The following undeniable facts were discovered by Mike Brennan (a.k.a., Mike B at ARN) while an AWEP (Assistant Weapons Officer) aboard a submarine. He has graciously permitted me to present them to you here. All the text including the comments are Mike's. I am only responsible for the formatting.
When someone of High Rank does or says something stupid, it remains stupid, despite his High Rank.
Flogging does not improve morale. Flogging harder does not improve morale more.
It is more important to listen to the E4 who only knows where the ship is than to the O4 who only knows where the ship is suppose to be.
E4 is a mid-level enlisted man, about the level the Quartermaster of the Watch (who maintains the charts with the ships position) might be. O4 is a mid-grade officer, as the Executive Officer might be.
Laws of physics are not subject to Command Presence.
Command Presence is that combination of bearing, voice, and, well presence, that makes people want to follow the person with it.
If a grading system includes the category "Satisfactory", achieving that level should be satisfactory, or else the criteria should be changed until it is.
Anyone who thinks "Yes, Sir", "No, Sir", and "Aye, aye, Sir" are the only acceptable answers is a fool.
Nuclear powered warships exist to take weapons systems to useful places, not to allow nuclear reactors to sample a variety of cooling water injection temperatures.
Because all senior officers in the submarine community are nuclear engineer qualified, they tend to think more about the propulsion plant than about the weapons systems.
The Fitness Report system will accept hypocrisy, but it prefers self-delusion.
The Fitness Report system is the system by which officers are compared to their peers to see who gets the best assignments, the early promotions, etc. They are supposed to be written by the officer above the one being reported on, but that task is usually delegated to the officer the report is about. If you want to get promoted, you have to make yourself look as good as possible. If you try to be honest, or admit to any faults, you are doomed.
If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing as well as it needs to be done in order to be done.
If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well. If it is not worth doing, it is not worth doing at all. The ability to tell the difference should be cultivated.
Reality cannot be modified because of a crisis in your training schedule.
If something that can't possibly happen is really happening, denying it is happening isn't really possible.
"Just barely good enough to hit" is a good enough solution to fire on. Anything more is a waste of time and an unnecessary risk.
Well shined shoes seldom improve the moral of the person wearing them.
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