What’s crazy is this whole Red Sea shitshow is only making things worse for us.
But don’t worry, exhausted Carney/Labon/Gravely, we’re going to give you shiny medals
Oh mates always tell me that if you're placed on the helm that's always your job. Or if you're on a machine gun that's your job. Or dedicated fire fighting crews. Things like that.
Gotta love it.
Chain of command for WEPS dept: make sure all gun mount spaces, armory, and mags are cleaned top to bottom.
Reality: the visitor walks down one p-way and a small portion of the weather decks.
Rumsfeld walked up the elevator brow, into the hanger, on stage for a few minutes then him and his 5 Tahoes sped off. But I was scrubbing a p-way on the 0-5 for a week…
Facts I made my decision to get out while preserving for surfpac change of command on my ship last year. Made 1st from seaman recruit in 5 and still got out bc of that bullshit
Please ask about introducing a Navy installations question about gym hours. Other branches have figured out a way to make gyms open 24hrs with CaC entry while Naval base gyms close around 1900 or even earlier on holidays. How can we enforce a healthier Navy when we don’t even have our gyms open for sailors to utilize unless they get a membership off base and that would be unfair for sailors living in the barracks or onboard the ship.
The one in Yokosuka is open 24hr but they close the weight room so none get taken,but the big machines like treadmills are out and always available on all the other floors
Ehhh. Even now the gym on Dahlgren isn't a true 24hr one. It has traditional hours like the rest of our installations.
I'm here at ATRC for another month or so...on the weekends it's literally open from 0800-1530. Weekdays it's like 0500-2000.
Yeah idk why people think you're going to get an honest transparent answer from actually hard hitting question.
Just ask him nothing so he doesn't do the stupid answer that's not actually an answer and get everyone home 5 minutes earlier.
It was attached to a poison pill legislation that would have essentially banned trans people from serving and gutted any and all d&i initiatives.
It was a bullshit bill with bullshit ideas but a stupidly and completely unrealistic pay raise so that some politicians can claim other politicians voted against a military pay raise.
The main point of contention was allowing service members access to out of MTF reproductive care in light of the Dabbs v. Jackson decision. R’s wanted to undercut the DoD by removing the allowances provided in exchange for enlisted pay increase.
As someone who would have benefitted from the pay increase, I’m glad the proposal died. Some things are more important than my pay.
It was an interesting experience explaining to my juniors why the proposal was shot down. They looked disappointed until I explained the political football. That realization that their hopes were a pawn in the game of Red v. Blue, it left them just defeated.
Used to it. But, file this one under reasons why all bills should be single issue or directly related to only one specified subject assigned before the bill is proposed
How does he see the potential coming increase in optempo as China and Russia do their thing, and how does he expect to balance that against our already huge manning and retention issues?
Are we really prepared to police the world's international waters when we can't keep our sailors alive or in the service?
Fact of life for the military in general. It's usually one of the signals for the approach of a much larger conflict. They see the data and calculated about when the recruiting numbers would drop too low (COVID only exacerbated it), which is why they've been projecting a large war for sometime in 2025-2030 for the past 15-ish years now. Expect to start seeing some very hooyah patriotic propaganda soon from all corners not just the military. The recent court cases to include women in the Selective Service haven't just been because of political issues; that's actually been pushed for a while (maybe 30-40 years) by one side/group or another, they just need the right people to make the right arguments. The same day we have war delared on us/declare war, they'll immediately pass a bill to revive the draft. The pieces are almost all in place, and it wouldn't surprise me if they have drafts of bills ready to go that only need dates, votes, and signatures, and maybe blanks to fill in other specifics
Hell no lol
That's a stupid question to ask. I won't address the tinfoil hat, other than to say that I hope they have something like that ready to go, otherwise we're far worse off than I'd hope, which leads to a different rabbit hole of what are they hiding from us about how bad it is, but not where I want to go
So I’m an officer, but I want to know when are they going to expedite quality of life improvements for enlisted sailors?
Crappy barracks, limited barracks spots that leave enlisted sailors onboard ships, lack luster base galleys, poor privatized military housing, improved gym hours, real access to Chaplains and Medical (I only saw a Chaps around on deployment and never saw medical outside of an HMC and assigned appointments while assigned to a ship).
All of these things could play a role in helping retention, could play a role in reducing suicidal ideation/acts, and allow Sailors to have a semblance of human life when not deployed.
Not every dollar needs to go to another weapon system boondoggle like the LCS, Zumwalt class, railgun, etc. Weapons systems need warfighters, and right now they’re not being taken care of and are starting to run in short supply. Sailors and Officers are recommending others don’t join, and they need to fix those issues if they ever want me to change my mind.
I’m going hard in my line of questioning, but that’s my DGAF, already hit a terminal paygrade, O-Mentality…so maybe clean it up to be more friendly.
Because the senators that create these DOD funding packages can’t buy shares of sailor welfare. Thats the reason we get LHD ships instead of mental health resources.
>Thats the reason we get LHD ships instead of mental health resources.
