Within the past couple years, the Navy has made changes to the enlisted seabag in part to the response to feedback leadership was receiving from the Sailors in the fleet. These changes have come with mixed feelings from the Sailors who currently serve and a lot of negative feedback from those who served prior. So has the Navy gone to far and broken with tradition with the ‘radical’ changes with the uniforms? I don’t think so…I think the more things change the more they stay the same. Change is the one constant that the Navy has known since its inception in 1775.

Things are ALWAYS changing and that means the service is evolving and remaining strong. The technology, the tactics and yes even the uniforms have ALL been revised since the Navy was created. Technology and tactics seem to be readily accepted as a better way of doing business but somehow people dig in their heels when it comes to uniforms. In each era the Navy made adjustments to its uniforms for usability, protection and of course cost factored in as well.

Sailors wearing the ‘traditional’ sailor dungaree uniform with ‘white hats’

The traditional uniform it seems most people think of when they refer to Sailors are either  the dungaree uniform a.k.a. the ‘bell bottom jeans’ or the Service Dress Blues more commonly known as the ‘crackerjacks’. The dungaree work uniform was a simple uniform made of a chambray cotton shirt and boot-cut, denim trousers (to help sailors don them while still wearing their boots) that could hold up to the grimy and greasy environments aboard ship.  This uniform was originally introduced in the uniform regulations in 1901 and was worn below decks by officers and enlisted alike by 1913. The officers and Chief Petty Officers eventually transitioned to the khaki uniform and the utility uniform was eventually updated in the mid 1990s to a straight-legged chino cloth trouser, poly cotton shirt with embroidered name tapes, and rank insignia for a more polished and uniform appearance.  The white hat was no longer authorized to be worn and instead was replaced by a command ball cap.

Sailor Recruit wearing the utility uniform with ball cap gets inspected

This uniform wasn’t designed to fit into the background like a typical camouflage uniform.

So with the knowledge that change truly is the constant in the Navy, it seems odd that so many ‘old salts’ have had issues with the new Navy Work Uniform (NWU). The NWU is a working uniform designed to replace the traditional utility uniform as well as the coveralls. Upon first glance many find the color scheme to seem silly as camouflage is not required at sea. Although as this Sailor in the picture on the right has shown, it might be helpful when you’re in trouble with the Chief or Division Officer.

But in all seriousness, the NWU colors are based upon the common paint colors that are utilized in a shipboard environment. Having a ‘digital’ scheme using these colors is actually supposed to help mask the permanent soil caused through the regular wear and tear. Additionally reducing from two uniforms to one is more cost effective and makes a lighter sea bag. The NWU is one of several uniforms to come out from the CNO’s Task Force Uniform imitative in which feedback from the Sailors in the fleet help mold the uniform policies put into place. Upon closer inspection of the uniform elements other than just color have been designed into the pattern to ensure ties to tradition (in much the same way as the Marines did with their MARPAT uniform).

Four color scheme with USN Logo visible in the pattern.

Pocket displaying the icons of the Naval service.

Like the overall pattern, the right pocket also displays icons of the Naval Service. The USS Constitution, an anchor and an eagle.

When the Navy decided to allow women to serve during the war to offset the shortage of men, a uniform had to be developed for women. These WAVES (Woman Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) were not only pioneers for womens rights but test cases for new uniforms. Later when women were full accepted into the military services, the uniforms became standardized for men as well as women as is shown below by the female recruits in formation at Recruit Training Center Great Lakes, IL.

New female Recruits in ranks		WAVES in ranks during Inspection

Hopefully through a quick glimpse in history it becomes apparent that change truly is a major constant in the Navy’s history and the willingness to adopt new changes is what makes the U.S. Navy so strong. By embracing change instead of fearing it we are actually embracing our heritage of Honor, Courage and Commitment.

It all comes down to one simple statement: A Sailor is a Sailor no matter which uniform he/she wears as long as it is worn with pride.

Sailors man the rails wearing NWUs and Dress Blues on the deck of the USS Eisenhower (CVN-69)

Much of what I write about surrounds my experiences as a member of a flight crew but an equally noteworthy part of my experience in the Navy is being a Chief Petty Officer. I was reminded of this topic as I recently watched a new group of Chief Selectees go through induction and become Genuine Chief Petty Officers in the Navy. Its a special time and a once in a lifetime experience that is unique to only the Navy. With all due respect to the other branches of service, the responsibility and authority that a Chief welds is unmatched by an E-7 in any of the other branches. Navy Chiefs are appointed to their rank by selection board and can only be reduced in rank by conviction by court martial.

