When I was a youngster midshipman, I had the opportunity to exchange pleasantries with a World War II veteran that had sailed his submarine into Tokyo Bay, leaving havoc in his wake.
“How many ladies d’ye have at the Naval Academy these days, boy?” asked the old coot with a gleam in his eye.
“I believe about there are about three hundred females out of 4,400 midshipmen in the brigade,” I replied.
“And how many of them are pregnant?” he went on.
“None, sir. Being pregnant or having caused pregnancy while as a midshipman is a barrier to service, we’re told. Midshipmen are too busy to be responsible for families.”
“Ha,” he cried in evident pleasure, “That’s why you mids today are not the men your fathers were!”
“How is that, sir?”
“In our day, they would have all been pregnant!”
Ecce: Progress.
Baby steps you know. But progress none the less.
Ahhh. My kind of submariner! A right cheerful shipmate to go on liberty with. Who’s paying the bar fines?????
Subsunk
They’ll all be pregnant again once the PRC triumphs via Obama-led Defense cuts and they all get raped like the British Officers wives did when Hong Kong and Singapore fell in WWII. Females in the US armed services have a great future to look forward to….
Oh, geez. Is this another case of women getting to break the rules ’cause they’re women? I hope not… I’d be mortified to be her–her command will put two and two together when she requires leave, and make certain assumptions about her views of the relationship between herself and the rules. Nice.
Oh my, I just had a terrible thought: could be the product of a rape and she’s keeping the child. In which case, I take back anything I said above, begging forgiveness for assuming the worst based on recent USNA leadership behavior.
Sounds to me that there’s more to the story than meets the eye. I think Fuzzy’s terrible thought is probably closer to the truth than we think.
Knew of a couple who gave birth like 6 months after graduation, but they didn’t tell anyone about it, and also knew of one who went the give up for adoption and return a year later route. Probably more to this story though.
…who knew they were offering Summer Cruises in Houston last year.
What an embarrassment. But I guess not so hard to believe when you look at the context. I guess this is what happens when the line between politics and leadership gets fuzzy.
Might as well grant blanket waivers for violation of all the rules. Better yet, just get rid of those pesky rules that inhibit diversity and other crapola.
USNA has morphed into just another cog in the big government skool scam, encouraging mediocrity, and adding little to our national defense.
At one time at least they had a good dairy operation.
Enormous double standard has to leave people scratching their heads. Youngsters at a school on the bay cannot cavort and have kids but once they hit the fleet where the serious work begins it is OK? Y yes, yes it is.
The navy should consider a double standards board with a half dozen passed over CDRS who get to sift through the thousands of existing double standards and eliminate them.
At last, a board I’d volunteer for!
Greetings:
Back in the late ’70s, I was working for the Navy as a civilian printer. One day, I was checking the copy for a training manual we were to print when I came across an illustration for the Navy’s “pregnancy uniform. At that point, it became crystal clear to me that the military train had gone seriously off the track.
I have serious doubts about the fitness for commission of anyone who can’t follow the simple rule of “no kids until after graduation”, for a number of reasons. They need not be enumerated.
Two observations that haven’t been mentioned:
1. It was freaking MAY of her 1/C year. Classes were done, finals had been scored. All she had to do was make it through a half dozen P-rades and a few grad rehearsals and she was done. I don’t think she really got out of anything or compromised her education. (I’ll let you in on a secret: every mid from the last 10+ years has known at least 1 male who fathered a child while at Shipwreck Tech and was allowed to graduate, via special request chit. Why does that not make the news?)
2. We do not live on a slippery slope. To insinuate that the granting of a Special Request Chit is tantamount to throwing out MIDREGS across the board is ludicrous. There are perfectly valid reasons why such chits exist and, it would seem, this is one of them.
That ole geezer must have been Richard “Dick” O’Kane. He was the CO of the U.S.S Tang and XO of the U.S.S Wahoo (under Dudley “Mushmouth” Morton ). These two men and the men they led in those two ships have the most incredible record for destroying Japanese shipping (both civilian and military). Their favorite hunting grounds, the Inland Sea of Japan.
BT: Jimmy T sends.
http://buchanan.org/blog/pjb-dumbing-down-the-us-navy-1592
I am even more ambivalent about the place than when I was on AD (proud AOCS grad trained by Gunnys’) though I am seeing the craziness up close and personal for the first time this year. I’m surprised the USMC doesn’t decouple from the place….
My past, disparaging, and 1/2 serious remarks about a 4000 student school clinging to perceptions about being Div-1A in sports pales by comparison with recent events..
Why don’t all the illustrious Alums, past and present and so proud of their heritage, do something about it?
b2
B2,
One wonders which planet Buchanan has moved to:
“Fleming, who still teaches at Annapolis, and has likely had some unpleasant moments since he blew the whistle on his superiors, has shown considerable moral courage.
Hopefully, Congress will show the same moxy and investigate this out[r]age.”
I’d guess that Congress is pretty happy with the way things are going. And Judge Sonya? She will be delighted to consider that suit if/when it makes its way to the Supremes.
Uncle Mike,
Just look at who makes up the USNA Board of Visitors. Congress is very happy with what they’re creating in Annapolis.
regrettably
Curtis,
I am not familiar with the Board of Visitors, but if Congress is happy with them, I’m pretty certain that I should be concerned — and your “regrettably” cinches my concern.
Uncle Mike,
Google “Board of Visitors” USNA and read the unhappy details. They are basically the board of directors for USNA and I wretch reading who appoints them.
Curtis,
Did as you suggested, and it confirmed my concern. The thought of Obama or Pelosi appointing anyone to any board is enough to make my stomach turn, and the knowledge that it is a military board compounds the concern when I think of all the mischief that they can cause.
As I recall from a week or so ago, Lex had a post relating to the primary mission of the USNA being diversity or some such pap. Apparently the mischief is already afoot.
The quality folks will make it through the Academy no matter what and will continue to bring pride and accomplishment to the Navy and Marine Corps. Those less qualified will fall by the wayside at an unknown cost to themselves and the services.
And the politicians will continue on their merry way confident in their personal contribution to this great nation and blissfully unaware of the damage they have done to her.
Uncle,
Buchanans’s just another Quixotic character, just like the rest of us..Ain’t we all jousting w/windmills when it comes to this crap? I just linked to him to show that the local Annapolis story story had made it to the pundits.
re the NA BOG: Yep. Notice the Maryland State troll and Brezhev’s brother, both MD senators, are on it…
I thought with BOH as president we were supposed to be beyond this…So much for “hoping”. A real Bizzarro World, Aye-up!
b2
b2,
I sure don’t know what the answer is. Too many uneducated people voting. Too many dead people voting. Too many people voting twice. A whole bunch of things that allow poorly qualified, unprincipled politicians to slip into office and stay there.
I have yet to vote for Barbara Boxer, but for some unknown reason, the majority of voters here in California keep her in office. Kind of like Murtha and Pelosi. What kind of person would vote for either of them? But they keep getting re-elected.
[...] on and off the web are talking about this Naval Academy story from last week: A midshipman was granted a waiver to graduate in May [...]