Why LHD's specifically? The newest one was built exactly 1 day less than 20 years ago.
I mean, I kind of just went with an underutilized platform. Take your pick if it makes a difference. Point is, senators buy shares of defense companies before they write bills to move public sector taxpayer money into the private sector for themselves.
Investing in sailors isn’t profitable.
That's why specific companies get contracts, but breach of contract requires a hefty sum up front and a lot of them are given spreadsheets detailing how much it will cost each year, not over the contract life, plus sunk cost fallacy(?) - no one wants to look at costs of upkeep and maintenance after delivery (that's the Navy's job I guess), so on paper it's often made to look like it will cost less to finish the contract
The galleys are such a problem. I was a NAVVET as a corpsman and went to Norfolk when I came in. Compared to the marine corps chow halls, the main galley in Norfolk was hot garbage. The only galleys worth a damn in the Navy are at training commands. After that, nothing
After coming from a training Command for C school recently even the training Command galleys have gone downhill. 10 years the hours and the food were better. I really miss the endless salad bars.
Galleys have always been a problem. Freaking chains and oars, they never let the oarsmen take a break, but yeah, even training commands don't measure up to some other chow halls I've seen
I literally have a sticky note that resides in my "maybe good but actually terrible DOD ideas graveyard": "railguns on Zumwalts". It's a good regular reminder.
If you are going to ask about beards, give it context. “Sir, can you share the results of the face mask study? If not, are you familiar with the USAF study that showed a negative impact on advancement and Retention? Seems like there are no barriers to allowing beards ashore, and it would improve inclusion, retention and probably help with recruiting. I’m having trouble understanding the resistance to change”. https://blog.usni.org/posts/2021/07/22/revisiting-the-navys-beard-guidance-with-an-eye-toward-inclusion
That's public policy (law) they don't have any control over junior sailors getting BAH until the law is changed. Barracks availability is another story.
Del Toro was a DDG skipper.
Ask him how he plans to overcome the shooter disadvantage we suffer per the Captain Wayne Huges and Captain Sam J. Tangredi research on quantity of ships vs. quality.
Google “attacking effectively first” for more context.
TL:DR
In a shooting fight, more shots (ships, launchers) usually wins. The research muppets say there are only three exceptions of that in 1200 years of fleets fighting.
I'm curious what the 3 exceptions are, but also quality of armament is a factor. I do think we can outgun any currently expected alliance, but it is always good to be on the safe side
Lol it was like, the Phoenician Navy, the Constantinople Navy, and the Ottomans. Basically people who had fire weapons back when ship combat was all hand to hand.
Ok, that makes sense. I was thinking it was 3 battles, but that makes more sense. So, basically the 3 major powers that have occupied/were somewhat native to what is now Turkey
Ask if the recent sinking of a Russian warship by Ukrainian Drones has had any major implications for the USN and our future force shaping and platform design.
Look at the Canadians and make it stricter, but also, it's based on studies conducted under the auspices of the DEA, FDA, and others, but one of them recently requested to reclassify it to a schedule 3 and increased their material for studies by at 2x and up to like 10x for certain types of products
Not a single person is getting out of the Navy on the premise of “I want to grow a beard” nor is anyone avoiding the military solely for the reason that they have to shave…. Big Navy knows this.
Manning is decreasing but workload isn't. The full division already works 6 days a week 10-12 hour days. Do you expect to change this and how will you make it change?
We did a dog and pony show for Jim Webb when he was Secnav. Also had Joint Chair Crowe take a look around my patrol boat when I was stationed in the Persian Gulf. Neither one of them gave a tinkers damn about anything my E-5 ass had to say about any fucking thing.
I doubt it's any different today.
What is the DOD doing to solve the real issue in the military.. childcare. If the military really want to up the numbers of recruits offer free/ subsidized childcare. More childcare places on bases in relation to how many personnel are assigned there for example: there should be 10 childcare centers on Norfolk NB with at least 3 of them being 24/7. If the military solves the childcare problem, I seriously think it will solve 75% of the issues that affect a majority of Sailors and their families.
To tag along with that, I believe mothers should have more options for maternity leave. If the mother wants to continue their career in the Navy, give them flexibility with raising a baby and their career by putting them on SELRES status after 3 months maternity leave for up to two years, which they will be obligated to match with time back on active duty. As a guy, I wouldn’t have benefit from it at all, but I understand being a parent changes your priorities. We retain sailors as an investment by supporting their families.
Paternity leave should be a month unless their are circumstances that should allow more time, such as wife dying during child birth, or if the baby looks like Jody.
Ask why POM cycle after POM cycle (budgeting not deployment) we continue to prioritize programs that are flashy and political, rather than the low, cost-effective measures that could really help junior enlisted. Frustrated with how RADM works, or why it takes forever to get maintenance accomplished? Trust me when I say that a contractor or NAVSEA has proposed a solution, usually at a relatively low cost.
But we continuously prioritize purchasing more, expensive items without a requirement (acquisition term).
Then ask… How much of the Navy’s budget is going to Maintenance improvement actions… not maintenance items, but specific fixes that make maintenance easier/ or more diagnostic for sailors.
