Modern Navy: A look into how the military has changed

Interview with Tim Shlaffer, History 150 Spring 2020, Conducted by Hailey Sauvageau-Shlaffer, March 12, 2020.

Introduction:  Tim Shlaffer is my dad. He grew up in Muskegon, Michigan his whole life with his mom, dad, and three older siblings. He played sports all through high school. He graduated from Mona Shores High School in 1992 and Enlisted in the military right after because he says he was tired of school, didn’t think he was good at it, and just wanted to go do something different, like travel. He was active duty military from 1993-2013 when he retired. When he first joined he worked on airplanes “E2C Hawkeye” from ‘93 to ‘96. In 1996 he started working as a cryptologist, which means he was responsible for protecting the security of classified material. He was also the leading petty officer from 2001-2013. A petty officer is the Navy’s equivalent of a sergeant or a corporal. He supervised between 15-150 people through the span of those 12 years. He was also responsible for the whereabouts and activities of about 800 individuals while he was on tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He did multiple tours in Iraq(2) and Afghanistan(5). After 20 years in the military he managed and led several groups during his time. Currently he still lives in Virginia Beach and works as a property manager for a major property development company.

Research:  

Votava, Jerry. “US Military to Permit Women to Serve in Combat Units.” Jurist, 24 Jan. 2013,

www.jurist.org/news/2013/01/us-military-to-permit-women-to-serve-in-combat-units/.

In 2016, women had the equal right to choose any military occupational specialty such as ground units that were not authorized before. On January 24, 2013, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta removed the military’s ban on women serving in combat.

Human Rights Campaign. “Transgender Military Service.” Human Rights Campaign, 1 Oct.

2019, www.hrc.org/resources/transgender-military-service.

For decades, transgender people were prohibited from serving openly in the U.S. military based on outdated and discriminatory medical standards. However, following a year-long intensive working group studying the “policy and readiness implications,” the Pentagon lifted the ban on transgender people serving openly in the U.S. military on June 30, 2016, acknowledging that it is in the military’s best interest to recruit and retain the best troops, regardless of their gender identity.

“A Timeline of the U.S. War in Afghanistan.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign

Relations, www.cfr.org/timeline/us-war-afghanistan.

From 2005 to 2009 the war in Afghanistan was occurring and the US was active in the participation of some events. In 2005 Afghan president Hamid Karzai and president George W. Bush issued a joint declaration that pronounces their respective countries strategic partners. In 2007 A notorious Taliban military commander, Mullah Dadullah, was killed in a joint operation by Afghan, U.S., and NATO forces in the south of Afghanistan. Later, in 2009 president Barack Obama announced plans to send seventeen thousand more troops to the war zone.

Timeline and Description of Tours:  

Afghanistan: June 2005-Nov2005, Dec 2006-Feb2007, Jan2008-April 2008, Jan 2012- Nov

2012,

Iraq: October 2006, Jan 2009-March 2009,

2005-2009: Combat Tours, Bin Laden, Regime

2012: (working with australia) WHAM (warming hearts and minds) working with Afghan

agriculture, helping build roads and hospitals, teaching them trades (electrical, masonry,

carpentry). Helped Afghan women generate income (sewing, etc.)

Transcript:

Tim Shlaffer  0:01  

Hi, my name is Tim Shlaffer. I’m retired Navy I did 20 years and 19 days active duty. I served in Afghanistan, four tours, and I had two tours in Iraq. 

Hailey Sauvageau-Shlaffer  0:15  

Okay, To start off, we’re gonna ask what sorts of jobs Did you have when you’re deployed on the Navy carrier carriers. 

Tim Shlaffer  0:23  

So when I was on a carrier, I worked on airplanes.I worked with the metalsmiths. Like the frame, the structure of an airplane, the hydraulic system of the entire aircraft. I did a little bit with avionics, which is like your radars and things like that. And I also did, my main job was a plane captain. So we got the airplane ready for flight. And when the officers came out, the pilots you know, they would get in the airplane and we’d do everything to get it started with them. And then they would go and attatch you to the catapults where they would basically get slingshot off the front of the bow of an aircraft carrier.

