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Military.com Forums Navy Discussions Naval History, Traditions, Customs and Ceremonies Impact of Adm. Zumwalt|
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There is not one person on my ship from my captain, to our divisional master chief who was in the Navy during Adm. Zumwalt's tenure as CNO, so I really had nowhere else to go but here to ask about him. What I want to know is what made him so influential that his decisions are still being felt in today's Navy?
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One can be influencial when one is the CNO. However, Adm Zumwalt reached far down into the ranks with his idea of changes, whether good or bad. He was famous for putting out "All Hands" messages that took on the quasi title of "Z Grams".
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Go to your local library and check out his book: On watch: A memoir I enlisted in 1971 after he had already started his big changes in the Navy. The military as a whole was going through some hard times when he became CNO. There was a lot of drug use and low morale and "micky mouse" rules and regs for everything. Zumwalt chose to "break some rice bowls" (ask your Master Chief what that means) and initiate lots of changes in a very short period of time. This did not set well with some people. He was very popular witht the lower ranking enlisted men for questioning the why and how of the way things were done in the Navy. For instance, why can't we have a little hair? Why can't we wear civillian clothes when leaving the ship? Why can't we wear clean dungarees home? He seemed to be willing to take a look at something and see if it made sense to keep doing it that way or could we loosen things up a bit? I won't judge the better or worse of his decisions in the long term, but perhaps no CNO before or since has been willing to be so radical in his thinking. |
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I'll be sure to check that book out, thanks cheif.
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And he had the most impressive eyebrows I have ever seen.
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It is my feeling that Adm Zumwalt was a man of great feeling for his fellow man. He was raised in a very small town, one High School, small population of approx 5,000 at the time of his High School graduation. In this town, Tulare, CA. there was no gangs, social divisions, very few had the greater wealth, a community dependent on small shops and agriculture, therefore, the greater population was on even upward socio-economic level. I feel this led Adm Zumwalt to have a greater feel for the individualism of persons, and this feeling trickled down to the shipmates of the Navy.
Adm Zumwalt's many changes or widening of latitudes may of irked many of the old salts who guarded their strong channels of tradition and authority (I belive that is addressed as Rice Bowling?), but it did lead to a stronger Navy where individualism was not lost in Regs or Rum Barrel tradition. |
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Navy Forums Moderator and Keeper of the Cane GerryRM3@yahoo.com  |
Those of us who came before the Zumwalt years couldn't believe what he did in reguards to the uniforms and long hair ect. It was as if all those tradtions went down the poop chute.
I do know of a couple of people who ended their careers, suposedly because of his programs. The Navy was getting out of hand with race riots and drug use and those of us who were no longer in looked at it with a jaundiced eye. Wheather the race issue and drug problems started before or not it was because of his high visability that he was and is blamed for so many things that seemed to go wrong in that time frame. Remember that the early seventies wasn't exactly a cakewalk for people in the service. Just my opinion. USS Liberty, Never Forget. I believe in Murrays Law, he thought Murphy was an optimist. |
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Thanks Gerry. I was hoping you would put in $0.02 worth. It would also be interesting to hear from CDR "Mac The Knife". How about it Commander? Did Adm Zumwalt rattle your cage also?
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by TinkFixer:
And he had the most impressive eyebrows I have ever seen.[/QUOTE  |
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I was in both before and after ADM Zumwalt. It was said that one was either totally behind him or totally against him. I really don't think this was the case. As a young E-5 at the time, I think he made some much needed changes. But I think he also changed some things that should have been left alone.
My personal favorite was Z-Gram #57,commonly known as the "Elimination of Mickey Mouse Rules". Also one of the most important ones was #24 "Navy Wives Ombudsman Program". This link gives a complete list of all Z-Grams with some of the more important ones in their entire content. Bob |
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good morning all
i enlisted in 1969. i carried a copy of z-gram 70 in my pocket all the time. this z-gram allowed sideburns even with the bottom of the ear lobe. i can't tell you how many different people threaten to "mast" me for being out of grooming standards. when i showed them the z-gram whined like spoiled children. look at the list of z-grams that are at the link provided above, there isn't a single facet or benefit that the sailors today enjoy that was not addressed or created under adm z's watch. if you were impressed by adm z's eye brows than you never saw him in person. a very slight, short (5' 6" tops), gentleman. i met adm z at the washington navy yard at the cold war museum. the navy was formally displaying the pcf on the sea wall. many of the former pcf sailors were there for the ceremony. adm z put forth the atsb(advanced tactical support base) strategy the most famous was seafloat..re-named solid anchor..finally tran hung doa IV.. adm moorer was "old school"....adm z was the first of the "new school". that's my 2 cents gmcm 16 Jun 69 - present |
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I was in the "Moorer Navy" of the 60's.
