From our Class Poet, Dick Raymond - NAVAL "JUSTICE" *

                                         

                                            NAVAL "JUSTICE" *

 

              “In a scathing judgment, Admiral Michael Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations,     

                confirmed the relief for cause of Captain Brett Crozier, former commanding     

              officer of USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), for having sent, without prior   

              authority, a letter to higher officials, critical of the risks his crew were facing 

              from the threat of corona virus.”     -- News item

 

            When the Military Officer confronts the seasoned Pol,

            On “Duty-Honor-Country” so sublime,

            You may talk of moral principles, but this is just a fact,

                        The Politician wins it, every time.

 

            The Officer is bound by the solemn oath he swore,

            To violate it constitutes a crime,

            But the Politician calculates his reelection odds,

                        So the Politician wins it, every time.

 

            It doesn’t count a particle, the rightness or the wrongs,

            Or if the Politician reeks of slime,

            His word outweighs the Officer’s, no matter what the case,

                        For the Politician wins it, every time.

 

            So if you be that Officer, prepare to be deep-sixed,

            Your truth and honor isn’t worth a dime—

            Your reputation’s scuttled, while the Politician skates,

                        Hey! the Politician wins it, every time!

            6-22-20

* Although the order relieving that captain was briefly rescinded, restoring him to command, 

the move was revoked by higher authority, and the former skipper is now permanently on the beach. 

To get to be CNO requires high political skills, leadership and concern for his men are apparently secondary.