The latest Navy "scandal" provides an interesting look at the divide between Military and Civilian, between men and women, between what the protected want to believe about the Military and what the Military once was and traditions it has tried to protect from politcal correctness.
Not every civilian condemns the video of Captain Honors and not every veteran defends it, but the line is primarily drawn between those that have "been there" and those that never served. In cases like this, to the great consternation of my subject matter expert, I ask a particular civilian for her perceptions, before providing any input. I like to start with just the information provided in the media, then provide the fuller context (in this case the video), get the resulting perception, and then my Veteran input on the matter. I don't want to corrupt the perceptions, because I want to know how effective the media has shaped the debate and how the more complete story does/does not change it, before I attempt to do so.
See comments at This Ain't Hell for the Veteran response. It seems that Captain Honors has been taken down by the PC Police and for that reaction see this post at TAH. Video and our original report here. A page has however been setup on Facebook to defend his Honor.
The fact is that far worse videos are posted daily on you tube. Hollywood produces blockbuster movies that make the Captain look like a Boy Scout. The Jackass series provides but the most obvious example. Porky's is perhaps the most cited, but the list that could be cited is long.
While Captain Honors is publicly flogged by many and defended by few, the fact is that many more people laughed at the video than are defending him. Fraternities everywhere probably consider it too lame to be funny and their alumni everywhere could not possibly condemn it without hypocrisy. At some point in his career, Admiral Mullins himself engaged in behavior similar to what is in the video, if not worse. If he didn't or he denies it, my opinion of him is even lower. But the fact is he grew up when such behavior wasn't filmed but was hardly "voluntary." Nor was it so tame as this video.
The hypocritical that laughed at this video, or participated in similar activities while standing mute or actively condemning him are spineless examples of the the kind of self-centered officers that are destroying Our Military. They are more concerned with promoting themselves than doing what is right. "Let he who hath no sin cast the first stone."
"But the Military has changed." Indeed it has, but in this aspect, not for the better. I'm reminded of a poster on Yahoo Answers responding to a young woman considering enlistment. She basically stated that it was the female Soldier's role to change the men in the military, to put an end to the historical rituals of military life. Yes, many of these rituals are "sophomoric."
Many are falsely labeled "hazing," but have a very important role in bonding the teams that will depend on each other for survival in war. Civilians do not and can not understand the experiences of war and the Military. They have not experienced them. Some may understand sufficiently to know that they should not interfere with things they don't understand, but until one has lived the life, it is foreign.
No matter how much an actor researches for a character, how much a sociologist writes in a book, or how many stories of war a journalist covers, they have not lived it. Troops and Veterans interact with each other in ways civilians do not understand. There is a bond created in the Military that transcends time and space in a way that civilians cannot comprehend, and a part of that are the sophomoric rituals.
For that matter, some of the rituals are Service specific. I know very little of the Shellback ritual when a Sailor crosses the equator. I've heard enough stories to know I'm glad I'm not a Sailor, but Sailors are proud of having experienced it. I know few submariners but I do know that they have rituals that surface sailors find foreign. Things are different when you live in a tin can for months at a time.
Things are different when you live 3 feet from people of very different backgrounds in four directions. Things are different when you may not like those people and at the same time you have the mutual responsibility of keeping them alive and in the fight, and trusting they'll do the same.
Leaders have to find a way to keep things civil. A few find that being more hated than everyone of lower rank keeps the anger focused upward rather than sidewards. Others find that promoting sophomoric rituals keeps the Troops laughing rather than swinging fists. Because when there is literally nothing one can do about a situation most humans find distasteful, the only way to prevent it from becoming a serious morale issue, is to make fun of it.
In nearly every joint living environment in the world, one resident complains that another is not properly cleaning the common areas, the bathroom. Compound the number using that restroom by dozens or hundreds and not only will you find that "someone" isn't doing their fair share, but that you don't know "who" that "someone" is. Hence the video scene with the atrocious toilet and skit of someone eating out of it. It's over the top, it's sarcastic, it's blown out of proportion, and it makes a point.
Limit yourself to a 3 minute shower for the next 6 months. Yeah, that's what I thought; you can't and you won't. It's not pleasant and since I don't have to, I won't either. And how much would you complain if you had to? Complaining about that on a ship does no good. All it does is make everyone more miserable.
And abstain from sex for 6 months, no make it 12. (General order #1 and a typical combat tour.) Unless you're Christine O'Donnel, you're going to masturbate and someone is going to get caught masturbating by someone. Everyone knows that everyone else is masturbating, especially those that deny it. Hence, the video includes masturbation. Don't worry, it's a healthy activity, just not one that "civilized" people like to talk about. In the military, the subject isn't taboo. It's celebrated. Yep, some even brag about when, where, and how often they "punch the clown." Your kids are being given more explicit masturbation and sexual instruction in school than is shown in the video.
Perhaps the most dreaded aspect of the Military comes when a man turns 40 (and for a few other events, like an Airborne physical). It's called a prostate exam. The doctor sticks a finger up your butt and for a virgin butt, the visual size of the doctor's finger does not match the tactile size of his finger. Hence, the prostate exam video. No ONE likes that, unless they enjoy things being put up their butt. I can laugh at Captain Honors in the scene, but I never laughed when I was being examined. Fact is I talked a few doctors out of the need for more than a visual inspection and wasn't so sure of the orientation of the ones who couldn't be convinced. I felt sorry for a friend of mine who got the female doctor proud of her multi-inch nails.
In the Military, Troops make light of the things they cannot change. Fears and weaknesses are overcome through facing it with humor that civilians might consider harassment. Troops must be thick skinned because there will always be someone that does something that is annoying in some way.
Many homophobic recruits enter the military, but few leave the military. Recruits must overcome fears of showering and dressing in close proximity to many other men. Homophobia is overcome by making a joke out of it. There was no gay bashing in the video. There was homoerotic behavior that overcomes homophobia.
The Military is not a sensitivity club. It is a group of professionals trained to do things civilians find overwhelming, things a civilian would not consider a possibility. These sophomoric rituals help overcome fears and weaknesses. Troops say things to each other that would cause some civilians to cry though they don't say the same things to civilians because they know it won't be understood. This video was not made to entertain civilians. It was made to make light of situations that cannot be changed. It was intended for Sailors, not children.
Captain Honors demonstrates the kind of leadership that puts his Sailors before his career. Yeah, he knew that the video might get negative attention, but he put the morale of his ship ahead of the backlash he now feels. He knew some would attempt to hang his superiors, so he put the disclaimer throughout that they were out of the loop on it. That's called taking responsibility for one's own action. It's called selfless service.
In today's world of risk-averse officers more concerned with their OER's (Officer Evaluation Reports) and promotions than the men and women they order to implement it, Captain Honors is a refreshing example of a leader who puts the Troops first, in order to accomplish the mission. His humor may be sophomoric, but it is effective.
Awards Earned during this period by the USS Enterprise:
Battenberg Cup Award
2007
Battle "E" Award
1974, 1988, 2007
Secretary of the Navy Environmental Award
2007
Chief of Naval Operations Environmental Award
2007
Admiral Flatley Aviation Safety Award
2007
Retention Excellence Award
2007
Meritorious Unit Commendation
1971-1972, 1975, 1986, 1988, 2001, 2006
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007
Secretary of the Navy Letter of Commendation
1991-1994, 2007
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