A salute to these two Captains

Captain James Hagy and Captain Justin F. Kershaw have announced to friends and colleagues that they will retire in the summer of 2014. Captain Hagy is on the staff of the Commander, U.S. Pacific Command. Captain Kershaw is the Commanding Officer, Navy Information Operations Command Hawaii.

Captain Hagy will have his retirement ceremony on 15 August 2014 aboard USS MISSOURI adjacent to Pearl Harbor Memorial.

Captain Kershaw will retire on 21 August at a retirement ceremony held concurrently with his Navy Information Operations Command Hawaii change of command.

Mahalo to both of these Captains. Thank you for your Service and your leadership in the Information Dominance Corps and the cryptologic community.

Remembering the crew of COLUMBIA and their families

On February 1, 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed in a disaster that claimed the lives of all seven of its crew.

While February 1 was an occasion for mourning, the efforts that ensued can be a source of national pride. NASA publicly and forthrightly informed the nation about the accident and all the associated information that became available. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board was established within two hours of the loss of signal from the returning spacecraft in accordance with procedures established by NASA following the Challenger accident 17 years earlier.

The crew members lost that morning were explorers in the finest tradition, and since then, everyone associated with the Accident Review Board has felt that we were laboring in their legacy.

When itʼs dark, the stars come out … The same is true with people. When the tragedies of life turn a bright day into a frightening night, Godʼs stars come out and these stars are families who say although we grieve deeply as do the families of Apollo 1 and Challenger before us, the bold exploration of space must go on. These stars are the leaders in Government and in NASA who will not let the vision die. These stars are the next generation of astronauts, who like the prophets of old said, “Here am I, send me.”

– Brig. Gen. Charles Baldwin, STS-107 Memorial
Ceremony at the National Cathedral, February 6, 2003

Some readers have suggested that I have a bias toward NIOC Yokosuka

They are 100% correct.

And, so I say:

Congratulations to CTT1(IDW/SW) Shayne Franklin for his selection as 1 of 5 Finalists for the Fleet Cyber Command (FCC)/Navy Cyber Force (NCF) Shore Sailor of the Year.

Congratulations to CTMC(IDW/SS) Adam Birkholz, the NIOC Yokosuka 2014 nominee for the NCVA Award for Cryptologic Support Excellence (ACSE).

Congratulations to CTRC(IDW/NAC/PJ) Alexander Ollison, the NIOC Yokosuka 2014 nominee for the On-the-Roof Gang (OTRG) Award.

Best of luck Shipmates. You are already winners and carry forward the legacy of the fine NSGD Yokosuka and NSGA Yokosuka Sailors who served there before you.

I guess it is official now

CDR Mike Rogers turns over command of NSGA Winter Harbor to CDR E.F. Williamson

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. NR-058-14
January 30, 2014

DOD Announces Nomination of Cyber Command Commander/ NSA Director

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced today Navy Vice Adm. Michael S. Rogers as President Obama’s nominee to become commander of U.S. Cyber Command. In addition, the Secretary announced that he has designated Vice Adm. Rogers to serve as director of the National Security Agency, and chief of the Central Security Service.

Vice Adm. Rogers currently serves as the U.S. Fleet Cyber Command commander. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he will replace Gen. Keith Alexander, who has served as the NSA director since 2005, and the Cyber Command commander since 2010.

Additionally, the department is announcing that Richard Ledgett has been selected to serve as the NSA deputy director. In his new role as the senior civilian at NSA, Ledgett acts at the agency’s chief operating officer. He replaces J. Chris Inglis, who retired from the position in January.

How is your Mess doing? MCPON Guidance for CPO365

MCPON’s Guidance is HERE.

A Final Note

I expect every Chief Petty Officer to read this guidance in its entirety, and for all CPO Messes to discuss it as groups. While the guidance is not all-inclusive, it does provide a proven foundation for effectively developing a new generation of CPOs. Solid leadership, sound judgment, common sense and situational awareness need to prevail in all situations not expressly covered in this document.

I expect you and every member of your Mess to exercise the leadership and professionalism that we are entrusted with each and every day; hence CPO 365. We each know the difference between right and wrong and will be held accountable. I have the utmost confidence in our ability as a Mess to continue to build upon the legacy of success forged by all that have worn anchors.

A recent conversation – "Director of Sailor Success"?

I had a nice conversation with one of our Navy Information Operations Command’s officers recently. He said that his Skipper had begun calling him his “Director of Sailor Success“. At first I thought perhaps they were reading too many business books or those Harvard Business Review book summaries. After hearing him out, it made more sense.

He explained…Along with their Command Master Chief, he was responsible for all training at the command. Together, they co-chaired the Planning Board For Training (PB4T). They set up the long range command schedule for a two year period year and reviewed it (along with the short range schedule) on a monthly basis. Their philosophy – “great plan, great training; good plan, good training; no plan, no training”. They spent their time planning for and executing programs focused on Sailor success.

He continued…”At this command, we value training and that value is recognized. We keep it realistic and practical – no wasting our Sailors’ time. Our training programs are monitored and evaluated. We are fortunate to have some real Master Training Specialists right out of the Center for Information Dominance (CID) Corry Station who have turned our training program upside down. Our Sailors thirst for knowledge. Believe it our not, some of our training sessions are “Standing Room Only.” Everyone in the command participates in training and development – Seaman to CO – no exceptions. Our professional development programs are second to none! Our Sailors take this stuff seriously. Our Sailors qualify on time and they promote better than the average of the other NIOCs – at every paygrade. And it’s especially nice to have a Chiefs Mess that is really the driving force behind the professional development of our Sailors. It’s one of the keys to our success. We train for it.”

