Life Has Changed

If you've reading my blog, you know I'm a retired Naval Officer and work for an aerospace company.  So I have more than a passing interest in what is going on in the Navy and still have a lot of connections with the Navy.  We've seen a lot of cultural upheaval in the last decade and it isn't over.

During the last several months and years we've seen an increase in the number of Commanding Officers being fired, and there have been a variety of reasons.  The latest is reported here.  People who know me and know my background have asked my opinion about what is going on.  Of course every situation is different and there have been many different reasons for the firings.  Reading between the lines of many of the reports it was usually either an improper relationship or some sort of leadership failure.   Some of my contemporaries have said, and I agree, that it's a good thing that they can't retroactively fire us because in the "good old days" a lot of shenanigans went on.

Many people of my vintage believe that it's political correctness gone rampant.  That the Officers who had to take the extraordinary step of firing a C.O. are just covering their a$$.  That its the fault of integration of women.  Or the demise of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.  Or some other systemic failure of the culture.

I don't buy it.  I can remember like it was yesterday when, during my last few years in the Navy, the ban on women in front line units was lifted.  There was considerable outrage.  Predictions of doom.  The military was going "to hell in a hand basket".   They could never do the job.   Some even decided to leave.  My memory of my reaction is also clear.  I believed then and still believe that it was a change, that the change would have to be managed, but that the American people wanted this change and it was up to those in the military to manage.  Would it change how we interacted with each other? Absolutely.  Would it change the culture?  Definitely.  But would it be better?  When I left the jury was out.  But no more.  I don't think you'd find many in today's Navy that don't accept women as part of the culture. I have to say that the majority of woman I've met in the Navy in the last few years has impressed me with her leadership, humanity, and professionalism.  I suspect the same is true for the demise of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.  But it's pretty new so once again the jury is still out.  But I can say that I've heard a ton of people in the Navy say their attitude is Don't Know, Don't Care.

So if we've had this sea change, why all the firings.  I think two things.  First, there are still some who are members (or wannabes) of the "good ol boy" club.  They know how things used to be.  They know how they'd like things to be.  They mistakenly think that their status as CO gives them a pass.  At some point they find out the hard way that they are wrong.  In this day and age, there are no second chancs.  People talk about Nimitz running his ship aground as a Lieutenant and surviving to go on to 5 stars.  There are other similar stories.  That was then.  This is now.  The second is that there are always some bad apples who make it through.  In my time there were always guys in command who never should have made it and guys who never made it but would have been wonderful Commanding Officers.  The system is what it is and it does a pretty good job of selecting only the "best and brightest".  But some bad eggs still make it through.

The fact of the matter is that the people of the Navy today are the best we've ever seen.  They are smarter, more ambitious, more inquisitive, and more focused than ever.  I might even go so far to say they are better pilots, but that would be pretty difficult for me.  To lead this group, it takes only the best that we have.  There can be no let down.  A CO today has to be on his or her game 24/7.  I'm sure some of these firings were the result of a good person who, for whatever reason, forgot the tenants of command for a short period of time.  And it bit them.

But I think something else is true.  In 2012 our society has evolved.  What was acceptable just a few short decades ago, is now a killer.  For old guys like many of my friends it's a tough pill to swallow.  They yearn for the good old days. Those days were good.  They were fun.  They were inspirational.  They drove an incredible bonding of men going to war.  Those days are gone...