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“Lay it on me.”
“I’ve got to get a new ID card for my wife.”
“Did she lose her card?”
“No. Those people back at the base took it away
from her—said it wasn’t any good!”
“Do you know why?”
ET2 Door unfolded a letter and reread a portion of
it. “She didn’t say. She had gone to the commissary, and
the man at the door took it—said it wasn’t any good.”
PNSN Frost thought for a moment, shook his head,
and turned to PN3 Doe, “Doe, I need some help. Door
just received a letter from his wife, and she said that her
ID card was taken by the commissary. She was told it
wasn’t any good.”
As PN3 Doe came to the counter, he asked PNSN
Frost to get Door’s record. “Your wife didn’t say why
the card wasn’t good?”
“No, she didn’t.”
“Do you know if it had been damaged in such a way
that it would appear to have been altered?”
“I don’t think so. At least, she never said anything
about it. I don’ t think it’s right for the card to be taken
away from her. I’m a million miles from home; and she
can’t go to the commissary, the exchange, or the
hospital. She’s going to have a baby, and she has to go
to the hospital for regular checkups. I think it’s a raw
deal.”
“It does sound like it, but there has to be a reason.
Let’s see if we can figure out what the problem is.” After
PNSN Frost got the record, PN3 Doe opened it and
began to leaf through the pages. He located the DD Form
1172 (application form for dependent’s ID card) and
glanced over it. “She got the card just over a year ago.
Is this information correct?” He turned the record so
that Door could read the form.
“Yes; she never had any trouble with her card
before,” ET2 Door replied.
Then an entry on the form caught PN3 Doe’s
eye—the expiration date! It was a month ago! Quickly,
he turned to the enlistment contract. It had the same
expiration date, but there was also an extension
agreement. “Door, have you ever filled out a new
application form?”
“No. Should I have?”
“I’m afraid so. Looks like we both goofed. Her card
was issued with the expiration date of your enlistment.
That was a month ago. You’re now on your extension.
That explains why the card was picked up. It wasn’t any
good; it had expired. Well, we can correct this problem.”
PN3 Doe obtained the forms from the cabinet and
returned to the counter. “It will just take a minute for me
to type a new application. Then you can sign it, and we’ll
get it in the mail to your wife. She can take it to the
personnel office on the base, and that office will issue
her a new card.”
ET2 Door was silent for awhile, then he said, “We
won’ t have any mail leaving this ship for over a week.
Then it will take up to 2 weeks for the letter to reach her.
She will be without a card for almost a month. Can’t she
get it any quicker than that?”
PN1 Seaman had followed part of the conversation
while he was going through the incoming mail. Upon
hearing ET2 Door’s question, he came over to the
counter. He greeted ET2 Door, turned to PN3 Doe, and
asked, “Anything I can do?”
“Maybe.” Briefly PN3 Doe related the problem.
“Door just had a letter from his wife. The base
commissary picked up her ID card because it had
expired. His extension went into effect last month and
no one thought to get a new card for her. I’m filling out
the application now, but as Door just said, getting her a
new card is going to take some time. Is there a faster
way for her to get her card?”
PN1 Seaman replied, “Yes, there is. We can send a
message. You have handled this problem very well, Doe.
Go ahead and finish the application, have it signed, and
leave it and his record on my desk. I’ll have to check a
couple of references; then we’ll draft a message that will
authorize the issuance of a new ID card. The message
will go out today, and Mrs. Door should get it tomorrow
or the next day. She can take it to the base personnel
office as soon as she receives it, and that office will issue
her a new card. Oh, don’t worry about her medical care.
She can obtain that without her ID card. She just has to
sign a form at the hospital.”
In this instance, PNSN Frost sought help for a
situation that he couldn’t handle. PN3 Doe responded
well to the customer, but he was providing a routine
solution for a problem that was more than routine;
however, he quickly accepted PN1 Seaman’s offer to
help. Although PN1 Seaman could have offered to help
sooner, he was able to provide the proper solution. ET2
Door was fortunate to have had his problem resolved by
teamwork at its best.
When you are faced with a problem that exceeds
your ability to solve—use the team’s ability.
4-4
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