When I think of values within the
submarining community, there are many that come to mind. Values like procedural compliance, knowledge,
and communication are all part of the submarining community; however 1 value –
brotherhood – is one that sums up the community in a single word. As I described in my earlier blog, brotherhood within the
submarining community spans the divides between the many different countries in
this world – if you wear dolphins for one country, you are my brother
regardless of what flag flies from your flagstaff. With that being said, some guys lose sight of
this fact and take on a much more selfish attitude. The following is a story about a situation I
watched develop while I rode the USS FLORIDA several years ago.
Back
in my early days with the force, I had the opportunity to ride one of the most versatile
warships within our fleet – the USS FLORIDA (SSGN 729). We were on mission and as a junior JO, I was
standing Junior Officer of the Watch and assisting with scope operator. There were 3 Fire Control Technicians (FT) in
my section, a FT1 who was rarely around due to collateral duties, a FT2, and a
newly reported FTSN. For whatever
reason, FT2 did not like FTSN in anyway, and he wasn’t afraid to let the FTSN
and the rest of the crew know it. This
was happening even though the FTSN tried day in and day out to get the FT2 to
not just tolerate him, but to like him.
Every day the FTSN would come in with a great attitude and eagerness to
learn and every day the FT2 would be nothing but nasty to him.
This
pattern continued for several weeks. We
pulled off station and pulled into a liberty port where we were afforded some
free time. As it turned out, FT2 and
FTSN met up at a bar accidentally. FT2
was already 3 sheets to the wind whereas FTSN had been responsible and had
barely had a few drinks. After hanging
out for a bit, FT2 was essentially thrown out of the bar and FTSN volunteered
to take FT2 back to the ship. At this
point, FT2 punched FTSN squarely in the jaw, knocking him out and breaking his
jaw. Several other shipmates jumped on
him and restrained him, then carted him back to the ship to be put into
confinement. All sailors on liberty were
recalled back to the ship for the night and there was discussion of not
allowing any further liberty into the town despite the fact we were going to be
in port for a few more days. In the end,
the CO decided not to punish the crew for the actions of 1 guy, but FT2’s selfishness
and lack of brotherhood almost cost us free time in a foreign port, and it
brought shame to both our ship and the Navy being that multiple locals
witnessed the assault.
I
am not sure what exactly was wrong with FT2, but I am sure that his actions are
not in accordance with any spoken values, whether it be the Navy’s core values
or something else. I am completely
positive that his actions in no way represented what the dolphins on his chest
represent – the brotherhood that we all share as submariners. We all must trust each other not only because
we are in tight quarters, but because our very lives depend on it. Having bad attitudes towards your shipmates
does nothing to promote this sense of brotherhood and can only have a bad
influence on the patterns of the ship.
Clearly the FLORIDA had issues with this sense of brotherhood as their
Chief of the Boat was fired for a hazing incident that occurred several years
after I rode them; however you get the sense that a lack of brotherhood on
board was a key contributor to his removal.
In the end, I would hope that the
above story would show fellow submariners that it is in our best interest to
promote the brotherhood within our community.
The actions of 1 person can drastically effect how the ship operates, so
we can’t tolerate selfish people on board.
You are either entirely part of the crew and are willing to go to any
length for any of your shipmates, or you aren’t part of the crew.
No comments:
Post a Comment