Petition To Restore Navy Ratings Reaches 100,000 Signatures
Categories: News
A petition on the White House’s dedicated petitioning website to restore the traditional Navy ratings done away with in September has reached the required 100,000 signatures to elicit a response from the Obama administration.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it will do much good.
That’s according to Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. Robert Burke, who is well aware of the effort to restore traditional navy ratings.
The petition was started by the anonymous “R.W.” on September 29th, 2016, after the announcement by the Navy that all traditional ratings titles would be done away with in the interest of gender equity.
Now, ratings such as Corpsman, Boatswain’s Mate and Yeoman, some of which predate the United States Navy and are rooted in naval tradition, have been eliminated to make way for numbers and codes, such as B320 for Gunner’s Mate.
The petition on the White House website says that “being known by your job title was a sense of pride. A sign of accomplishment. The Secretary of the Navy and Chief of Naval Operations just senselessly erased this tradition.”
White House has not yet released a statement on the Navy ratings petition.
At the 100,000 signatures mark, the White House is going to have to issue a response, although Vice Adm. Burke says the Navy has no plans to reverse its decision. Bringing back ratings and beloved titles such as corpsman and boatswain’s mate do not appear to be an option. He also said that the majority of feedback he has received about the ratings change has been positive.
This is perhaps due to the fact that he is a Vice Admiral; few, if any, enlisted sailors would risk the ire of their command by expressing negative opinions in front of the equivalent of a three-star general.
Still, Burke insists that the “main thing the American people care about is that we’re one Navy team supporting and defending our nation. And when they see a sailor walking down the street, they don’t see a corpsman, they don’t see a hull technician first class, they see a United States Navy sailor,” proving that he misses the point: the American people see sailors regardless of what their ratings are called, but sailors see themselves as part of an insular community of like-named professionals.
When I enlisted during viet nam war. The navy preached tradition, tradition, tradition.
enlisted men were proud of their uniform. This doing away of the rating insignia
is total P.C. bullshit!
former aviation machinist mate 2cd class
Hull
The rating/rank is the rating/rank. If you have a problem with this go see the chaplain.
Unfortunately, the Rear Admiral has no sense of tradition and could care less what the enlisted man/woman’s opinion is or what they want. The man has ripped out one of the most beloved traditions we have. They don’t seem to care about tradition anymore & that is sad.
Yes we are seen as sailors but even after all the beatings we take pride in our job titles. You wouldn’t not change the term Rutter, or the helm so why change the title of those who operate them. Show the enlisted people some respect and give us our rates .
Sincerely,
IT2
GIVE US SAILORS BACK OUR RATINGS. ITS HOW WE PROUDLY IDENTIFY OURSELVES. WE FUCKING EARNED THE TITLE
An Admiral has no idea whatbrating badges mean to the Sailor who earned it! He wants just a buch of peons he can put whever he wants! This was what it was like in the early days of Sailing ship when all you needed was someone to steer and someone to raise and lower the sail and anchor! The modern Navy is a little more technical then that!
This is some straight up BULLSHIT….. respectfully. As a former “Doc”….. you can take this policy along with the Tattoo policy and shove it up your asses… the Caduces, I worked my ass of for and sacrificed more than I care to discuss is mine and will be mine forever, try and strip me of that… i dare you. The men and women that earn those rate sacrifice so much just to be able to identify with their brothers and sisters of that rate there is a bond there that is profoun and unshakeable and had any of these policy makers spent a single day enlisted they may have known this was a bad move…. I am sorry but this is not the Navy I know and love.
My father, mother, an uncle, and my grandfather all served in the Navy and earned their ratings through hard work and a lot of studying. I tried to make it, but was given a medical discharge for having non-union fractures in my wrists.
I say that this total disregard for the enlisted personnel is Bravo Foxtrot Sierra.
Sir, with all do respect sir, The admiral needs to quit being a rectal cranial invert and restore the ratings.
like ke everything else this administration has gone too far with PC. Our military services pride themselves on tradition and they are destroying it.