I came across one of those pamphlets left lying around by one of the Littering Missionaries that want to witness, but hate to get face-to-face with people. This is usually because those people ask them to defend their beliefs, or inquire about the distinct clearness of their schedule, or indicate a preference for sharp spikes and ocular insertion. Anyway, the topic of the tract revealed the

1. The cult is authoritarian in its power structure.
2. The leader is regarded as the supreme authority.
3. He or she may delegate a certain amount of power to a few subordinates for the purpose of seeing that members adhere to the leader's wishes and roles.
4. There is no appeal outside of his or her system to greater systems of justice.
5. The cult's leaders tend to be charismatic, determined, and domineering.
6. They persuade followers to drop their families, jobs, careers, and friends to follow the cult.
7. The cult's leaders are self-appointed, messianic persons who claim to have a special mission in life.
8. The cult's leaders center the veneration of members upon themselves.
9. The cult tends to be totalitarian in its control of the behavior of its members.
10. Cults are likely to dictate in great detail what members wear, eat, when and where they work, sleep, and bathe-as well as what to believe, think, and say.
11. The cult promotes very restrictive standards of dress, or even uniformity in clothing.
12. Members of the cult tend are grouped together in living quarters with limited privacy.
13. Cults tend to limit the amount of sleep members get.
14. The cult tends to have a double set of ethics.
15. The cult has basically only two purposes, recruiting new members and fund-raising.
16. The cults may claim to make social contributions, but in actuality these remain mere claims, or gestures.
17. The cult appears to be innovative and exclusive. They are selective about who can join.
18. The cult uses as gospel a document other than The Bible, or another authority in addition to The Bible.
19. The cult promises that joining it will change you, your life, your outlook on life. That it will SAVE you

1. The cult is authoritarian in its power structure. The captain is in charge. Completely and without question.
2. The leader is regarded as the supreme authority. What part of 'without question' did you miss?
3. He or she may delegate a certain amount of power to a few subordinates for the purpose of seeing that members adhere to the leader's wishes and roles. Known as the Wardroom and Goat Locker.
4. There is no appeal outside of his or her system to greater systems of justice. Technically, you can go over his head. The provisions for situations while 'at sea' leave a lot to be desired.
5. The cult's leaders tend to be charismatic, determined, and domineering. Two out of three, usually.
6. They persuade followers to drop their families, jobs, careers, and friends to follow the cult. How many times was I told that my wife wasn't issued in boot camp? My kids weren't in my sea bag?
7. The cult's leaders are self-appointed, messianic persons who claim to have a special mission in life. ...well, not self-appointed.
8. The cult's leaders center the veneration of members upon themselves. Depends on your definition of 'veneration.' Just try telling the CO that your last CO did the job better....
9. The cult tends to be totalitarian in its control of the behavior of its members. Even MY church doesn't make us stand in ranks.
10. Cults are likely to dictate in great detail what members wear, eat, when and where they work, sleep, and bathe-as well as what to believe, think, and say. Or, as my dad describes Army discipline: "When to sh**, what color, how much and how many piles."
11. The cult promotes very restrictive standards of dress, or even uniformity in clothing. Thus the word: 'uniform.'
12. Members of the cult tend are grouped together in living quarters with limited privacy. Barracks, Mess Hall, Head, Berthing, Mess Decks, Shower Stalls, and the ominously named "Coffin Locker."
13. Cults tend to limit the amount of sleep members get. We got up for training, for meetings, for more training, for qualifications, for inspections, for field day, for training about how to train, for watch, for watch brief, for drill brief, for drills, for drill critiques, fly away, bus away, bus back, fly back, crew turnover, watch turnover, duty section turnover, duty section training, duty clean up.....
14. The cult tends to have a double set of ethics. Very much a Class System. Enlisted discipline problems and punishments were published in the Plan Of The Day. For all appearances, criminal Officers just got transferred.
15. The cult has basically only two purposes, recruiting new members and fund-raising. Kinda depended on manning levels...but we always put a good show on for Defense Committee Congressmen or Midshipmen tours....
16. The cults may claim to make social contributions, but in actuality these remain mere claims, or gestures. Definitely NOT! We were a major industry for shipping teen-aged ne'er-do-wells out of small towns and into Navy ports, where everything was nailed down. The only thing the Judges like more are the Marines, as it seems more like a punishment.
17. The cult appears to be innovative and exclusive. They are selective about who can join. Again, depends on the job market, and manning levels.
18. The cult uses as gospel a document other than The Bible, or another authority in addition to The Bible. Just tell the Master Chief you can't shave the beard off, the Bible says it's a Pagan Practice...
19. The cult promises that joining it will change you, your life, your outlook on life. That it will SAVE you! You tell me. Just watch the commercials.

But WAIT! You might be saying, The Navy can't be a Cult, it isn't even a religion! How little you know. Research has shown that ANYTHING people feel strongly about is a religion. (See my Evolution Is A Religion page, for more. Or the religion definition Ken Ham is so fond of...) So, DO people feel strongly about the Navy? Go to ANY ship, in ANY port, and talk to ANY sailor onboard. Tell him you have a unique opportunity for him. At no cost to him, he can stop being a sailor immediately, and start, tomorrow, as a Marine Private, with a 12-Year commitment. See how strongly HE feels about being a sailor!

Cultists.