Wherein I describe the single most important lesson I learned as a junior officer in the U.S. Navy nearly 40 years ago. The implications of what that simple lesson means to a junior officer and what it continues to mean to me today. And why this is a lesson that too many in Congress have never learned but should have, and even worse, did learn but have long since abandoned--and why this lesson is especially apropos in today's political climate. My story and that most important lesson after the fold.
I was a junior officer in the U.S. Navy for nearly 4 years almost 40 years ago on the commissioning crew of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. There were things about military service that were wonderful, especially the people I worked with and the sailors who worked for me, and things I disliked immensely about the military such as an almost fetishish obsession with the smallest nitpicky details like a loose thread on a belt loop or a water spot on your shoe. But overall my brief service in the Navy was an experience that enriched me deeply and definitely affected the way I think about and continue to live my life.
I want to describe the single most important thing (out of lots of important things) that I learned in the Navy that just settled into my being and became an essential part of my life. It was a simple lesson drilled into me repeatedly during almost six months of basic officer training at the Navy's Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. And it is a lesson that seems especially apropos now, what with all the political talk and action about tax cuts for the rich, cuts to Social Security and Medicare, getting advice from the Titans of Business, and the Republican obsession (and for too many Democrats) with taking care of the rich and powerful and looking out only for your friends and benefactors. And that lesson was this: "Take care of your men!" Of course back in 1971, no women served on U.S. Navy warships. Thankfully, that has mostly changed, so this single most important lesson is now probably updated to:
"Take care of your people!"
What a simple common-sensical yet profoundly important lesson! No better lesson than that. Almost biblical in nature and scope.
Now the bargain the U.S. military offers to its enlisted is this: Do your job, work hard, work together, and follow orders and Uncle Sam will take care of feeding you, clothing you, giving you a place to sleep, medical care whenever you need it, and a fair though modest salary always paid on time and with no hidden gimmicks or tricks. And if you choose to make the military a career, regular raises and fair shots at promotion, a fair and generous pension and medical care for life after you leave the service. Not a bad deal for those so inclined. (Note I also find it highly ironic that the far right is so enamored with the military ignoring the fact that it is also one of the most socialist institutions within government, while at the same time despising our "socialist" President.) And the individual who is the front line agent of the United States government who is to make sure that these promises made by the U.S. military to their enlisted are kept is the junior officer with this admonition: "Take care of your people!"
What we were repeatedly taught what this means is, for example, that a junior officer doesn't eat until he knows that the people serving under him have eaten first, he doesn't sleep until he knows that all his people have a clean bunk, that if one of his people is injured or becomes ill, that they receive immediate medical attention. In a dangerous situation you make sure your people are safe before you get out yourself; if one of your sailors' pay gets screwed up, you investigate and help to fix it pronto. If you need to do something, say you'll do it and then do it--your word is your bond.
"Take care of your people! Your people come first!" A simple but powerful lesson, and one that junior officers were expected to fiercely uphold. Of course I had help with my Petty Officers and an exceptional Chief--but the responsibility was mine and fell on me alone and that was my principal task as a junior officer. A related lesson I was taught as a junior officer was: "Don't worry about your senior officer, the Captain, or the Admirals--they can take of themselves." Just "Take care of your people!"
Now let's be honest, as an officer I didn't do, and wasn't expected to do, the physical labor that my enlisted working under me did. Being a junior officer in the Navy wasn't a physically demanding job, at least for me. But I was expected to know what my people were doing, how they were doing, when and where, and to look after them and protect them like a hawk. If my people didn't do their job, I was the person who got yelled at by my senior officer (and of course being the military, I then yelled at my Chief who yelled at the Petty Officers who yelled at the poor Seamen who screwed up). But the fundamental responsibility was mine and I took it seriously. It was that one lesson that stuck with me through my 4 years in the Navy and throughout the rest of my life: "Take care of your people!"
Now this is a lesson that applies to most people and most situations, and should be especially important for those in positions of power, like politicians and Congressmen. "Take care of the people. The rich and powerful can take care of themselves." But that doesn't seem to be the case, especially in this current political climate. It now seems to be: "Take care of the rich and powerful. And to hell with the people; let them take care of themselves!" I don't know what has happened in these nearly 40 years since my brief military service, but something has definitely changed--when did the sense of working together get replaced by every man for himself. Maybe it's because most of those in Congress and in power have not served in the military and had this lesson of "Take care of your people!" drilled (literally) into their heads. Maybe it's the case that those who did serve and moved up in rank unfortunately have forgotten the lessons from their junior officer days (John McCain, I'm looking at you in particular, but you're not alone).
When I see people who go hungry, homeless shivering in the cold, veterans who are sleeping under bridges with a piece of cardboard for a blanket, people without medical coverage who are sitting for hours in crowded emergency rooms for severe medical problems that could have been prevented or easily treated with a regular visit to a doctor, people who have lost their job or have been cheated out of money by unscrupulous employers, people who are losing their life savings and their homes through unscrupulous bankers and dishonest businessmen--I just want to scream "Take care of the people!" If it's a good enough lesson for the U.S. military, why isn't it good enough for everyone?
There are(/were) some in Congress and the White House (and outside Congress) who understand this fundamental lesson. Bernie Sanders, Anthony Weiner, Joe Sestak, Alan Grayson, Elizabeth Warren, Michael Moore and too many others who I've left out to whom I apologize. But no damn Republicans! And too many damn Democrats (even one is too many). To everyone in Congress and the White House, I just want to say that your most important job out of all your important jobs should be to "Take care of the people!" in the full military meaning of that phrase. That's it. Just get off your collective asses and do the right thing. Dismissed.
UPDATE -- First time on the Rec List! Wow! Many heartfelt thanks to all, veterans and civilians alike, who connected with my little story--a big Bravo Zulu to you all. (Check wikipedia if you don't recognize Bravo Zulu.)