From this morning's Military Times:

The Navy deep-sixed all of its 91 enlisted ratings titles Thursday, marking the beginning of an overhaul of the rigid career structure that has existed since the Continental Navy in a radical shift sure to reverberate through the fleet and the veterans community beyond.

Sailors will no longer be identified by their job title, say, Fire Controlman 1st Class Joe Sailor, effective immediately. Instead, that would be Petty Officer 1st Class Joe Sailor.











Officials say the controversial move will improve sailors' lives and ease their transition into the civilian workforce by broadening their skills in this tectonic shift in Navy’s personnel system to redraw the traditional lines between enlisted job specialties — a massive shake-up that is only beginning. Within the next three to four years, earlier if possible, the service plans to allow sailors to retrain in related skills, expanding their worth to the Navy while reaping broader assignment opportunities as well as increased advancement changes and greater access to special pays and bonuses that come with the most critical skills.



“We’re going to immediately do away with rating titles and address each other by just our rank as the other services do,” said Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. Robert Burke in a Sept. 19 interview. “We recognize that’s going to be a large cultural change, it’s not going to happen overnight, but the direction is to start exercising that now.”


Sailors past and present have longstanding and deep love of the titles that have defined their Navy lives. All of these now belong to the history books.

The bottom line is they are making all the ratings go away for gender neutrality.
The rest of it is window dressing.
Sad day!

I'm not sure what they are actually trying to accomplish, but when I was in back in the mid 80's we didn't typically say "Aviation Boatswains Mate Carroll come here please" Or "First Class Petty Officer Ridgell asked me to chip paint today". It was just Petty Officer Ridgell or Airman Carroll if a rank qualifier even needed to be inserted into the conversation. More often than not it was just the last name.

FTN

More of the stomach churling PC bullshit so rampant. And some folks wonder why many of we old farts are saying the country is imploading.

And yeah I'm retired Navy damnit.

As someone who has a little experience with the Navy I have some thoughts of this subject. I do not believe the Navy has gone far enough with this. I held two ratings and several job codes in my 24 years, Damage Controlman and Machinery Repairman. Both ratings are discriminatory to both women and those who do not know what sex they are. When I left the navy I was officially Machinery Repairman Petty Officer First Class. Both the title and the Petty Officer are hurtful, the Repairman to anyone with a different gender or lack of clear gender and the Petty Officer to those of lower ratings. We all should immediately become known as humanoid and have no other name or designation.

The uniform should be changes also. Perhaps a kilt and tee shirt. A kilt is appropriate to any and no gender. Kilts should made of polyester so they will work well in shipboard fires. A nice neutral gray should be used, kind of a blend of all races.

Ships and boats should become known at Things just in case boats feel bad about their smaller size. Things should have no designations to tell one kind of Thing form another. No use designation or hull numbers. That should stop all the confusion and hurt feelings.

I love the new Navy where every Thing is a safe place and no humanoid is ever in danger of hurt feelings.

Took me a minute!

When my Son went in he was a Gunners Mate.

Look it up i believe at that time there were less than a handfull in the whole Navy.

That was over 18 years ago might not be any today.

My dad was an Aviation Chief Radioman, flying blimps doing convoy escort and U-boat patrols. He'd turn over in his grave if he learned that his Aviation title disappeared.

Trump will fix this nonsense!

Maybe but this is a new world we live in today and crazy does not begin to describe it. I was proud of my Navy and it's traditions. I have nothing in common with the new Navy.

I'm a retired FCC(SW) but I'm a DOD contractor who still works with our finest Men and Women in the world's most powerful Navy.

They are PISSED. All day they have been Bitchin and I don't blame them. I'm just a bit Pissed myself.

HOW DARE some bureaucrats F'up 222 years of Pride and Tradition.

All we need now is Hillary and we'll have rowboat's with straw's and spit balls.

Dave Mathis FCC(SW)(RET) USN 1982-2004

I guess they can discontinue the "Naval Traditions and Customs" portion of boot camp.

This is simply another attempt to weaken our military and make our country look bad.

ya trying to out do T Lee?

It is all for gender neutrality.
Wussification of the Navy.
I was an MMC and proud of it.
I am so glad not to be this Navy!

Don't sell the new kid's short, Scott. They deal with a lot of PC BULLSH#T but some (not all) are trying to be Warriors.

Hey Gearhead,
I'm an old school CHIEF, and if you ever were a CHIEF, you know that that there a lot of [bleep] sandwich's you got to eat.

These kids HATE it to, and are trying they're Damn'est to navigate this PC F'up that has happened the last while.

It doesn't say they're doing away with the ratings though. Or I guess they're going to have a sonarman operating the nuclear reactor? Not clear but I don't see how they can make an actual substantive change in the division of labor.

In any event, stupidity is accelerating at such an exponential pace nowadays it challenges my grip on reality.

It is a noble goal.

I think the are going to go to something like the Army MOS system.

Dad was Navy; FIL was Navy; I was Navy; son was Navy; Grandson's currently on an LA class nuke. Lot of anger in our family over this.

That would make sense. The rating insignias were one of the best things about the uniforms though IMO.

I agree but the micrometer and gear on my crow might hurt someone's feelings along with the three gold stripes under it and the 6 gold hashmarks on the sleeve. We wouldn't want to hurt anyone feelings.

My winged anchors might be viewed as weapons by the sensitive types.

I'll bet the crow on my dungarees is pretty scary as well.

My IFGA would be incomprehensible to most.

I got out in January, 1977, after 6 years. I was going to make a career out of it but it had changed so much in the last two years that it was no longer the Navy. They were doing away with the old Dungarees and Dixie hat. Gone was the time when a PO could make you shake in your shoes.

Years later it came back around and now they are trying to destroy it again. Screw the SOB's in DC for making these decisions.

Jim