But Adm. Zumwalt's career also had an ironic impact far beyone the Navy. He served as Commander US Naval Forces Vietnam (the Brown Water Navy) from 1968-70. He set up Operation SEA LORDS, which placed naval forces in the waters of the Mekong Delta. In other words, he created the Swift Boat Navy, which gave a young Naval officer the chance to transfer from destroyer service to Swift Boat duty and become a great American hero, earning in just a few short months as many Purple Hearts as America's most dedicated soldier, Lt. Audie Murphy, USA earned in three years of infantry combat in the ETO during WWII. Richard Nixon, by the way, chose him to be CNO. |
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This was good but it didnt take long for some to mess this up,Our ship came close to loosing the dungarees home bit,People was caught in bars and resturants in their dungrees.Some thought you could wear the dungrees that you had worked all day in the yard period home. There is always a few that would mess it up for everybody. |
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Who is this young Naval Officer you speak of?
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Ahh, Seafloat and Solid Anchor . . . . were you there? I lived nearby. Doug |
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Zumwalt brought change to a Navy of Old Navy Sailors who did not want change. Before that a young president JFK instiled daily pysical workouts that took place usually a morning muster. It was soon gone as the chain of command did not want to make it work. This happened to alot of the Z policies. Dungarees of station the blue jackets abused to the joy of Old Salts of the Old Navy. Change is going to happen and many of the Z things are now a part of the Navy. Those who serve make the Navy what it is. Change is going to happen so look for the good in things being tried but don't forget how you got to where you are today. Just an old sailor's opinion. Make it so!
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doug..
i sure was there. got there shortly after seafloat moved ashore. i was an ho chi ming e-5. had a marine major as base defense officer. built bunkers, dug emplacements, manned the towers and mortar pits. maintained the kill zone and planted claymores. that ammo dump with the psp runway strips flooded and was undermined so bad it swallowed a rt forklift! aaahh...those were the days... gmcm |
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In that case we just missed each other -- you were there for what they called Solid Anchor. That was at some point after I left, which was late Aug '69. I lived in a village (as an Army advisor) to the north of where you were -- about 10 km. No one was further south of us . . until you guys showed up! Doug |
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doug
right outside the wire was a narrow canal. on the bank was what was left of a small bridge column. the rumor was it was all that remained from the original village there. it was wiped slick by a b-52 strike in early 67 or late 68. we used to joke that the walk to deep blue water was less than 2 miles in 3 different directions. of course ignoring that we were usually ankle deep in water walking within the wire.  gmcm |
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It wasn't a rumor -- that's what happened.
Back then (1968, I believe) it was getting to be too much of a chore to supply that area. So, the powers-that-be decided to pull out. The district government was moved to the north, to a village on the northern bank of the Bay Hap River. That's 10 km north of Sea Float/Solid Anchor. Then they leveled the town of Nam Can (that's where you were, in case you didn't know), and I suppose the surrounding area, via B-52. Anyway, if you went north on that canal you mentioned (it would be on the eastern edge of your area), 10km north, it comes out right where we lived. I was gone by the time you arrived on the scene, however. I've been back a number of times. I wish I had a digital camera the first time (1989), as you probably would have enjoyed the photos . . . they had a few Swift Boats and other craft which had been sunk over the years of the war, all together up along the river bank. A couple of years later they were cut up for scrap metal . . . and I don't know what in the hell I did with those photos! Doug |
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Military.com Forums Navy Discussions Naval History, Traditions, Customs and Ceremonies Impact of Adm. Zumwalt
