Author: captain1610

100% Accountability

A beloved member of my family turned me on to Jack Canfield recently.  Ever a man of action, he didn’t suggest I go buy a book, nor did he make some other suggestion for my action.  He took the first action and sent me Jack Canfield’s course so I can listen to it on my upcoming trip across the middle of the country.  The course arrived yesterday and I listened to one of the CDs on my drive up to Maryland this morning.
I really enjoyed the hour and look forward to many more.  Here are a number of tips from Jack that relate well to a Naval officer’s activities and help point us toward taking 100% accountability in our daily lives:
  1. What is a difficult or troubling situation in your Navy career? 
  2. How are you creating it or allowing it to happen? 
  3. What are you pretending not to know? 
  4. What is the payoff for keeping it like it is? 
  5. What would you rather be experiencing? 
  6. What actions will you take to create that? 
  7. By when will you take that action?

I’ve already started my journey toward 100% accountability.

History will be written at the right time

“Secretary Rumsfeld – History will be written at the right time. The folks in this room wearing uniforms and the civilian leaders in this room are going to come out looking the way they should – as true patriots and heroes of our country.”

General Peter Pace, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Is it real? Or have we been punked?

The CNO recently send a letter to the Director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.

In it, he says …

“I have been made aware, from the chain of command and from direct feedback from the Fleet, that we are spending too much time performing administrative tasks, or perhaps completing duplicative or competing requirements by ISICs or others, which keep us from being effective – that prevent us from keeping “Warfighting First”.  To help address this imbalance, you will need to stand up a Navy-wide working group.”

Free Riders

That’s what economists call a situation in which someone benefits from the entire community paying for something without contributing themselves.   Free riding may be considered a problem when it leads to under-provision of goods or services, or when it leads to overuse or degradation of a common property resource. (From wikipedia)

Are you a ‘free rider’ in the cryptologic/information warfare community or are you making a contribution?

Seth Godin is talking about free riders on his blog HERE.

Delighted to get this in the mail on Saturday

An autographed collector’s edition of my former boss’s newest best selling book, RUMSFELD’S RULES in a well crafted leather box.  This will go on the shelf and I’ll grab another copy to read and annotate.  As he says, these are not Rumsfeld’s Rules at all but rather a collection of thoughtful rules he has picked up in his 50+ years of selfless public service.
I’m not a bookseller, but you can get yourself a copy of his book HERE.  There are some excellent leadership tips in there.

Words from Jitter at Information Warriors

WORDS AFTER 25 YRS

As I get ready to start terminal leave after 25 years of service in the CT/IW community I wanted to write a few parting words to the people that are just starting out or have been in for awhile. While I have long and diverse background there are several tenets that have made me successful. By no means is this a complete list and I welcome an additional item that you might like to pass on.

#1 Know that we are making a difference! Time and time again the support we provide has saved lives and has guided our countries leaders (big and small) in their decision making. Our product is not always perfect but it provides a valuable insight that no one else has. Our triumphs greatly outweigh our failures.

#2 Take advantage of what is offered to you. College, certifications, classes, advanced training… one day when you separate your hard work in your education will come in handy for your next position, whatever that may be. Also, make sure your people do the same.

#3 Know your job! No matter what is dealt to you become the expert at it. You might not like the crummy shop you are in or the product it produces but, your boss does not care. The CO has a mission to complete and your job is part of that mission. By not embracing your job you are not supporting the CO.

#4 Have fun! Most of us forget to do this (including me). There is no specific way to do it but you need to have a fun factor and so do your people. For everyone’s sanity find a way to have some fun on the job.

#5 Know your people. Can you, right now name how many of your people are married? Spouses names? Kids? Career goals? I bet some folks can’t even name who works for them. Trust me it makes a difference to them and it helps you when you’re doing a little bit of walking around to see and talk to them (I hope you’re doing this).

#6 Make a decision. Get all the info you need to be informed but don’t sit on a decision. It drives your people nuts and makes you look bad. If you have to wait to get more info be sure they know what’s going on.

#7 Hold people accountable. This includes yourself and your personnel. Set goals and dates, if they are not met find out why? Your process could come to a halt if goals have no meaning or accountability. This does not mean you have to do it yourself but, you should know the status of goals. Asking for a status and providing guidance is not micromanaging. Let’s face it you and your people will make mistakes, that’s fine learn from them and move on but be accountable and admit mistakes. You need to tell your boss the truth (see #9). If you are the boss do not blow up at your people when they make mistakes, this will only drive them way. If you can’t get your point across without yelling then learn how to. Yes you might be angry but don’t take it out on your personnel, find another relieve valve (PT).

