Military Monday: I'd rather not have an ethos...

I read about this in a professional forum I peruse. It seems the Navy has posted a draft "ethos" online and has a survey that active duty personnel can fill out. Since I can't reach the website where this drivel is posted from my home computer, I have to wait until I get into work tomorrow and waste YOUR TAX DOLLARS to let the Navy know what I think. But I'm going to let you know what I think now.

Let me start by saying I value diversity and recognize the need to implement it in order to succeed, and I know that good leadership involves getting everyone on the same page and setting some part of themselves aside for the advancement of the organization.

But the Navy is a WAR-FIGHTING organization. It is manned by WARRIORS. And WARRIORS need a WARRIOR ETHOS.

And a warrior ethos, this is not:

We are the men and women of the United States Navy -- guardians of American sea power and maritime security.

We are Active Duty, Reserve, and Civilian professionals -- a diverse, elite and agile force who aspire to the highest standards of service to our Nation, at home and abroad, at sea and ashore.

We are a disciplined and well-prepared team, committed to mission accomplishment on sea, land, air, and space. We are unwavering in our dedication and accountability to our fellow Sailors and Civilians.

We are patriots, forged by the Navy’s core values of Honor, Courage and Commitment. Our proud heritage, tradition and deep resolve serve as our battle anthem.

Integrity is the foundation of our conduct; respect for others is fundamental to our character; bold leadership is crucial to our success.

We will prevail in the face of adversity with strength, determination, and dignity.

We are the United States Navy!

These speak to a warrior ethos:





The Navy's words are the battle cry of an organization with no sense of self, that has attempted to take mankind's most destructive and wasteful endeavor - war - and prepare for it and conduct it using "enterprise models" and "business efficiencies" and "human capital strategies". It is an organization that is risk-averse to the point of being ineffective, that would rather appear "competitive in today's job market" than "ready to visit death and destruction on the enemy".

And I am about fucking fed up with it.

Really..."We are the guardians of American sea power and maritime security????" This is so freaking stupid, I want the name of the jackass who thought this up! We are sea power. We provide maritime security. For 210 years we have been sailing the world's oceans, protecting our nation, it's citizens and it's ships. WE WON THE RIGHT TO SAIL THE WORLD'S OCEANS FROM THE BRITISH, WE PRESERVED THE UNION FROM CATASTROPHIC FRACTURE, WE SAILED HEADLONG INTO BATTLE AGAINST THE BLOODIEST AGGRESSORS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY AND DEFEATED THEM. IN 210 YEARS NO ENEMY HAS EVER BESTED US IN WAR ON THE SEA. NO ENEMY EVER WILL.

Oh, wait...war at sea? I'm sorry, does the Navy do that? I dunno...let's read some more.

Hmmmm, we have the highest standards, we all love each other no matter what our backgrounds or means of employment, we do these mission-thingies on land, sea, air, and space (ooooh...space! I saw Star Trek once!) hmmmm, nope, no mention of...

OH WAIT! We have a battle anthem! Battle against whom? I'm sorry, is there an enemy that needs defeating? I can't find one in there. Maybe we'll prevail against people who don't like government civilians. Which means I should shoot myself now.

Oh, and about that battle anthem...heritage, tradition and deep resolve? Puh-LEEEEZE!!!! Again, think about that statement. What the feh-heh-heh-HUCK does that mean? "Tessie is the Royal Rooters' rally cry" would fit better...at least I uderstand what it's getting at!

I mean, the whole goddam thing reads like an award citation for someone who doesn't deserve an award in the first place. Long on nebulous, bombastic, feel-good words with little or no action to emphasize.

Preble, Decatur, Hull, Bainbridge, Stewart, Perry, Farragut, Dewey, Nimitz, Halsey, Spruance, Sprague, Burke, Momsen, and yes, John Paul Jones, too ... they are turning in their graves.

So, as I said, tomorrow I am going to take some of my time, and a small portion of the government's discretionary spending, to do my part to make sure this piece of shit never makes it out into the fleet.

Military Monday. MA2(SEAL) Michael A. Monsoor, MoH

Tomorrow, the President will posthumously award the Congressional Medal of Honor to the parents of Master-At-Arms, Second Class (SEAL) Michael A. Monsoor of Garden Grove, CA, for exceptional bravery on 29 September 2006 at Ar Ramadi, Iraq. He is the second Navy SEAL to receive the Medal of Honor in the Global War on Terrorism, the first in Iraq.

While vigilantly watching for enemy activity, an enemy fighter hurled a hand grenade onto the roof from an unseen location. The grenade hit him in the chest and bounced onto the deck. He immediately leapt to his feet and yelled “grenade” to alert his teammates of impending danger, but they could not evacuate the sniper hide-sight in time to escape harm. Without hesitation and showing no regard for his own life, he threw himself onto the grenade, smothering it to protect his teammates who were lying in close proximity. The grenade detonated as he came down on top of it, mortally wounding him.

Petty Officer Monsoor’s actions could not have been more selfless or clearly intentional. Of the three SEALs on that rooftop corner, he had the only avenue of escape away from the blast, and if he had so chosen, he could have easily escaped. Instead, Monsoor chose to protect his comrades by the sacrifice of his own life.

You can find this and more about him on the Navy's Medal of Honor page. There is a well-done photo slide show in tribute that shows the "ordinary" side of this extraordinary Sailor and warrior.

Petty Officer Monsoor, I do not have the words...I am humbled by and in awe of your selflessness, and more so, my heart and thoughts are with your family and teammates.

Rest in peace, shipmate.