It's Been a Long, Long Year

2001 came in with a bit of a bang for the Navy. The explosions simply continued and intensified as the year unfolded, becoming one of the most active the Navy has had in a long time, at the very least since Desert Storm.

In Febrary, of course, the USS Greeneville collided with the motor vessel Ehime Maru. In usual Navy fashion, the initial investigation was quiet, and when media and State Department pressure mounted, the proceedings became more public. Also in usual Navy fashion, the Commanding Officer took the fall, which in this case, I think was justified. The way that command responsibility works in the Navy was once again shown to be a moral absolute, and one of the few that exist in the Navy.

About a month later, national eyes again turned to the Far East and our Naval service took another black eye when a Chinese jet collided with a US Navy EP-3 patrol aircraft over the South China Sea. The pilot, in an amazing feat of control and ability was able to land the plane. Unfortunately, he had to do it at a Chinese airfield, and the plane and crew were essentially held hostage by the Chinese government, which is the same as being held hostage by a room full of rejects from the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest extra call. The resolution of the situation worked much better for us than could have been hoped, short of the SEALs moving in and making like Stephen Decatur invading Tripoli to burn the USS Philadelphia being held by the Barbary Pirates.

Over the summer, tempers again flared over Vieques Island and Naval gunnery exercises there, which are on again, no wait… they’re off again, no wait… they’re on again… oh, hell, I don’t know. This problem has to be taken care of soon, and while my solution is the best and easiest (the best solutions usually are the easiest, and that isn’t just because I’m lazy, thank you), chances are that it’s not going to happen. In the political world that is the Pentagon, they can’t just tell the people of Puerto Rico, “Hey, the part of the island that we practice on is owned by the Navy. Get over it.” But I can.

During the course of the year, also, the Navy has tried various programs to try to improve retention. Frankly, I see the Navy running into some severe manning problems. When you can’t get people to join, and you can’t keep those who are already in, then something has to give. The problem is that the Navy Military Personnel Command doesn’t understand the real reason that people don’t want to stay in, so their solutions are superficial. Guys, get a clue and pay attention to what’s going on. Stay tuned for another article on this in a couple of weeks.

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