I’m currently deployed in a country half-way around the world from KP and have been watching this post morph over the past days. It is amazing to me, even after 29 years in the Navy, how people view things such as leadership and responsibility. NavIss58 hit it right on the head. If Is2day and the other first class are unhappy with the bearing of the lower class, then it is time for them to take action as a leader.
First let’s not be too concerned with the appearance of a 17 year high school junior who comes to KP for a visit. Why are we complaining about he/she looks when they come to visit? KP does not have a dress code or haircut regulations for visitors. The true test of KP is not who walks in the gate on I-Day in July, it is who walks out of the gate 4 years later after graduation. Like NavIss58 said, even gold needs to be polished and refined. I don’t think anyone is honestly expecting everyone to report in on I-day all spit and polish and ready to be one of the regiment. Now if everyone that walked out that gate after graduation looked and acted the same, then there would be a problem. But I don’t believe there is anyone who is not proud to display a graduate of KP as if they were the most precious gem in the world.
As far as a new Superintendent changing how these kids act, I disagree. It is true that the Supe will provide guidance and direction to where the academy is heading, but the day-to-day leadership falls on the regiment; i.e. Is2Day and the rest of the first class. It is up to them to mold and shape the lower class into leaders and members of the KP community. If they don’t like what they are seeing then it is partially their fault for letting it happen. Honestly if one of my junior officers came up to me complaining about the bearing and behavior of the enlisted personnel, the first question is going to be “What are you doing about it?”
I know until recently it was acceptable to put a plebe on their face at any time during plebe year, but things change and good leaders have to learn to adapt. Don’t sit around doing nothing, but mourning the good old days. You need to adapt to your circumstances. If the only way you know how to lead is to put somebody on their face, then you are missing the big picture. In the fleet we can’t take a sailor right out of boot camp and put them on their face. That ends the day they graduate and become sailors in the US Navy. A few years back, I watched 2 Chief Petty Officers and 3 other sailors get court-martialed. Their crime? Putting a recruit the ringer; lots of push-ups and sit-ups. They went too far and an injury occurred. Their punishment? Convicted at Courts-Martial of hazing. All were reduced in rank and all were transferred to other commands. Their chances of promotion taken away. When I came in the Navy in 1981, it was not uncommon for senior enlisted to physically beat-up a junior enlisted to “straighten” them out. Today we call that Assault and Battery and it is considered a crime. Too often putting somebody on their face for push-ups gets a little out of hand and somebody gets hurt. Now we have rules about hazing. A good leader has to adapt.
One final note. When you graduate KP, you are not done with your education; just a part of it. You will continue to learn throughout your career wherever that may take you. A good leader learns to adapt to the situation. Each person working for you will need to be managed with different leadership styles. What works for one person may not work for another. When you solve that riddle, you will be on your way to being a great leader. It’s time to for the upperclass to put Acta Non Verba into practice. Become part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Best of luck.
First let’s not be too concerned with the appearance of a 17 year high school junior who comes to KP for a visit. Why are we complaining about he/she looks when they come to visit? KP does not have a dress code or haircut regulations for visitors. The true test of KP is not who walks in the gate on I-Day in July, it is who walks out of the gate 4 years later after graduation. Like NavIss58 said, even gold needs to be polished and refined. I don’t think anyone is honestly expecting everyone to report in on I-day all spit and polish and ready to be one of the regiment. Now if everyone that walked out that gate after graduation looked and acted the same, then there would be a problem. But I don’t believe there is anyone who is not proud to display a graduate of KP as if they were the most precious gem in the world.
As far as a new Superintendent changing how these kids act, I disagree. It is true that the Supe will provide guidance and direction to where the academy is heading, but the day-to-day leadership falls on the regiment; i.e. Is2Day and the rest of the first class. It is up to them to mold and shape the lower class into leaders and members of the KP community. If they don’t like what they are seeing then it is partially their fault for letting it happen. Honestly if one of my junior officers came up to me complaining about the bearing and behavior of the enlisted personnel, the first question is going to be “What are you doing about it?”
I know until recently it was acceptable to put a plebe on their face at any time during plebe year, but things change and good leaders have to learn to adapt. Don’t sit around doing nothing, but mourning the good old days. You need to adapt to your circumstances. If the only way you know how to lead is to put somebody on their face, then you are missing the big picture. In the fleet we can’t take a sailor right out of boot camp and put them on their face. That ends the day they graduate and become sailors in the US Navy. A few years back, I watched 2 Chief Petty Officers and 3 other sailors get court-martialed. Their crime? Putting a recruit the ringer; lots of push-ups and sit-ups. They went too far and an injury occurred. Their punishment? Convicted at Courts-Martial of hazing. All were reduced in rank and all were transferred to other commands. Their chances of promotion taken away. When I came in the Navy in 1981, it was not uncommon for senior enlisted to physically beat-up a junior enlisted to “straighten” them out. Today we call that Assault and Battery and it is considered a crime. Too often putting somebody on their face for push-ups gets a little out of hand and somebody gets hurt. Now we have rules about hazing. A good leader has to adapt.
One final note. When you graduate KP, you are not done with your education; just a part of it. You will continue to learn throughout your career wherever that may take you. A good leader learns to adapt to the situation. Each person working for you will need to be managed with different leadership styles. What works for one person may not work for another. When you solve that riddle, you will be on your way to being a great leader. It’s time to for the upperclass to put Acta Non Verba into practice. Become part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Best of luck.
