Workplace mishaps... or HR Confessional...

Not HR related. But:-

I was an 18 year old radio operator on board a naval frigate sailing across the vast Indian Ocean in the dead of night to the South China Seas.
Things were pretty quiet signals wise. We'd normally have two operators on watch at a time but as it was so quiet our chief told me I could man the radio office on my own. I'd normally have a more experienced colleague with me. This would be the first time I'd manned the 'office', on my own.

I was typing up a classified confidential signal on a teleprinter for later transmission to Whitehall, London, through an automatic encrypting machine. I was also keeping my eyes and ears open on the incoming telex messages, which given the time of night was pretty quiet too.

I hadn't been typing a minute when I heard the inbound telex/teleprinter channel alarm go off. This is pretty rare and only for emergency signals. A quick look and it was an alert stating that someone was transmitting a classified confidential message in the 'clear', unencrypted live over the air. Nothing too exciting and it was obviously not me as I'd not even switched the transmitter on or connected the teleprinter I was using to it. So off I went and carried on typing. A minute later the alarm went off again. This was even more unusual so I popped over and had a look. It was the same message as before. So I returned to my typing. It was then that I noticed that the teleprinter I was using was connected to an office further along the corridor where all the transmitters were housed. Mmmm? I quickly ran to the transmitter room to discover not only was my teleprinter connected to a transmitter but the transmitter had been left on by a previous user... Aghhhhh ! I was the cause of the alarm signal......

I'd normally be honest and own up to a mistake, but this was potentially serious so I had visions of being Court Martialled and thrown to the sharks. So I kept quiet and hoped the operator  back in Whitehall, London didn't report the security breach - although it would be rather difficult to trace the culprit or ship as I hadn't typed up enough.

I had difficulty sleeping the next few days, but nothing happened. I never made the same mistake again though!!.

Not HR related. But:-

I was an 18 year old radio operator on board a naval frigate sailing across the vast Indian Ocean in the dead of night to the South China Seas.
Things were pretty quiet signals wise. We'd normally have two operators on watch at a time but as it was so quiet our chief told me I could man the radio office on my own. I'd normally have a more experienced colleague with me. This would be the first time I'd manned the 'office', on my own.

I was typing up a classified confidential signal on a teleprinter for later transmission to Whitehall, London, through an automatic encrypting machine. I was also keeping my eyes and ears open on the incoming telex messages, which given the time of night was pretty quiet too.

I hadn't been typing a minute when I heard the inbound telex/teleprinter channel alarm go off. This is pretty rare and only for emergency signals. A quick look and it was an alert stating that someone was transmitting a classified confidential message in the 'clear', unencrypted live over the air. Nothing too exciting and it was obviously not me as I'd not even switched the transmitter on or connected the teleprinter I was using to it. So off I went and carried on typing. A minute later the alarm went off again. This was even more unusual so I popped over and had a look. It was the same message as before. So I returned to my typing. It was then that I noticed that the teleprinter I was using was connected to an office further along the corridor where all the transmitters were housed. Mmmm? I quickly ran to the transmitter room to discover not only was my teleprinter connected to a transmitter but the transmitter had been left on by a previous user... Aghhhhh ! I was the cause of the alarm signal......

I'd normally be honest and own up to a mistake, but this was potentially serious so I had visions of being Court Martialled and thrown to the sharks. So I kept quiet and hoped the operator  back in Whitehall, London didn't report the security breach - although it would be rather difficult to trace the culprit or ship as I hadn't typed up enough.

I had difficulty sleeping the next few days, but nothing happened. I never made the same mistake again though!!.