Christmastime in the armed forces is . . . massive; it generates emotional gravity beyond that of anything else on the calendar. While workups and inspections will tread upon other holidays without pause, Christmas stand-down is the lone pacific stretch — so long as one isn’t deployed. Part of the reason for the offered quietude is selfish, I imagine: A captain’s wife doesn’t want him out at sea for Christmas any more than the wife of a seaman apprentice does.
But it’s more than that: Christmas is the one time a year when sailors have a time carved out for leave-taking and going home for a visit. Meddling with Petty Officer Timmy’s opportunity to fly home to Baton Rouge and eat as much gumbo as his grandmama can press upon him is inadvisable for a good officer, and denying Timmy leave would irrevocably damage the officer’s reputation among the crew. But even while the Navy prioritizes time off, as Santa is making his way down chimneys, there remain sailors checking the smokestacks on watch and those deployed dreaming of home.
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