#8 Support your boss. You are doing no one any favors by being a “yes man”. Tell them your thoughts and provide guidance but, remember at the end of the day they are accountable for the decision that is made. If it different then your guidance you need to be supportive of the decision made. Should never utter the words “I told the CO he was wrong but he did what he wanted to do anyways”. You are not always privy to all the information that goes into the decision.

#9 Always be aboveboard. Never ever take advantage of a perk that your people do not have. Never give some the chance to smear your name or suspect improprieties. Treat the people’s money with respect and insure it is handled properly. Don’t be overly familiar with junior personnel it can only lead to trouble. Tell the truth, even if it means a lot of pain. I have found that sometimes doing the right thing is not that easy, but it is the right thing to do. Know that at the end of the day you can look at yourself in the mirror.

#10 Be a mentor. One day you will separate or retire. What will be your legacy? Pass on your knowledge and experiences. Don’t let others make the same mistakes you have. Help them to succeed.

The Navy and the CT/IW community has changed a lot over the past 25 years. But I can honestly say it is poised for even further success as we move forward in dominating today’s global challenges. Now get out there and make a difference! Your country and your people are depending on you!

P.S. Used without Jitter’s permission.

Old Ideas for the IW Community – from 2010

More than 3 years ago, I posted this “empty” gauge for ideas for the IW community. As a result, here are some of the ideas that I received. While all were good ideas, none were fully implemented. For me, this is the difference between thinking and doing. Many strong thinkers, not enough strong doers.

1. IW Commanding Officers (COs) should self organize, set their own agenda and have their own IW Commanding Officer’s conference via VTC/teleconference to discuss IW community issues. ((A work in progress))

2. Like-minded IW officers could meet in cyberspace (GOTOMEETING.COM) and chat (brain storm) once a month (on a specific topic) at a designated time with a moderator (IWOCM?).

3. IW COs could set up a best practices blog (similar to the Army’s Company Commander’s site) to share ideas and practices that have worked for them. ((VADM Rogers has done this with a blog under BETA testing now))  ((2013 Update:  CRYPTOCORE is dead.))

4. Re-evaluate where we are as a community. Can we ‘bring back’ cryptology? ((Underway)

5. IWOs could become insurgents (ala Seth Godin) and self-market to the warfighter. We used to ‘sell’ our SIGINT capability to the warfighter and had Flag officers champion our capabilities. How do we regain that?

6. Information Warfare Commanders self-organize and set their own agenda and have their own IW Commander conference via VTC/teleconference to discuss IW Commander issues. Built a story for their reliefs. What are the respective IW Commanders doing? What are they not doing that they should?

7. Build a repository of IW officer and enlisted lessons learned from the IA/GSA experience on SIPRNET. What are we doing right; what have we done wrong?

8. Review our progress on the IW officer survey. Where do we stand on the actions recommended in the survey? Are we done? What did we accomplish with the survey? ((Ideas died on the vine))

9. Get the IW blog back into the open. (Note: I think this is done now with some visibility on FaceBook). If it’s good enough for Admiral Chad Allen (USCG) and Admiral Jim Stavridis (SOUTHCOM), then it’s good enough for us. Hey, do our Flags tweet? ((VADM Rogers working this personally))  ((2013 Update: CRYPTOCORE is dead.; actually, very much alive and well!)

10. Change our detailing process. (Not much help with this one since no other specifics were provided. What do you want to change about it? What paygrades are we talking about? Is it detailing in general or slating/command screening? More specifics, please. Not enough to go on here).

Addition from a few years ago: (6/8/10)

11. Provide more transparency on the command slating process. Republish the O5/O6 slate and distribute widely. ((A work in progress))

Character of a Naval officer

By Rear Admiral Harley F. Cope
July, 1951

Assuming that there are three officers each of whom respects, and is respected, by a group of men, what qualities will one possess that will inspire the men to look upon him as their leader? They will lean toward the one officer possessing the strongest character. By character is meant integrity, courage, morality, humility, and unswerving determination. Character is a spiritual force. It is a reflection of a man’s grip upon himself, the degree to which he is able to dominate the baser instincts that beset us all.

Because men know that the conquest of one’s own weaknesses is a far, far more difficult task than any other, they tend to believe that he who can conquer himself, can also conquer whatever problem is at hand. 


Your first job, then, is to learn to know your own weaknesses and conquer them. Our fears are a key to our weakness, because we fear only the things which we feel we cannot do well. We all have fears. Force yourself to conquer and to face squarely every situation you are afraid to meet. It is not being afraid but running away that weakens character. When you have accomplished this, you will have developed character.

The Naval Officers Manual
A Ready Reference to Helpful Information and Counsel for
All Officers of the United States Navy and the Marine Corp