There is one big policy change the Navy could make right now that would save money on shipbuilding, recapitalize room for enhanced lethality on warships, and promote greater esprit de corps in the service.
The change?
Get rid of the wardroom.
Yeah, I said it.
Make one dining facility on naval ships and bases for everybody, regardless of rank, to come together and share a meal.
With respect to our British allies, the Navy doesn't need an aristocracy anymore. The veneer of pomp around the Navy's officer corps serves no one. Enlisted sailors are often more capable, competent, and credentialed than their officer counterparts.
Separate dining facilities are a joke that perpetuate a "holier than thou" stereotype in our service. Other branches have figured out how to eat together, and probably fight better together because of it. Officers need to get out of their comfort zones and expectations of preferential treatment. In the battles to come, we need all the space we can get for warfighting systems - and we need to build the kind of resilient teams that can only come when everybody eats the same meal, in the same place, at the same time while we're underway.
Spoiler alert if you're a naval officer still reading this far: nothing requires you to eat in the wardroom today. Grab a tray and head to the galley.
Detecting and monitoring wildfires from space
1moThis is awesome. I remember doing the Murph with my platoon. 💪🏼