Hailey Sauvageau-Shlaffer  1:13  

Okay, so now can you tell me? What sorts of jobs did women have while you were deployed on the carriers? 

Tim Shlaffer  1:21  

So I was my first deployment was on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was a nuclear powered carrier. And we were the first carrier to have over 500 women on a combat ship. And the women that I worked with did the exact same job as I did. They fix the engines, they did avionics, they did electronics. They did the metalsmith and hydraulics, they started the, you know, the airplanes. There were women in communications in supply. They were working in admin. They were working in propulsion, dealing with the reactors and in all your main spaces and there wasn’t anything on the ship that the women couldn’t do. We even in my Squadron that I was in we had we had two female pilots and we had two female. They’re called NFO’s. The ones that on the airplane that I worked on, was the E2C Hawkeye, which is an early warning aircraft. And we had two female officers that worked in the back and worked the radars and communicated with the other airplanes, ground units and other ships in that operating area.

Hailey Sauvageau-Shlaffer  2:47  

Okay, so could you also explain some about your jobs as a supervisor in the Navy? 

Tim Shlaffer  2:55  

Yeah, so I supervised anywhere when I first started supervising. I had a small handful of people. And basically we were just making sure whatever tasks that were needed to be done that day. And throughout the day, I was making sure they were getting done. And I was reporting to my seniors, and, you know, providing status updates. You know, I also did evaluations, and submitted my junior sailors for awards. And as I worked through the ranks, in my last duty station, I had about 130 people that I supervised on three different shifts. So we had a day check, a night check and mids. So days worked from seven to 330. And nights worked from 330 to 11. And mids worked from 11 to seven and, you know, whatever the 10 tasks were, whether it was building, like an intelligence or a target package, so that the Navy SEALs could go forth and, you know, do what they had to do. Or my last command where I supervised the most was we did you know, we did the operations department, so making sure pilots had their briefs, maintaining cleanliness throughout the squadron and making sure that you know, wash stations were properly manned.

Hailey Sauvageau-Shlaffer  4:43  

Okay, so could you also tell me some of the most common issues you had to deal with when you’re dealing with people that you are in charge of?

Tim Shlaffer  4:53  

 So the most common issues, you know, everybody’s different. You have people that are married you have people that are single you have single moms, single dads. So that was probably the biggest thing to, to juggle was. So that was the biggest thing was, you know, juggling other people’s lives because, you know, you’d have to take your child to the doctor or to school or pick him up from school, he had daycare issues. You know, that’s when you’re on shore and you’re not deployed. That is probably the biggest hurdle. A daily hurdle is dealing with people’s personal lives. And, you know, I didn’t have a problem with them doing what they needed to do as long as they, you know, got done with finished what they need to do at work.

But when you’re deployed, you know, you don’t have people like, Hey, I gotta take my son or my daughter to the doctor or pick him up from school or you got daycare issues. So when you’re deployed, the biggest hurdle is keeping morale up so that people can finish their work. finish their workload, dealing with stress. And people keeping people motivated because after a while, you know, when you’re deployed, you do a six month deployment in your hit the four month mark, you tend to lose a little speed, a little motivation in your daily job. You know, it tends to be like Groundhog Day. So keeping people motivated and excited about what they’re doing. That’s probably the biggest hurdle is in helping trying to prevent complacency. As you know, doesn’t matter if you’re in the military or in this or civilian. We don’t know we all know that complacency can kill and, or can cause you know, disaster in a work in the work zone or with a company. So just keeping people on the ball keeping their head swiveled, andyeah, that’s probably the biggest hurdle. 

Hailey Sauvageau-Shlaffer  7:14  

So what about like disciplinary?like dealing with people like that they like broke rules or did something like that? Did you have to deal with that? 

Tim Shlaffer  7:22  

Yeah. So every deployment I’ve been on, there’s always been someone that fights the system, or I don’t know if you want to call it going rogue or maybe they just, they’re having a bad day or whatever. Just do what they want to do. And so yeah, there’s disciplinary actions. And it all depends on the level of what they’ve done. You know, if they’re over sleeping, you can rearrange their work hours or give them extra duty. On top of it. It just all depends on level of, I don’t know, not their crime but the level of their mistake. 

