THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 16, 1996 TAG: 9607160013
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 28 lines
I attended the recent retirement ceremony of my boss, who was retiring from the Navy after 27 years of active service. Some of his parting remarks bear repeating:
``Several weeks ago I was reading an article by a syndicated columnist who, in the wake of Admiral Boorda's death, was discussing `What is wrong with the Navy.'
``In his column he indicated that the Navy had not stayed in step with the rest of the country. He supposed that while the Navy remained seeped in tradition (traditions such as duty, honor, loyalty, integrity and dedication), the rest of the country had moved on to a more-progressive lifestyle.
``He went on to indicate that it was this inability to relate to the outside world that was at the heart of the Navy's problems.
``I agree in part with what he says; the Navy may not be in step with the outside world, but I don't think that the problem is with the Navy. . . . I am very proud of the fact that I will retire from the Navy with a very sound foundation based on duty, honor, loyalty, integrity and dedication.''
R. O. SCHERCK
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps
Virginia Beach, July 3, 1996 by CNB