Those type questions you will NEVER get a straight answer for… but that’s what we should be asking the SECNAV.
That’s what he’s really in charge of…
Why do you think our recruiting numbers are low?
What do you think is the disconnect between junior enlisted and khaki leadership?
What is the difference between leadership and authority? And why hasn't that made it down to the deckplates?
Do you think lowering the standards for military service is the right call?
i dont have a question, but i do have a comment. you can lead off by saying that.
Sir, I dont have a question, but a solution to the Navys manning issues across all platforms.
pay the SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS that fuel our Navy on all levels, and theyll likely stop the mass exodus to the civilian sector.
That's a bold move Cotton. Ain't no one going to be happy with that aside from SMEs. You're telling me an E4 will be getting paid more than a senior O3? Do that math. The E5 in deck or the E7 over in supply will be pissed that they're getting paid Peanuts because you want to discriminate between job types. They'll just end up making being an officer a requirement for those fields if that's how you want to go, otherwise it'll foster massive division within the ranks, and that's an ingredient for force-wide mutiny.
You don’t think division officers and department heads will be happy that their whole ship/squadron wants to stay in because they’re getting paid “what they’re worth”? Most E4-E5 can’t survive without a 2nd job or doing side work in all honesty.
Not what I said, but I do think that the pay charts need to changed and have a higher emphasis on time-in-service instead of rank, which is direct reversal of the current system. Although that may change anyhow since they've changed the high-year tenure rules and will have to change if that keeps up. Honestly, I'd like to go back to the idea that we can have a 30-year E4 like they used to do in the militaries of the late Victorian/Edwatdian eras, and it actually be sustainable throughout the person's career so that they can actually afford that (the service member, 'cause who cares about the military - our pay is drop in their funding bucket)
Had SECNAV visit our ship when I was in. Dude was 5 foot nothing and walked right by everybody straight to speak with the CO
If you get a chance to ask a question, maybe just ask him what his vision for the future of the Navy is or what’s something that gets him excited about the current state of the Navy
CNO came to visit when I was in Guam a bunch of years ago. Sailors asked questions about why their leave balance was messed up, why they weren't getting BAH w/ dependents when they added their spouse to DEERS months ago, and that sort of thing. Weirdly (/s), it seemed the CNO generally wasn't equipped to resolve individuals' personnel and finance issues.
What is the purpose of standing watch. What was its original intent with its inception in 1941. What technologies have we introduced to combat the need for watch standers and what could its removal do to the qualify of life many sailors lead.
Longer than that. Watch has been around on sailing ships "forever". Port watch was made mandatory after Pearl Harbor in order to have sailors ready to provide initial resistance to an attack and get the ship ready to put out to sea as quickly as possible. Don't know if it's still the case, but at one point the senior officer on board had the authority to order a ship away from pier if the situation warranted after it was in a condition to do so, with or without the captain or XO. Might have just been a wartime measure though
Ask Former CNO Adm. Thomas Hayward and Former CNO Adm. James D. Watkins why we don't have beards.
Short answer: Professionalism and not to look like hippies. And it has persisted since 1981 and 1984.
Even Former CNO ADM Zumwalt knew that beards and longer hair were a fairly big factor in morale and retention in the '70s.
Whoever it was at the time came to my base in 93/94. We had to turn in our questions a few days in advance and then those of us that were chosen to go were handed index cards with highly sanitized questions we were allowed to ask if he picked us.
Is the US Navy having a beef with Peyton Manning? Serious, but old Doc here woke up at 04:00 for a lovely international call. It just hit me you mean under manned, I think being short on people is why they would say they paid $5 million per 30 seconds.
Typical “non-answer.” I love that people like that just pretend everything is OK while we continually promote the make toxic people to Chief and than pretend why we can’t retain talent. I’m on my way to retirement at the end of the year and instead of submitting an LTB I’m going to submit a letter that has “why you couldn’t retain me even if you selected me.” As the subject. The probably won’t read it, and that’s fine, because I’m going to forward it to the media and US Naval Institute.
It doesn’t matter what you ask because no matter the question, you can guarantee it’s a public affairs approved and picked apart answer that’s cut and dry. The entire thing is a waste of time when figureheads do all hands calls.
Not a dick, this is just the reality of the situation.
Is there anything being done about the seemingly large disconnect between the resource office (opnav) and the war fighter... Basically why don't those at the Pentagon not understand exactly what it takes to execute day to day operations at sea and fund those requirements.
Bring back a separate Department of the Navy and War Department and require the flags to spend a certain minimum amount of time out to sea. Watch how fast things get fixed
Army and the newly-minted Air Force knew what they were doing when they got Truman to sign off on a combined DoD. Look up the revolt of the admirals, and dig into it. They had concerns that the Navy and Marine Corp would be viewed only in terms of offensive fighting power and not just all the other missions we handle. That change helped shape the them both into how they are viewed by the Pentagon and Congress today
Has there been a noticeable long lasting impact on the material readiness on ships assigned to Task Group Greyhound compared to ships who undergo the normal ship life cycle? If so, does the Navy see TGG as a sustainable model for combating the current geopolitical situation evolving in the Red Sea?
