ready for sea

The Babylon Bee is tongue in cheek sometimes raw satire that may touch a live one. This did http://babylonbee.com/news/report-majority-christians-concerned-bathrooms-trans-people-use-whether-not-will-go-heaven-die/

Years ago, fifty-five years just, a Navy lieutenant one of my colleagues at UMichigan who went on to become an admiral, said anyone who doesn’t realize the Navy is a social welfare organization is blind. At the time, I thought Joe’s statement a bit over the top, but not so, not at all, he was correct. He was speaking of laws and regulations about awarding contracts to small business and minority-owned firms; but a competent and bright officer, he also knew that being Hispanic would not hinder and might enhance his career progression to flag.

In my warped view, social welfare factors are taking inappropriate precedence of military readiness and plain facts about human males and females. For the safety at sea of me, I cannot visualize having had women officers and crew at sea in the ships I served; the temptation is too obvious and human; enough basically that anytime we were in port the XO of my first ship stumbled aboard drunk with a drunken floozy on arm and headed through the crowded wardroom straight to his adjoining stateroom. For a while, before we got a lieutenant as Ops Officer and I had to move to shared officers quarters below decks, I was the senior LTJG who was also a department head, so I had the stateroom directly across from the XO’s noisy fun. Ours was an all male world and Charlie was a great XO but I can imagine if he'd had female crew members to target.

Not giving a rat’s alpha who disagrees, I can’t see it, do not see it. A warship is a close, tight space. There's no room for anything but alert readiness. What were the lookouts doing on USS Fitzgerald while sailors trustingly slept below? What was going on on the bridge? CIC and radar space? I’m not suggesting, only wondering, but it occurs to wonder about possibilities regarding the incomprehensible. Somebody wasn’t paying attention. Why? 

Sailors are teens and twenties, thirties, it’s easy to fall in love or simply to succumb to lust, and probability v. risk makes risk-taking for pleasure an easy decision. Any authority who regulates against sexual attraction and expects human sailors to wear blinders is a fool, as in “if the law says that, the law’s an ass.” 


Now we have this business of military services being granted a slight delay to figure out how to handle the transgender issue. For the love of God. First Things first? What are First Things, what is The First Thing? The First Thing needs to be operational readiness at sea, and The Second morale, but Joe was right, the U.S.Navy is a social welfare organization.
All of which brings to mind a story, thanks, Norm - - -

Addressing all fleet personnel at Pearl, U.S. Navy CINCPAC advised, "Female sleeping quarters will be 'off limits' and 'out-of-bounds for all males.

"Anyone caught breaking this rule will be fined $50 the first time." He continued, "Anyone caught breaking this rule the second time will be fined $150. Being caught a third time will cost you a fine of $500. Are there any questions?"

At this point, a Marine from the security detail assigned to the ship stood up in the crowd and inquired, "How much for a season pass?"


DThos+ 

Thanks, Norm!