The lure of something new and different is powerful in a society where change for its own sake is considered good, and has much more appeal than the lowlier and more painful process of re-establishing our identity and redirecting our internal philosophy to express that identity. Nevertheless, the time has come for us to move from a period of accommodation to one of reassertion of our basic principles.
The place to start is with our people. The education and professional development of each Navyman, from recruit (or officer candidate) to trainee to qualified professional, should be founded on a system of values and standards that are unequivocally stated the day the prospective Navyman walks into the recruiting office and professionally developed throughout the entire process of training and service.
The Stranger in the Crowd
Lieutenant Commander K.C. Jacobsen
USNI Proceedings
September 1974
Captain Lambert,
ReplyDeleteI am unaware of the workings of what drives those in positions of responsibility in the Navy these days, when I was COB on a SSBN I felt it was my job to not only stand a 6 hour watch every day while we were underway, but also to roam from stem to stern in order to come in contact with as many of my Shipmates as possible every day. The Captain of my Submarine required that I make a record of each Sailor, including a photo and general status of every individual onboard in order to anticipate any needs that might occur in their lives.
This was nearly 40 years ago and one of the problems as I see it is that today’s Navy no longer seems to do what real leadership factors should drive them to do. If a senior individual is not aware of the status of all individuals under his control he is at fault, that is part his job, now I realize that it would be a insurmountable job to the Commanding Officer of an Aircraft Carrier that might have 5,000 Sailors or more onboard, but he should demand that Department heads report to him on the status of all individuals in that department. The ship is never too big to overlook any Sailor that is part of Ships Company or an ancillary individual to that ship.
Very Respectfully,
Navyman834