I am a United States Sailor.
I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America and I will obey the orders of those appointed over me.
I represent the fighting spirit of the Navy and those who have gone before me to defend freedom and democracy around the world.
I proudly serve my country's Navy combat team with Honor, Courage and Commitment.
I am committed to excellence and the fair treatment of all.
On August 5th, I graduated U.S. Navy basic training, at RTC Great Lakes. I left Houston June 9th, flew to Chicago,and after an eight week training cycle, I transferred to TSC Great Lakes. During that eight weeks, I recited the above creed once a day, most days. Usually we (myself and the other eighty or so males who lived in the compartment with me) said it right before taps as an evening prayer of sorts. It means a lot to me, not least because I have a six-year enlistement ahead of me. Allow me to break it down as far as I'm concerned.
I am a United States Sailor.
This part is fairly self-explanatory. The proudest moment of my life to date is after our final training evolution, Battle Stations. This is a challenging simulation of damage control and firefighting aboard a stricken ship. Having completed it, we switched out the ballcaps we had been wearing for the previous seven weeks. These were emblazoned with a large "RECRUIT" in gold letters. After Battle Stations, we were finally allowed to wear the other ballcaps we had been issued in week one: the Navy ballcap. As part of the capping ceremony, we recited (once again) the Sailor's Creed. At this point, we were finally considered sailors, rather than recruits. One of my RDCs ( a Recruit Division Commander, Navy parlance for a drill instructor) shook my hand and congratulated me. The only time I have been happier was when I graduated a week later.
I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America and I will obey the orders of those appointed over me.
On June 9th, I held up my right hand and swore an oath to the same effect. That solemn vow is for life. After basic training, it has become unthinkable to respond to an order with anything other than "aye aye". This is tempered with the many times we were told: obey your last lawful order, with emphasis placed on lawful.
I represent the fighting spirit of the Navy and those who have gone before me to defend freedom and democracy around the world.
I am part of the Navy of the USS Constitution, the USS Monitor, and the USS Enterprise. I am part of a force that has fought as far afield as Tripoli and the Coral Sea, from the south Pacific to the North Atlantic. From Navy Medical Corpsmen in Viet Nam to nuclear deterrence patrols under Arctic ice, we've been there.
I proudly serve my country's Navy combat team with Honor, Courage and Commitment.
The Navy core values make their appearance here. Everything I do as a Sailor, I am suppsed to do in accordance with these values. Everything we do, no matter how insignificant it may seem, has an impact on readiness. This means I have to display the core values even in such small things as personal behavior in public. I certainly can't be a disgrace to the uniform. These core values were also repeated on a more-than-daily basis in training.
I am committed to excellence and the fair treatment of all.
The Navy does not tolerate discrimination in any form, or on any basis. Similarly, the Navy Equal Opportunity policy ensures nobody is treated unfairly. All Sailors are expected to uphold this.