INTRODUCTION

Welcome aboard! These words carry a world of significance to those who have chosen to serve in the United States Navy. If your son or daughter has made that choice, or is considering making that choice, it is one of the biggest decisions a young person can make. By raising her or his right hand and taking the oath of enlistment, your child becomes a member of one of the most important military services in the world and joins one of the biggest businesses in the United States. Whether choosing to stay for only one enlistment or deciding to make the Navy a full career, your son or daughter will be contributing to the well-being of this great nation through hard work and sacrifice while being fairly paid and enjoying the many benefits that come with military service.

To the average citizen, military ways are quite enigmatic, an alien world where acronyms often replace words and where “1330” is a time of day. Add to that, the Navy is not only military, it is nautical, which means that centuries of seagoing terminology and practices are added to the confusion, such that you might have better luck understanding a Klingon on a Star Trek rerun than deciphering what your son is trying to tell you about life at his first duty station. While your son or daughter will be uniformed, you are likely to be uninformed.

This book is the antidote to that debilitating disease of “uninformity.” In these pages you will find many of the mysteries of the Navy explained. While it is a translation guide, to be sure—helping you to understand the many new terms you will be hearing—it is also a cultural guide, an explanation of your son’s or daughter’s chosen new world that includes high standards and a level of dedication not found in most walks of life. For example, to a Sailor the concept of “shipmate” means much more than “friend” or “co-worker”; it is something that true Sailors understand and value highly, containing an element of obligation as well as belonging.

You may already have detected a bit of bias in this book. I am a Sailor in every sense of the word—having served as both an officer and enlisted—and I make no apologies for holding this Navy of mine in very high esteem. But this “bias” is born not of some mindless devotion; it is instead something gained by way of experience and a hard-earned education. Not everything went my way all the time in the Navy, and there were times when I very much wanted to find an easier way of life, but I have absolutely no regrets for having served and honestly cannot imagine my life without it. I am convinced that I would be a lesser person had I not been privileged to serve in this demanding, rewarding way.

My love for the Navy does not mean that I see it as perfect or that I cannot at times laugh at it. An organization that is steeped in centuries of tradition, that bears the scars of bureaucracy, and that is subject to congressional whim, sometimes requires the salve of laughter to avoid succumbing to tears of frustration. Take, for example, the Navy’s rank system, where silver outranks gold some of the time (but not always) and where the word “petty” has a completely different meaning from what you might expect. Such things must be met with patience and the occasional chuckle. So, please know that I view the occasional absurdity as a small price to pay for this vital and very successful Navy of ours.

You may find this book much more than you need at times, and at others, you may wish I had included more detail. I have tried to include enough material to satisfy those parents who want to wade far out into the ocean of naval knowledge, while keeping it from turning into a tome more suitable for doorstopping than reading. Because some of the things covered are subject to periodic change (such as pay scales), I have chosen to alert you to their existence while assuming you can find up-to-date information on the Internet once you know what to look for.

When all is said and done, I sincerely hope that this book will serve you as intended, that it will give you a better understanding of what your child will be doing as he or she leaves your nest for a very different way of life. Come away reassured that your child is in good hands, that your understandable fears and concerns are offset by the knowledge here offered. Take pride as you realize that your son or daughter is serving in the world’s finest Navy, helping to protect this great nation of ours.

—Thomas J. Cutler