Hailey Sauvageau-Shlaffer  8:06  

Okay, so. Okay, so now I’m gonna switch gears a little bit. So how do you think the military has changed from when you enlisted to now when you retired? 

Tim Shlaffer  8:20  

Okay, so I joined boot camp February 9 of 1993. And after I completed boot camp, and I went to my first command after my schooling it was work hard play hard. And my superiors if you needed to see them, it was normally because you screwed up. They were more not seen. And then if they weren’t seen then either screwed up but there are always times where if they showed up is because you did Something good and he did something right and they came down, they were coming down to see you to reward you. And so as I progressed through my 20 years in the Navy you know, the old salty sailor, you know, the chief, you know, was more present in everybody’s daily, you know, work day. And it wasn’t a matter of you never saw him it was you saw them every day. And so it was kind of like when I first joined there was the fear of you know, like a, like in the movies, you know, hey, chiefs looking for you. You’re like, oh, man, you know, it’s not a good day. And then by the time I retired, the Chiefs were everywhere. They were always, you know, in your, in your in your daily vision. Not necessarily, that’s a good thing or a bad thing. But I think it also took away from If you have someone who’s a e6, which is when I retired as a petty officer first class, I am right on the cusp of upper management. And I’m not necessarily lower management, I’m right there in the middle. And it took a lot of power away from me. And in some words in some ways it can be looked at as a demotion in the Navy, in the army and the Marines and e6. If an e6 is giving you orders people are popping to and are doing what they got to do in the Navy. It’s I think, in my opinion, is taking a step back. In my opinion, I don’t I don’t agree with that step back. I worked hard to get there. I paid my dues. I went through the trials and tribulations to earn that rank. And when I finally got there, it was like you know, they took The wind out of your sails. 

Hailey Sauvageau-Shlaffer  11:02  

So. Okay. So now Could you explain about healthcare for military people and how that works? 

Tim Shlaffer  11:12  

Sure. So, in my 20 years, I’ve had my fair share of surgeries and like a boot camp, I had my my appendix out, first week of boot camp. I didn’t pay a penny not one dime that I have to pay or did it or came out of my paycheck. I had all four wisdom teeth removed. I had a disc removed in my neck while I was on active duty. I’ve had three children. And out of three children, I think the most we paid was $75. And that was because each child was a C section so we had to stay an extra two days in the hospital for each child, so they we had to pay for two days of extra meals. But we didn’t pay for the surgeries for the C sections or any of that or the medications. When you require medicine, even now that I’m retired, I can still go to the military base and I can get my medications off for free. Same with my children because they have a dependent ID card. And so, I know talking with a lot of my friends that are not military. They pay roughly six to $800 a month for family, for insurance for health insurance, and I pay about $650 a year for myself and three children, so completing and retiring from the Navy doing 20 years. It’s a it’s a blessing to not have that burden that you have to pay for. And budget for.

Hailey Sauvageau-Shlaffer  13:14  

Yeah. Okay. So now going off that I want to ask, so when did you first notice transgendered individuals in the military or being under your supervision?

Tim Shlaffer  13:27  

Well, I don’t know about transgender, but I did notice gay and lesbian sailors. And I don’t have a problem with that. The problem that I have, and I like to think that it’s neutral, I don’t care if you’re gay, lesbian, transgender, male or female. If a job has to be done, and you qualified for that job, and you went to the school to do that job and I’m 6 foot 230 pounds. And if I’m expected to lift a certain amount of weight, like I got to carry a 40 pound toolbox to go fix this job. And I don’t care if you’re a man or a woman, transgender, gay or lesbian. If you have chosen to do that job in the Navy, you better be able to hump this 40 pound toolbox. And so that’s my only issue. It’s not really an issue that’s my only request is if you’re going to choose this job. I don’t really care what you are or what you consider yourself or anything like that. If I expect you to fulfill the same expectations that I have, and I shouldn’t have to carry your toolbox and my toolbox because you can’t carry it. So and I noticed that in the Navy when it first when I first started gay seeing gay lesbian people come in They were like, well, I can’t carry that. Well, then I’m like, I’m not carrying it. That’s your job. 

