TALES FROM THE FRONT:

Editor’s note: This is the last in a six-part series about war veterans who are members of UC Irvine’s Veterans Student Union.

At one point while serving aboard the USS Dubuque LPD 8, Petty Officer 3rd Class Alain Nguyen remembers the ship going dark — completely dark.

The operations systems had shut down, and crew members had to man their stations.

They were sitting ducks, but Nguyen wasn’t scared.

In a separate incident, their attack response system failed when the fiber-optic tow cable broke. The extending device makes a ship appear longer in order to trick enemies into aiming somewhere other than the ship’s hull or center.

The ship’s only defense was the men who handled the 50-caliber and 25-caliber guns, Nguyen said.

But despite all of that, the USS Dubuque was deployed to the Middle East in January of 2003 and stayed at sea without port longer than most ships.

“To me it never made sense because we had so many problems,” Nguyen said. “I wasn’t scared though — I thought it was kind of funny.”

Nguyen didn’t have too much reason to worry. The ship was part of a fleet, so it was never alone. His belief was that it was a sailor’s job to work through obstacles.

“I think it is [irresponsible],” Nguyen said. “But I guess that’s why we get paid what we do. It’s our job to keep [the ship] alive.”

But Nguyen didn’t keep his job as a navigation specialist because he was other-than-honorably discharged in March of 2004 for a pattern of misconduct, Nguyen said.

He said the real reason he was discharged was because when he was approached about others’ conduct on the ship, he wouldn’t reveal information.

“I wouldn’t snitch,” he said.

Attempts to contact the ship through its quarterdeck phone were unsuccessful.

Nguyen is now a member of UC Irvine’s Veterans Student Union, a support group for Iraq veterans.

The group helps veterans talk about their experiences and also helps enlighten civilians as to the true nature of war and its effects on soldiers.

Nguyen said that once the ship returned from Iraq, there was a pattern of irresponsibility from the command down. Sailors would drink heavily, and politics played a major role in the ship’s duties as they volunteered for numerous assignment and overworked the sailors, Nguyen said.

“We would put the work in, but [the ship’s captain] would get the credit,” Nguyen said. “[The command] worried about that star, the politics.”

Nguyen, who went to a private school for most of his life, said those above him didn’t like him because they felt he was born with a silver spoon.

He even said that when he was in trouble they would use his Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB, score against him, which was a 74, he said. The required score for the Navy is a 35, according to www.military.com.

“I would get in trouble for the dumbest things,” Nguyen said. “Like being late.”

Nguyen didn’t appeal his discharge. He was disgruntled after the decision, and it took time for him to deal with being kicked out.

“They didn’t have to go the route they did,” he said. “If you feel like people are watching you the whole time, you’re going to mess up.”

Nguyen remembers the harsh cold that hit the ship when they first arrived in the Middle East. He remembers the detainees, bringing them food while he was on food service duty. He remembers the sudden heat and dust storms. Despite his discharge, he believes he did his time.

“I did serve my country, but toward the end I felt like what they did to me, the steps they took were biased,” Nguyen said. “The discharge makes me seem like I didn’t do my job in the military.”

DANIEL TEDFORD may be reached at (714) 966-4632 or at [email protected].