A Little Snopes of my Own

I just love Snopes.com; I can't tell you how often one of the "officers and petty officers appointed over me" has forwarded me an email about some non-existent threat (like hypodermic needles in movie theater seats), and I've had to respond with a link to the appropriate article on Snopes pointing out it's a hoax. Yes, not a few of them grew up under power lines.

But I'd like to debunk a myth myself. For as long as I've been in the Navy, I've been hearing that the 1944 Officers' Guide (or some other version that came out in the 40's) had a statement in it which said something along the lines of "Enlisted men are devious and not to be trusted". As researching such tales is one of the things you've come to expect from the keeper of the Log, I recently bought a copy to look into it.

I've since read it cover to cover (okay, I skipped the chapter on how to run the ship's store, but I at least looked at the pictures) and I have to report that the above-mentioned quote is a MYTH. If anything, the book is far more respectful of all sailors, enlisted and officer, than anything I've seen aboard ship lately. It advocates a no-nonsense approach to leadership which is sorely lacking in today's world of TQL, LEAN, Six Sigma, and whatever fad some admiral's going to get worked up over tomorrow. I only wish I could get some of the people I work for to read it.

Here's my favorite quote from the 1944 Naval Officer's Guide:

"Confidence in the leader promotes discipline; it is towards this end that we aspire in the American Navy. Cheerful, spontaneous cooperation and compliance to orders is the result of proper discipline under a respected leader.

The discipline of fear, "cracking the whip", and threats of punishment is not applicable to our service, nor is it desirable. The American bluejacket is a citizen, who attended the same schools as the officer, who was brought up in the same kind of home, who has lived the same life, and who expects from those placed over him by virtue of their rank and experience the fair play and cooperation that he has been taught to expect as his right"

~ Commander Arthur A Ageton, USN

Compare that with the Navy of today, where enlisted men (even senior enlisted men) have to file a "liberty plan" before they can leave the ship, detailing what they're going to be doing every minute of the night. Add to that the humiliation of having your chief call you from time to time to make sure you're sticking to your plan, and you can see how different we are from the Navy that fought and won WW II.