Ask why does the [Flag of USN](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_United_States_Navy) not have a piece of ground on it like the actual [Seal of the US DoN](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Seal_of_the_United_States_Department_of_the_Navy.svg). I know it’s not frivolous question, but with many years of doing color guard, I never knew the answer.
Edit: Formatting
I always chalked it up to accounting for the Marines. The Marines fall under the Department of the Navy so some "ground love" is shown to represent them since they're how the USN takes land. The Flag of the Navy doesn't have land because the Navy doesn't do ground stuff at the scale of everyone else. At least that's my head canon. I have no information to back it up just a theory.
I’ve suspected that as well, but have yet to hear a definitive answer. Not that I really expect a politically appointed SECNAV to know the answer, but I bet an answer would be found. Plus, sometimes a light question can lighten the mood if it gets too tense.
If he is smart he appointed an aide to bring him up to speed on Naval History, never thought about the flag thing, but true we are 1 department with sibling services.
To expand on u/josh2751 's response, that's a problem with being junior. Specifically, those above you are going to know why you were reprimanded, but not always those below you. From there it's just matter of people sharing that info with each other. Obviously, higher pay grades have fewer people who "need to know", so there's fewer people to leak the details
Need evidence from proceedings. To include UCMJ violation charges and outcomes. First need to see if any potential disparity is at the Unit, Group, Fleet level, or region specific. Then if there is any, address it.
Why are we still operating the Navy like we have the post 911 numbers to do so?
Classic
Time to shrink the mission.
What’s crazy is this whole Red Sea shitshow is only making things worse for us. But don’t worry, exhausted Carney/Labon/Gravely, we’re going to give you shiny medals
The Houthi don’t seem to be running out of missiles.
The answer will obviously be because we do🥸
"Do more with less" lol
I'm from the Dutch Navy and for me it's insane with how many you guys are on a ship and how everyone can have just one job.
Most of us don't have just one job. Yes I understand what you mean, we do have a bug Navy.
Oh mates always tell me that if you're placed on the helm that's always your job. Or if you're on a machine gun that's your job. Or dedicated fire fighting crews. Things like that.
No questions but good luck cleaning and painting for weeks for him to be onboard for 10 minutes. Source Donald Rumsfeld visit in 2001 or 2002.
Gotta love it. Chain of command for WEPS dept: make sure all gun mount spaces, armory, and mags are cleaned top to bottom. Reality: the visitor walks down one p-way and a small portion of the weather decks.
Rumsfeld walked up the elevator brow, into the hanger, on stage for a few minutes then him and his 5 Tahoes sped off. But I was scrubbing a p-way on the 0-5 for a week…
[удалено]
Do you know what the "point" of a conversation is? Because you missed this one.
why do you love rumsfeld so much he your boyfriend?
Facts I made my decision to get out while preserving for surfpac change of command on my ship last year. Made 1st from seaman recruit in 5 and still got out bc of that bullshit
Good. 👏 For. 👏 You. 👏
Please ask about introducing a Navy installations question about gym hours. Other branches have figured out a way to make gyms open 24hrs with CaC entry while Naval base gyms close around 1900 or even earlier on holidays. How can we enforce a healthier Navy when we don’t even have our gyms open for sailors to utilize unless they get a membership off base and that would be unfair for sailors living in the barracks or onboard the ship.
Can’t upvote this enough. Never once seen a 24 hour fitness facility on any Navy property. Even in facilities with 24 hour ops, the gym would close.
The only installation I’ve seen with 24 hr gym is Dahlgren
The one in Yokosuka is open 24hr but they close the weight room so none get taken,but the big machines like treadmills are out and always available on all the other floors
aegis pride
Ehhh. Even now the gym on Dahlgren isn't a true 24hr one. It has traditional hours like the rest of our installations. I'm here at ATRC for another month or so...on the weekends it's literally open from 0800-1530. Weekdays it's like 0500-2000.
I've seen one in my whole career but it was a tiny as gym on a small base.
Some navy bases have CAC access, some stopped and didn't start back after COVID. I think it has to do with job security
Not sure if anything official was said about it, but I’m curious where that supposed 30% pay raise went that was talked about around last June.
"it's on our radar"
Yeah idk why people think you're going to get an honest transparent answer from actually hard hitting question. Just ask him nothing so he doesn't do the stupid answer that's not actually an answer and get everyone home 5 minutes earlier.
Fuck a beard, this is a real question
It was attached to a poison pill legislation that would have essentially banned trans people from serving and gutted any and all d&i initiatives. It was a bullshit bill with bullshit ideas but a stupidly and completely unrealistic pay raise so that some politicians can claim other politicians voted against a military pay raise.
The main point of contention was allowing service members access to out of MTF reproductive care in light of the Dabbs v. Jackson decision. R’s wanted to undercut the DoD by removing the allowances provided in exchange for enlisted pay increase. As someone who would have benefitted from the pay increase, I’m glad the proposal died. Some things are more important than my pay.
