New Ribbon in Bootcamp for Being the Best!

That is right now when you go through boot camp if you are in the top 3% you can get a ribbon for “Honor Graduate”…..

Linked here is the ALNAV announcing the Navy Basic Military Training Honor Graduate Ribbon.   To earn this ribbon all a recruit has to do is show superior performance throughout boot and be selected as the an Honor Graduate (HG).  Only 3% of each weeks training group may be designated as Honor Graduate.

Already I hear rumblings from old salty dogs and wannabe salty dogs “When I was in we didn’t get no awards for boot we were just happy to be done!”  True and life in the navy was not as good as it is now I'm sure. Change is inevitable and be certain when change happens people will be upset. 

"If anything is certain, it is that change is certain. The world we are planning for today will not exist in this form tomorrow."
-- Philip Crosby

Some may see this ribbon as a cookie for the 3% and mock it or I fear they will mock the person that got it.  That I is the sad state of the fleet right now.  A sailor comes to the ship right out of “A” school and is saying “Good morning Petty Officer, yes Petty Officer” and has respect for all above him.  What do fellow sailors do?  They mock them for the military baring we all should have and the sailor loses the baring he went through 3 months of training to get.    Then those same sailors who mock the sailor that got recognition get upset that they don’t get any.

I hope that is not the case we need to embrace the idea behind this ribbon,  as a way to help us spot those stand out sailors and set them on a track for success.   My fear is that it will be yet another good thing ruined by the people it is supposed to help the sailors that mock good military conduct.   We as a fleet need to encourage better military bearing and have a new mindset to recognize jobs well done.  If we do not embrace change good sailors that do outstanding jobs will be lost because of our stubbornness to not change.