Musings, leadership tidbits and quotes posted by a retired Navy Captain (really just a high performing 2nd Class Petty Officer) who hung up his uniform a bit too early. He still wears his Navy service on his sleeve. He needs to get over that. "ADVANCE WARNING - NO ORIGINAL THOUGHT!" A "self-appointed" lead EVANGELIST for the "cryptologic community". Keeping CRYPTOLOGY alive-one day and Sailor at a time. 2015 is 80th Anniversary of the Naval Security Group.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Medals belong to the boys
"I don't think there is an officer who gets a medal who wouldn't say it really belongs to the boys."
Lieutenant Commander Carter Bennett, WWII
As you look at your rack 8 rows high, remember "They really belong to the boys."
4 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Perhaps. Perhaps not. People talk about an inflation of the number of awards and they are right and they are wrong. There has been an explosion in the number of "I was there" awards. Row after row until we look like the USAF. I remember finishing my second year in the navy and passing through London with a brand new airman on his way to his first assignment. I had spent the last 12 months in one war zone with a brief stint in another mortally dangerous spot and had 2 whole ribbons. This guy right out of boot camp had 2 rows.
If you're an information warfare type you also qualify for awards that regular navy people don't get. Info dominance types are eligible to give each other the joint achievement awards and do.
On the occasion of one of my Petty Officers earning his 3rd NAM he wondered how that worked now and I gave him the bad news. As much as he deserved it and he did, I was the only damned officer in the entire command that submitted anybody for the Sailor of the Year award and he kept winning hands down. I cannot understand officers who are so damned lazy they cannot submit deserving sailors for awards and write them up citations that will sail through the Awards Boards at any level.
5 and 6 rows after 20 years are the new norm. Standout people will pick up the 7th and 8th row. Me? I wonder about guys with 20 in who have less than 3 rows because what did they do? No NUC, MUC, PUC, CAR, Expeditionary medals, campaign medals, qualifying service ribbons? srsly?
I used to comment at NavyGrade's web site but logging in is not my nature. He is not missing out on anything though so there is that much good to be said for making it a pain in the butt to comment.
I don't bother with anonymous comments mainly because most of them are hate mail and I refuse to expend the effort to filter comments. I don't delete comments unless they are spam, which is why you see lots of angry "screw you" comments on my CPO365 posts...and that's OK, I gladly give people the opportunity to disagree if they are willing to post under a name of some kind. You can always use an OpenID that isn't your name, or you can email me and I'll gladly repost your comment as an anonymous comment.
NG36, I never commented on your blog anonymously but when I tried open ID there was some sort of electronic revolt. Blogs belong to their owners and owners rule! If some comments don't get made by me I'm sure that none will see it as a loss. None will see.
4 comments:
Perhaps.
Perhaps not.
People talk about an inflation of the number of awards and they are right and they are wrong. There has been an explosion in the number of "I was there" awards. Row after row until we look like the USAF. I remember finishing my second year in the navy and passing through London with a brand new airman on his way to his first assignment. I had spent the last 12 months in one war zone with a brief stint in another mortally dangerous spot and had 2 whole ribbons. This guy right out of boot camp had 2 rows.
If you're an information warfare type you also qualify for awards that regular navy people don't get. Info dominance types are eligible to give each other the joint achievement awards and do.
On the occasion of one of my Petty Officers earning his 3rd NAM he wondered how that worked now and I gave him the bad news. As much as he deserved it and he did, I was the only damned officer in the entire command that submitted anybody for the Sailor of the Year award and he kept winning hands down. I cannot understand officers who are so damned lazy they cannot submit deserving sailors for awards and write them up citations that will sail through the Awards Boards at any level.
5 and 6 rows after 20 years are the new norm. Standout people will pick up the 7th and 8th row. Me? I wonder about guys with 20 in who have less than 3 rows because what did they do? No NUC, MUC, PUC, CAR, Expeditionary medals, campaign medals, qualifying service ribbons? srsly?
I used to comment at NavyGrade's web site but logging in is not my nature. He is not missing out on anything though so there is that much good to be said for making it a pain in the butt to comment.
I don't bother with anonymous comments mainly because most of them are hate mail and I refuse to expend the effort to filter comments. I don't delete comments unless they are spam, which is why you see lots of angry "screw you" comments on my CPO365 posts...and that's OK, I gladly give people the opportunity to disagree if they are willing to post under a name of some kind. You can always use an OpenID that isn't your name, or you can email me and I'll gladly repost your comment as an anonymous comment.
NG36, I never commented on your blog anonymously but when I tried open ID there was some sort of electronic revolt. Blogs belong to their owners and owners rule! If some comments don't get made by me I'm sure that none will see it as a loss. None will see.
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