I was half awake during a USCG All Officers Meeting today when a new check in was told to stand up and introduce himself. Being prior USN, I let him say two words then with no conscious thought bellowed, "SIT DOWWWNNNNNNNNN". Call it a flashback if you will, but I completely expected the entire wardroom to join me in chorus. To my surprise, I was the only one heckling. Not only that, but the WHOLE room swiveled around and stared in disbelief. Another USN Direct Commission Aviator came to my rescue and said, "You're not in the Navy anymore".

When the meeting was over, I shook the newbie's hand, then apologized to the skipper. An O-5 pulled me aside and said, "That was great, we need more camaraderie like that".

Then it dawned on me.....the modern military isn't out of place, I am. It didn't strike any JO (majority of which are 8-10 years younger than me) to yell, heckle, laugh, embarrass, then welcome our new addition into the fold with a strong handshake and slap on the back. In fact, I didn't see anyone else but me shake the new pilot's hand today.

Has the military changed this much since I was commissioned 14 years ago, or is this unit/service specific?

P. S. the follow on "All Hands" conversation to last week's diversity training didn't go well this morning. And oh yeah, the new "Hurricane Recall Accountability Tool" has extended from automated phone calls, to a new website requiring registration with user name and password. At least my GMT is up to date until December 31st.