Selection to Chief represents the most significant change in an enlisted Sailor’s career. Less than 10% of all that enter the enlisted ranks of the Navy will be selected. The level of responsibility they assume is a reflection on their leadership potential as well as technical prowess. Chiefs are considered the subject area expert in their rate (military occupation) but also assume many collateral duties including training junior officers as well as junior Sailors. The phrase “Ask the Chief” has become solidified with the level of trust that comes from both the commissioned and enlisted ranks that they have learned that the Chief can get it done, no matter what, if it is for the good of the Sailors.

So as I watched the latest group of Chief Selectees go through and be tested (as this process is supposed to do) it made me reflect on my own experiences going through the transition process and more importantly, what it truly means to be a Chief Petty Officer. So that begs the question…”What does it mean to be a Chief?”

My Last Night as a Blue Shirt

The rank of Chief Petty Officer was created on the 1 April, 1893 and as been followed by 116 years of tradition. For those 116 years, the Chief has always provided that leadership for numerous reasons. First our responsibility is to the Sailors entrusted to us. Second, as my mentor put it, “You’re not a real Chief until you’ve made one.” Chiefs are entrusted to train our replacements and pass the traditions of the Navy onto them. Last, we are entrusted to guide and train the junior officers, in much the same manner that you experienced and benefited from in your career.

Simply stated, there are many good Chiefs, Senior Chiefs and Master Chiefs out in the fleet. Leaders who were provided with great leadership as they came up through the ranks and are paying it forward to the next generations that will follow.

It’s my humble opinion that many see some of the changes in uniforms or other cosmetic differences and see the Navy as becoming ‘soft’ or “Not the ‘real’ Navy”. I think nothing could be farther from the truth. A Chief is a Chief no matter what uniform he/she wears (and even in their shower shoes). And the one constant that the Navy has always experienced: Change. That’s why the generation before me might not completely relate with the way the Navy is today and I’m sure that I won’t always agree with the generations after I’m gone. But the sound and solid leadership skills, traditions and values we’ve passed on are what are unchanging.

As a Chief in today’s Navy, I can assure you the traditions, mentoring and skills are being passed on to the Sailors on the deckplates. And it’s evident when you look at the performance of today’s sailors at sea, in the desert or in the air. Stories of heroism, bravery and steadfastness like the USS Cole, or many more in Afghanistan or Iraq illustrate how today’s Sailors are capable, strong and committed as they always have been. That wasn’t by accident but rather reflects upon my brothers and sisters in the Chiefs’ mess who have provided that leadership.

Sailors learn quickly in their career that a Chief can get things done that no one else can. Commanding Officers entrust in their command’s Chiefs’ Mess for much the same reason. The Chiefs are the backbone of the Navy. When a Sailor has problems the first person that gets involved is his/her Chief. Even when a Sailor goes to Captain’s Mast (Article 15), his/her Chief is right there as an advocate to the Commanding Officer on that Sailor’s behalf. I once watched my mentor, then a Senior Chief, tell the Commanding Officer of an aircraft carrier who was ready to ‘toss the book’ at a young Sailor, “Sir, I think we can save this one. With all due respect Sir, let me train him and show you what he is capable of.” The Captain trusted my mentor’s judgment and that Sailor’s career was not only saved but by the end of the cruise he was promoted. The power that Chief’s have over their Sailors’ careers comes with a lot of responsibility and is never taken lightly.

So how do Chief’s do it? They rely on each other. That is why so much importance is placed on the induction/initiation process that a Chief Selectee goes through. The Mess wants to trust that person, to know that they will do what needs to be done, no matter what for the benefit of the Sailors above anything else. The beauty of that process is building that bond and simple trust. Why is that so important? Here’s an example from my personal experience. I have been on the road and ended up needing assistance with my aircraft (needed some parts for a repair) so we could continue on with our mission to return some Sailors back to the U.S. My duty was to those Sailors who wanted to get home. I never thought twice about seeking out one of my brothers or sisters for help. Even though that Chief didn’t know me personally, we were still bonded by a shared similar experience. They took care of me like a brother and helped me take care of those Sailors because they knew if the situation was reversed, I’d do the same for them. That’s what its all about…the Sailors. That is what makes it such an honor to be part of one of the worlds most powerful and wide-reaching fraternities.

