 Most people associate boatsmen mates, or BMs, with gritty tools and hard work. Both of these are true. However, BMs take on other responsibilities as well. I like the fact that as a boatsman mate I can be on the flight deck, I can be in the well deck, I can do anchoring, I get to work outside and I get to be in the elements and still do my job while I'm outside enjoying myself. And Somali has never been afraid to get her hands dirty. I guess I'm a daddy's girl so everything he did I had to go with him. I would help him build our deck to our pool or help him mow the gas station's yard in our town. Pretty much everything he did I was with him. Being a BM can be hard yet rewarding work, but maybe more so for Somali, who remembers her time with her dad every time she picks up a screwdriver. Pretty Officer Nicholas Vickery, Fleet Activities, Sasabo Japan.