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| Student cheating on test |
This quote came to mind when I
read the Navy had discovered a
cheating ring aboard one of its submarines, resulting in the firing of its
commanding officer.
A former officer wrote in a book published last year his superiors urged
him to accept an answer key to pass a nuclear qualification exam. He said crew
members received answers by email, and the submarines leadership ignored him
when he complained about cheating.
Chief Sparklin’s statement did not mean a lot to me at the time but
during my career as a nuke I recalled instances where you had to make a call of
doing the “right” thing with no one in khakis breathing down your neck making
sure you did.
I remember an issue with an out of
specification on our Power Plant Indicator (PPI’s) which if the Engineering
Duty Officer had been notified RC division would be tasked to troubleshoot on
the last night of liberty before a long underway. What call did I make? What do
you think I did?
In the case of the U.S.S. Memphis,
the largest surprise is large numbers of the khaki’s involved in such a massive
deviation of the integrity EMC Spracklin spoke to us on that morning in May
1995. On my boat I would have found it difficult to believe such deception would
be pervasive at such high level. The officers and chiefs in our engineering
department followed our Reactor Plant Manuals even when what they said made absolutely
no sense. Did they not think someone would find out sooner or later? Then again
I left the nuclear Navy in 2000. Could the nuclear Navy have changed so much
since I left?
Now the question I’d like to close with is,” How is the nuclear navy
going to reestablish its integrity with everyone is looking? Hint: there is no
answer key on this test.
2 comments:
Hello. I started EM A school in May of 95. I remember Cheif Spracklin. I remember he always had his check book sticking out of his back pocket.
If this is truely shocking to you, today's reality would floor you. It happens every step of the way. The extreme hypocrisy of leadership on all levels, and the subsequent "play the game and cover your ass at all costs" atmosphere Is a giant factor. No one has is 100% innocent and everyone is worried about protecting themselves. Honesty means punishment and usually from parties who are culpable as well. People who accept this are treated better for limiting the fallout, and those who don't are ostracisized. These "scandals" will continue as long as the punishment system and social atmosphere remain unchanged. 6 years did not fly by fast enough. It was more so a stressful game of walking on eggshells and staying as far away from shady situations as possible, than an opportunity to challenge myself intellectually and take pride in my work. I do however, have the opportunity to pay for college, and a much nicer looking resume after the fact. I don't know if I'd have done it again though if given the choice.
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