There is no secret to caring.
Then lucky you! I on the other hand had one caring command out of 6! I can only speak from my experience.
And probably a few thousand others in, passing through, or around the pipeline in the last 3.5 years.
Justin
The Navy isn't a machine. We are people working with people to accomplish a task comprised of many goals. The only way the "Navy" will care for its people are for the people to care for their people. I've been in and out of the "pipeline" several times in my 21 years and have seen all types of comands. The commands that are successful with high moral are the commands where the communication up and down the chain is effective.
When I was a blue shirt, I had similar thoughts as you...that the Navy really didn't care about me. My problem was that I didn't know who the Navy was. My CO did care about me and everyone else on his sub.
Now, running a command, I see the other side of the story. Remember the Command Career Boards where every person in the command is briefed to the CO??? Those boards take an enormous amount of time to plan and convene. Each sailor's career progression is discussed and every sailor is asked, "What do you want?" Does every sailor get what he wants? Absolutely not! A "no" doesn't mean we don't care.
Since I've worn both uniforms, I feel qualified to make this statement. It is the "Chief's" job to take care of his/her people. However, the LPOs have the most time with the divisions and this is where I think we can really see if the Navy cares about its people.
Let us not confuse the detailing process with the matter of the care.
