People complain about “Nanny this and nanny that these days.” Well how about this? The Nanny Navy.
Some sailors who go ashore on liberty while serving in the 7th Fleet — generally defined as the Western Pacific — are finding themselves subject to strict rules and having to file plans that include an authorized liberty buddy if they plan to drink, according to the Navy Times.
Sailors in the six lowest enlisted grades, three of which are non-commissioned officers, on board the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk must have a detailed plan about what he or she plans to do and must have it approved before going on liberty. This includes off time in Yokosuka, Japan, the ship’s homeport. Incidents involving some of the ship’s company led to a rule that senior personnel should be given a phone number by the off-duty sailor where they may be reached or physically seen. This includes those who are married.
There is just so much wrong with this that I am not going to go on about it. Read the article yourself. But if you find yourself agreeing with the knee-jerk response by senior officers, imagine being a young sailor on liberty in a foreign port, or WWPD? (What Would Popeye Do?)
It makes me wonder if the Kitty Hawk’s captain isn’t Cdr. Phillip Francis Queeg, the tyrannical skipper played by Humphrey Bogart in “The Caine Mutiny.”
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