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The New
Navy:
Not What
You
Think
By
Erik M.
Meeks-Chicago
Editor/Tell
Us USA
News
Network
"An area
that's
of great
interest
to me,
of great
focus to
me is
the
issue of
diversity
within
our
military.
The
military
of the
United
States
must
reflect
the
nation.
We have
to work
today to
put in
place
the
demographics
of 40
years
from
now."
This is
a
statement
from
Chief of
Naval
Operations
Admiral
Gary
Roughead,
and his
belief
sets the
tone for
today’s
United
States
Navy.
In
keeping
with
Adm.
Roughead’s
vision,
the Navy
is
actively
working
to
greatly
improve
their
diversity
numbers.
One of
the ways
in which
the Navy
is
attempting
to
accomplish
this
goal is
to
present
programs
that
offer
very
bright
“lights
at the
end of
the
tunnel”.
As I am
learning
about
some of
the
Navy’s
outreach
efforts,
I am
more and
more
convinced
that
this is
not the
Navy of
old.
When and
where I
was
growing
up a
number
of years
ago,
folks
around
me
seemed
to use
the
military
only as
a place
where a
kid
could
learn
discipline…”the
military
will
straighten
that boy
out”.
Frequently
teenagers—usually
males—were
“shipped”
off to
the
military,
often as
the only
alternative
to going
to jail
or
facing
some
other
dreadful
fate. I
have
observed
up-close
on many
occasions
where
military
personnel
would
return
home to
continue
a life
not much
different
from the
one he
had
hoped to
escape.
This
always
left me
with the
basic
question:
“What
was the
point?”
The
soldiers
and
sailors
usually
came
back
home
with
maybe a
bit more
maturity,
but
usually
with not
much
more
education
or job
training,
resulting
in very
limited
decent
career
choices.
 Recently
I spoke
with a
current
Naval
officer,
and she
informed
me of
some of
the ways
of the
“new”
Navy.
Lt. Lori
Campbell
used
words
such as
“exciting”,
“pride”,
and
“honor”
when
describing
her
career
in the
Navy and
is
clearly
passionate
about
Navy
life.
Lt.
Campbell
directed
my
attention
to two
particular
areas:
the
Bachelor
Degree
Completion
Program
(BDCP)
and the
Naval
Reserve
Officers
Training
Corps (NROTC).
Each of
these
programs
has its
own
special
features,
but
generally
they
provide
the
following:
• Full
tuition
• Room &
board
• Books
& fees
•
Monthly
stipend
Completion
of the
Navy’s
education/service
programs
results
in being
commissioned
as a
Naval
Officer,
receiving
a fully
funded
undergraduate
degree
in one’s
chosen
field
(and
possibly
higher
education
degrees),
and
employment
guaranteed
for a
minimum
of four
years.
In
addition
the
Naval
Officer
will
have —in
the
words of
an
ardent
Lt.
Campbell—
“elite
credentials
with
elite
status…and
leadership
skills
second
to
none”.
I asked
a couple
of
questions
of Lt.
Campbell
that I
anticipate
many
parents
would
ask if
given
the
opportunity,
the
first
being:
“Why
would I
want my
child to
enter
the
military
now when
our
country
is at
war in
various
places
around
the
world?
Isn’t
this
unsafe?”
Lt.
Campbell’s
immediate
response:
“I have
been
watching
a
national
cable
news
station
just
this
morning
and
observed
what’s
going on
in our
cities—Chicago,
Detroit,
Philly,
and
others—across
the US.
Where
are your
kids
safe?
You can
let them
hang
around
without
jobs and
direction—which
will
surely
not be a
positive
environment—or
you can
put them
on a
path to
education,
employment,
and
other
immeasurable
life
experiences
by
seriously
looking
into
Navy
opportunities.”
A second
question
a parent
might
ask:
“How can
I in
good
conscience
send my
child
into the
military
when we
are so
opposed
to wars,
violence,
and
other
acts of
aggression?”
Lt.
Campbell
continued:
“Nobody
likes
war; but
consider
the
humanitarian
activities
in which
we
constantly
participate.
For
example,
following
the
Tsunami
in the
Indian
Ocean in
2004,
the US
military
deployed
quickly
sending
ships,
planes,
and
relief
supplies
to the
region.
These
actions
saved
lives
with
evacuation
efforts
and by
providing
water,
food,
and
medical
facilities
for
thousands.
The same
is true
of the
relief
we
provided
to the
citizens
of the
Gulf
Coast
during
the
devastation
of
hurricane
Katrina
in 2005.
Just
remember…
the Navy
is not
all
about
fighting.”
Lt.
Campbell
summed
up her
feelings
by
saying
that she
and her
husband
are
Naval
Officers
in San
Diego
and have
been for
several
years.
They are
raising
children,
working
at great
careers
in the
medical
field,
and she
is
beginning
work on
a PhD
(at the
Navy’s
expense).
She
emphasized:
“We have
not felt
the
effects
of a
souring
economy
like
most of
the
country.
With our
current
positions
in life,
we have
no
complaints.”
Right
now…today…seems
to be a
perfect
time for
families
to
consider
the Navy
as a
serious
alternative
when
planning
a
student’s
education
and
career
paths.
Find
additional
details
at
www.navy.com
and
www.nrotc.navy.mil.
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