> ...and this could be for a number of reasons that have nothing to do with anything you did.
My father used to captain ships, and once explained to me that if the ship runs aground, it doesn't matter that the captain was asleep in his bunk at the time. He was responsible and would be court martialled for it. That meant he made damn sure his XO standing the night watch was competent and sober.
It doesn't matter if you didn't do anything. You should have done something. That's the job. You're responsible.
A lot of jobs pay in social status… whether you’re a university professor, or a destroyer captain, an airline pilot, or even something really highly-compensated like a doctor, a large part of the compensation is that even complete strangers clearly understand how you fit into society. They will respect you beyond what you get from mere salary.
My father used to captain ships, and once explained to me that if the ship runs aground, it doesn't matter that the captain was asleep in his bunk at the time. He was responsible and would be court martialled for it. That meant he made damn sure his XO standing the night watch was competent and sober.
It doesn't matter if you didn't do anything. You should have done something. That's the job. You're responsible.
Yearly pay for an O-6 is between $87,984 and $155,754, by the way: https://www.federalpay.org/military/coast-guard/captain