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Nobody Asked Me, But We Must Reconnect with Our Sailors

By Commander Michael McCartney, U.S. Navy
January 2007
Proceedings
Vol. 133/1/1,247
Article
View Issue
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The last 20 years have seen a dramatic shift in the mentality of the Sailors in the U.S. Navy. They are smarter and more focused on their future. While they still joined the Navy to see the world, they are generally more attached to home and less attached to their shipmates than in days past. While this shift is attributable to many different components, the effect of advances in portable electronic equipment and Internet communications is significant. While this is neither good nor bad, it is different, and as leaders, we must recogniz the difference and capitalize on the advantages while mitigating the disadvantages.

Gone are the days when every Sailor looked forward to the weekly movie on the fantail; when COs frequently conducted impromptu replenishments to swap movies; and when you could walk on the mess decks at almost any time to see Sailors playing cards. Today, ships have more than 900 movies for site TV. Every lounge and most work centers have TVs, and the movies play for a significant portion of the day. Connectivity, bandwidth, access to computers on board, and satellite phones have brought the distant shores of home within easy and instant reach. Moreover, as miniature electronics continue to improve and decrease in cost, more Sailors have their own computers, portable DVD players, and MP3 players, as well as massive collections of movies.

This is the Navy of the 21 st century. The electronics that have made our Navy more efficient and more effective have also tended to make us more independent and more isolated. Many ships still show weekly movies on the fantail. but standing room only is no longer the norm. More often. Sailors congregate in smaller spaces such as work centers and lounges to watch movies. With portable DVD players, many are beginning to take refuge in their racks and watch movies alone.

Sailors are far more connected to home by way of the Internet, e-mail, and satellite phones. As the percentage of married Sailors continues to rise, a strong connection back ashore is an essential part of the Navy's effort to retain petty officers for a career. In the past. Sailors turned to shipmates as a network of friends to cope with the separation. That network was the foundation, bounded by ship lifelines, that bonded shipmates into a sinnig team. The network has not disappeared, yet connectivity to home has reduced the urgency and necessity of shipmates forming bonds on board.

Why is all this important? When the chips are down, the average Sailor doesn't fight for lofty goals or grand visions of the future. He fights to protect his shipmates and to get the mission done so he can go home. As commanders, we dedicate considerable time to making sure our Sailors are trained to fight-the how. It is equally critical that we focus on command-wide camaraderie-the why.

What can be done? First, improved connectivity is essential, and it has significantly improved the ties between Sailors at sea and their families at home. Consequently, it has reduced the number of domestic issues that gain command attention. Electronic equipment has given Sailors another outlet to pass the non-work time on deployment. These changes are some of the advantages commands enjoy. The electronic impact on shipboard "tightness" is often recognized and by and large, commanders have worked to organize ship events that draw Sailors from their racks, work spaces, and lounges. This encourages them to interact across divisional and departmental lines.

Shipboard professional programs and morale, welfare, and recreation (MWR) activities have become more than just morale boosters, they are the key non-training events that bring the crew together. Card tournaments, video game tournaments, fantail movie nights, special meal events such as ice cream socials and steel beach picnics, and sports competitions between divisions and departments can bring out the crew and improve informal interaction. Beyond MWR, port visits continue to be one of the most effective crew unifiers. Together, visits and a broad variety of frequent MWR events can effectively draw the crew together.

Advancements in electronics have altered the way the Sailors interact on board ship and as leaders, we must recognize the change, embrace the good aspects of better Sailor-home relations, while positively addressing a reduction in off-duty crew interaction. Commanders should take a second look at shipboard MWR functions with an eye toward improving crew unity as well as morale. New electronic toys have made MWR far more important than just for morale, welfare, and recreation.

Commander McCartney works on the Joint Staff in the Operational War Plans Division. He previously commanded the USS Salvor (ARS-52) and has recently been selected for O-5 command afloat.

 

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