To be a Chief means to be a part of something that is bigger then one’s self and to create a legacy that will live on long after your body is ‘decommissioned’ and send back to the great ship builder in the sky.

My congratulations to the Fiscal Year 2010 new Chiefs. Welcome to the Mess and never forget where you came from!

I’ve noticed several of my Twitter friends who fly for a living discuss their favorite crazy passenger story so I thought it was fitting that I include my own.

I was on an overseas detachment in the Mediterranean and we were almost ready to rotate out as our replacements were coming on station within a couple days. The flight schedule which had been extremely busy had settled down and we had a small mission to go up to Rota, Spain to pick up some cargo. Our first leg out had nothing scheduled on it and we picked up some Space A (available) passengers to take to Rota with us. Space available flights are a good deal for active duty (on leave) retired military and their families to fly in military cargo aircraft for free where ever the flight is going to as long as there is available space for them.

Our flight was a red-eye flight and we would be flying overnight. The terminal provided us with 4 space available passengers and one pallet of space available cargo. The passengers were a were a guy who was on leave and a family of 3. The father was in the military and the mother and their 6 year old daughter. From the moment I saw the mother, I could tell she was a nervous flier. She seemed very uneasy about the idea of flying and inquired a couple times if the aircraft was safe. I assured her that we were flying in was the newest in the fleet and was quite safe. She inquired about if it was safe to fly with the weather being so bad. The weather was a small rain shower with absolutely no convective issues associated with it at all. I assured her again that we were quite safe and would be on top of the rain and anything else very quickly and we would do our best to make sure we found some smooth air. Something told me that she was going to be having issues later but I needed to finish my preflight.

Take off was normal and we began to quickly climb and penetrated through the first layer of clouds. As is quite normal we bumped a little until we got through them. Almost as soon as we had gone through them the flight attendant in the rear called up front and said that they were having an issue with one of the passengers who was ‘totally losing it’. I told the crew that I’d be back there to help out and upon getting back through the cargo area and almost into the passenger compartment I could hear the shrieking. When I opened the door I saw the woman clutching her daughter to her breast with almost a death grip as she was emphatically yelling “AHHH, WE CRASH! WE DIE!” I walked up to her and asked if she was ok and she kept yelling as if the wings were going to fall off. Just then we penetrated through a thin layer of clouds as we continued to climb and the sight of the wing tip strobe lights made her go delirious. As she was already worked up to a frenzy the strobe lights made her think of lightning in the clouds and then she started to get sick. Thankfully one of the flight attendants gave her an air sickness bag and she filled it up immediately and tried to hand it back. The other flight attendant came up with a big trash bag and gave it to the woman who began to vomit into it multiple times.

The whole time this evolution is going on the woman’s husband (who was sitting across the isle from her) was doing absolutely nothing and practically ignoring her except for the occasional comment “Honey you need to just calm down.”

We obviously landed in Rota in the morning without any issues and as we were getting ready to start our descent, I saw the lady leaving the aft lavatory with her makeup running down her face and looking completely wrecked yet she still was dutifully toting around her large trash bag.

The one I felt the most sorry for was their kid. I kept thinking that poor little girl will be lucky if she doesn’t grow up and inherit her mother’s phobia of flying.

Lately I’ve noticed a bunch of news coverage about flights experiencing turbulence especially after the Air France flight over the Atlantic. While as tragic as that flight was for those people, turbulence is not an uncommon thing. Anyone who has flown has probably experienced some level of turbulence. In fact it’s graded and is talked about frequently between pilots and controllers. But what cases it?

Turbulence can be caused by many different things including thunderstorms. However, turbulence doesn’t have to require a full blown storm cell to be happen. In fact some turbulence is created through other processes. Convective currents or thermals are created when the heat from large bodies of land radiate heat into the cooler air and create some pretty good bumps. I’ve flown over some really strong thermals in the heat of Texas in the summer. Those bumps made me feel like I was riding a bronco. Yee-haw!

But turbulence can also be experienced when flying close to a mountain range, or at higher, cruise altitudes when an aircraft is entering or leaving the jet stream. In both of those cases the turbulence would be in clear air away from the clouds. An aircraft can experience turbulence when flying low to the ground (during take off or landing) where turbulence is formed by winds interacting with land masses and buildings or even from a larger aircraft flying in front of a smaller aircraft and creating wake turbulence.


   


“So what is the the difference between turbulence levels and how are they defined?”

