U.S. Navy Investment in Educating the Enlisted Workforce

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Understanding of strategic planning of operations
The importance of profound knowledge in certain subjects
Need to study US interests within the country and abroad
Conclusion
Bibliography

Introduction

The primary aim of an American enlisted sailor should be to answer any call to fight for the country. He should use all his ability and wisdom to defend his country against any security threats and should ensure that peace prevails. These days the United States of America is facing continuous threats related to international terrorism. The US military should not only ensure the safety and freedom of the American people but guarantee their economic freedom and stability as well. What is necessary for the citizens of the United States today is to know that brave sailors can guarantee them proper security, especially now, when the instances of terrorism are so frequent. Courage used to be the first thing to characterize sailors but with time another point of view developed regarding the features, the sailors should possess. It is often argued that apart from courage the enlisted sailors should have a proper level of education which, according to the data obtained recently, they do not have. In 1993 it was reported that the Navy still had thousands of sailors who could not read material designed for a junior high-school audience (1). Moreover, today’s young people are insufficiently prepared for military service; most of them do not even have a high school diploma but what they do have are poor physical shape and criminal history. A survey revealed that almost 72% of the youth do not have the physical, mental and educational standards to join the service. Over two hundred years the Navy continuously invested in the technical training of the sailors but formal education has never been paid appropriate attention to. There is no doubt that technical training is beneficial for them but it can hardly be compared with full-fledged education which enlarges the scope not only in matters concerning the navy but in all other spheres as well. In this context the need for formal education gains significance. The enlisted sailors should be capable of handling tough situations not only technically but cognitively and physically as well that’s why formal education in the US navy should be provided to them.

Understanding of strategic planning of operations

What should be mentioned above all is that a sufficient level of education of enlisted sailors will facilitate their understanding of strategic planning of operations they take part in. Strategic planning can help the enlisted sailors build on strength and take advantage of major opportunities (2) instead of mere obedience to the orders and taking them for granted. Of course there exist conditions under which the sailors are forbidden to contradict the orders of the commandment but it seems that the ability of the sailors to know and understand what exactly they are doing and which function they perform would make the fulfillment of these orders more precise and to some extent even beneficial for the sailors themselves since being aware of what exactly they are doing will help them perform the task further if something goes wrong. Performing military operations does not forgive failures or imperfections but what the sailors can encounter is unexpectedness which can affect the entire fulfillment of the operation. It is named in such situations that critical thinking of the sailors will prove to be important and necessary; it would help to react accordingly to sudden changes which may occur in the course of the operation. Leaders apply critical thinking to explore a situation, problem, or question from multiple perspectives (3) and the sailors applying it can consider the operation in detail and think about not only their part in it but the part of their comrades as well. This is where the distinction between technical training and former education lies. Technically trained sailor is strong, brave and committed whereas an educated sailor finds ways to avoid sacrificing his own and his comrades’ lives using critical thinking. Such a kind of thinking cannot be achieved by mere technical training which teaches technical issues alone without providing the sailors with sufficient background they necessarily need in situations where even perfect technique can let the sailor down. Sailors’ observations confirmed that when men stopped to think about what was going on all around them they panicked (4). This panic is without any doubt caused by unawareness and inability to properly evaluate the situation this is why the ability to think critically and to view the operation as some mutually connected details rather than as a part, a separate sailor performs in it, would save numerous lives and result in a better fulfillment of the operations.

The importance of profound knowledge in certain subjects

Another point to mention is that critical thinking alone may turn out to be insufficient when it comes to the situation where broader knowledge is required. Since the military is operating in a number of countries there is a necessity for the enlisted sailors to know more about different cultures, their history, customs, economy and where exactly these countries are situated. What the sailors are equipped with is only ‘the whole course of mechanics, the differential and integral calculus, hydrostatics, hydrodynamics and optics’ (5) whereas they remain completely ignorant of the cultural and political issues the rest of the world is preoccupied with. What they need is a thorough study in the course of culture and geography in order to properly perform the operations in different corners of the world. Knowing exactly which country they are in and what are the customs of this country will give them an extra advantage for behaving properly and treating certain issues with the attention the natives of the country do. Taking into account the current situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, it can be stated that namely lack of knowledge in culture and history of these countries led to insurgents the navy has to face today. According to Kristin Henderson, most of the problems the sailors face now could be avoided if every war fighter received a thorough and ongoing education in combat stress management ahead of time, starting in basic training and continuing through deployment. That would make managing combat stress and integral and natural part of the job of fighting a war (6). Moreover, it is impossible to conduct military operations in the country being absolutely unaware of its historical background and geographical position and being guided only by technical training. Perfect fighting skills and excellent physical shape alone are unlikely to help in the situation where knowledge, intelligence and keenness of wit are required. Special emphasis should be also paid to the economy of each country mostly for the reason of finding out its weaknesses or, on the contrary, strong points. Knowing about the weaknesses of the enemy is what brings victory or is at least certain predominance and advantage. Unfortunately, most of the sailors resent to the fact that they should be better educated considering that what they know about politics, economy, cultural studies and geography is enough for them to obey the orders given by their commandment. The necessity of studying politics and economy has perceptibly increased due to the Global War on Terrorism in frames of which the Navy is forced to operate in the places the sailors are not even familiar with. Not only should the enlisted sailors study the above-mentioned issues but they have to constantly update their knowledge in order to be aware what exactly is going on in the country they are heading to and what they should expect from it. Updating knowledge is vital and necessary for filling the possible gaps which further may turn out to be significant for having the whole idea about the country. Politics of some countries is changing constantly and sometimes very abruptly this is why knowing about certain political issues is very important. The only fact that such a great number of people, the enlisted sailors, are ignorant about the current events in the world is outrageous. In fight for the welfare of the country critical thinking combined with profound knowledge, intelligence and wit should be the best weapon of a sailor.

