'USS Bread and Water': Old and rare punishment loomed over a demoralized crew

I'm not surprised. He was Ops Officer on USS Stethem when i was Det LPO.
I have nothing good to say about him. He did live up to his last name. And he said so when you were introduced to him, "I'm Ops LT Aycock, and yes like my last name, i am a cock". Ops department morale was in the crapper the entire deployment.

I'm more concerned with the justification than the actual punishment. Bread and water only seems harsh in a world of steak and potatoes.

It is a great deterrent if not used excessively. On the 03 level of CV-59 someone would try to make a funny joke about something. Which if only in humorist words is fine. But then we look at the sailor and reaffirm, you do know that if you try that in real life that will get you 3 days B&W right, and probably kicked out of the Navy. What type of joke would grant this response. Well you would always get some yahoo that thinks that the person they don't like might like an unlocked (armed) ejection seat when they go up to do maintenance on a jet. We smile at their words and yet reaffirm what reality is in store for them if it passes past the point of a verbal joke. The rules for the security staff containing the person on B&W was: As much bread as the individual wants with as much water as the individual wants. Choices of bread was white or wheat, if wheat bread was available from the galley. When I was doing some Security Force Training I met up with the Brig Staff and was asking questions because I heard they just had some poor sap in there on B&W.