Does Anyone Remember the Military of 1990?

A grainy video revved up the projector screen. The setting was a party, 1990 on an American base in Germany. A gaggle of women surrounded a spry middle-age man. They could’ve been Fawn Hill or any of a million secretaries or female courtesans the Army men had back then. They were pinning paper tails on the “donkey” as he danced. Which was ironic; the man was the opposite of an “ass”. The music played: “Love shack, baby love shack Everybody's movin' around and around and around Everybody's movin', everybody's groovin' baby” The movie cut from the Colonel playing hard, to him working hard. He earned his stripes as a young man in the Vietnam War. Now, he was starting to fight another war, not against the Soviets next door, but against Saddam Hussein in the Middle East. There was no computer at his desk, just stacks of important papers. I thought: “This was a man who wasn’t afraid of going into the office on a Saturday”. After he fought the First Gulf War, he became a dedicated family man, shortly thereafter retiring from the Army- and its culture of solo deployments and family separation. This video was presented at a wake for the Colonel. We literally buried the military of 1990. I got to work with military veterans of that era. In the 1980’s, American industry had experienced serious downsizing, leading to an economic depression in the Rust Belt of America. Strong unions may have done their best to stave off layoffs and hour cuts of senior workers, but young people had no future in the factories. For those of intellectual capability, the college wage premium offered an opportunity to move upward. For the others, the military had a seemingly endless source of young men in the 1980s. Even as it increased in manpower, it was able to maintain recruiting standards, implement random drug testing, and ban beards. The military of 1990 did its grunt work in house. Not only was it necessary to wipe the bilges or peel potatoes, senior enlisted leaders of the time thought it built character. Roughhousing junior soldiers and sailors, and keeping an adversarial attitude, instead one of mentorship, seemed in their minds to build character too. This “busting nuts” attitude was becoming increasingly unacceptable in the private sector, but nobody told the military of 1990. Enlistments do come to an end, and veterans of that era did not receive the open-armed welcome to civilian employment that they often receive today. The “politically correct” military of today offers soft skills of leadership that transfer to the private sector. Senior enlisted leaders no longer view scheduled attrition as a personal failure of the soldier or sailor to commit to military life, but as an inherent part of the pyramid rank structure. For hard skills, the military now pays its departing soldiers and sailors to apprentice and earn credentials in private sector trades, before leaving the service. Once they hand in their uniforms, post-9/11 Education Benefits are generally superior to Cold War- era veterans’ programs. Sometimes I do wonder if the checks-and-balances of today’s military hamper its ability to move fast and break things: what militaries are meant to do. When anything happens quickly, such as this summer’s Operation Midnight Hammer, you can be assured that rules were broken. These could be in procurement, maintenance, personnel, or another of a dozen wickets. Being a rule follower means very little gets done in the military. Hopefully, this is the kind of political correctness our Secretary of Defense is out to fight.

Remembering SS El Faro, 10 Years Later

This week marks the 10th anniversary of the sinking of the SS El Faro, on October 1st, 2015. I was sailing as a Third Assistant Engineer for the Military Sealift Command; asides from environmentally- conscious petroleum tankers plying protected trade routes, government vessels (crewed by contractors or civil servants) were the most well-kept ships. Other vessels of the US merchant marine had to compete. When labor costs couldn’t be cut, on account of union contracts or the unwillingness of mariners to accept less than a sole breadwinner’s wage, it was maintenance and capital investment that had to be cut. Many of my fellow classmates had to compete in union halls for their first jobs. As our graduation ceremony was at the start summer, union-hall job seekers were encouraged to hit the halls when more-experienced mariners stayed at home with their kids on summer break. Having risen to the top of the pecking order at the Academy, they were reminded that their new position would be at the bottom of a new totem pole, although financial compensation could be decent in this career. You didn’t turn down a job offer, even on the most decrepit ship, as one could find themselves unemployed for a spell. When the SS El Faro sunk, it was a reminder that rustbucket ships were dangerous. I have to be careful with that term, as the longtime engineers onboard that vessel were proud of keeping the ship sailing with the limited material resources given to them by the company. Today, the picture has changed. There is a shortage of mariners, rather than a shortage of jobs. Inspections and the change configuration process is more rigorous. No captain can make fateful decisions in a vacuum, certainly not in the Starlink satellite internet era. Merchant marine officers were required to go through a three-week course of continuing education, in how to use technology, and in leadership and teamwork. At that precipice in 2017, many chose to take their retirement, instead of going back to the classroom. It was the end of an era in merchant shipping; those departing mariners had entered the industry at a time when women and college degrees were rare onboard ships, and when alcohol and smoking were fixtures at sea. They were world travelers at a time where that privilege was reserved for the rich. In other news, I am disappointed that our government has gone into reduced operating status. While the effects on civil servants will be cushioned for two weeks, on account of recently-added backpay protection, there is a risk of harm when the paycheck does not arrive on time. The impact is being felt immediately by those outside of government employment, as licensing bureaus such as the US Coast Guard are not processing applications. This means people are missing out on promotion and new career opportunities, as they must wait for government to reopen in order to obtain their new credentials. On the flip side, I believe there needs to be little debate to extend healthcare subsidies. In many states, the medley of health insurance programs allow for near-universal coverage. This is a stark contrast from the single-payer dreams of Democratic Socialists, or the creeping socialism, found in the UK or Canadian health systems, that President Eisenhower warned us about.

