Thursday, December 04, 2008

Diversity Thursday

Counting beans on FREEDOM. Nice to see what is important out there.

BTW, the CO and his crew are just doing the best he can here, nothing bad on him - they are just dealing with what is thrown at them, and do a good job - note they don't volunteer to play the game - the reporter has to inject it.
The Navy's newest and most unique warship, USS Freedom (LCS 1), is not only a platform for reconfigurable mission capabilities and the train-to-qualify concept, it is also a prime example of the diversity encouraged by the Secretary of the Navy.

With a total complement of 80 Sailors split evenly between the "blue crew" and the "gold crew," Freedom's team include numerous ethnicities among the male and female Sailors, including six born overseas.

"(The crew) is across the whole spectrum of the kind of Sailors we want to have representing our country, and it's transparent to us," said Cmdr. Don Gabrielson, commanding officer of Freedom's blue crew. "We think more about who you are and not what you are."

For many Freedom Sailors, having a diverse ethnic crew on such a small ship presents a variety of opportunities on both work-related and social levels.

"We have a lot of fun and work hard; the personalities on this ship bring us all together," said Chief Store Keeper (AW) Tony Morrison, Freedom's supply officer and a native of Derry, Ireland.

"I think it's great that we've got so many different cultures on board because everybody learns a little bit about everything," said Operations Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Rocio G. Fooks, who was born in Rota, Spain, and spent the majority of her childhood and teenage years overseas.

In addition to promoting diversity, it is clear that the Navy must be sure to create an equal opportunity environment in all work places - a condition that goes without saying on Freedom.

"I think what we're doing here is really a strong indication of the quality of Sailors that we have in the Navy today," said Gabrielson.
100% of your daily allowance of fried air from the Navy internal PSYOPS department.

Hat tip Phil.

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