Question 056: Warrior spirit

ll new sailors think it the greatest thing in the Navy is to be a chief and enjoy all the benefits of being a chief. For those who hang in until they make chief, after they do make chief, the benefits do not seems so much better than those of a first class. After they make chief, they find there are more responsibilities than there are benefits and they suddenly feel lost and overwhelmed by the sudden great responsibility placed upon them. The same is true in making black belt. By the time you finally get it, it is not that distant, lofty goal anymore; you begin to see it as just the next belt level but one that has responsibilities not expected of lower belts. Since you are new at dealing with the responsibilities, you find yourself feeling like a beginner again and feeling humble and lost. Just as you saw with chiefs, where some were E-7s, some tried but came up short, and a few were real chiefs, some black belts think the black belt makes them, while others know that they must live up to the level of black belt for it to have any true meaning.