Gah, PCism has done something I never thought I’d see…
FOREST HILL, N.C., Jan. 15, 2013 — The time honored rite of the U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer (CPO) initiation process has been eliminated. Political correctness has won out over more than 100 years of having gotten it right in the Chief’s Mess.
Full article HERE at the Washington Times.
The Navy has already watered down the CPO initiation to a pale imitation of it’s former self, but there were, as the article indicates, REAL REASONS for what is done during the initiation…
This is a truly sad day, and it will mean that the CPO ranks will not have the cohesion, leadership potential, and camaraderie that once existed in the goat locker.
Hopefully this will be overturned… Hopefully…
Edit- Thanks to Davey, HERE is a link to CDR Salamader’s take on it… Can’t say that I disagree with him…
It’s the process of destroying tradition, which is the glue that has held navies together since the Vikings set forth in long ships. It’s how you wipe out a Navy.
The progressive left can’t abide the initiation. Next they’re going to try Special Forces and the SEAL Teams, but I don’t think that they’ll crack that nut.
The sad thing is that the same idiots will begin to wonder why insanely complex machines manned by crews with an average age of 18.5 aren’t working well in a few years.
Sickening since I’ve read private sector business papers that systematically studied US Naval systemology to find out why it worked so well.
This is truly a sad day, but not wholly surprising. There has been a long and concerted effort to minimalize “leaders” by the “managers”. When I joined the Navy in 1974, It was a known fact that Chiefs were the right hand of God. Commissioned officers may give the orders, but the chiefs ran the navy. The CPO initiation was a lesson in leadership that no book or school can teach. I guess we just don’t need leaders anymore.
The Navy has held out longer than I expected, honestly. Given that Ranger school will now be watered down for women to go through, do you honestly think that SF and Seal will manage to keep their standards intact?
I am guessing it has to do with buggery. The Jr ranks finally complained instead of looking forward to their turn.
LL- Probably… And a sad state of affairs…
Odssyeus- Now they’ll look at how the Navy fails…
Ray- Nope they don’t ‘want’ leaders on the deckplates.
tweell- Probably not… dammit…
Hale- Never happened. I can vouch for that.
It makes me so angry I could spit. Every Chief/Senior/Master had more time in the can than the ossifers had on active duty. And yeah, they were the real leaders.
And at the time (early ’70s) we were laughing up our sleeves at the Soviet Navy, which destroyed its own leadership with pay cuts & mandatory retirements, leaving junior POs to figure things out. With political appointees on the bridges …
And once again, our so-called leaders seek to emulate those we’ve beaten. Grrrr!!
If the Navy is doing that to the CPO initiation, what are they doing to the polywogs who cross the equator for the first time?
Rev- True! And now we’re doing the same damn thing…
PE- I’m sure that will be gone too…
If I may be so bold as to pipe up from the rear of the cheap seats…
Having served my time aboard Her Majesty’s grey funnel line (RM Detachment Sgt Maj of HM Ships’ Company,) I feel it qualify’s me to toss in my ten penneth worth on the demise of the initiation to Chief Petty Officer, which I pray to Gawd never happens within the ‘senior service’ over here in Blighty.
Having supped my weight in grog and ale within the CPO’s Mess a hundred times over, I can honestly say that I did so alongside the rating that is the solid backbone of the Royal Navy. The same salt crusted creatures who earned their brass buttons through toil, blood, sweat, and tears, of which, takes around 15 years reckonable service. And let us not forget that the same brass buttoned creature’s also work equally as well on land, where their experience, leadership and courage, are not found wanting.
Yours Aye.
http://www.google.co.uk/url?q=http://www.lordashcroftmedals.com/collection/george-prowse-vc/&sa=U&ei=QEusVOuIFoWvUfK7gqgL&ved=0CBYQ9QEwAA&sig2=rwXmRY8ehCOf4E9m6V1gAQ&usg=AFQjCNFcj5GUKfWLX2HG-TC6m-NbA86Z8w
Chain-of-Command: Widely illustrated in RN ships magazines and on notice boards throughout the fleet. Successfully illustrating the difference between the upper and lower decks, where the Officers set the policy, and the Chiefs get the job done.
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/navysong/Data%20Song/S0001.HTM
Two more years, hopefully.
No my friend, its here to stay and indeed, what a shame. I was one of the first new selects that entered the initiation season with the new guidance, but I was happy to have a CMC that gave us the option to us four, you want to do it the new way or old way. Old way won unanimously. I had a blast, and there is a meaning behind the initiation, it teaches you whatbit takes to be a great chief.
Ex- Agreed! All the Brit Chiefs I worked with were as good as ours! Leaders of men and women who accomplished more with a quiet word in the ear than any thing else! Same down under…
WSF- True!
Senior- Yeah, I agree. I talked to friends who are still on active duty (most now E-9/WO/LDOs), NONE of them are happy… And you’re right there IS meaning behind the initiation!
That’s what happens when you have an E-9 as the MCPON. Good post, along with your’s there is another from CDR Sal http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2013/01/ok-e7s-and-above-it-is-then.html that supplements the article from the Times.
First. Army, Air Force, Marines they got nothing on a Chief.
I had the very best Chief Petty Officers in peace and wartime. You CANNOT imagine how good they were. I don’t think they were leaders by some right we cannot share in the world. No. No. They were very good men and very good at what they did.
A decade or two ago I might have commiserated at the passing of the ritual but now I think not. I was a midshipman on USS CONNOLE observing the game of CPO ritual. I did not find it an experience that would have been of use at Dak To.
I was “defense attorney” for two really fine Chiefs during active service. One in the middle of the IO and one at the Defense Language Institute. Say what you like, I was there.
It got way way worse and even more despicable when the CPO of the Navy Got Involved. Those irritating losers hauled my best, most capable petty officers off for bs runs and team building nonsense while my other best Petty Officer (CPO selects) were getting their khakis serving in Afghanistan and Iraq with none of that nonsense.
I attended two CPO initiations. If Master Chief Orth or Chief Dones tell me it is still worth it, I’ll go along.
Davey- Thanks, I’ll add that link to the post.
Curtis- No question it has ‘morphed’ over the years. I went through in 82. Your point about “Those irritating losers hauled my best, most capable petty officers off for bs runs and team building nonsense” is oh so true, and many of the Chiefs didn’t like the mandated “Crap on a cracker”…
More degrading of traditions and the military
My sister in law had just made Chief in the Navy Reserve and then just a few months later retired rather than continue to put up with the BS she was being forced to deal with. She won’t talk about what made her finally retire, but it wasn’t what she really wanted. All I ever got out of my brother was it was coming down from upstairs and she wasn’t the only Chief who retired rather than deal with it.
She had done 2 tours in Iraq and spent considerable time in Japan, and now the Navy has LOST that knowledge and experience because of politics in the higher ranks.
I fear for the readiness of our armed forces with the lack of experienced senior officers and NCO’s, with ranks filled with less able and experienced people.