SEALs Have Been Bad Boys
The SEALs are getting a retro session regarding clothing, hair, and how to behave. Very, very retro.
Unbridled antipathy toward an Enemy who wishes to kill you by blowing himself up will no longer be tolerated.
They have been very, very naughty and have made themselves appear to be reprobates. So they are being scolded and made to return to basic stuff like – gag me! – discipline and dress codes and haircuts. Probably means they’ll have to take regular showers, too, and likewise eliminates Friday nights at Rosie’s Bar Is Open – Cash Only.
Per the article: Stung by a string of scandals starring SEALs behaving badly, Naval Special Warfare commander Rear Adm. Collin Green on Tuesday issued a four-page “back to basics” directive designed to shore up shoddy conduct, restore moral accountability and create better leaders.
Released to senior leaders and then obtained by Navy Times, Green’s guidance returns the SEAL and boat teams to standards expected of service members across the fleet, with a mandate for leaders to conduct “routine inspections of your units and strictly enforce all Navy grooming and uniform standards, including adherence to all Navy traditions, customs and ceremonies.” – article
Sorry, guys, you can’t go on acting like a bunch of overgrown frat boys on a bender. And you’ll have to wash occasionally, whether you like it or not.
Category: "The Floggings Will Continue Until Morale Improves", Navy
Well now they will be as we used to say back in the day: “A J F..king Squared Away”
Do you think the legends will die with them?
TWEEEEEET!! Annoying whistle from the 1MC followed by: “Attention all decks, now hear this. Big Navy emailed the following directive. SOF Troops will continue to bring every weapon to bear to destroy our enemies and break things in general. However this mission WILL be accomplished by Troops with a high n tight, NO, absolutely No! 1700 hrs facial shadows, and the wearing of starched and pressed uniform of the day is mandated. Put a shine to those boots and CLEAN UP YOUR MESSY QUARTERS. You will also abstain from Kodak moments, recreational narcotics, and Class VI supplies pilfered from the Goat Locker. And no more of your swapping meat (sic) parties. The Admiral’s wife is still mad that she wasn’t invited to that. That is all. Carry on.” TWEET, click.
“SEALs Gone Wild”
If we re-establish a Navy base in the P.I., do you think things’ll be like they were?
We can only hope!!!!! Was at Subic in 1977-78. My favorite Tour!!
We did a PHIBLEX in the Fall of 2012 and commanded our MEU out of the SBMA. Sadly, liberty there was not as exciting as yesteryear. Couldn’t even go into Olongapo!
I had a staff sergeant who was completely into inspections uniforms boots everything and he insisted that unless every soldier in my company was squared away like that then they had no ability otherwise. He actually disliked me very much because my uniform wasn’t pressed, My boots were not shined and he thought that as the leader I should be the one who set that Standard… He was both absolutely right and absolutely wrong at the same time. You don’t have to look pretty in a uniform to win a gun fight But your uniform has to look respectable when you come home. We represent the flag we wear on our arm 13 stripes 50 stars every time somebody looks at us that’s what we are. We were ,we are, and we always will be American service men and women And we all took the same oath. We didn’t take an oath to a president a king or a Queen We took an oath to defend a living breathing document the only military in the world to do so.
Well stated.
“I’d like to have two armies: one for display with lovely guns, tanks, little soldiers, staffs, distinguished and doddering Generals, and dear little regimental officers who would be deeply concerned over their General’s bowel movements or their Colonel’s piles, an army that would be shown for a modest fee on every fairground in the country. The other would be the real one, composed entirely of young enthusiasts in camouflage uniforms, who would not be put on display, but from whom impossible efforts would be demanded and to whom all sorts of tricks would be taught. That’s the army in which I should like to fight.”
