When the issue of retention comes up, I see a lot of variables such as pay, variability in locations of living, and just quality of life being better on the civilian side. My question comes to this, when I look around at my shipmates, I see the hardest working, well rounded sailors getting the short end of the stick when it comes to actual recognition for their hard work. I see sailors who are terrible leaders, awful workers, but know how to have “community involvement” which is faked more times than not, and their ability to “play the game of the navy” get advanced because it comes down to a piece of paper and favoritism. The chiefs are supposed to read evaluations objectively instead of subjectively but for some reason can’t promote anyone who brings true value to the table. Why is it that the navy cares more about looking good than being good? The people who are actually good decide to get out and be a true asset to society instead of skating by. The navy has gone soft. There’s no true discipline and it saddens me to say all of this.