Word: zumwalt
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...Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird, charged that there was a definite pattern of discrimination against blacks in the meting out of punishment. The report gave substance to black sailors' claims that recent riots have been fueled by discrimination; it also lent credence to recent statements by Elmo Zumwalt, chief of naval operations, who has attributed such insurrections to the fact that the Navy's "middle management" has not carried out his myriad programs to ease racial tension, rather than to any lack of discipline that could be traced to his reforms of traditional Navy regulations...
...down the war. Men worked 18 and 20 hour days, going weeks without shore leaves. And despite their distance from the destruction they wrought, Vietnam took its toll, and the crews were soon immersed in the same racial tension that has gripped the Army and Marines. Officers critical of Zumwalt are presently calling for his removal, citing a general breakdown of discipline, and Congressman Edward Hebert (D-La.) has opened hearings on the subject. In turn, Zumwalt has accused his officers of failing to carry out his commands...
What these naval officers, Hebert, and even Zumwalt fail to understand is that a ship at sea is not isolated, not immune to conflicts originated in Newark or Baton Rouge. Instead, human relations are intensified, conflicts blown out of proportion. Discipline may repress the discussion, official commands may alter the symptoms, but the underlying problems remain...
...Zumwalt's reforms have gone a long way toward letting sailors be human beings again. Perhaps he didn't expect that the weaknesses of human society would accompany the newly-granted humanity. The military has found that it is difficult to order men to hate: now they are learning that it is also impossible to order them not to, Racism infects even those aspects of American life thought colorblind. Incidents will continue to flare up until some far-reaching explosion is invited...
What is immediately at stake in Washington is the entire military reform movement to humanize the services, and perhaps even the volunteer army. But the problems at sea belong only indirectly to the navy Americans, both in and out of uniform, would be naive to blame Admiral Zumwalt or his officers. The roots of racism, we all know by now, run deeper...