We must follow the tune of a different drummer.
Our vocation is one that is unlike most others, and because of this it requires different things of us. This difference, fundamental to our profession, is nothing to be ashamed of. It is defined by terms that include self-sacrifice, devotion to duty, and the highest standards of personal and professional integrity, and contains the values that are among the most respected of Western civilization.
We have been through bad times before. Unpopularity, lean budget years, and slow promotion have been characteristic problems of the armed forced in every post-war period in American history. What has enabled us to survive these problems in the past has been adherence to our ideals and principles, and not adaptation to the social fashions of the day, regardless of their appeal.
We will not do ourselves or the American people any service by passively following the drift of society and permitting ourselves to reflect all of the confusion, doubt, and self indulgence that surrounds us. If we wish to be more than an image of a Navy, if we want to retain our identity as an institution whose ethic goes beyond shallow slogans ((e.g., Global Force For Good)) and publicity campaigns, we must make the decision to go against the grain, to establish and demand from our people as set of standards and an order of dedication that is our own, and not "a reflection of society."
The Stranger in the Crowd
By Lieutenant Commander K.C. Jacobsen, U.S. Navy
USNI Proceedings, September 1974
4 comments:
Wow, what an excellent article. Unfortunately, if you were to write the same things today, you would be labeled as a "neanderthal" and a "bigot" (see http://www.northstarnational.com/2010/12/21/p-s-im-not-just-a-neanderthal-im-a-bigot/).
We who wear the uniform of our country have a special obligation to it - that which old-fashioned days referred to as "honor."
It is not an easy road, although it is a crystal-clear way, ever straight, always upward. Often, the path becomes extremely narrow and fearsome. We dare keep moving because we know that the danger will pass - and because the path is the right way to traverse.
Honor promises no immediare laurels, but qietly offers a clear conscience - or well-earned rest.
It is what we volunteer to defend and what we realize we might die to preserve, with the same unoobstructed sense of well-being, sure of a job well-done.
Honor is more a blesing than a prize. It is the quiet companion that accopanies us as long as we want it to do so. Once upon its challening but beckoning way we increasingly want it as our rule and guide.
We understand Honor when we reaize that we want to become part of it- which is Honor's prize to us -- and its perpetuating gift to itself.
Sorta difficult to square all this lofty talk with some of the silliness and pettiness and selfishness that surfaces with regularity in the fleet and ashore.
Were we to really believe this, we'd practice genuine honesty in fitness reports and evaluations. We'd put the Navy ahead of our community and national defense ahead of the Navy. We'd follow the rules on fraternization. We'd comport ourselves well on liberty. We'd offer some respect to our leaders, pursue their intentions, and follow their orders. We'd quit sniping and bulkheading when the rules change. We'd find useful accommodations with our sister Services, bringing true meaning to jointness. We'd subordinate careerism to professionalism. We'd give our shipmates a helping hand and never bilge them. We'd act as we talk.
Father of an old shipmate put it well: "Talk's cheap. It takes money to buy whiskey." And the motto of my first warship after commissioning: "Faire Sans Dire:." Deeds, not words.
Put a name before the deckplate cynicism and we'll debate further. "Meine Ehre heisst Treue" ("loyalty Is My Honor") was tested once and found wanting. "Ad Astra Per Aspera," which implies great deeds, is better for the Navy of tomorrow. IMO. Pls look it up. Steve M
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