.CUSTOMS & TRADITIONS
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Before the written word, up to and including today, knowledge was / is passed on verbally from those ‘in the know’ to the ‘initiate’ or newcomer.
The Navy is a unique organisation with more than its share of actively promoted customs and traditions. Some are formal demonstrations, such as ‘Colours’ at 0800 or the simple act of a salute. While others are expressed with words that seem to replace commonly used ones (like saying ‘Port’ instead of ‘Left’), or slang words that baffle. However, they only baffle those people who are not in the Navy.
Language, uniforms and ceremonies are powerful ways of developing pride in who we are and what we do. It honours those who ‘went before us’ and includes us in what they did.
Without Customs and Traditions, the Navy becomes ‘just a job’. A job, by its very nature, does not ascribe loyalty to it.
CUSTOMS - sometimes knowledge is taught as "If it was good enough for my father, it’s good enough for you." Or "This is the standard routine for doing…whatever."
A customary way of doing something is essentially a ‘time saving’ measure. It’s a quick way of getting the point across in an unquestioning way because, basically, it’s the usual and widely accepted way of doing a specific task. Customs are not locked in ‘stone’, they can be modified as time and methods change (which can make them quite modern at times), but they are always based on a proven fact or method that ‘worked before’.
TRADITIONS – the transmission of long established customs or beliefs from generation to generation. They tend to mark or honour a certain event or routine.
They can relate to ceremonies (old ‘replaced’ customs) and/or to language (unique words and expressions). They are also employed to pass on the history of an organisation. It’s a proven, binding psychological tool that works particularly well in a Naval or Military environment as they are ‘rooted’ in discipline, obedience and duty. This applies not only their own country, but to their ‘unit’ and to the people within it. (There’s safety in numbers and you must be able to rely on your ‘mates’)
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