Manila Wetting Down

Going along with other typical military traditions like my commissioning ceremony or the several Hail and Fairwells attended lately, this is another celebration marking a momentous occasion for an Officer. A wetting Down celebrates the promotion of an Officer to the next rank. In this instance a Lieutenant junior grade (LTjg) and Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CWO3) were promoted to LT and CWO4.

Unlike commissioning ceremonies and Hail and Fairwells, the promoted Officers are responsible for paying the bill. The amount put aside should be equal to the difference between the Officer's old and new paychecks for a month. The higher ranked an Officer is, the more is expected from them. When multiple Officers are promoted the celebration can be large.

The event took place at the Mall of Asia. I had been to the second major mall several days prior on shore patrol. This one was different in that the items sold were mainstream like a mall you would find in a small city, only this one was far bigger. We arrived at the mall in the afternoon and had several hours to kill before the Wetting Down started. There was a movie theater inside the mall so after a little shopping, we went to see a movie. They are all in English so that was not an issue, the ticket was fairly cheap considering it was in 3D.

After the movie was over we ended up at a steakhouse, there was live country music being played with scenery from the American West. We could request country songs, unfortunately I do not follow country music. Most of us went to a bar down stairs to relax since this would be the last day in port. Afterward the group split up and I went to an interesting bar. Up to this point I had avoided that scene but this particular bar peeked my interest. All the staff were midgets so after you were done with your drinks, you could buy a midget bar t-shirt and have your picture taken with them. They had a wide assortment of beers from all over the world. A number of the crew showed up as we were drinking, that was an interesting night.