Why we work hard...

Your best Sailors work hard - and work to overcome the mistakes of others WAY up the totem pole from them - because they get it. They understand - and they give a d@mn.

“As long as you’re awake, you have something to do,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Lucien Gauthier, who arrived on the San Antonio, his first ship, in August 2006.

Gauthier, a 25-year-old from Brevard, N.C., said the crew has kept a positive attitude through the failed trials and chronic problems. He called the experience “a painful way to learn.”

“It forced us to learn how to adapt.” he said. “Are we supposed to learn how to deal with this off the coast of Virginia, or are we supposed to learn how to deal with this off the coast of Somalia?”

You train hard and you do all you can to get your ship ready to go in harm's way. To do less is professional malpractice. Read the whole of this article on how LPD-17 is now up to speed. It provides a great overview of what we have always known - no matter how many screw-ups by PEO Ships' Flags and SES and others - extra loads of tax-payer money and Sailor sweat will fix it. Bravo Zulu Sailors, and well put Petty Officer Gauthier.