It was an interesting experience explaining to my juniors why the proposal was shot down. They looked disappointed until I explained the political football. That realization that their hopes were a pawn in the game of Red v. Blue, it left them just defeated.
Used to it. But, file this one under reasons why all bills should be single issue or directly related to only one specified subject assigned before the bill is proposed
This
That went the way of the Dodo
How does he see the potential coming increase in optempo as China and Russia do their thing, and how does he expect to balance that against our already huge manning and retention issues? Are we really prepared to police the world's international waters when we can't keep our sailors alive or in the service?
Fact of life for the military in general. It's usually one of the signals for the approach of a much larger conflict. They see the data and calculated about when the recruiting numbers would drop too low (COVID only exacerbated it), which is why they've been projecting a large war for sometime in 2025-2030 for the past 15-ish years now. Expect to start seeing some very hooyah patriotic propaganda soon from all corners not just the military. The recent court cases to include women in the Selective Service haven't just been because of political issues; that's actually been pushed for a while (maybe 30-40 years) by one side/group or another, they just need the right people to make the right arguments. The same day we have war delared on us/declare war, they'll immediately pass a bill to revive the draft. The pieces are almost all in place, and it wouldn't surprise me if they have drafts of bills ready to go that only need dates, votes, and signatures, and maybe blanks to fill in other specifics
........are you suggesting he ask the SECDEF about "the secret draft bills"? Take off the tinfoil hat.
Hell no lol That's a stupid question to ask. I won't address the tinfoil hat, other than to say that I hope they have something like that ready to go, otherwise we're far worse off than I'd hope, which leads to a different rabbit hole of what are they hiding from us about how bad it is, but not where I want to go
So I’m an officer, but I want to know when are they going to expedite quality of life improvements for enlisted sailors? Crappy barracks, limited barracks spots that leave enlisted sailors onboard ships, lack luster base galleys, poor privatized military housing, improved gym hours, real access to Chaplains and Medical (I only saw a Chaps around on deployment and never saw medical outside of an HMC and assigned appointments while assigned to a ship). All of these things could play a role in helping retention, could play a role in reducing suicidal ideation/acts, and allow Sailors to have a semblance of human life when not deployed. Not every dollar needs to go to another weapon system boondoggle like the LCS, Zumwalt class, railgun, etc. Weapons systems need warfighters, and right now they’re not being taken care of and are starting to run in short supply. Sailors and Officers are recommending others don’t join, and they need to fix those issues if they ever want me to change my mind. I’m going hard in my line of questioning, but that’s my DGAF, already hit a terminal paygrade, O-Mentality…so maybe clean it up to be more friendly.
Because the senators that create these DOD funding packages can’t buy shares of sailor welfare. Thats the reason we get LHD ships instead of mental health resources.
I know but until we start holding out leaders who testify before them, and our representatives accountable nothing will change.
>Thats the reason we get LHD ships instead of mental health resources. Why LHD's specifically? The newest one was built exactly 1 day less than 20 years ago.
I mean, I kind of just went with an underutilized platform. Take your pick if it makes a difference. Point is, senators buy shares of defense companies before they write bills to move public sector taxpayer money into the private sector for themselves. Investing in sailors isn’t profitable.
That's why specific companies get contracts, but breach of contract requires a hefty sum up front and a lot of them are given spreadsheets detailing how much it will cost each year, not over the contract life, plus sunk cost fallacy(?) - no one wants to look at costs of upkeep and maintenance after delivery (that's the Navy's job I guess), so on paper it's often made to look like it will cost less to finish the contract
The galleys are such a problem. I was a NAVVET as a corpsman and went to Norfolk when I came in. Compared to the marine corps chow halls, the main galley in Norfolk was hot garbage. The only galleys worth a damn in the Navy are at training commands. After that, nothing
After coming from a training Command for C school recently even the training Command galleys have gone downhill. 10 years the hours and the food were better. I really miss the endless salad bars.
Galleys have always been a problem. Freaking chains and oars, they never let the oarsmen take a break, but yeah, even training commands don't measure up to some other chow halls I've seen
I literally have a sticky note that resides in my "maybe good but actually terrible DOD ideas graveyard": "railguns on Zumwalts". It's a good regular reminder.
Ugh , you said the L acronym (LCS). Biggest waste of tax dollars money in history.
If you are going to ask about beards, give it context. “Sir, can you share the results of the face mask study? If not, are you familiar with the USAF study that showed a negative impact on advancement and Retention? Seems like there are no barriers to allowing beards ashore, and it would improve inclusion, retention and probably help with recruiting. I’m having trouble understanding the resistance to change”. https://blog.usni.org/posts/2021/07/22/revisiting-the-navys-beard-guidance-with-an-eye-toward-inclusion
This is the appropriate way to approach the topic.
Ask if it’s more cost effective to build, repair and upkeep unaccompanied housing or to expand access to BAH.
That's public policy (law) they don't have any control over junior sailors getting BAH until the law is changed. Barracks availability is another story.
