Surface Fleet Commander to Resign After Reported Firing Recommendation

The difference is that firing the 4 stars is saying that the problem is with the Navy and its uniformed leadership instead of the problem being with the entity who refuses to properly man and equip the Navy (and all military) while handing down more and more tasking-- Congress. The Admirals need to go to Congress with an 'I told you so' message in order to rightly lay the blame where it belongs-- because they have been telling them so for a very long time, but absent a major catastrophe (like losing 17 Sailors in completely avoidable 'accidents') the warnings fell on deaf ears. Aside from 'blame'-- because "what difference does it make?" how the problem manifested-- they need to lay the responsibility for the SOLUTION where it belongs. Even then, there is only so much an Admiral can do. 'We The People' need to hold Congress accountable, because the voters are the only ones who can really get their attention.

The decayed personnel performance standards are ours to own within the scope of that which is in our purview to control. The problems associated with too few ships, not enough maintenance time or money, antiquated equipment, and insufficient training, (aka SWOS-in-a-Box), insufficient manning, etc. are not the Navy's to own. That fault lies on appropriations. We need to demand better.

As to the commanding fatigued performance-- I have never seen a set of standing orders that did not have the direction "DO NOT TAKE THE WATCH" if you are not rested and fit to do so. I did the better part of a 9 month deployment on 2 1.5 hour naps per day and a whole lot of caffeine. When I was a deck officer, I remember one 4 day underway that I had a grand total of 7 meals and 9 hours of sleep. It wasn't optimal, but I never took a watch that I couldn't properly stand.

It is a vote of confidence when our leaders tell us simply to soldier on, because they believe we have the fortitude to do it. We don't see the fights behind the scenes. We don't see the 3 and 4 star Admirals squabbling over money-- trying to prioritize when everything should be a priority. (I've been in those VTCs... it was NOT comfortable.)What would we have thought of ADM Davidson if he had gone to Congress and said "My Navy is too weak to do what you are tasking them to do"? We would have felt betrayed. Yes, we shouldn't HAVE to take pride in being able to do more with less, but we DO take pride in accomplishing the mission. The more shortages and setbacks we have to overcome to do it-- the greater the sense of pride in getting it done, and rightly so. Maybe the real fault on USFF's end is having had more confidence in us that we deserved.

LCDR (Join to see) - I can tell that you have tremendous pride in the work you do, and I'm really happy for you. I don't have confidence in the Navy's current leadership, but then I'm an old fart, and we always think we did it better than the younger generations.

LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow - Well, the at least the very senior leadership are all 'old farts', too. I'm sure they opine that they wish today's Sailors were as good as they were 'back in the day'.

I've seen significant decline in the standards over just my time, which is why I blame my generation. I remember the rigor I went through as an ENS to get my OOD qual and SWO pin. The standards were high, and achieving those qualifications came with a major sense of accomplishment. We were just as heavily tasked, just an undermanned, and just as sleep deprived as today's generation, but we were not coddled. We didn't make excuses, and no one made them for us. I don't see the same rigor today. Of course-- it could have been just my ship back then, but I don't think so. Talking amongst my peers shortly after the FITZ and MCCAIN collisions, we all have similar recollections. The sad and inescapable truth is that MY generation failed to hold our youngsters to the same standards that we were held to. That's why I look in the mirror.

It is exactly the same as all of us Gen-Xers perpetually b****ing about the Millennials... Whose fault is it that the generation that followed ours is so whiny and spoiled and entitled? Look at who raised them. It is our fault. No way around that.

LT Brad McInnis That was my exact thought, it was a very cowardly act. Guess this fleet commander was not going down with the ship!

CWO3 Dennis M. - As a JO, saw this numerous times, and it really does affect morale... Sad thing, to me, was that female SWOS had a much better leadership/support network that us. My ex was a SWO and they had regular meetings, newsletters about things to pay attention to, an informal network to ask questions, and a female ADM as a "Sea Daddy".

You are reading it wrong. He didn't retire to try to escape culpability. He retired voluntarily because he accepts culpability. He chose to go quietly rather than make the Navy 'force' him out. It is actually the more honorable way to do it.