Our role in Operation Iraqi Freedom was behind us; the crew and officers of the USS Porter (DDG-78) were ready for a break. We had just been ordered to join NATO's Standing Naval Forces Mediterranean as part of a multinational peacekeeping force. We were ecstatic, especially after spending 61 continuous days at sea without a real liberty port.
On arriving in Cartagena, Spain, some of the Porter's sailors were invited to a force reception, where we mingled with NATO sailors of all ranks under a broad canvas tent on the fantail of the USS Hawes (FFG-53). Nearby, I saw crewmen of a German U-boat conversing with sailors from a British frigate. In the background, Turkish and Greek ships were moored outboard of each other. I knew the Porter's NATO experience would be unlike any other I had had in my 15-year Navy career, and I was proud to be representing my country and the U.S. Navy.
I saw one of our sailors hit it off with a sailor from another NATO warship. He was laughing and talking to the foreign sailor, but I was too far away to hear the conversation. That's when I noticed the foreign sailor point to the red hash marks on the sleeve of the Porter sailor's dress blue uniform. I couldn't hear the words, but I knew what was happening: My sailor was explaining why he was wearing red hash marks and another one of his shipmates was wearing gold.
Sailors who meet all Good Conduct Medal requirements for 12 consecutive years earn the right to wear gold rating badges and service stripes (one stripe for every four years of service) on their service dress blues. Most sailors are eligible to change their red rating badges and service stripes for gold at exactly the 12-year mark.
But when sailors fail to meet those standards or violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice and receive nonjudicial punishment at captain's mast, they lose the right to wear gold hash marks on their sleeves. Sailors who experience a career speed bump then must serve 12 additional consecutive years of good conduct before they are eligible. A senior sailor who already wears gold and receives nonjudicial punishment must change his uniform badge and stripes to red.
Many active-duty Navy men and women are justifiably proud of their honorable service and the fact they are authorized to wear gold. Interestingly enough, however, there also are a large number of senior enlisted personnel who take a certain pride in the fact they wear red, sort of a visual representation of the path they took to get to their present rank—one that may not have been perfect, but one they survived nonetheless.
Why must a sailor wear red service stripes while others wear gold? Why not just look for a Good Conduct Medal or ribbon on a sailor's uniform? Doesn't that say enough about the person? The dark crimson ribbon is highly respected and often noted with admiration by officers. Marines have a similar medal, with a dark blue stripe down its middle, but they do not make "The Few, the Proud" wear colors on their uniforms that make a statement about negative prior performance. On a senior sailor, for someone who has decided to get past his or her professional problem and dedicate a career to the Navy, the color red should be considered nothing less than an attentiongetting stigma.
We serve in a new Navy now, one that understands that to maximize sailors' true potentials we have to empower them, reward them, and help them find the passion that lies in serving their country. The old-school way of motivating sailors is a thing of the past. This long-standing naval tradition is outdated and contrary to the Navy's core values of honor, courage, and commitment. To assess past performance, the Good Conduct Medal is more than enough, and there is nothing prideinstilling about a sailor wearing the stigma of red in our Navy.
Lieutenant Commander Crockett, a 1988 graduate of Ole Miss, is assigned to U.S. Northern Command.