On Wed, 23 Aug 2017 12:01:19 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 8/23/2017 11:02 AM, wrote:
This article offers some interesting insights into some of the issues
behind the recent naval collisions:

http://gcaptain.com/separate-equal-look-officer-training-us-navy-merchant-marine/

They make the point that many, if not most, US naval officers regard
sea duty as something that must be endured on the way to higher rank,
as opposed to a career goal in and of itself.

My wife and I once met a recently promoted US Coast Guard admiral who
expressed exactly those sentiments in a conversation with us. We were
surprised by both the attitude and the candor but that was probably a
reflection of our inexperience with such things.



I don't know of anyone who was in the Navy, officer or enlisted, who
relished sea duty.



===

It's easy to understand why, especially for the married guys with
families. I know people who are merchant marine officers however who
have rotated on and off sea duty for their entire careers and seem to
do OK with it. Of course they are very well compensated and
completely off duty when not at sea. Maybe the navy should consider
having something similar for a couple of officers on every ship who
would be career watch standers. If our current navy deck officers are
spending most of their time in open water they really aren't getting
enough practice with traffic avoidance. Of course a career watch
stander would have the same issue to a certain extent.

---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com