Sailors from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman were given a very specific order by the ship’s most senior enlisted sailor in preparation for the arrival of Vice President Mike Pence Tuesday.
“Clap like we’re at a strip club.”
The “inappropriate” comments were confirmed in a statement by the Truman’s public information officer in correspondence with CNN.
“We can confirm that this statement was made by USS Harry S. Truman’s Command Master Chief to Truman’s Sailors, prior to the arrival of the Vice President,” Lt. Cmdr. Laura Stegherr told CNN.
“This statement was inappropriate, and this issue is being addressed by Truman’s leadership.”
Navy Times could not confirm why the command master chief chose that boisterous example instead of other events that routinely rumble with applause — say, a horse race, rock concert or a children’s soccer game where parents don’t keep score now because all the kids are winners.
Aside from being greeted like “Cry$tal,” “Diamond” or “Brandy,” Pence’s visit to the Norfolk-based carrier remained noteworthy.
Speaking with sailors in the Truman’s hangar bay, Pence announced a White House decision to scrap its cost-saving decommissioning plans for Truman, which will instead enter its midlife Refueling Complex Overhaul.
President Donald J. Trump confirmed his administration’s RCOH reversal today on Twitter.
“I am overriding the Decommission Order of the magnificent aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman, built in 1998 (fairly new) and considered one of the largest and finest in the world,” the president tweeted.
“It will be updated at a fraction of the cost of a new one (which also are being built)!”
J.D. Simkins is the executive editor of Military Times and Defense News, and a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War.
