We Rollin' Hard

Petty Officer Indoc is a wealth of knowledge. It is a fountain of information meant to give you the building blocks necessary to become a well-rounded leader.

It is also death by power point.

All of the prospective Second-Classes were gathered on the Mess Decks. We had been going through Power Point after Power Point for hours, with meal breaks in between. Some of the presenters were funny, energetic. Some...not so much. It was nearly dinner and our focus was waning. One-and-a-half topics to go.

The ship rocked back and forth, swiveling us in our chairs. Eyes half shut, Monsters half drank, we listened to CTT1 talk about motivation. The GM3 behind me grumbled "mine is dead." I tried not to agree, to keep the focus and enthusiasm I had garnered since becoming a FSA. But as the ship gently rocked me to sleep, I couldn't help but agree.

Then the ship rolled. Metallic crashes banged from the galley. CS1, who had been the desginated Power Point clicker, scurried off to check on it. A moment later she came back and told all the FSAs to hurry to the galley with swabs and brooms in hand.

It was a disaster. 

An entire pan of zucchini had been overturned, the half-moons soggy and clumped to the floor and walls, the juice leaving a slippery trail behind. Wrapped and boiled turkeys were stuck under the oven and counter tops. Carrots and bread crumbs littered the deck. We stared in awe for a full minute before moving to action.

The ship tossed again. CSSN C slipped on the zucchini water at the same time FC3 Crankette stepped on a fallen-over box of powdered sugar. CSSN C ended up being powdered and greased like french toast.

We burst out laughing even as we stumbled and clung to anything we could to keep upright.

Then in the middle of our laughter -- of course -- the ship rolled again. I slammed into the fridge door, foxtail and dustpan in hand. Not a second later, MMSN Crankette -- who had been 6 feet away from me -- slammed into me. Oof!

Thankfully she was small.

"Oh mah gawd, are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah! Are you?" I responded.

"Of course. Are you?"

This went on for a full minute before we were sure that neither one of us were injured.

The whistles to alert us to an announcement from the 1MC  sounded above us. "This is your Junior Officer of the Deck speaking. I just wanted to give you a heads up to stand by for heavy rolls---"

"Now he tells us!" We scramed.

The bitching, laughing, and throwing of floor-fallen food started, drowning out the rest of his announcement.

Finally, after pulling out the turkeys and tossing all the fallen dinner into the garbage, we were allowed to return to our lesson on motivation. Thankfully, after all that, I was much more awake and attentive to the end of the lecture. 

What I have learned though, from my time at PO2 Indoc and my time cranking, is that leadership and who you work with really do affect the work environment. In the culinary division (S-2) everyone is always laughing. The sea state is bad, the ship rolls, half of our dinner ends up on the floor and everyone laughs about it. They clean it up, they carry on.

In my real division, if something (one tool, one book, one piece of paper) hits the deck during heavy seas, it's because we weren't doing our job and we get punished. It's really given me a chance to step back and look at leadership styles and how I want to be as I advance through my career.

I like being in an environment where things get done, but not everything has to be serious. You can be a strong leader without being harsh. No division is perfect. No leader is perfect. But now I know what I want to aim for. Now I have an idea of what kind of leader I want to be, and what I definitely don't want to be.