Hailey Sauvageau-Shlaffer  15:05  

So a woman have to carry a 40 pound? 

Tim Shlaffer  15:08  

So if you if you join the Navy to be an airplane mechanic to fix the engine of an airplane, and your workshop is 100 feet from the airplane, and they said, Hailey, I need you to go fix this part on the engine and you look down you’re like, Okay, this toolbox is what I need to fix that part and it weighs 40 pounds. And if you’re like, well, I can’t carry it. Well, then. Now as a supervisor, I’ve got to find somebody to stop what they’re doing. So they can carry your toolbox so you can go do your job. What if you’re on a ship and your work center is two flights below. Let’s say the airplanes on the flight deck. And your work center is Tuesday. stairs, two flights below the flight deck. So that now that means you got to carry your 40 pound toolbox. up two flights of stairs that are is probably as big as a manhole cover at the smallest and probably as big as maybe as wide as three feet at best. But still you’re walking up a very steep ladder. And so I expect you to be able to do your job because that’s what you signed up to do. And I don’t care what you are, I don’t care if you’re gay, lesbian, transgender, that does not bother me. That’s who you are. But you chose you signed on a dotted line and raised your hand and said I’m going to do this job. So now as your supervisor, I’m expecting you to do that job. 

Hailey Sauvageau-Shlaffer  16:50  

Okay. So would have you ever noticed people that were like openly open about their like identity like being transgender or gay or Are they kind of like…

Tim Shlaffer  17:01  

Well, yeah, yeah, they are. I did experience that. And again, like, I don’t have an issue with it. I don’t I don’t have an issue with anyone being gay or lesbian or transgender. But I did notice a lot of people that do. And they those people treat, you know, gay, lesbian, transgender. Completely different than someone who’s not. I disagree with that highly. Because in the end, if it’s not in the end, it’s not just about this is the job you signed up to do. If you’re on a ship and it was attacked, like the USS Cole when when the boat ran into it with the explosives and I’m injured, and I’m six foot 230 pounds. I don’t care if you’re gay, lesbian or not. I’m expecting you to save my life just as much as you’re expecting me to save your life in I noticed people would have issues with that. They’re like, Well, I’m not gonna save somebody like that, or I’m not gonna, I don’t want to fight along the side, somebody like that.

Hailey Sauvageau-Shlaffer  18:10  

So as a supervisor, would you say you would ever have to not necessarily have you but would you have to deal with someone who like… 

Tim Shlaffer  18:17  

Absolutely. So as a supervisor, I had people that worked for me that were against it. And as a supervisor, I would pull these people aside individually and address them that they’re no different than you are I they can fight and defend, you know, America just as well as anybody, and they have the right to do that. And their personal beliefs did not belong at work. Because in the Navy, we all wear a blue uniform. So I don’t see race. I don’t see color. I didn’t see gay, lesbian, transgender. I don’t and I still don’t. But in the Navy, I saw everybody navy blue. And that’s what I tried to project to my, my junior sailors. I tried to educate that it’s okay to be gay or lesbian or whatever transgender. Because we’re all navy blue.

