Come Tour My Boat

This is the advisers minute that I gave to our OA Chapter on Tuesday night.

In the Navy, a submarine is affectionately referred to as a boat.

Let me take you on a quick tour of my submarine. First we walk across the companionway and meet the topside watch. He is the most important person on this boat. Without him, anyone could come on board, including our enemies. Follow me as we walk across the deck and climb through the hatch in the sail. We drop down the ladder into control. This is the place where the officer of the deck (OOD) stands his watch at sea. He is the most important person on this boat. He gives the orders on where to go and what to do. Let’s walk forward; on the right is the sonar room. We step inside, and meet the sonarman. These are the most important men on the boat. They keep a careful ear listening for other ships and subs to ensure that we do not have a collision, and remain undetected by our enemies. Let’s cross the passageway into Radio. Here again are the most important people on the boat. Without them, we would not receive our orders of where our country needs us to go. As we continue the tour through the torpedo room, mess deck, engineering spaces… you will notice that every space and person that you see is “the most important on the boat”. Even the trash disposal unit. How can this be? A ship (or sub) is a unit; every member of that unit plays an important role. If any one of these people does not do their job, the whole ship is in danger. Your troop and this OA chapter are much like my sub. Everyone in it is the most important person in the unit. If each member does not do his part, the whole unit can be in danger. And that danger can be very real. So remember, you are the most important person in your unit!