| Re .0:
I understand that in some places Chief's Clubs admit raghats (E-6
and below) due to the small number of E-7 to E-9 patrons.
However, aboard ship (most that I know of anyway) and ashore, Chiefs
and raghats have seperate berthing.
In short, except where necessary (unit parties, etc), mixing Chiefs and
raghats is not encouraged.
Mark
RMC USNR
|
| re .1
I think .0 was referring more to officer/enlisted rather than Sr
enlisted/Jr enlisted.
The reason for splitting the enlisted clubs is well known. Us old
farts like to drink in relative quiet.
But seriously, very often in reserve units there are no 'clubs'.
In National Guard armories, I understand that most can have some type
of club. This due to the fact that the premises are State property
and not Federal. If you look at a small unit, far from any active
installation, the few officers have no choice but to socialize
with the enlisted men or appear to be anti-social. From the reserve
perspective, things are very different. There are many situations
where the civilian roles have been completely reversed from the
military ones. I have heard of one situation where the Company
CO was an employee of the 1SG in civilian life. All this is much
more difficult in the US, since the officer-enlisted thing has
no connection whatever to any civilian social strata. It is a
definite that officers must posess the proper educational level,
but you can't presume that being an enlisted person means you
don't have post-secondary education.
Most of the modern reasons for seperating the ranks, have to do
with the old adage 'familiarity breeds contempt'. It is, however,
a double edged sword. If Cpt Bligh and Sgt Snorkle got rip-roaring
drunk last night and defecated on the front steps of the police
station, will Sgt Snorkle pay any attention to Cpt Bligh's order
to find out who stole the strawberries today? If Cpt & Mrs Bligh
were out on the town with Sgt & Mrs Snorkle last week, will Cpt
Bligh send Sgt Bailey's squad on a dangerous mission instead of
Sgt Snorkle's?
My personal feeling is that the mixing of the ranks in off-duty
socializing is fine, as long as everyone understands the rules.
|