Operation Forward Pass

Part I is here.

So here you are with all these new people, trying not to be overly “bossy,” yet you may be the one with the answer, or not (but you think you do). Controlled anarchy will ensue. I discussed some reasons for haning together in the first part. Now what happens if you decide to be the maverick?

I once saw this in a more practical application, and the scenario gets my point across. Our staff ahd been assigned to provide services for the submarine community as they trained prospective commanding officers (PCOs). We were assigned three ships, a CG-47, a DD-963 and an FFG-7, along with a contingent of ship and shore based helos. Our operations ostensibly required us to be sitting ducks for the soon to be COs, as they shot at us with two (per person) exercise MK-48 torpedos. My commodore, on the other hand, viewed this time at sea with dedicated submarine targets as a good training opportunity. As a result, we made our plans. Here’s where it got touchy. The CO (an O-6) of the CG-47 was, by lineal number, senior to my boss (also an O-6). My boss, by virture of the tasking was in operational control and this just chapped the CO of the AEGIS cruiser (that’s another entire series of posts for another time and place), that he had to take orders from someone junior to himself. Net result, after smoking the sub guys like cheap cigars for about 10 of the planned “mini-wars,” the CG-47 CO took off downrange “to get a sub.” He left himself and his crew hanging out by themselves, as the PCO lined up and put an extorp right into his bow.

Somewhat humbled, our task unit finished our series of 14 events, the score being 12-1-1 in our favor. We would have had a 13-1 record, had it not been for foolish pride. Had it been a real shooting war, the $1B state of the art AEGIS Cruiser would have been quickly swallowed by an unforgiving ocean, with many of the 450 man crew killed, injured or drowned.

Different from your indoctrination training, where you have no ranking right away, we had listed of who could tell who what to do. The point remains: Be careful when you decide you know better, for it may be you all alone to suffer the consequences, be they pushups until you sweat all the moisture out of your body, or several extra night watchs in the barracks. Later the fallout may be far more striking.

The maverick can not only get him or herself killed in combat, but they have the opportunity to bring a few of you to the same fate. Your DIs are looking to see if you all get this by the immersion into situations they will place you in. Between their wisdom delivered at 115 dB, and the freindly persuasion they invite you to help your fellow inductees with, they are making a point: Stick together.