From Wog to Shellback

What?  From "wog" to "shellback".  Do those terms leave you with a question in your mind?  If yes, then you're like me!

I got an e-mail from Andrew in which he told me he was going to be participating in the ceremony where he changes from "wog" to "shellback".  Hmmmm . . . those terms don't sound like Navy ranks that I've heard of before, so what could they mean?

Well, here's the answer.  And a I love the clever folklore that surrounds the ceremony.  Just another reason those guys on the ship become like family to one another.  They've each endured (and survived) these silly rites of passage.

So, good on 'ya Babe.  I'm proud of you for becoming a "shellback"!
 

The Shellback Initiation

The Shellback Initiation is a ceremony to celebrate a young sailor's first time passing the equator. It is a 'secret' in the Navy, and many of the rites of passage are supposed to be kept among sailors. One such rite of passage involves the 'wogs', or those who have not yet been initiated, plucking a maraschino cherry from the belly button of a high-ranking enlisted man known as a Chief Petty Officer. There are many other rites or contests, and the Shellback Initiation can vary from ship to ship. Sailors who complete the Shellback rites are given a certificate proclaiming them to be fit to understand the 'mysteries'.