Rebel

The things I write here are not read by many. I want to write for a living. Somehow. I also write posts about the military on the government's Secret internet. Even people who know about and use the Secret internet don't believe me or comprehend, so I won't try here, just to say the government thought it would be cool if there were secret blogs. I thought it was cool too. I can read about people from every branch of the government doing anything and everything all over the world, first hand accounts. So I write about stuff, and lots of people read it. I get lots of positives. I was able to communicate with experts in the fields I was discussing. Only problem is that it's a government blog, so no personal stuff. Nothing but business. Anyway. I just wish I had more readers. Maybe when I actually pick a field and stick to it, and appeal to the desires, or more Objectivistly, pick a field, and let them come. That rant over.

What I wanted to rant about on the secret net was about ESWS. This is a qualification that sailors can recieve on ships. This used to be an honor. Sailors would work hard and prove themselves worthy of the title, worthy of the pin. Now commands desperate to look better than other commands. Departments and Divisions desperate to stand out within commands have ruined the value of the ESWS qualification. They threaten sailors to get it. They punish sailors who don't. They make it easier for people to help them get the title. This is anti-Objectivist. Flat out, if I were Christian, this would be like asking me to bow down to Satan. So I am being punished, alot. I am being threatened even more. ESWS is an abomination, and an embarrassment. I would feel ashamed to get this meaningless, fallen, piece of metal. Yet now I am compelled. I am not allowed off the ship until 7:30 PM every one of the few days I'm inport, except the weekend. I have been ordered to get this qualification by July 15, or they will send me to Captain's Mast. If that happens, I could lose my rank, with it the pay, and the ability to live off the ship, and they could cancel my orders to San Diego. Basically, if I don't get ESWS in the next month, they will ruin my career, and take from me everything I have worked for in the last three years.

What to do? So I will give it a shot. I'll get it, because I have been ordered to, and I knew going in that I was being paid to follow orders. I won't stop my campaign against ESWS, but I'll end up wearing the mark of shame while doing it.