STEC Archives, Print Document DivisionCurator signature: Tautog. New Jersey
Format: Message, Personal Object
Object: Collection, Personal Correspondences of New Jersey
Location (if known): STEC Archives
Time (if known): REDACTED
Curator’s note:
Did we clear this with RNSTEC? I assume it’s an odd thing to ask since, well, they’re the one that gave this one to us…Yes.
STEC Archives, Print Document Division
Curator signature: [Classified]
Format: Print Media – DECLASSIFIED under [REDACTED], [REDACTED]
Special Documents Division – [REDACTED]
Time (if known): Undated
STEC Archives, Print Document Division
Curator signature: Jer
Format: Message, Personal Object
Object: Collection, Personal Correspondences of New Jersey
Location (if known): STEC Archives
Time (if known): Undated
Curator’s note: While I was one of Admiral Yin’s supporters that resulted in his promotion, looking back, I think I can appreciate why he’s the person STEC needed for the task at hand.
STEC Archives, Print Document Division
Curator signature: Jer
Format: Message, Personal Object
Object: Collection, Personal Correspondences of New Jersey
Location (if known): STEC Archives
Time: N/A
Scuttlebutt, noun. A cask on shipboard to contain fresh water for a day’s use; a drinking fountain on a ship or at a naval or marine installation.
Rumor; gossip; idle chatter.
During the Abyssal War, a prime objective of STEC was to bolster and maintain public morale and confidence.
In perhaps one of STEC’s less optimal attempts to achieve such task, excerpts from an unpublished document, entitled “A little bird once told me,” [Internal STEC project codename: Scuttlebutt] contained entertaining personal tidbits about the various shipgirls at STEC, submitted by the girls themselves. A question and answer section would be enclosed in each issue, with the answers revealed in the next. The intent was to first allow the general public to get to know the girls better, and secondly, to hopefully encourage greater interest in historical trivia – particularly as many of these habits or oddities are shared or inspired by the real life warship or concept in which these girls embody.
While possibly humorous, the attempt was ultimately viewed as non-constructive towards the Abyssal War. “Scuttlebutt” was ultimately scrapped on the grounds that no one quite knew what, if any purpose, this sort of information served (even if the girls found it mostly entertaining). Additionally, the prospect of the mail-in portion was deemed to be an inappropriate use of critical wartime resources.
Nonetheless, for modern readers interested in understanding the lives of the shipgirls of STEC better – particularly during those times, we elected to display here excerpts from the collection.
Due to the challenges of deciphering commentary and handwriting, anonymous comments on specific shipgirls will be italicized in the document below.
It goes without saying that many of the tasks ought not be attempted by anyone other than the shipgirls themselves.