A young Ensign had just started his first tour of duty on a newly commissioned ship. He had a great office well equipped with the finest furnishings the Navy had to offer. Sitting there, he saw a ‘Crackerjack’ Seaman come to the office door. Wishing to appear the hot shot, the young Ensign picked up the phone and started to pretend he had a big call with the Skipper.
He talked in big Navy terms about OPSEC commitments and yadda… yadda!! Finally he hung up and asked the Seaman…
"Can I help you?"
The young Seaman said…
"Yes Sir, I’m the ICman who’s come to activate your phone lines."
Yes, I laughed. But I, as most (I HOPE) of the other Ensigns who lived in their offices shared with, at least one, other Officer, bet treated all with the mutual respect we all earned no matter the rank on a small ship. SWO, JG, DE 1040
ReplyDeleteHow does an ensign earn mutual respect? Believe me, most ensigns think they deserve it. A College Degree doesn't earn it. Respect must be earned, not just given. Once I retired I earned an AA, BA, BS all in three years.
ReplyDeleteBars to stars don't matter you gotta earn it
ReplyDeleteI was enlisted for 11 and officer for 16. The mutual respect goes both ways.
ReplyDeletehad a ensign decide he was going to check on me on my 0000/0400 ramp watch.My chief was ASDO and alerted me to look sharp..I'm walking around checking tie down lines and see a pair of feet on other side of aircraft..I through a round into my M1 carbine and yell out, Who Go's There and advance and be recoginized..he yells out, it's Ensign Shithead.I have beam of flashlite on him and gun pointed at him..I tell him to advance and show me his ID card.I went through the motions,looking at picture and at him.I swear I could hear his knees knocking thinking,here is a 18 year old kid pointing a loaded gun at him..chief later said he came back to office and was bathed in sweat..The chief and I had a good laugh when I told him what I had done..this was in Bermuda in late 50s..
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