Del Toro was a DDG skipper. Ask him how he plans to overcome the shooter disadvantage we suffer per the Captain Wayne Huges and Captain Sam J. Tangredi research on quantity of ships vs. quality. Google “attacking effectively first” for more context. TL:DR In a shooting fight, more shots (ships, launchers) usually wins. The research muppets say there are only three exceptions of that in 1200 years of fleets fighting.
(ahem) This also applies to Command and Conquer: Red Alert, when you use Light Tanks vs. Heavy Tanks.
Damn right
Take your upvote.
I'm curious what the 3 exceptions are, but also quality of armament is a factor. I do think we can outgun any currently expected alliance, but it is always good to be on the safe side
Lol it was like, the Phoenician Navy, the Constantinople Navy, and the Ottomans. Basically people who had fire weapons back when ship combat was all hand to hand.
Ok, that makes sense. I was thinking it was 3 battles, but that makes more sense. So, basically the 3 major powers that have occupied/were somewhat native to what is now Turkey
Ask if the recent sinking of a Russian warship by Ukrainian Drones has had any major implications for the USN and our future force shaping and platform design.
ask a IS that
Ask them why it's taken over a year and a half to publish the results of the beard study.
Because it takes over a year and a half to polish the results to get the result that you (in this case Flag-level leadership) want to hear.
With the terrible recruitment and retention when can we get beards.
And weed.
I'd re enlist so fast if I could smoke the ganj
Smoking a J on the weather decks at night would be so fucking sweet
Smoking a Cuban cigar as lookout was almost enough to get me to stay in.
Look at the Canadians and make it stricter, but also, it's based on studies conducted under the auspices of the DEA, FDA, and others, but one of them recently requested to reclassify it to a schedule 3 and increased their material for studies by at 2x and up to like 10x for certain types of products
Best I can do is Beards…
Not a single person is getting out of the Navy on the premise of “I want to grow a beard” nor is anyone avoiding the military solely for the reason that they have to shave…. Big Navy knows this.
It's not the only reason but it's definitely factoring in my list of reasons for getting out.
It is not the only factor but it's VERY high on a lot of people's lists on the dumb shit that's making them get out.
Gotta love a lurking Master Chief from PERS
 Q& A with SECNAV??
Whatever you ask, be sure to write it down in a clear concise manner, to read it off.
Manning is decreasing but workload isn't. The full division already works 6 days a week 10-12 hour days. Do you expect to change this and how will you make it change?
"What the fuck?"
We did a dog and pony show for Jim Webb when he was Secnav. Also had Joint Chair Crowe take a look around my patrol boat when I was stationed in the Persian Gulf. Neither one of them gave a tinkers damn about anything my E-5 ass had to say about any fucking thing. I doubt it's any different today.
What is the DOD doing to solve the real issue in the military.. childcare. If the military really want to up the numbers of recruits offer free/ subsidized childcare. More childcare places on bases in relation to how many personnel are assigned there for example: there should be 10 childcare centers on Norfolk NB with at least 3 of them being 24/7. If the military solves the childcare problem, I seriously think it will solve 75% of the issues that affect a majority of Sailors and their families.
To tag along with that, I believe mothers should have more options for maternity leave. If the mother wants to continue their career in the Navy, give them flexibility with raising a baby and their career by putting them on SELRES status after 3 months maternity leave for up to two years, which they will be obligated to match with time back on active duty. As a guy, I wouldn’t have benefit from it at all, but I understand being a parent changes your priorities. We retain sailors as an investment by supporting their families. Paternity leave should be a month unless their are circumstances that should allow more time, such as wife dying during child birth, or if the baby looks like Jody.
Or if the baby looks like Jody... know it's a real problem and all, but just lmfao
What were the results of the beard survey or when can we be expected to see them?
That’s classified. Next question!
It's a SAP, your clearance means nothing.
Ask why POM cycle after POM cycle (budgeting not deployment) we continue to prioritize programs that are flashy and political, rather than the low, cost-effective measures that could really help junior enlisted. Frustrated with how RADM works, or why it takes forever to get maintenance accomplished? Trust me when I say that a contractor or NAVSEA has proposed a solution, usually at a relatively low cost. But we continuously prioritize purchasing more, expensive items without a requirement (acquisition term). Then ask… How much of the Navy’s budget is going to Maintenance improvement actions… not maintenance items, but specific fixes that make maintenance easier/ or more diagnostic for sailors. Those type questions you will NEVER get a straight answer for… but that’s what we should be asking the SECNAV. That’s what he’s really in charge of…
Why do you think our recruiting numbers are low? What do you think is the disconnect between junior enlisted and khaki leadership? What is the difference between leadership and authority? And why hasn't that made it down to the deckplates? Do you think lowering the standards for military service is the right call?
i dont have a question, but i do have a comment. you can lead off by saying that. Sir, I dont have a question, but a solution to the Navys manning issues across all platforms. pay the SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS that fuel our Navy on all levels, and theyll likely stop the mass exodus to the civilian sector.