So that was a big hurdle was trying to educate someone who’s closed minded. Someone who doesn’t want to see someone who’s different is an equal. That’s probably one of the biggest hurdles. But I also saw closer to retirement. Because the people that were below me, you know, it was they were a lot younger than I was. And they were more there’s more exposure to it with them because of their age. But it was for people my age. That’s where the biggest part was, was when you had people that were the same age. And they were close minded about it. And you know, some of its family upbringing, and some of it’s also this is the first time ever they’ve experienced it firsthand in person. And so it was a big shock for them. You know, maybe they only saw it on TV or the news or movies and whatever. But when it’s actually in your face, and it’s in your work center, and you’re sitting next to somebody, you could see it on their face. They were like, holy crap, like, I’ve never been next to somebody who was gay. And and I will admit, when I was in high school growing up, I was never around it. And I experienced it as I was in my mid 20’s. And I came to the real realization that I was closed minded. And I also realized that even if they’re not military, they can still hold a job as a police officer, fireman so if I was in a burning house and a transgender came in to get me, would I be like, now you’re gonna have to leave me let me burn because you’re gay or lesbian or transgender. Hell no. I’m gonna be like, Hey, get me out of here. So, I mean, yeah, it was a huge eye opener and I’m, I’m very blessed that I was able to see past the end of my nose, so to speak. Because in the end, I’m the one I when I look at myself in the mirror, that’s the only person I can judge. That’s the only person I have the right to judge and I try to live my life that way. I’ve tried to express that To my children and, and I hope they feel the same way and from what I’ve seen, they’re cool, you know, they’ve they’ve grown to it’s an acceptance. I don’t think someone has a chromosome difference or some chemical imbalance or I don’t think that i think that’s just the way God made them. And I accept that.

Hailey Sauvageau-Shlaffer  22:26  

Okay, so now I want to talk about there’s some stuff in the media about speculations about people joining the military just for the healthcare benefits, especially people who are, have a transgender identity, so that they can use the benefits to pay for their medical expenses. 

Tim Shlaffer  22:45  

So you will always have people joining the military, for whatever reason, whether it’s patriotism, whether they’re joining because they get the college funding they’re going to do for years. They’re gonna bail at the end of the four years and then they’re gonna go to college and have it paid for. That will never stop. I joined the Navy because I needed to find out about myself. And I thought my parents did a pretty good job raising me and but I needed to go find out who I was on my own and on my own terms. But as far as speaking about transgenders joining the service, because they know the government’s gonna pay for it. I do not agree with that. I don’t have a problem with somebody that says that comes in as a man and says, You know what, I need to have my surgery. I need to be a woman. And that’s fine. I have no qualms with that. I have no, no issues whatsoever with that. The issue that I have is American taxpayers should not have to pay for your choice to do that. And I think if you come in and say, Hey, I am going to be a transgender and I’m going to go through the surgeries, that’s fine. Because not only are you just going through surgeries, you’re going through the medication, you’re going through the psychiatric part of it. Because, you know, parts are changing parts of being removed or added whatever. And it’s a process. It’s not you just don’t go to the hospital and come out five days later and you’re a man or a woman or it’s, there’s a long process to that. And I don’t have a problem with someone, like taking a leave of absence from their contract, to have the surgery done, go through the psychiatric part and counseling and coming back as a man or a woman I don’t have that problem myself. Problem is having requiring a taxpayer to pay for that elective surgery. It’s different than if a woman comes in the Navy and has a baby. Okay? Whether they wanted to have a baby or it was an accident. That’s different. But when someone comes in the military and says, Well, I joined as a man, and I want the Navy to pay for me to be a woman. Well, the Navy isn’t just paying for it. The taxpayers living down the street from me are paying for it too. And if my children are working, the taxes that they pay, are paying for it. And so that’s the part I disagree with.

Hailey Sauvageau-Shlaffer  25:46  

Okay, so going off that, do you how do you see in the future, the Navy or the military moving forward, if more transgender individuals are coming into the military and just to have the surgeries and get it paid for?

Tim Shlaffer  25:59  

Well there’s there’s two parts of that. So the first part is where do I see the Navy? I see our American military regardless of the branch fighting to not be a kinder, gentler military. This isn’t the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, this isn’t summer camp. This isn’t I’m going away to college for four years. And if I don’t want to do it, I can just bow out and go get a job. This is when the sh*t hits the fan, and you’ve got to go to war. You got to go to war.

