We Need to Rethink Retirement Ceremonies

...maybe I'm the inappropriate one...

OK, full disclosure, I have a little bit of battered child syndrome on this topic. On my first sea duty, we saw the odd retirement ceremony, but they were for senior enlisted or a Commander/Captain leaving after 20-25-30 or so. I don’t remember the details.

That is a good retirement ceremony.

In my first year of shore duty, that changed. I got roped into the preparation and planning of a 2-star admiral’s retirement ceremony that to this day is over the top. At the time it was unseemly. Untold hours and money were spent on this Broadway-like ceremony. Some of it was just cringe, but it was done. Dozens of officers and enlisted personnel were expended on this individual…and he wasn’t even in our direct chain of command.

Hey, I was just a NROTC guy who was lucky enough spend his first sea duty with a simply great command with great front offices that did great things. I could not imagine ANY of the COs I had the pleasure of serving under ever contemplating such a production. Humility is a force multiplier, and that was one hell of a command with superior COs from Desert Storm, to spanking the last of the Soviets around the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, to chasing drug runners in the Caribbean.

That 2-star production, even three decades later, still galls me. As I learned over the next couple of decades, it was not an isolated incident.

Our military should represent what it is: the military of a constitutional republic. I remain a bit of a radical when it comes to titles and anything in our republic that reeks of aristocracy or imperiousness. I will grand a judge, “Your Honor”, but all the other civil servants and politicos getting huffy if they are not called “The Honorable.” Yes, I know the protocol, but I non-concur. As such, I lean towards the low-key and respectful retirement ceremony.

Anyway.

All those memories came to the forefront after a friend sent along this LinkedIn (of course) post.

The retirement ceremony of Admiral Chris Grady, USN, the outgoing Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Don’t get me wrong, in some ways, I have a soft spot for Admiral Grady. He’s had a great career dedicated to our Navy and nation at the highest levels. This isn’t about him, this is about the culture we have created and the expectations we put on mortal men in our republic, and it is unseemly. This knob went to 11, but I doubt he and a few of his staff saw where things might be a bit…much.

BEHOLD!

I think I’ve said my piece, I’ll let the picture speak for itself.

From Fat Leonard to the former VCNO, I think we have plenty of evidence that the power and prestige that comes with 3 or 4 stars brings dangers to the mortal human’s perspective on themselves. Few believe we have too much humility in our ranks of General and Flag Officers. Some pomp and ceremony is fine and a good tradition, but ostentatious displays that seem a cross between a mega-church’s theater-kid praise team over doing it and China’s Victory Day parade just seem off-frequency and unhealthy.