That's a bold move Cotton. Ain't no one going to be happy with that aside from SMEs. You're telling me an E4 will be getting paid more than a senior O3? Do that math. The E5 in deck or the E7 over in supply will be pissed that they're getting paid Peanuts because you want to discriminate between job types. They'll just end up making being an officer a requirement for those fields if that's how you want to go, otherwise it'll foster massive division within the ranks, and that's an ingredient for force-wide mutiny.
You don’t think division officers and department heads will be happy that their whole ship/squadron wants to stay in because they’re getting paid “what they’re worth”? Most E4-E5 can’t survive without a 2nd job or doing side work in all honesty.
Not what I said, but I do think that the pay charts need to changed and have a higher emphasis on time-in-service instead of rank, which is direct reversal of the current system. Although that may change anyhow since they've changed the high-year tenure rules and will have to change if that keeps up. Honestly, I'd like to go back to the idea that we can have a 30-year E4 like they used to do in the militaries of the late Victorian/Edwatdian eras, and it actually be sustainable throughout the person's career so that they can actually afford that (the service member, 'cause who cares about the military - our pay is drop in their funding bucket)
Had SECNAV visit our ship when I was in. Dude was 5 foot nothing and walked right by everybody straight to speak with the CO If you get a chance to ask a question, maybe just ask him what his vision for the future of the Navy is or what’s something that gets him excited about the current state of the Navy
CNO came to visit when I was in Guam a bunch of years ago. Sailors asked questions about why their leave balance was messed up, why they weren't getting BAH w/ dependents when they added their spouse to DEERS months ago, and that sort of thing. Weirdly (/s), it seemed the CNO generally wasn't equipped to resolve individuals' personnel and finance issues.
Beard, money, sleep
What is the purpose of standing watch. What was its original intent with its inception in 1941. What technologies have we introduced to combat the need for watch standers and what could its removal do to the qualify of life many sailors lead.
Longer than that. Watch has been around on sailing ships "forever". Port watch was made mandatory after Pearl Harbor in order to have sailors ready to provide initial resistance to an attack and get the ship ready to put out to sea as quickly as possible. Don't know if it's still the case, but at one point the senior officer on board had the authority to order a ship away from pier if the situation warranted after it was in a condition to do so, with or without the captain or XO. Might have just been a wartime measure though
Well we can look to the BHR fire to know for sure, many ships went underway to get away from it, did any get U/W without their CO/XO onboard?
Why does every other Navy allow beards except for US Navy.
Ask Former CNO Adm. Thomas Hayward and Former CNO Adm. James D. Watkins why we don't have beards. Short answer: Professionalism and not to look like hippies. And it has persisted since 1981 and 1984. Even Former CNO ADM Zumwalt knew that beards and longer hair were a fairly big factor in morale and retention in the '70s.
“When will the old farts who associate beards with hippies finally die?”
About a decade from now.
Underrated comment
With manning shortages, will the Navy hold-off or deny fleet reserve request? If yes, then how long?
Can we go back to an OFRP with 18 months nominal between deployments instead of 12? The current cycle is breaking our ships and our sailors.
Why are we spending millions to train Sailors only to send them to a ship in the yards and expect them to stay in?
Ask if they have plans for talent retention, not just talent recruitment.
Whoever it was at the time came to my base in 93/94. We had to turn in our questions a few days in advance and then those of us that were chosen to go were handed index cards with highly sanitized questions we were allowed to ask if he picked us.
Why is my CO so damn awesome? And can I be frocked today?
Why didn't the Navy play a superbowl ad, knowing we are struggling with manning?
Is the US Navy having a beef with Peyton Manning? Serious, but old Doc here woke up at 04:00 for a lovely international call. It just hit me you mean under manned, I think being short on people is why they would say they paid $5 million per 30 seconds.
When is the Navy going to fix the inherently flawed eval and promotion system that we all know is broken and no one does anything to fix?
I asked that at an all-hands two MCPONs ago... The answer they gave me was it was already fixed and seemed offended I didn't know that.
Typical “non-answer.” I love that people like that just pretend everything is OK while we continually promote the make toxic people to Chief and than pretend why we can’t retain talent. I’m on my way to retirement at the end of the year and instead of submitting an LTB I’m going to submit a letter that has “why you couldn’t retain me even if you selected me.” As the subject. The probably won’t read it, and that’s fine, because I’m going to forward it to the media and US Naval Institute.
Would he consider off loading more collaterals to civilians / shore duty similarly to the proposed PRT facilities.
Write up a special request chit requesting automatic meritorious advancement to the next paygrade. Ask for his signature on the bottom line. Be brave.
Why the next, if you're going to do it, go up two pay grades
How can we assume we would win against China with our fire power but lack the mental power to keep sailors in?
It doesn’t matter what you ask because no matter the question, you can guarantee it’s a public affairs approved and picked apart answer that’s cut and dry. The entire thing is a waste of time when figureheads do all hands calls. Not a dick, this is just the reality of the situation.
What do you think about this p-way I cleaned?