According to the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) there are 4 major categories of turbulence: Light, Moderate, Severe and Extreme.

Intensity	Aircraft Reaction	Reaction Inside Aircraft	Reporting Term-Definition
Light	Turbulence that momentarily causes slight erratic changes in ;altitude and/or attitude (pitch, roll, yaw). Report as Light Turbulence or Turbulence that causes slight, rapid and somewhat rhythmic bumpiness without appreciable changes in altitude or attitude. Report as Light Chop.	Occupants may feel a slight strain against seat belts or shoulder straps. Unsecured objects may be displaced slightly. Food service may be conducted and little or no difficulty is encountered in walking.	Occasional – Less than 1/3 of the time. Intermittent – 1/3 to 2/3. Continuous – More than 2/3.
Moderate	Turbulence that is similar to Light Turbulence but of greater intensity. Changes in altitude and/or attitude occur but the aircraft remains in positive control at all times. It usually causes variations in indicated airspeed. Report as Moderate Turbulence; 1 or Turbulence that is similar to Light Chop but of greater intensity. It causes rapid bumps or jolts without appreciable changes in aircraft altitude or attitude. Report as Moderate Chop.1	Occupants feel definite strains against seat belts or shoulder straps. Unsecured objects are dislodged. Food service and walking are difficult.	NOTE 1. Pilots should report location(s), time (UTC), intensity, whether in or near clouds, altitude, type of aircraft and, when applicable, duration of turbulence. 2. Duration may be based on time between two locations or over a single location. All locations should be readily identifiable.
Severe	Turbulence that causes large, abrupt changes in altitude and/or attitude. It usually causes large variations in indicated airspeed. Aircraft may be momentarily out of control. Report as Severe Turbulence. 1	Occupants are forced violently against seat belts or shoulder straps. Unsecured objects are tossed about. Food Service and walking are impossible.	EXAMPLES: a. Over Omaha. 1232Z, Moderate Turbulence, in cloud, Flight Level 310, B707.
Extreme	Turbulence in which the aircraft is violently tossed about and is practically impossible to control. It may cause structural damage. Report as Extreme Turbulence. 1		b. From 50 miles south of Albuquerque to 30 miles north of Phoenix, 1210Z to 1250Z, occasional Moderate Chop, Flight Level 330, DC8.
1.High level turbulence (normally above 15,000 feet ASL) not associated with cumuliform cloudiness, including thunderstorms, should be reported as CAT (clear air turbulence) preceded by the appropriate intensity, or light or moderate chop.

Thankfully extreme turbulence is as the name implies, extremely rare and modern radar systems, weather prediction equipment and crew training make running into it almost non-existent. Pilots are encouraged to provide pilot reports (PIREP) on what their ride condition is to air traffic control to assist with other aircraft who will follow behind. PIREPS are always provided with the following information such as location (nearest VOR or point), time (in Zulu) and when observed, altitude, type of aircraft, temperature, precipitation, etc. PIREPS are so important that pilots are required to report conditions they experience that are different than forecasted.

Now reporting moderate to severe turbulence at 12,500 feet in a Cessna 172 may not be terribly important to a Boeing 757 that is transitioning through that airspace. It makes logical sense because a larger, heavier aircraft is not going to be affected by the same level of winds as a smaller, lighter aircraft would be. However if a larger aircraft is experiencing moderate turbulence, that could be severe for smaller aircraft. As part of the forecast, if there is any significant weather a AIRMET (Airman’s Meteorological Information) is released indicating potential and less severe weather conditions. These are typically referred to as weather advisories. A SIGMET (Significant Meteorological Information) is an advisory that concerns the safety of all aircraft. They can be convective SIGMETs which indicate thunderstorms or non-convective which would include severe turbulence, severe icing or dust or ash that is affecting an area of 3,000 square miles.

So what does all of this mean for the typical traveler on a commercial airplane? It means that even though at times the ride may be a little bumpy, that as many safety precautions are being taken as possible. For the squeamish air traveler, they should probably think of light or moderate turbulence like driving down a road that is need or repair or has a few pot holes. Nothing that will damage your vehicle, but just spoils an otherwise smooth ride. So when the pilot turns on the seat belt sign, and the flight crew tells you to return to your seats…they aren’t doing so to be a nuisance, they are doing so to protect you. It doesn’t mean that you’re going to be in a severe turbulent situation like windshear (shown on the radar below), it’s just better to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

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