Editor’s note: This op-ed was authored by an active-duty sailor who requested anonymity due to concerns about potential retribution. Military Times confirmed the sailor’s identity and granted anonymity for the author to express their views freely.
I have never deployed for the United States Navy.
As an active-duty sailor, saying that feels disingenuous. My time in the Navy has only been on shore duty. My understanding of deployment comes mostly from hearing other sailors’ stories: months away from family, long watches, missed holidays, repetitive days, port calls and the odd feeling of watching life go on from afar.
But those of us who have not deployed are paying attention.
We see ships like the USS Gerald R. Ford come back after 326 days at sea. We remember the USS Nimitz and its strike group finishing a 321-day deployment during the pandemic.
We hear about deployments getting longer, and sailors having to adjust to timelines that go far beyond what was expected when they left.
Nearly a year at sea is difficult to comprehend for anyone. Eventually, many of us will be the next ones walking across the brow. This means extended deployments are not just a concern for those going through them now. The whole Navy needs to get its people ready for them.
The Navy exists to go to sea. Deployments are not an aberration from naval service; they are fundamental to it. Ships must be where the country needs them, and sometimes circumstances will require sailors to remain there longer than anyone originally planned.
Knowing this, we should take preparation even more seriously.
Preparation should start before a sailor ever deploys. Commands can be honest about what months at sea are really like. Not only about the Navy’s mission, but also about the daily routines and pressures. Experienced sailors know things you can’t learn from a PowerPoint. We should draw more on their experience when getting sailors ready.
We should also recognize that the quality of life aboard ship is part of readiness.
On a short trip at sea, small problems might be easy to ignore. But over eight, nine, 10, or 11 months, those problems become part of daily life.
Things like working water, clean bathrooms, soap, other basic hygiene supplies, chances to sleep and clean living spaces are not extras. They are the foundation. They are the basics that help sailors keep doing tough jobs.
It belongs partly to leadership, but it also belongs to the sailors themselves. Caring for the ship should always be part of our culture. Cleaning up after ourselves, keeping spaces in good shape, reporting problems instead of ignoring them, respecting shared sleeping and work areas and treating equipment properly are all small ways to be professional. Over many days at sea, these small actions add up. So does neglect, unfortunately.
Taking care of sailors and taking care of ships are closely linked. When a crew lives on a ship for most of a year, these things can’t be separated. The ship is their workplace, their way to travel, their defense, their dining hall and their home for a while.
If we expect the ship to endure, we have to maintain it. If we expect the crew to endure, we have to sustain them.
I can’t tell a sailor who’s done a 10-month deployment what it’s like. I haven’t had that experience. But I can listen to those who have and think about what their stories mean for sailors like me who might go to sea in the future.
The lesson I take from them is not that the Navy should stop deploying. It is that endurance cannot be the only plan. If the mission sometimes entails long deployments, the Navy should prepare sailors for that, both mentally and professionally. This means ensuring basic living standards are met, maintaining the ship, and fostering a culture where sailors know that caring for their ship and for each other go hand in hand. That ensures sailors will have some enthusiasm for the next deployment.
A 300-day deployment will never be easy. We should not pretend that it is. But when sailors are asked to stay at sea that long, we can make sure they leave the pier prepared for more than just their job. We can make sure they are ready to endure, and that the ship is ready to endure with them.
Editor’s Note: The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, or U.S. government.
