Navy·Technology obsolescence·In Memoriam
Illustrator-Draftsman
DM
Served: 1959–2006
The sailor who hand-drew technical illustrations, briefing graphics, and ship schematics before PowerPoint existed.
The Story
DM descended from the 1948 Draftsman rate, renamed in 1959. By the 2000s a Petty Officer with a Wacom tablet could do in an hour what the DM rate trained six months for.
Epitaph
“Drew it by hand. Got vectorized.”
Sources
- NAVADMIN 339/05navadmin-viewer.fly.dev