Over the course of the past decade the Marine Corps has found itself moving further from its amphibious mission and closer to becoming a second land army. Sensing this, in the October 2010 issue of Joint Forces Quarterly former Commandant General James Conway stressed the importance of maintaining the Corps’ expeditionary nature. “When I go to meetings and I hear ‘Army and Marine Corps’ talked about in the same breath, I get uncomfortable. It should be ‘Navy and Marine Corps.’” In August 2010, then–Secretary of Defense Robert Gates voiced similar sentiments. In a speech to the Marines’ Memorial Association in San Francisco, Gates stated that regarding the Marine Corps, many in the Department of Defense had “the perception . . . that they have become too heavy, too removed” from their roots as an amphibious force. “Ultimately, the maritime soul of the Marine Corps needs to be preserved.”
Finally, General James Amos, who succeeded General Conway as Commandant, reemphasized his predecessor’s push to bring the Marine Corps back to its heritage. He believes the shift to a more traditional role as the nation’s premier expeditionary force will become a possibility in the near future. At his congressional confirmation hearing, General Amos said, “as our dwell begins to increase in the Marine Corps, thanks to Congress approving the 202,000 growth of the Marine Corps, it’s finally getting us up to a point now where, when we come home with a unit, we can actually do something besides go to Twentynine Palms and do counterinsurgency training.”
Marines are moving back to where they belong—training, serving, and deploying on Navy ships.Moving back aboard ship will present new challenges to the current generation of Marines. Despite sharing similar language and heritage, many differences exist between the two services. Some would say the Navy is more stratified than the Marine Corps when it comes to the rank structure between officers and enlisted. There are a multitude of reasons for requiring such a distinct separation between ranks on board ship that wouldn’t ordinarily be found in a garrison environment. With close quarters and long periods under way, unduly familiar relationships are easier to develop or become improper. Without a clear division, the decision-making ability for officers becomes jeopardized and threatens the welfare of the crew and ship. To promote the separation between the ranks, naval tradition has promoted unique privileges and rights for officers. Examples include eating in the wardroom, sleeping in separated staterooms, laundry services, and head-of-the-line privileges. Conversely, the enlisted men and women eat on the mess decks, live in crowded berthing spaces, do their own laundry, and waste many hours standing in endless lines.Yet the relationship between officers and enlisted in the Marine Corps appears very different. No phrase better summarizes what it means to be a Marine officer than “officers eat last.”
Officers eat last in the Marine Corps because the young men and women in their care eat first. The welfare of the Marines comes before the personal welfare of the officer. Still, while Marine officers are ingrained with that motto from early in their careers, naval officers also are continually reminded that their greatest honor is leading their young enlisted. The history of the silver-dollar salute draws on this privilege. The tradition goes back to naval officers who upon commissioning would present their enlisted mentors a silver dollar. They were in essence buying their first salute—but every salute after that would need to be purchased with the dignity and respect they offered to their subordinates. In the Naval Educational Training Manual 12967, useful information is provided for newly commissioned officers, specifically dealing with the enlisted members who serve in the officers’ wardroom. Paragraph 5, Section 2 states that as an officer dealing with enlisted members, you should “base your relations with enlisted personnel upon the same mutual respect as you base your relations with your fellow officers. The measure of respect you inspire in your enlisted personnel is your measure of success as an officer.”
Finally, naval officers should look no further than the Father of the Navy himself, Captain John Paul Jones. In his Qualifications of a Naval Officer, he states that a true naval officer should be “a gentleman of liberal education, refined manners, punctilious courtesy, and the nicest sense of personal honor.” Leaders should be courteous and respectful to everyone they encounter, officers and enlisted alike.Still, the level of privilege and distinction on board ship may seem unnerving for Marine officers. At first glance, the rank structure even seems like personal servitude. Cooking, cleaning, and doing dishes plus the most unpleasant tasks of chipping paint, scrubbing bulkheads, or removing garbage would never be performed by an officer. Yet shared hardship is a respected trademark of the Corps. Marine officers do not seek special treatment. The Marine officer will be the last to sleep and the first to rise. If there was ever a choice that they would go hungry so their subordinates could eat, the Marine officer would make that decision in a heartbeat. Having enlisted sailors and Marines provide such a wide variety of personal services can make any Marine officer instilled with the “officers eat last” mentality very uncomfortable.
This is the difficult dilemma that a Marine officer faces while deployed with the Navy. It is obvious these young men and women did not join the Navy or Marine Corps to clean dishes, sweep floors, and sanitize toilets for their officers; they joined to serve. On ship during a recent Thanksgiving, it was decided that dinner would be served by the officers as a sign of appreciation and respect for the enlisted. Following dinner, I volunteered for the trash detail. My job entailed making sure the sailors and Marines separated their trash into the proper barrels marked paper, plastic, metal, and food. The food container was a large garbage bucket that quickly took on an unrecognizable smell and orange color as all the leftovers were brusquely and unceremoniously scraped into the trash.
There were Marines and sailors who did this every day. These young men and women in uniform were responsible for taking out my trash, cleaning my dishes, and cooking my food. I began to think about how officers eat last and that the needs of the enlisted should always come before my own. However, as I stood there I realized it would be inappropriate to suddenly jump into the scullery and start washing dishes. I would be looked at funny if I waited at the back of the line for a haircut or got on my hands and knees and scrubbed the floor in the passageway.
How then should a Marine officer act while on board ship? The answer I was looking for was right in front of me. I looked to the example provided by my Navy counterparts. Having a genuine appreciation for the hard work that the young sailors and Marines do each day in the staterooms, wardrooms, and sculleries is perhaps the most important thing a Marine officer can bring aboard. Maintaining customs, courtesies, and the golden rule are strong qualities for any officer, Navy and Marine alike. As the Marine Corps shifts to its traditional amphibious mission and more Marines find themselves under way at sea, they need to keep in mind that the Navy operates differently. While the officers won’t be able to eat last and are catered to in a way that borders on servitude, they are always able to be respectful and courteous to the crew who serves them. I can only think of two words to eloquently share my appreciation for their efforts: “Thank you.”