Need to study US interests within the country and abroad

And finally, enlisted sailors should perfectly know the US interests within the country as well as abroad. The interests of the native country and its relations with other states will help in strategic planning of operations and successful completion of missions. Moreover, the sailors will know exactly what they are defending, which will, without any doubt, boost their spirits. Thus, what the sailors should know is that the United States is currently rethinking its national interest and foreign policy goals (7). What it is aiming at is redefining US national interest in the Middle East, namely, tend military aid to Israel, to promote democracy and economic freedom and to recognize Palestine (8). Over the years the promotion of democratic development has been one of the most important national interests of the United States of America. This kind of development is expected to unite all human rights and freedoms in pursuit of social justice. What’s more, the issue of globalization should be paid attention to when educating the enlisted sailors, because namely this issue influences the United States’ national interests. Globalization affects different spheres of U.S. national interests, such as, productivity and economic growth, the national economic adjustment process, and national sovereignty/security (9). The latter, national security, is of special significance to the country since it includes protecting U.S. citizens abroad, guaranteeing access to the assets we need to maintain our standard way of living, and protecting the type of government we find important to sustaining the nations with which we interact in the world (10). Among the domestic interests of the country, the fight with terrorism and ensuring safety to the citizens are the interests which US sets above all. National security strategies are released and renewed very often; their aim is to protect the country from hostile states and terrorist groups, while also expanding development assistance and free trade, promoting democracy, fighting disease, and transforming the U.S. military (11). The enlisted sailors should study all these facts not only with the purpose of widening their scope but in order to carry out military operations taking into consideration national and domestic interests of their native country and aiming to defend them.

Conclusion

Taking into consideration everything mentioned above it would be fair to state that formal education is necessary for the enlisted sailors because just a mere technical training is not enough in the situations where only critical thinking may help. The sailors should build their knowledge in such subjects as cultural studies, geography, history, and religion and know perfectly about the customs and traditions of the countries where the military operations are conducted. The enlisted sailors are also supposed to study the history of their own country in order to know exactly what they are protecting and what they are fighting for. The relations of the United States of America with other countries should also be studied properly in order to know which countries the USA led wars with. This would help to avoid the mistakes the former leaders made and to settle the situation peacefully where it is possible. The Navy should be transformed into a responsive, agile, and efficient learning organization with the ability to quickly adapt and to apply new technologies and new warfighting tactics (11). Only with the educated sailors will the Navy have an opportunity to conduct full-fledged operations since not only brave and committed but also intelligent sailors will take the orders and execute them with the best possible loyalty and devotion.

Bibliography

Roger Thompson. 2007. Lessons Not Learned: The U.S. Navy’s Status Quo Culture. Naval Institute Press
John M. Bryson. 2004. Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations: A Guide to Strengthening and Sustaining Organizational Achievement. Wiley_Default
Michael J. Bennett. 2004. Union Jacks: Yankee Sailors in the Civil War. UNC Press
Richard L. Daft, Pat Lane. 2001. The Leadership Experience. Harcourt College Publishers
Geoffrey Till, Bryan Ranft. 2006. The Development of British Naval Thinking: Essays in Memory of Bryan McLaren Ranft. Routledge
Jeff Campbell, Loretta Chilcoat, Susan Derby, Beth Greenfield. 2004. USA. Lonely Planet
Philip Morrison, Kosta Tsipis. 1998. Reason Enough to Hope: America and the World of the Twenty-first Century. MIT Press
Matthew Glass. 1993. Citizens Against the MX: Public Languages in the Nuclear Age. University of Illinois Press
Peter Trubowitz. 1998. Defining the National Interest: Conflict and Change in American Foreign Policy. University of Chicago Press
American Foreign Policy Council, Prague Society for International Cooperation. 2006. The Transatlantic Drift Debates: Proceedings from the American Foreign Policy Council’s 2004 Conference on U.S.-European Relations. Lexington Books
John Hagan, Jack Leahy. 2004. The Chief Petty Officer’s Guide. Naval Institute Press
Kristin Henderson. 2006. While They’re at War: The True Story of American Families on the Homefront. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Ernest H. Preeg. Preeg, Ernest H.: From Here to Free Trade. University of Chicago Press
Cynthia Ann Watson. 2008. U.S. National Security: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO
Harry Thompson. Opinion on US National Interest in the Middle East.
2009. National Security Strategy Report – 2002. Global Security. Web.

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U.S. Navy Investment in Educating the Enlisted Workforce

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