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Insights From a Retired Senior Chief

The biggest part of the Navy is knowing and living by the rules. If a Sailor can do that he will advance and go far in the Navy. Always remember that keeping your mouth closed and following the orders and regulations of the petty officers, Chiefs and officers above you is important. Thats not to say you should not interject your knowlege and experience into any given situation. Always do it with respect towards your seniors and when they don't listen, respect their position and authority. Always make sure you know damn well what you are talking about when you do open your mouth to speak. By only speaking when you are sure you are backed up by Navy Regs you will gain a reputation of respect.

Do every job you do with the best of your ability. It doesn't matter if that job is just cleaning the shitter in Officers Country. Make sure its the cleanest shitter on the boat. Study continuously, study your rate, study Navy Regs, study Damage Control and Firefighting, the Navy has hundreds of correspondance courses available for you to do. Years ago these were things that my mentor in the Navy taught me. They served me well thru my career. I made rate on time each time. I retired as a Senior Chief. When I made MA1, I was the only one they rated that exam cycle.

One more, there alot of shit work out in the fleet. PMS on the ship is always priority and it is performed by all members of the crew. Alot of young sailors come out of training command, fresh with all the knowlege they gained in school. They get pissed off because they do alot of work outside their rating, then they get attitude, attitude 'this is not what I joined the Navy for" then the attitude gets them in trouble. The job for a sea going sailor gets long and monotonous, the hours and days run in to each other. There will be times you will work a 12 hour shift at sea (normal), then stand a 4 hour watch, then they will call away General Quarters just after you head hits the pillow in your rack. Its exhausting, you still have to perform at your peak and beyond. You will do this weeks on end.

I once did 186 continuous days at sea in the Gulf of Tonkin, 16-18 hours everyday at Flight Quarters. When the Ranger finally relieved us on the line, I did not know what day it was. We were enroute to PI for liberty, I got out of my rack and headed to the line shack, the Master Chief asked me what I was doing? We are at Holiday Routine. The trade off? You will get to go places and do things other people only read about in travel magazines. Did I mention the beauty of a sunrise on the Indian Ocean? You get a front row seat.

There is another point, the Navy is a dynamic entity, it is constantly changing. Remember most of the technology in the world today stems from military R&D, so we see it before the rest of the world. I used to see old chief go down the pike because the were not able to adapt to the constantly changing dynamics of the service.

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