For my monthly column, I intended to continue writing about events from 1776. Did you know that on September 9, 1776, the Second Continental Congress officially renamed the United Colonies to be known as the United States of America? But then CNN, Los Angeles Times and other media outlets started broadcasting stories of low morale and horrible living conditions on the aircraft carrier USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Two of my sons were on active duty in the Navy on Sept. 11, 2001, the day the U.S. was attacked. Both were Surface Warfare Officers. I don’t think any of us was ready for the changes that were coming. There were no more stops at ports of call for them. They were in a war zone.
They did pull into a port several months later to pick up Marines who were the first forces to land in Afghanistan. There was a bounty being offered to anyone who could damage the ships while they were in port. (It only took a small ship to damage the USS COLE while it as refueling in Yemen in 2000.)
It should be expected that the ships involved in the current action would be forced to stay at sea for prolonged periods of time. That has been proven to negatively affect morale. But the crews of our ships continue to meet the challenges they face, but they will share some of those challenges in emails to friends and family.
In 2001, as our nation changed to “war time footing,” different supplies needed to be sent to our ships. Packages from home did not get top priority. That can contribute to low morale. On one of my son’s ships, morale was becoming a problem, and it was discovered that no one was receiving emails. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that one sailor had received an email with a long video of a family wedding that he had missed. The sailor got to view the video one more time and deleted it.
Morale improved as communications from home were once again available to be read.
Just like every day workspaces, one person can negatively affect morale aboard ships.
My friend has a son on one of the ships that are forming the blockade on Iran. It took five weeks for him to receive the package she sent him. He so appreciated the treats when he finally received them, even if they were not as fresh as one would like. When I recently asked for a military service box at the Post Office, I was told they don’t offer those discounted mailings anymore. Maybe that affects morale, too.
Serving the country as a member of the team assigned to a ship is not easy. We should be proud of all the efforts that have been made by our service men and women. As we discuss the current working conditions, should we also be discussing whether Congress should be appropriating more money for more ships so that individual ships do not need to constantly have their deployments extended?
Historical Note
On May 1, 2003, the USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN returned from a ten-month deployment. President George W. Bush met the ship to welcome the crew members of the task force home. The White House had a banner made that said “Mission Accomplished” to recognize that the crew had helped in the fall of Bagdad on April 9, 2003, and that they had performed their duties under harsh conditions and had endured an extended deployment. The media claimed that President Bush was saying that the entire mission of Operation Iraqi Freedom had been accomplished. Sometimes the media reports are not helpful.
America 250: Three Primary Purposes of the Declaration of Independence