Admiral James R. Stavridis – would have been a Naval aviator, except for that one bad experience in his youth

Admiral James Stavridis’ speech at the Surface Navy Association (SNA) from 16 January is HERE.

Briefly, he said, we should:

Listen more
Build intellectual capital
Learn languages
Use social networks
Use every available technology to our advantage

In the past, we focused on building walls. Today, we need to focus on building bridges to create collaboration.

LCS will work. We’ve had early problems with every ship type. Sailors overcome.

We need to think more about cyber. “Vice Admiral Rogers, this is for you. I was more worried about cyber than any other aspect in my last job.”

No one should doubt the ability of the U.S. Navy or the surface warfare community “to conduct prompt and sustained combat operations at sea. It is who we are and what we do.”

A Great Read – Robert Gates’s book, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War

Guest Post by LCDR Christopher Nelson, USN

Wow, just…wow. I recently finished Robert Gates’s book, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War — it’s a great book. I had, like many of you, read some excerpts in the Wall Street Journal, the review in the New York Times, and heard the hoopla prior to it hitting the shelves. Some of the early reviews managed to pull the same quotes from the book, giving us the impression — wrongly as it turns out — that the former Secretary of Defense was slinging mud all over the place. Not so. Not even close. Well, instead of writing a review of the book, I want to highlight a few things in the book that are unfortunately missing from other reviews. And that is 1) his management style, and 2) some tid-bits that deserve some reflection and thought for anyone wearing a uniform in today’s military. I hope these scraps are enough to persuade you to pick up a copy and add it to your personal library. Here we go:

“Symbolic gestures have substantive and real benefits.” Secretary Gates made an effort early in his tenure to meet senior military commanders — Combatant Commanders, the Joint Chiefs — on their turf (e.g., COCOM HQs, “The Tank”) rather than summoning the Commanders to the Pentagon. He noticed that [his] “approach in dealing with the military leadership had a far more positive impact than [he] had expected.”

On PowerPoint. “…it was the bane of my existence in Pentagon meetings; it was as no one could talk without them.”

Write the note. Following Admiral “Fox” Fallon’s Esquire interview, and the subsequent fallout, he sent Secretary Gates a “very gracious, handwritten letter of apology…”

Go into a meeting with a strategy and a desired outcome. “A meeting in the Situation Room was never just another gathering…outcomes were important, and I always had a strategy going in.”

On Influences. “Political scientists, historians, and reporters are often completely unaware of events or experiences unseen by the public eye that influence important decisions…an HBO movie, Taking Chance…had an important impact” [on his decision to publicly honor fallen service men/women arriving at Dover, AFB]. (Me: If you haven’t seen Taking Chance, you need to find a copy and watch it.)

Not all leadership is equal…and just because you are the “next in line” doesn’t mean you are the best qualified for the job. “…[T]he qualities important for military leadership and success in war are not the same as those required in peacetime. In war, boldness, adaptability, creativity, sometimes ignoring the rules, risk taking, and ruthlessness are essential for success. These are not characteristics that will get you very far in peacetime…too many officers were assigned to command positions because the stateside personnel system identified them as “next in line” rather than because they were selected as best qualified for the combat mission.”

Know your expertise; Know your lane. “For some reason, more and more senior officers seem compelled to seek a high public profile and to speak out, often on politically sensitive issues or even on matters beyond their responsibility (not to mention expertise).”

And I could go on. There is a lot to absorb in 594 pages. Even from the few quotes I included above there is plenty to chew on. It is one of the most honest and candid political memoirs that I’ve read. Yes, to some the word “honest” is an oxymoron when coupled with the words “political memoir.” I get it. But my guidepost when reading this type of work has always been this: is the writer able to criticize and analyze themselves? And can they highlight mistakes they made? Do they discuss how they would have done it differently if given the chance? If they can do these things, then in my opinion, I would consider it an excellent candidate for an “honest and candid political memoir.” I believe Secretary Gates has done all these things, and done them well. But hey, go pick up a copy for yourself and make your own decision.

LCDR Christopher Nelson, USN, is an intelligence officer currently attending US Naval War College and the Maritime Advanced Warfighting School in Newport, RI. The views above are his and his alone, and do not reflect those of the United States Navy or the Department of Defense.

This great news from the Washington Post

Obama signs off on nomination of Vice Admiral Michael S. Rogers, Commander Fleet Cyber Command/TENTH Fleet as NSA Director

By Ellen Nakashima

President Obama has signed off on the nomination of Vice Admiral Michael S. Rogers to lead the embattled National Security Agency and the Pentagon’s cyberwarfare organization, according to sources familiar with the decision.

In an unusual move, Obama himself interviewed Rogers last week, in a reflection of the job’s high profile at a time when the NSA has drawn fire for the scope of its surveillance practices.

Vice Admiral Michael S. Rogers would succeed General Keith Alexander, who is retiring this year.

White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden declined to comment, but people familiar with the matter said an announcement is expected soon.

Legacy

–>This involves the lasting impact you have on the people in your command. In this respect, your legacy “can be seen in the thoughts and actions of the people who have worked with or for you long after your tour has ended.
We define this type of legacy as “the sum total of the difference you make in people’s lives, directly and indirectly, formally and informally.” In other words, when you turn over command to your relief, what attitudes or ways of thinking have you instilled into the command that will continue after you are gone?

The fact that your command earned an “outstanding” on an inspection is not a legacy; a legacy is the commitment to excellence and attention to detail you developed in the command. It’s the pride of ownership you have instilled in your Sailors and the skills they take with them to improve things at their next command.