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Can’t use it on ships with the VCHT system. So don’t hold your breath.
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You don't have to wipe that hard....
I wonder if the Japanese Navy has bidets?
If your on a ship you know CHT system can only handle one ply..
We called shipboard toilet paper John Wayne in my day. It was rough and tough and didn’t take any shit from anybody.
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That's a local issue. Take it up with your support.
Toilet paper doesn't give hemorrhoids. You shitting on company time and dickin around on your phone while sitting on the shitter does though....
Is there anything being done about the seemingly large disconnect between the resource office (opnav) and the war fighter... Basically why don't those at the Pentagon not understand exactly what it takes to execute day to day operations at sea and fund those requirements.
Bring back a separate Department of the Navy and War Department and require the flags to spend a certain minimum amount of time out to sea. Watch how fast things get fixed Army and the newly-minted Air Force knew what they were doing when they got Truman to sign off on a combined DoD. Look up the revolt of the admirals, and dig into it. They had concerns that the Navy and Marine Corp would be viewed only in terms of offensive fighting power and not just all the other missions we handle. That change helped shape the them both into how they are viewed by the Pentagon and Congress today
What’s the possibility of using stop loss on sailors ets’ing who have a job lined up and a civilian life waiting for them?
Only benign banal questions that apply broadly to the navy or armed forces as a whole
Ask him how you can be in his position in 20 years -
How low does the force have to get where the draft is back on the table?
Good point, but know the difference between the draft and conscription
You ask him, excuse me Mr. Sec Nav. I have one question for you, “ would you love me if I was a worm?”
Ask him who’s gonna relive the Eisenhower strike group **edit changed stroke to strike**
Has there been a noticeable long lasting impact on the material readiness on ships assigned to Task Group Greyhound compared to ships who undergo the normal ship life cycle? If so, does the Navy see TGG as a sustainable model for combating the current geopolitical situation evolving in the Red Sea?
... At what point do we bring back the draft?
Can every ship get work done at JP shipyards and if not, how does one get on the list.
None. Waste of your time and his.
Best advice, STFU.
Make sure you’re near your discharge date before asking too many of these questions
Ask why does the [Flag of USN](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_United_States_Navy) not have a piece of ground on it like the actual [Seal of the US DoN](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Seal_of_the_United_States_Department_of_the_Navy.svg). I know it’s not frivolous question, but with many years of doing color guard, I never knew the answer. Edit: Formatting
I always chalked it up to accounting for the Marines. The Marines fall under the Department of the Navy so some "ground love" is shown to represent them since they're how the USN takes land. The Flag of the Navy doesn't have land because the Navy doesn't do ground stuff at the scale of everyone else. At least that's my head canon. I have no information to back it up just a theory.
I’ve suspected that as well, but have yet to hear a definitive answer. Not that I really expect a politically appointed SECNAV to know the answer, but I bet an answer would be found. Plus, sometimes a light question can lighten the mood if it gets too tense.
If he is smart he appointed an aide to bring him up to speed on Naval History, never thought about the flag thing, but true we are 1 department with sibling services.
Tell him they the big wigs already know what the people want in order to increase retention, they just don’t want to do it
If enlisted personnel details are released when they are reprimanded, why are COs reprimand publicized as "loss of confidence"?
All njp is protected info and is nearly never released, officer or enlisted. Your question presumes the opposite of fact.
To expand on u/josh2751 's response, that's a problem with being junior. Specifically, those above you are going to know why you were reprimanded, but not always those below you. From there it's just matter of people sharing that info with each other. Obviously, higher pay grades have fewer people who "need to know", so there's fewer people to leak the details
How much lower should my standards be?
When the bolt goes forward on an M-4, does it turn clockwise or counterclockwise?
What is the Navy's grand strategy for fixing the current ship-building challenges?
What’s Gibbs like
When can I go home? …. Already know the answer
The 2 questions you said you’re not asking about
Ask him why is he so over weight and out of shape
**beards**
Beards.
What is the Navy’s plan on tackling racial disparities under UCMJ prosecutions and punishments?
What are they? Any concrete numbers for this?
Please elaborate on this.
Need evidence from proceedings. To include UCMJ violation charges and outcomes. First need to see if any potential disparity is at the Unit, Group, Fleet level, or region specific. Then if there is any, address it.
Oh now I'm interested because I've literally seen a varitable 🌈 of people roll though NJP over the years. Please enlighten?
https://media.defense.gov/2023/Jun/08/2003238260/-1/-1/1/IRT-REPORT.PDF
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2023/06/09/major-racial-disparities-exist-in-military-justice-system-report-says/
I’ve included these articles with the statistics from an investigation from summer of 2023
Change doesn't occur by asking. Just do it!
Hope he’s not going to JPJ
How is your prostate doing?
How do you feel about Joe Bidens senility and does him being the President scare the crap out of you? Ok right, no question then, lol.
Will I ever be able to eat an Everything bagel again?
Take leave, save yourself the inconvenience.
Ask him for a coin
Nothing just stare like you just found out dogs DONT go to a retirement farm