Category: Navy

The New Bern Sun Journal tells the story of Petty Officer 1st Class Lance Wyatt, a Navy corpsman who earned the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for valor during his deployment to Afghanistan;

On his first day in Afghanistan, he treated a triple amputee. During another operation, Wyatt treated six critical patients. It tested his training, he said, and he worried about having enough medical supplies.

During the course of Wyatt’s deployment, according to the citation, he was credited with treating 32 wounded Afghans, both military and civilian, many of whom suffered amputations, gunshot or shrapnel wounds and traumatic brain injuries. Within the citation, Wyatt is said to have performed lifesaving measures under enemy fire, many times, returning fire himself to protect his patients from additional wounds and repel the ongoing enemy attacks.

“Being a corpsman means the world to me … and being called ‘doc’ means a great deal to me,” he said. “You earned the name ‘doc,’ it wasn’t just given.”

Andy sends us a link to the story of the retirement ceremony for the submarine, USS Miami upon which Casey James Fury set some rags on fire on a bunk, back in 2012, so that he could get out of work early. The fire went on to do $3/4 billion damage to the vessel. The Navy decided to scrap the Los Angeles-class submarine instead of repairing it. From Associated Press;

Rear Adm. Ken Perry, commander of the submarine Group Two in Groton, Conn., where the sub was based, acknowledged the disappointment over its premature retirement but told the crowd they were there to celebrate Miami and its crew members for nearly 24 years of service.

“This is a tribute,” he said. “This is a celebration of the ship’s performance and the superb contributions to the nation’s defense and this is how we’re going to treat it. So I expect to see some smiles out there.”

Perry praised the ship’s performance over more than a dozen deployments that included clandestine undersea warfare missions and back-to-back deployments in which it fired cruise missiles in Iraq and in Serbia, earning the nickname “Big Gun.”

According to the article, the sub will be cut up for scrap.

NBCWashington tells the story of the shooting at Norfolk Naval Base the other day and the heroics of Petty Officer 2nd Class Mark A. Mayo. Somehow, convicted felon, Jeffrey Tyrone Savage, got on the base with his truck. He proceeded to the USS Mahan, took the weapon of a petty officer. PO2 Mayo then took a bullet from that gun protecting the disarmed petty officer with his own body while discharging his weapon at Savage possibly killing Savage.

So what Savage was doing on the base, is still a question as are his motivations for the altercation which resulted in his death. It seems Savage had a record, but then, so do all of these gunmen lately;

Savage was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in Mecklenburg County, N.C., and released from prison Dec. 30, 2009, records showed.

[…]

Savage was also sentenced in Virginia in 1998 for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. He served nearly five years in federal prison before transferring to a halfway house and home confinement in the Raleigh, N.C., area, according to Chris Burke, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Savage also spent two years in federal prison beginning in 2010 after his supervision was revoked and was transferred to a halfway house in February 2012, Burke said.

The Washington Times reports that Commander Guy Snodgrass, who until recently worked for the Chief of Naval Operations, told the US Naval Institute that the navy has recruiting and retention problems that they’re not talking about;

He says one troubling sign already has emerged: a drop in applications to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis last year.

“The U.S. Navy has a looming officer retention problem,” Cmdr. Snodgrass writes, adding there is an “erosion of trust in senior leadership.”

He says retention racked up its “worst year in history” for the special warfare community, including Navy SEALs, with a record number of lieutenants declining to stay.

The aviation side had a goal of 45 percent “take rate” on retention bonuses, but got only 36 percent.

Commander Snodgrass is on his way to as assignment as XO for an F-18 unit, so we’ll see how that turns out for him. I’m not taking much stock in the interview with one officer, until I get the chance to see a response from the Navy, of no response would speak volumes, too.

Snodgrass blames the Pentagon’s focus on social issues rather than readiness, and each of the services suffer from that, but no one is talking about the impact on that focus besides the good commander. Of course, none of you are surprised, because you’ve been saying it all along.

A Navy Chief is almost a Mythical being. They can and have dressed down Admirals and new recruits with Equal ease. They are not only experts at their rate, but also in management. Junior Enlisted know that they can go to their Chief for Sage advice. Junior Officers often hide when in the presence of one of these beings. Senior Officers depend on the Chief’s Mess for order and discipline.

A Chief wears an Anchor as the Symbol of his or her rank. That Same anchor is the symbol of the Navy. It is fair to say that the spirit of the Navy, Its tradition, ceremony and its very honor are alive because its Chiefs keep it that way. The Chief is the anchor of the Navy. Without the Chief’s a ship would be just a ship with no soul. Its crew would just be doing a Job with no life. Words like shipmate would have no meaning. The Goat Locker gives the Ship and its crew its collective Spirit.

To become a Navy Chief is almost impossible. It must be a goal that an enlisted man never loses sight of. On average it will take a Sailor 15 years to reach the rank of Chief Petty Officer. 17.5 Years to Reach Sr. Chief and 21 Years to earn the Rank of Master Chief. To even be considered, one must have a college degree, time as a Leading Petty Officer at Sea, pass a very difficult test and go before a selection board. Every Step of the way these people are judged. If they are ever found wanting in any area, it’s the end of the Road.

The total number of Chiefs, Sr. Chiefs and Master Chiefs on active duty at any given time is about 10% of the total Number of enlisted. Chiefs make up about 7%, Sr. Chiefs about 2%, Master Chiefs are less than one percent. To put it in another way. You have a better chance of meeting a NFL player than you do a Navy Master Chief.

I wanted a Bosun’s Pipe (Boatswains Whistle) when I was in the Navy. I asked one of the Bosun’s Mates how to get one. He told me I had to talk to the Chief. I asked My Chief if it was ok and he said go for it. I went and talked to the Deck Chief. To get that whistle I had to learn deck seamanship. How to do fancywork (Ornamental rope knotting and braiding used on ships) to make my own lanyard, how to Pipe 15 different calls, how to tune the pipe and stand extra watches. It took most of my free time for 6 months at sea. I have that pipe because a Chief was willing to share with me part of his tradition. I have yet to meet anyone who earned the title of Navy Chief Petty Officer that was self-serving or not always doing what was right for the Navy.

Daniel Bernath is in no way a Navy Chief. A Chief is not made by handing him a bit of paper. Navy Chiefs are men and women who excel at the profession of being a Sailor. They earn the title. They really are almost mythical.

This is my first post as a contributor to This Ain’t Hell. Thanks Hondo for the recommendation and Thank you Jonn for the Honor. If anyone has advice or criticism, I am open to it.