"Its Windsday": Offshore Wind Power

For the same reasons it attracted the bulk of the US Navy’s Atlantic Fleet, geography was to be destiny for Tidewater Virginia’s participation in the offshore wind economy, Easy transportation connections and a deepwater port attached to the ocean make the region the go-to place for offshore wind power. In contrast to the talk-much, do-little culture of other “green” states, Virginia put a priority of putting wind turbines in the sea. Tidewater’s region, which despite its once-great promise, has been struggling to bring good jobs and retain local talent. Offshore wind farms, or “It’s Windsday”, as a booster touted, would turn the local economy around. Each state has unique energy challenges. Green energy mandates in the Northeast compelled the search for renewable energy. Densely-populated rust belt states were retiring nuclear power plants. Virginia has to reckon with surging energy demand to power its growing data center economy. For several decades, it seems, electricity demand stagnated as light bulbs, insulation, and appliances became more energy efficient. Computer programmers, once terse on account of small and expensive data storage and processing options, have become inefficient, and this trend will not turn around soon. I was in the room- in December 2021- when the Republican Party of Virginia decided to pursue an all-of-the above energy policy. Solar farms, wind turbines, nuclear energy, and clean coal would be the way forward. The cranks and nutjobs who opposed farming the sun, and for that matter, who opposed installing 5G internet in rural areas, were put to pasture. Unfortunately, some of those cranks slithered into federal government agencies. Conservative principles of limited government be damned, they sought to seize the physical assets of large wind investors (by revoking offshore permits), and use the regulatory state to keep business- the wind power business- from participating in the free market. Virginia has so far stayed out of the fray that enveloped wind power projects in the Northeast. That saga is slowly being played out in the courts, where swift and direct action by Congress should have happened.

Not so Free and Careless Anymore

What are you going to write about? It should be about ships. If the trend of blog posts is an indicator (Gerry Connolly and Donald Trump, with one post in between), one might think I quit the sea. But that is not true. Mentally, July was the longest month. For the first two weeks, I was at sea in the Indian Ocean, working long days to coordinate cargo movements. Then, six days of travelling from a remote island (guess which one!) back to the USA. The final week of July was spent at home, and commuting to the office, to wrap up business from the voyage. I also commemorated ten years' of career work in the maritime field. August was a month of decompression, and a fast month. After two weeks of "demobilization" class, I officially finished duty with the Navy mid-month. As a civilian mariner, we simply flew home from the ship. On the military side, such an event is considered a career transition. By "decompression", I was referring to the day job. After 3 months' absence, I had a to-do list of upkeep tasks for my home and property. Surprisingly important for me, I made up Spring and Summer events I missed, or were put on hold while at sea. First and foremost was the Sacrament of Confirmation (August 9th) and then attending Mass with my recently-ordained Priest friend (August 31st). I also squeezed in a summer barbeque in August, in place of the usual July 4th spectacle. I think that September will be a good, routine month. We've got a lot of living to do...