― Jean Lartéguy
That is what the Old Guard is for! They honor those that have served with dignity and respect. That being said, there is fine line between lazy and unprofessional, when you don’t maintain standards. I read a crappy thing from some Sham military thing on the Book of Face the other day, comparing Marines and the Army. I say sham, because it was clearly written by someone who only saw a narrow picture. But it did have some good points I want to highlight. The Marines don’t wear their work uniform off base! This reminded me of my time in the Ranger Regiment, pre-9/11: We had issued to us, several light weight BDUs and a pair of Jungle Boots (yes I said issued). You took your newest and best and starched it, and kept it pretty! You shined the crap out of one pair of boots! That is what the public saw, and you wore your beret with: a very sharp dresses, highly polished, muscular commando!) The rest of the uniforms were your field uniform which was clean, but not pressed, the boots, were black but not shiny (aka fluff and buff), and you wore your patrol cap with name tape on back, and specific markings for unit. This uniform was not seen off post. Specific guidance was if it has dirt on it you don’t get out of the car except to get in your house, if you have to get gas you better use a credit card because you can’t go in to pay! And heaven forbid you still had camouflage paint on (we had some officers relieved of duties for this one). This is very similar to the Marine way of doing things, but it is hard to enforce in an Army that is so big. So it was excepted that the rest of the Army did not maintain this standard and it was only for elite troops. It made you know you were special! The SEALs had gotten away from this, and it was starting to show that they were not living up to a standard… Read more »
Respect…. given….
No more fumanchu mustaches in combat?
That is just wrong.
10 bucks says they all go with the Hitler ‘stache as revenge.
Can’t wait for the books from SEALs describing the horrors of having to shave and get a haircut. And all of the Lone Survivors of the dry cleaners massacre of 2019.
“No shit, there I was. At the barber shop. I had just pulled a number. It’s was 69. I knew I was screwed because they were only on number 10. I would miss prime tanning hours on the beach that day. I figured I could hit the dry cleaners and drop off my cracker jacks while I waited. Seriously Navy, you expect me to wear bell bottoms? This is 2019. Nobody wears bell bottoms. Don’t even get me started on shaving. NEX only carries Gillette razors. The horror….”
Hopefully, SEALS will still be authorized to be bearded Vikings in combat zones.
No more book deals, soon.
This is about discipline (or the lack thereof). I’ve been talking about this for a while here. It’s obvious to any leader that the SOF community, and in particular the SEALs, have a major issue. I know most of you are Gallagher fans, but his court martial revealed some serious discipline and cohesiveness issues in his platoon, and the other recent incidents indicate that it is not isolated. I bet the SOCOM Commander is seriously pissed off. Secretary Esper is probably wearing their asses out
My former Ranger Regiment 1SG had a sign on his wall that said ‘Bad units sometimes look good, but good units never look bad’. He was not a stickler for crazy rules, he just thought it was a good mark of a professional to show up at the right place at the right time wearing the right uniform (properly). It really isn’t hard to do. I was a Scoutmaster, and we had 10 year old boys that could do it consistently. These days you don’t even have to shine your boots or press your uniform.
It really isn’t that much to ask of the SEALS to not violate GO #1, comply with US law (which includes all the treaties we’ve signed), Navy regulations, and lawful orders.
By the way, antipathy towards your enemy is a serious mistake- especially this enemy. You can’t afford to be emotional about the enemy, even if that emotion is hate.
I think the press picking up on the coke and booze sealed it – you know how the top hates to have the services seen in a bad light.
Whatever was the final word on the 2 former SEALs working maritime security and found dead in their staterooms doe to presumed IV drug use? I think it was a couple of years ago.
Nevermind, I Googled.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2014/04/30/world/africa/deaths-of-former-navy-seals.amp.html
PT belts for safety, too.
GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOMING Standards will NOW be enforced!
If you think that the beards and long hair were fooling ISIS and/or the Taliban you don’t really understand this war.
The beards started with SF teams working with Afghan militias (and later the ANA) and working with the local populace. They make a lot of sense in that context. The Pashtuns view being clean-shaven as effeminate, and it was easier to build rapport with them without that barrier. It had nothing to do with “fooling the Taliban.”
That was how I understood it to be.
I remember a Navy Seal rep. coming on board the Okinawa in 1964, and gave a nice presentation in the hanger bay about looking for men to join the new Seal group that was recently started. No long hair and clean shaven he was. Times sure have changed.
Gotta do it. We’ll be payin’ for the time that berryhussein was C-in C. PS- leave the video crap to teenage girls.