For Rich Bishop, reporting to basic training for the US Navy was reminiscent of Dorothy leaving Kansas and ending up in Oz. The transition from civilian to navy life overwhelmed Bishop. In "Nuts to Butts," he narrates excerpts of his twenty-two-year career-from basic training to retirement.
In this memoir, Bishop tells of meeting a wide assortment of people and the problems they brought with them. He shares the good and not-so-good times of serving in the fleet, including dealing with the loss of privacy, becoming a team member, and keeping US warships in mission-ready condition and the crews in shape to play the mental games required in an examination- and deployment-laden schedule. "Nuts to Butts" describes living through basic training, working in the scullery of an aircraft carrier, serving duty as shore patrol, visiting exotic ports of call for liberty, climbing a plateau with shear vertical sides in Sri Lanka, living on the naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, and making night dives among the sharks.
Bishop provides keen insight into the life of a sailor, delivered with humor. He not only fondly remembers his service, but preserves the stories for all.