – well, they were something else!
I remember when I first arrived at Cubi, I didn't know what to expect. Ron Parnes picked me, Liz and Lisa up in Manila and then drove us to Cubi. We got to the Cubi BOQ where we were to stay until housing became available. At first you can't help but notice all the monkeys everywhere and wild pigs coming out out the jungle that was directly in front of our quarters - literally fifteen feet from the front door with no fence or any barricade to separate us from the wildlife. There were also about a hundred species of snakes, of which 99 were poisonous and the other one would squeeze you to death! Of course, I’m only kidding.
That night I wanted a chance to see the club and get a feel for it before anyone knew who I was. The three of us went to dinner and musican act Ray & Eva were playing in the dining area. Ding was our waiter and I remember my first encounter with him quite well. I looked over the menu and then ordered a steak. Ding told me the prawns were especially good that night. I thought it over, but still wanted the steak. Ding still insisted the prawns were outstanding, but I insisted on the steak. Twenty minutes later my order arrived, and it was the prawns. I asked Ding about this, and he said, “Try them! They’re good!” And of course, he was correct. It was then that I began to realize that this was a different kind of club.
The next few weeks Ron Parnes briefed me on the club and was quite adamant that I keep the Spiderman pinball machine waxed, because the customers liked the fast action. The Ready Room was a cement basement with plastic chairs, and a Pong machine. Not much else. The main club seemed lifeless.
It wasn’t long before I realized that if I was to run this club, I’d better try to understand the “brown shoe Navy”. I got to talking to a C-1 pilot and he told me the Kitty Hawk was on its way to Subic, and was about 200 miles off-shore. With a couple of cases of San Miguel, I talked him into taking me out to the ship. I asked Frank Batista (who was part of club management) if he ever been out to a ship in his 20 years working for the Navy. He replied that he had not. Not knowing much about the rules about local nationals flying in Navy aircraft - let alone me being a government civilian without flight orders or a pri-cite (permission to fly aboard) - Frank and I headed out to the ship.
I landed my first tailhook on the deck of the Kitty Hawk that day and soon after we landed a young Lieutenant came down to tell me the Captain wanted to see me immediately. When we got up to the bridge, Capt. Tooter Teague asked me who the hell I was, what was I doing on his boat, and who gave Frank permission to fly in a Navy aircraft and board his ship. I told him I was a former Army guy and that I was the new Cubi O manager and that I wanted to find out what these guys did for a living so I could better serve them.
Tooter asked if I was serious, and I said I was. He called his department heads together, and asked each to brief me on their areas of responsibility. This looked like it was going to take some time, so I reminded the Captain that the COD was returning to Cubi in 40 minutes. First thing I learned was that the COD goes when the Captain says it goes. I spent about 5 hours getting briefed by CAG Dave Edwards, XO Jerry Unruh, OpsO Ira Hipper, and the rest. Spent time with the Snipes, Air Boss, Cat officer, etc. When I got back to Cubi I was all excited and the plans for making the Ready Room - truly an authentic representation of carrier life – began to take shape. More on that later.
I am truly grateful to Tooter Teague and the Kitty Hawk crew getting a dumb Army guy to understand a little of what a Carrier Battle Group can do. Other ships and squadron folks helped educate me a lot more through the years at Cubi, but I’ll always remember that first taste of carrier life. This was my first few months at Cubi and the excitement only got better after that. Cubi was a job that I couldn’t wait to get to each and every day for the next five plus years. That was because we had a team that perpetuated that same excitement each and every day. There was nothing they couldn’t do. We had a customer base that was nothing short of outstanding in keeping up the encouragement and support for anything we needed to make it happen. And last but not least, a Command that gave us all the support and license to do everything we wanted to do - sometimes with the CO having to smooth things out with higher headquarters!
This site is for you all to post your memories, share experiences, to exchange stories about Cely, about Cubi, about your time there - and most important - for the Cubi family to stay in touch.
Cubi O’ is the only club that I ever experienced where the staff hold reunions and keep in touch with one another throughout these last 25 years. What a great group of people! But anyone who was at Cubi O’ Club already knows that!
Warmest Regards for all….
Ed Dougil |
