Winds of Change in the Navy for 2008

Where is this going? I'm not close enough to it to know, would love to hear opinions. Given the state of things, how Roughead has walked into the devil's den on just about every issue since taking charge, I'm inclined to support him making these type of tough calls as he rocks the boat a bit with new nominations.

As many as nine of the U.S. Navy’s 26 three-star admirals will retire by the end of summer in a move some see as a “clearing of the decks,” by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, sources tell Navy Times.

Confirmed by Navy Times as hanging up his uniform in 2008 is Vice Adm. Terrance T. Etnyre, who commands both Naval Surface Forces and Naval Surface Force, Pacific Fleet, in San Diego. His request to retire in March was approved on Tuesday, according to an official Navy message received by Navy Times. Also on the way out is Vice Adm. Robert T. Conway Jr., commander of Navy Installations Command in Washington, D.C., who is expected to retire in August, sources say.

In addition, Chief of Navy Reserve Vice Adm. John Cotton is expected to leave his position by summer — a move that is seen as part of the normal rotation.

But Navy Times has also learned that as many as six other three-stars will be out by the beginning of fiscal 2009 — and that all have been notified of their pending retirements in the past two weeks.

There are still some details missing, not sure who the other 6 are for example, but no matter how you look at this it is a changing of the Guard inside the Navy.

Will new faces mean new ideas? One could hope, change is an incremental process in any aspect of government, and the Navy is no different. However, when you observe as much chaos as we currently see in the Navy, sometimes these kinds of shakeups have a calming effect by slowing things down and allowing a new review from a new pair of eyes.

Change must start at the top though, this is one of the things we were advised to look for if Roughead was going take the Navy a new direction. We will have to wait and see.