And as I was leaving my last couple years in the Navy, and the younger generation that was coming in the Navy, it was why do I got to do that? Why, why Why? Why do I have to do it? Well, because I told you to do it. And when you’ve served your time, and you’ve made rank You won’t be asked to do that anymore, you’re going to be asked to do something different. And I’m going to put you in charge and you’re going to tell people Hey, go clean the bathrooms, or Hey, go do this. There’s a time and place to ask why. And I think the younger generation that’s coming in, asks why too much? And there’s a time in place. And I mean, I don’t know how else to say it. But yeah, like, when I was in, you know, they would have Why do I get why do I have to do it? And I never swore or cursed at my, my junior sailors, but my inside voice was telling them because I f*cking told you to do it. That’s why, but I didn’t believe in yelling. I don’t believe in cursing at them. And so I’d be like, well, because I’m ordering you to Do it and it’s your job. And I need you to do it to the best you can, whether you’re like it or not, because I had to do a lot of jobs that I didn’t like, but you know what, I did it to the best that I can. And next thing, you know, I wasn’t given the crappy job anymore. They were giving it to other people that were lazy or, you know, just kind of didn’t have any motivation to to excel. And they saw that I was willing to do anything. And finally, it was like, I didn’t have to clean the bathrooms anymore. Now there’s doing something productive and like exciting or in my, in my mind, it was exciting and productive. And I think I think today’s military is struggling because because of that, you know, why don’t want to do that? Well, tough sh*t. Go do it. You know, this isn’t camp. You know, we’re not gonna when we’re done, we’re not gonna go sing Kumbaya around the campfire. And I think the hardness in the old salt, you know, the old saying the old salty Chief, you know, or the old salty drill sergeant still needs to be there because at the end of the day when the sh*t hits the fan, and you need to put lead downrange or help somebody do that, you know, I don’t need to sit here and provide a lecture on why we’re doing this. It’s because this is what we signed up for. This is why I raised my hand.And what was the other part of your question? 

Hailey Sauvageau-Shlaffer  29:36  

So do you think basically what you just talked about? So if the newer generation is kind of like being a little bit more soft? And do you think the military might change the way it works or stop letting people in or… 

Tim Shlaffer  29:49  

Well, I don’t think they’re gonna stop letting people in. I think the amount of numbers they allow each year might change and they always have and You know, what’s going on in the world dictates the amount of people that they need, or want in the service regardless of what branch it is. And I think though, you know, when you have transgenders, and gay and lesbian, they’re no different than someone who’s straight, who can’t lift the 40 pound toolbox or when the sh*t hits the fan, they start freaking out, and I didn’t sign up for this. Well, I understand that and that’s when hopefully, like when I was in positions, you know, I had to pull people together and like, Look, the sh*t is hitting the fan. I need, you know, look at me, focus, take a deep breath. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

And people will handle stress differently. don’t care whether you’re straight or not. So I don’t know. It’s a newer, it’s a newer group of people that are joining the military. And, you know, yeah, concerns me, Are there going to be softer because you need to be hard. And there’s times when you need to be hard, and there’s times when you don’t. And I just think the newer people don’t understand that. And I think it takes them a while to understand it after they’ve been in. And if they’ve stopped fighting the system, and every system has issues, and I’m not saying the military system is perfect, and it’s not. It’s far from it. And I’m not saying it’s better than others. I’m just saying it is what it is, you know, you’ve joined the military to support and defend the, you know, the Constitution of the United States and all enemies foreign and Domestic and you’re also there to help other nations that can’t defend themselves or you know, other nations groups of peoples whatever you know, that need our help. you’ve signed up for that.

And, I don’t know where today’s military is going. I just know what it was when I left and it was a lot softer than it was when I joined in ’93. Because we worked hard, we played hard. I was the expectations I think were higher in my opinion of me as a younger sailor at the time. You know, I was expected to catch on quick and carry my load and I in I think the same expectations are still there. I just think It’s like, Alright, I’ll give you another chance. Oh okay, you know, you know what I mean? Like, no, I wasn’t given second chances. But I also didn’t give anybody a reason that I needed a second chance because I wanted to succeed every time. And I’m still like that at 47 I still want to succeed for myself and for the people I work for, and I want to exceed for you and your brothers.

