The following is in regards to the shooting outside the night club in Oak Harbor. Being prior Navy myself, I find it extremely shameful that two sailors were involved in something like this.

This makes me very sad and very angry all at once. It saddens me because we are a small town and this is the military. Whether we like each other or not, we’re all working for the same goal and while that doesn’t mean we all have to be friends, it does mean we all need to have professional respect for one another, both inside and outside of work. To be going around shooting our fellow sailors, accident or not, even just putting yourself in the situation where that’s possible, is absolutely disgraceful.

But I think above all, it makes me angry. Angry that because of all the changes to make the Navy “kinder” and “gentler,” the level of professionalism in the Navy as a whole has dropped to a shocking low.

Everyone’s afraid to offend someone else because we’re forced to be “politically correct” and Heaven forbid you look cross-eyed at someone else because they just might pull the race or sex card on you. Little do they know, or perhaps little do they care, that they are setting the example for how those people will treat others of the same race or sex in the future.

Sailors today need to realize that they are not representing their state. They are not representing their county, their zip code, their area code. They are not representing their “hood.” Those incredibly petty things are left behind when you head off to boot camp.

We are all supposed to be representatives of the United States. It’s no wonder other countries don’t want democracy and don’t want the United States meddling in their affairs. We can’t even get our military to act professionally toward one another while we’re stateside — let alone when they’re outside the country! Who would want that sort of government assisting them?

And no wonder terrorist organizations don’t frequently attack us on our own soil. It’s through no effort of the Department of Homeland Security and it’s through no effort of any other government agency. We’re doing a perfectly fine job killing, and trying to kill, each other. I’m sure they realize if they just give us enough time, we’ll do it for them!

My views are not representative of my husband’s, but I will never acknowledge another member of the military if they are not acting in a respectable manner. Our core values of honor, courage, and commitment have gotten lost somewhere, and it’s high time for a wake-up call. The saddest part of all, however, is that it probably won’t happen.

After all — we’re too afraid to offend someone.

L.L. Clements

Oak Harbor