Policing the Capitol City

In the assessment of Zachary Schrag, the professor who wrote the book Great Society Subway, John F. Kennedy was the first American President to care about Washington, DC and the future of its people. Unlike later congressmen-turned-presidents, such as Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, JFK lived for decades in the City of Washington, DC, rather than its suburbs. Donald Trump, paradoxically both the lifelong city dweller and the aloof man, is the second President to care about Washington, DC. To be sure, Mr. Trump continues in the traditional heavy-handed approach towards city affairs (rule by decree), rather than the collaborative approach that city residents have come to expect over the last 60 years. The use of federal power in Washington, DC has generally been for the good of society. Early in his Presidency, Dwight Eisenhower ended the practice of racial segregation in the once-Southern city. In the 1990’s, Newt Gingrich’s Congress took over Washington, DC’s broken finances through the Fiscal Control Board: Under the long leadership of Mayor Marion Barry, the city offered too many patronage jobs, and offered middle-class taxpayers nothing in return for their large tax bills- schools were failing and crime was record-high. In the end, suburbanites (residents of Maryland, Virginia, and even West Virginia) were allowed to hold jobs in the beleaguered police and fire departments, and a strong system of charter schools and school vouchers were implemented. Suburbanites are becoming reaccustomed to Washington, DC after a 5-year absence. The lightly-enforced return-to-office policies under President Biden ameliorated a crash in commercial real estate valuations (and therefore, city tax collections). It was the stronger approach under President Trump that increased commuter rail ridership, and brought back the after-work culture in central Washington, DC. It's irresponsible to explain away the crime. Washington, DC had become a lawless place during the pandemic, and bringing back public order was important to bringing back the tourist and businessperson. Too many interns and taxpayers have been victimized to turn a blind eye. Yet I had faith that the Mayor was taking a proactive approach to restoring public safety and quality of life. She was willing to take the contentious step of removing tent encampments from public spaces. Donald Trump’s personal involvement is adding friction- and fomenting resistance- which would be counterproductive to the gains in public safety made so far. If I were the President, I would focus federal resources- and the deployment of federal law enforcement officers- to the aptly-named Federal District of government buildings in Downtown DC. The L’Enfant City, which also was until 2008 the flat-rate Central Zone for taxi rides, would be the widest perimeter of federal law enforcement deployment. Beyond that line, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) would have full and solo jurisdiction. In return, resources dedicated to the downtown area by the MPD could be moved to other parts of the city, such as the troubled Columbia Heights retail district. This was where a federal cop was infamously hit by a sandwich last week

The Homecoming

I owe my readers a blog post for July (and for that matter, I ought to be publishing every two weeks- or fortnightly, as I have done for several years). Where have I been? I crossed the equator five times, boarding the ship at less than 10 degrees north and debarking at less than 10 degrees south. This is a public forum, so it's not advisable to blast the ship's whereabouts all over the internet. How long have I been gone? 90 days on the ship, and about a week of roundtrip travel?. What were you doing? "CONSOL" operations, or fueling from a tanker at sea. Specifically, I was not working in the engine room as I normally do, but closer to the ship's bridge to help coordinate fueling-at-sea events. Why were you doing this? I elected to take a half-year Mobilization with the US Navy Reserve. Who was with you? Contracted mariners who are civilian employees for the perroleum shipping company. When did you sneak away without anyone noticing? I thank starlink onboard the ship. It was seamless connectivity 90% of the time, so didnt miss out on news from home. As longtime mariners know, this is both good and bad. Good that you know whats going on, bad in the sense that you have limited ability to deal with matters on land. Indeed, when I returned home last week, there were a myriad of items I needed to address. I needed to replace my iphone screen, and was able to bring my laptop back from the fritz (it was a charging canle issue, resolved now). I needed to schedule home repairs. so, a lot to do, while maintaining an office work schedule as well.

Couldn't Stop Thinking: Gerry Connolly

What I’ve been looking up today: Gerry Connolly, the late representative from the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. I met him at a Kings Point Club event when I was a freshman (or soon to be freshman?) at the academy. Already a familiar local name from his service on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, his first two elections in 2008 and 2010 were competitive. In a place like Virginia, “safe seats” are earned, not given. He was likewise unflappable as boundaries changed again, Northern Virginia’s other representatives retired, lost re-election, or resigned to seek higher office. Just now, I learned that he was a key advocate for Information Technology modernization and accountability across the US government, and perhaps a reason why I had to trade in work laptops every two years. Gerry Connolly was a knowledgeable advocated for what mattered to his constituents: the civil service. Apparently, that was a major reason he ran for reelection in his twilight years: to guarantee his longtime staffers a federal retirement. Democratic Party internal policies were not kind to him, with their strict adherence to seniority in choosing who would serve as a ranking member on the House Oversight Committee. This year was “his turn”, and Mr. Connolly’s frail appearance juxtaposed with contender Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became a flashpoint in left-wing circles. Legacy is something that is often revealed after death. Congress must act on this year’s spending bill, and hometown realities mean that the most caustic disestablishmentarian ideas against the civil service have been removed. We expect that the new laptops will keep coming.