Needless to say immediately the thread bifurcates into two distinct groups. 

That's right... you got it: "old Navy" vs "new Navy".

From my perspective - aside from the entertainment value of watching the comments and arguments unfold - I see no point in the discussion.

Why?  Well, to use another current - but fairly accurate - cliché, "it is what it is". What that means is all those leaders at the lower end*** of the leadership scale in the Navy (or any other Military branch) are bound by time and place., i.e. the HERE and NOW.

***Regardless of position and paygrade, the highest ranking Chief is still outranked by the lowest O-ganger. But what Senior Enlisted can do and (must) use effectively is persuasion. A good leader must be persuasive in making a case as to unit policy. Some believe a foot in the butt is the only form of persuasion. Sometimes it is. But over the long haul its getting the crew to want to do what you want them to do. They will if a leader is trusted and consistent.

A very cool young Chief I served under back in the day always had a kind of dry wit and was quick with an appropriate comment. I recall when some of the older Chiefs (some were WWII vets) were grousing about how this new Navy is just going to hell in a hand basket, Jack would look up and give his standard retort, "Yep. The Navy's just not like it used to be".  Then after about a 3 beat pause he would say, "and never was".

I always loved that line and during my Navy career if I found myself falling into the bitching mode about New vs Old I'd remind myself of Chief Jack Sweet's response.

Bitching doesn't accomplish the mission. In fact the whole deal on leadership is that IT IS ONLY about the mission. The Military is not a social redemption institution. It is mission oriented and whatever drives a unit to that end is what must be used. If it means making adjustments to accommodate the increased role of females in the service. Well, it is what it is.  If it means dealing with the high percentage of youngsters and all their societal baggage coming in who are from screwed up homes and a "me generation" society. So be it. It is what it is. Those people are needed to do one thing: accomplish the mission.

Anyway,  we made our history; for better or worse. Now you Senior Petty Officers are making yours. And God bless you in that endeavor.

There are however some UNIVERSAL OPERATING PRINCIPLES (I believe) that over arc the generation differences.

So without dragging this out any further, here's my (perhaps oversimplified) take on some principles.:

When an E4 is going to mast for coming aboard a half hour after liberty expired don't expect a free ride when you roll aboard drunk three hours after liberty is up.

In that specific case, as he was buffing up for another big night ashore, I gave the Chief in question the choice: stay aboard and find something constructive to do in his Division while he reflected upon "double standards" --- or waltz his butt up to the XO and explain why he wasn't required to obey the rules. He chose the former and I heard no more from him on the subject. And he was never late again.

Oh! And the LT/Dept Head whose Sailor was going to mast for being late? He also had pulled the same stunt. Nearly noon when he came aboard. Everyone topside saw his condition and then I got the questions: "Why can he get away with it and a PO3 in his OWN department can't?"  I made damned sure the XO (and the Captain too) knew that so long as I was COB that we should be honest about it and either promulgate TWO separate PODs - one for E6 and below and one for E7 and above - or we all get on the same page.  The LT henceforth was always onboard before liberty expired.

BUT one important thing I DID NOT DO was to blab the details of all that business to the crew. They knew alright. The crew always knows. They didn't need their COB running around doing a "get a load of me" flap jaw act over it.

LESSON No 1: For this little vignette, keep your lip buttoned about what goes on behind the scenes. Nobody cares to watch sausage being made. They just want the finished product.

LESSON No. 2: Good LEADERSHIP means getting things done without causing a lot of waves.

And what about that sailor who went to mast?

Slap on the wrist. No harm no foul. He retained his recommendation for advancement and made PO2 his first time up. And the Chief and the LT? The matter was never spoken of again  ---   subsequently my wife and I attended parties at both their homes . Both good guys and good sailors who just needed a bit of a reality check. End of story.

Note: Two of the best skippers I ever served under were NOT SCREAMERS. Both were very quiet and radiated genuine respect in their manner at all times. And they were PERSUASIVE. One was the late D. O Griffith. I have a short piece about him HERE. I never heard him raise his voice.

Operate in the sensible middle zone. Give respect and demand it.

Had a nuke LT., USNA grad, who was a helluva nice guy. And that was his problem. He would engage in horseplay and kid around with the troops aft and he might as well have worn a sign that said "love me". They didn't. The engineering troops paid him zip for respect and often called him by his first name.

The guy and his wife lived in the same town as I did so they and my wife and I socialized sometimes. But when he and I shared a ride (in uniform) to the base I rendered the proper "sirs" and "Misters" and that was his clue to call me COB.

I didn't try to "straighten him out" - he was a "ring knocker" so I figured with his USNA background he might wise up one day. He never did. As soon as his obligated time was done and after divorcing his wife, he went to a big-bucks civvy nuke plant management job --- which is where he wanted be be anyway.