I watched the two officers organize the men and women into a formation and then start them running around the landing field. I estimated that it was a distance of a little over three kilometers. That would keep them busy for the next fifteen to twenty minutes. I walked over to the first ship.
I instructed them, saying, “At ease. There’s no sense in standing at attention as long as you pay attention. There are certain deficiencies inside this ship that I already know about because I inspected it personally before I rushed you out of the recreational hall. Find them!”
Then I walked to each of the other nineteen ships and gave the same instructions to the men and women standing beside each ship. I finished giving them something to do with several minutes to spare before the other group finished their run around the field. I went back to where I stood before and waited for them to return. It gave me enough time to smoke a cigarette.
The two officers brought the formation back and stopped it in front of me. I stepped forward and then used my loudest and most obnoxious voice to drive home my point.
“Men and women! If this base had been attacked, you would be dead right now! You would be dead because I would have taken off without you. The back blast would likely have done you in! In the future when I tell the officers to scramble the crews, you will stop whatever you are doing, grab what you can, and run the way you are! I don’t care if you arrive on board naked! You’ll have plenty of time to get dressed on board! Do I make myself clear on this one point? You are to drop whatever you are doing, grab what you can, and start running for the ships! To make it easier for you in the future, the ships will soon not be in this formation any longer! My name is Oden! Captain Oden! It was pointed out to me that the Valhalla, my flagship, is somewhat of a coincidence since Odin was a Viking god! I don’t expect you to be anything less than true Vikings when we meet the enemy and destroy him! In fact, I don’t expect you to be anything less than the worst of the Vikings and they were called Berserkers! From now on, this is the Berserker Squadron! If you don’t know what a Berserker Viking was, I will tell you! They were Viking warriors who went into a frenzy when they went into battle! Their enemies feared the Berserkers the most of all the Viking warriors because the Berserkers would charge into combat regardless of the odds and win! That is what we will soon be doing! We will be winning and we will do it every time! Not just once, but every time! Now get to your ships and help the others find the deficiencies that I’ve already found! Move out!”
I left it to them to tell the others how horrible a person I was and about the new squadron name. I gave them a half-hour to find the deficiencies and then went on board my flagship first. I was met by the ship’s captain who reported to me with what he and the others had found so far. It wasn’t complete, but they found the major deficiencies I had discovered.
I gave a hint of a smile as I said, “Good! Now get someone out here working on those deficiencies. Have the First Officer start supervising the work. You stick nearby me. I have other ships to review.”
We left the ship after he turned over the ship to the First Officer. We went to the next ship. The captain of the light cruiser met me after one of the crew members spotted me and hollered for him. He gave his report of deficiencies.
I replied, “That’s not good enough, Captain. You missed two. Have your First Officer keep looking for them and coordinate with maintenance to have everything fixed. Meanwhile, you tag along with me for the time being.”
We left for the next light cruiser. Again, there were some deficiencies not found yet and I gave the same instructions. Eventually, I had all twenty ships’ captains in tow as I left the last ship.
I turned to them and said, “Gentlemen, ladies, follow me to the recreation hall where we can discuss some things in private so that you need not be embarrassed in front of your subordinates.”
I led them to the hall where I first saw some of them. I let them stand in a semicircle around me and started on them with everything I expected of them.
“How many of you know the names of every officer and crew member on your ship?” I looked around and there wasn’t a single hand raised. “You will by tonight. You will go to Headquarters and draw every personnel record for every officer and crew member and bring them back here. Then you and I will go over them. If you think it’s hard, remember, I have to know all twenty of the ships’ officers and crew members. You only have to know them for one ship. Next question, how many of you regularly inspect your ship thoroughly?”
Again, I looked around. There were a lot of red faces, but no hands. “From now on, you will conduct a thorough inspection of your ship once each week and prior to launch. You will report any deficiencies to me, no matter what the cause or how small. To tell you the truth, I don’t care how they came to be. I want them found and fixed. Is that clear?” I looked around to see most of them nodding their heads in agreement. Most of them still looked like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
“All right. Move out! I will see you here in two hours with every personnel record.”
The ships’ captains left in a hurry to get to Headquarters and pick up the records. In the time they were gone, I went out to the ships again and instructed the First Officers to make sure that everyone got supper at the appropriate time, but to keep them working until eight that night.
Two hours later, the captains were back. Each carried an armful of personnel records. I assigned each one to a different table inside the recreational hall and started them going over the records of every man and woman. Slowly, we went through the records until supper when I allowed them to take a break. After supper, we returned to the recreational hall to resume our work on the personnel records. I didn’t tell them that I wouldn’t be able to remember that many names, but I did want to impress upon them that they needed to at least know their own crews and not just their officers. We finished up slightly before midnight when I let them secure the personnel records and retire for the night.
The next day, I didn’t mention the personnel records until noon when I asked my ships’ captains how many of them returned the records they borrowed. I slowly made my point to them about taking the initiative to do things without being told.
Majel arrived that afternoon and I asked her which light cruiser she wanted to command.
She exclaimed, “You’re kidding? A light cruiser? Oh fabulous! Just whichever one you want me to take.”
I replied, “Fine. You’re going to be hampered by a ship’s captain who isn’t going to like having his ship taken over by you, but he’s going to have to put up with it because I want someone who knows how I expect people to do their jobs. Have you seen how the squadron tactics are working out yet?”
She said, “No, but I’ve heard of them and read everything I can about them. So, it really works?”
I answered, “Yes, but it’s not perfected. You’re the kind of person who can make the difference in getting this system to work right. I’ll be leading the Berserker Squadron and you’ll be in the center. It’s an opportune location for someone with your knowledge of how a single ship can attack. It’s simple to envision. You follow the squadron until you see an opportunity develop in the tactical situation that will favor us if someone gets to it. When you see the opportunity, then you ignore the rest of the squadron and lead whoever follows behind you to take advantage of the battle. Did you read about Admiral Nelson at the Battle of the Nile?”