Gunner's Blog

This is total crap! I've been in the Navy for 5 years now, and if I've come across 5 Chiefs worth their salt it would be a lot. I would no sooner look to them for leadership than I would fly to the moon. If you have to go to the Chiefs mess to get guidance and mentorship then the Chiefs are too busy congratulating themselves on attrition and the new relaxed standards for Chief. Chiefs are fat, lazy, blowhards who pride themselves on dead and defunct traditions that they themselves don't understand the meaning of. Adm. Mullen, with all due respect, has it wrong. The Junior Officer is running the Navy, and learning leadership the hard way, by doing it.
 

Hello Anonymous:

Having been a Chief, and a Chief Warrant Officer, I have watched the interaction between Chief Petty Officers and fresh caught young officers. The dynamic is actually pretty simple, and can be easily understand. Problems usually arrise when a newly commissioned officer (usually never having had any authority in their entire lives) will start trying to micro manage a Chief.

The Chief resists, and the youngster will then start to bypass the Chief, and go to the LPO, or other enlised lower than the Chief in question. Adhering to the chain of command is a two way street.

The Chief's reaction is to quit. Yes, quit, and retire to the Chief's quarters and his favorite time killing pastime - acey deucy, hearts, etc. His attitude becomes "if you want to do my job, go ahead, but, you'll do it without my assistance." AND, one cannot blame him/her.

I witnessed one of these situations in 1971-72, where the newly commissioned Ensign (now a LTjg) did exactly that. The Chief quit and retired to the Chief's quarters. The skipper and yours truly tried to talk with the young officer to no avail. The situation was resolved when we got back from the Gulf of Tonkin, and every one got transferred or released from active duty.

Today, the young officer (Yale graduate I might add - and no dummy) is a very successful Architect, and is mayor of a posh bedroom community for a major West Coast seaport. The young officer, his family and my family have become fast friends, and manage to see each other every two or three years. He now freely admits that the problem was pretty much as I have described it.

On the same ship, as Senior Warrant, I always sat across the wardroom table from the Junior Ensign. He retired as a Captain, and we have remained friends throughout the years. He tells the story that I wouldn't even speak to him the first six months. And he is right, except in the line of duty. Now, he relates that my influence was instrumental in his decision to make the Navy a career.

The moral of these stories: When a young officer begins to get resistance from a Chief Petty Officer, he should stop and take stock of himself and his actions. Mustangs, Warrants and Chiefs generally take great pride in "Breaking In" a newly commissioned officer. They try their utmost to show them the ways of the Navy with unintrusive methods that have been a sea going tradition going back to the earliest days of this nation.

There was a Naval Institute book that was published in 1939. It was entitled Advice to Newly Commissioned Officers or words to that effect. I gave my copy to a friends daughter on her commissioning day. I shall never forget one of the passages that was referring to Warrant Officers and Chief Petty Officers. It said very clearly, the junior officer would be well advised to tread lightly with these sea going men who are very familiar with the ways of the Navy. That is not a quote, but is a paraphrase of the passage.

My advice to you is to try to mend your fences with your Chief if possible. If not possible, ask your XO to arrange an assignment to another division when the next fresh caught Ensign reports aboard.

~Gunner