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| Navy to Restore Enlisted Rating Titles After Months of Criticism | |
| 2016-12-22 | |
| The Navy is performing a brisk about-face on a controversial plan that shelved ratings titles for enlisted sailors, according to a message Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson that was set for release on Wednesday morning but was leaked on social media on Tuesday night. The NAVADMIN message cancels a late September decision in which service leadership announced it would no longer address sailors by their rating – a more than 200-year-old tradition in which enlisted were known by their job title – and instead refer to enlisted sailors with the generic titles of Seaman (E-1 to E-3) or Petty Officer (E-4 to E-6). The unpopular title change was the most visible part of an enlisted rank modernization effort spearheaded by former Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Michael D. Stevens. In the message, Richardson said Navy leadership had heard the criticism. “I underestimated how fiercely loyal people were to their rating,” Richardson said on Dec. 6 during an all hands call, Navy Times reported. “I’ve gotten a fair amount of feedback on that.”
The reintroduction of ratings is by no mean the end of how the Navy will continue to reshape enlisted career paths or planned changes to titles in the service, Richardson said in the message. “This course correction doesn’t mean our work is done – rating modernization will continue for all the right reasons. Modernizing our industrial-age personnel system in order to provide sailors choice and flexibility still remains a priority for us,” Richardson wrote. “As we execute the rating modernization plan, more sailors will have multiple occupational skill sets or ratings. We will need to tackle the issue of managing rating names. We will continue to involve sailors throughout the fleet.” | |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #9 That would be corpse-xer. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2016-12-22 13:02 |
| #8 As a retired officer, I really didn't have a dog in the fight over the rating system. However, it struck me as a fucking stupid move. The Navy could have adjusted the names of some of the ratings to eliminate the (mis)perceived sexism. For example, Corpsman could have been renamed Medic,or something similar. The Navy changes, combines, and renames ratings all the time. Instead, Mabus et al decided to throw out the baby, the bathwater, and the bathtub. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2016-12-22 12:18 |
| #7 ...spearheaded by former Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Michael D. Stevens. What P2K said - we need to see a lot more of this. |
| Posted by: Raj 2016-12-22 10:41 |
| #6 Outside of the front line medics*, most of the medical personnel could be 'purple', but given the entrenched culture nature of the services, highly unlikely. * see - Hacksaw Ridge |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2016-12-22 09:27 |
| #5 First off, it was another of a continuing series of SJW moves. Secondly, it's just another step toward the 'purple suit'. For those unfamiliar with the term, it means having one 'defense establishment', similar to what Canada has (even Canada has backtracked from its original plan somewhat.) Other nations have similar set-ups as well. While there are some advantages to combining certain common DOD functions, no one has made a solid case as to how such changes will actually contribute to the primary mission of supporting the national interest, or winning wars. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2016-12-22 08:45 |
| #4 Not quite Spithead, but who ever is put in charge with the new administration needs to retire a number of senior grade officers. When your ships can't make it through the canal, you got bigger problem than worrying about the dictionary. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2016-12-22 08:40 |
| #3 ...Have been talking to a few friends with connections to the USN and DOD. Their takeaway on this: *The USN leadership had utterly convinced themselves that this would go over without a single complaint. *The reaction - 'revolt' was apparently not too strong a word - apparently put the fear of God into some people, even more so when the usual incantations of 'sexist' and 'diversity' had no effect whatsoever. *Notice SECNAV Mabus hasn't said much on this at all. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2016-12-22 08:17 |
| #2 Mabus needs to be ridiculed into retirement. Name a transgendered garbage scow after him |
| Posted by: Frank G 2016-12-22 07:12 |
| #1 This guy didn't write the proposal for the LCS and the Zumwalt did he |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2016-12-22 05:54 |