And Jen and I want I don’t know, it’s a work ethic that my parents instilled in me and I think a lot of the newer generation doesn’t have a work ethic. And I also think they also lack a social quality to have a conversation face to face. And look somebody in the eye, shake their hand and say, I’m going to get it done and look you in the eye and be like, gotcha, you know, old school. They want to communicate via text or an email. And yes, that is a form of communication, but when you’re doing a job there are more times than not that you need to look at somebody in the face and say, Look, this is what needs to be done. So you can understand, you know what you’re doing, you know what you need to do. Yeah, got it, okay. Or in my line of work dealing with customers, I pride myself on looking somebody in the eye, shaking their hand and doing what’s right. And being honest, and you know, having I don’t know ethics and I pride myself, that’s how my parents raised me was, you know, hey, go Introduce yourself, shake somebody’s hand, look them in the face, look them in the eye when you do it. And it’s not there anymore. Even in my line of work, now people come in and I like put my hand out to shake them, and they have to look up from the ground to see that I put my hand out to shake their hand. And so I don’t know. I mean, it’s sad. And, you know, technology has made so many improvements in our lives and made things so much easier. And, you know, medical breakthroughs and engineering breakthroughs. I mean, I get it and I’m not knocking it but technology has ruined. Social like in person. interactions with people. You know, we grew up you see in older movie. You know, you didn’t have to sign a contract, you can walk up and you shook somebody’s hand and said, This is what it’s gonna be this is the amount or whatever and you shook someone’s hand. You looked him in the face and it was a done deal. That was a contract. You know, that was that was binding. And I just think social media and technology has turned people into cowards that’s just my, my opinion.

 

Hailey Sauvageau-Shlaffer  36:29  

 Okay. So for the final question to wrap it all up.

Tim Shlaffer  36:33  

 Mm hmm. 

Hailey Sauvageau-Shlaffer  36:34  

I’m gonna ask. So if you were in the military, you still right now? Yeah. What sort of job do you think you’d be doing?

Tim Shlaffer  36:41  

Well, I don’t know. But I would tell you what I was what I would hope I would be doing. My goal was to become a master chief and a master chief is the senior enlisted either in your field or for the command You’re the one you’re the eyes, ears and and voice of the junior enlisted people. And you address that voice up the chain to the officers to your commanding officer. And you also enforce the rules that the commanding officer is putting out the rules and instructions. But I would like to think that I would be in a position where I could take care of my junior sailors at a bigger level. I would like to consider myself a sailor’s sailor, you know, I went through the trenches. I came in as an E1, you know, basically an E nothing. And I would like to have been a master chief. And it’s kind of like having children you look out for him, you guide them. You provide mentoring, and I still mentored as an E6, and I had a lot of people From what was funny is I had people that worked in other divisions, other departments, they would come to me and ask me to be their mentor. I treated people respect I looked him in the face. I told him what I knew. I told him what I thought I knew. And if they asked me my my personal opinion, I would give it and I would want to be doing that at a bigger level. Mentoring at a bigger level. I still was a mentor, I still looked out for my Joe’s. But that was that was my dream to be a command mastor chief where you were the senior enlisted of the entire command. Didn’t matter of how many could be 30 it could be 500 could be an entire ship of a carrier, which is 7000 people. And that was my my dream. That was my goal, and it just wasn’t in God’s plan. And I didn’t make it that far. So it is what it is.

Hailey Sauvageau-Shlaffer  39:06  

 Okay. Thank you for letting me interview you. And that’s the end

 

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

 

Overview of Interview Process:

I conducted this interview at home with my dad using my phone as a recording device. I did not have to edit a lot of the script. I included all the words my dad said, and left in the natural speech throughout the transcript. We went into a quiet room so that there would not be any background noise or voices in the audio. My dad talked for a little longer than I would have wanted to, but I did not cut him short because I wanted to include all of what he had to say.

 

Overall, I think the interview went well. My dad is comfortable talking to me and voicing his thoughts, so there were not any obstacles there. Although I felt like my dad did behave differently than usual. I feel like he felt like he needed to defend his opinion because he knew he was going to be recorded and potentially many people would be listening to the interview. So, I think he was a little reserved about his thoughts and experiences during some questions, but overall I think the interview went well. I could have edited out some of the parts where he got repetitive and defensive, but I left it in so that the interview sounds more natural and the listener can get a better sense of who my dad is.