Author: captain1610

A Need In Our Navy For Factual Information

There is great need in our own Navy now for factual information. Information must be fed continuously to be effective; it must be given by every medium available; and it must be given by each senior to his subordinates.
It is the job of all officers in top billets in the Navy to explain the plans and the future of the Navy to their service. Later, when the situation permits, it would be desirable if the senior officers were assisted in this duty by a very few qualified personnel, but there is danger in establishing an officer for this purpose too soon.

For the dissemination of such information can be effective only if it is accomplished by many people. As an example, every issue of every Navy publication should have some article in it about the future of the Navy as a whole organization. Many do now. They should be encouraged.

There is a converse to this lack of information being passed down. Unless there is dope coming down, little goes up. Information must be exchanged.

If seniors do not inform their juniors of items of interest, juniors will not feel a strong compulsion to inform their seniors of items of possible interest. No commander can command even a division well unless he is informed of what is going on within his command.


Admiral Arleigh A. Burke

I can not stress this enough

“Therefore, if you want to be part of the same forum for debate that led young officers like Lieutenant Ernest King to write, if you have a new idea or perspective, if you think you can make the case for that perspective, then I encourage you to write and submit to Proceedings.  Your idea might challenge or support conventional wisdom.  It might be something that no one has thought of – or has taken the time to pen.  It might be an idea on how the sea services improve processes, support people, or modify platforms.  Don’t be satisfied with what “might be.”   Write. Engage. Be part of the debate.  Start the debate.”
LCDR Claude Berube
USNA History Professor
Chair of the Editorial Board of Naval Institute Proceedings. 

There is no higher priority than to develop effective Navy leaders

The Chief of Naval Operations’ promise to you on what you may expect from your leadership:

Our people are our most valuable and important strategic asset.

Furthering our advantage as the world’s finest Navy requires developing leaders who personify their moral obligation to the naval profession by upholding Navy Core Values and Navy Ethos; fulfill their obligations as leaders of character and integrity; and confidently exercise their authority and responsibility with a strong and abiding sense of accountability for their actions throughout a career of selfless service.
This is a tall order.  Are your leaders delivering on the CNO’s promise?  If not, let him know.
The brochure is available HERE.

How a letter reconnected Naval officers – 38 years later

Read about how a letter reconnects the former XO of USS BARBOUR COUNTY (LST 1195) and the former CO of USS LASSEN (DDG 82) many years later.
Commander Hung Ba Le was the commanding officer of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS LASSEN (DDG 82) from April 2009 to December 2010. One of seven destroyers assigned to Destroyer Squadron 15, forward-deployed to Yokosuka, Japan, Lassen’s namesake is Commander Clyde E. Lassen, who received the Medal of Honor for his courageous rescue of two downed aviators while commander of a search and rescue helicopter in Vietnam. Commander Le is currently serving as a fellow at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs in Cambridge, MA.
Read  Thomas E. Ricks column HERE. 
Hat tip to LCDR Christopher Nelson for pointing me to this article. He has a excellent blog HERE.

From The Navy Leader Transition Notebook

Understanding Subordinate Personnel Leadership  
Always find time to talk to your subordinates. Listen to them. Find ways to communicate with them early, not to conduct reconnaissance on their area of responsibilities, but to get a feel for what is on their minds, their concerns and how they assess situations. Understanding their strengths, weaknesses, competence, developmental needs, motivation and issues can help you understand how to improve their effectiveness thus improving the organization.
 
Formal Assessments
Review the following sources for background on personnel.
  • DH records, service records, DIVOFF notebooks, Personnel Qualification Standards (PQS) records on key people.
  • Operational / Training Performance Records.
  • Operational /Deployment/Training Event After Action Reports
Informal Assessments
Take the opportunity to observe leaders and subordinates in informal settings.
  • Contact higher staff and leadership to gather their impressions of your organization and personnel.
  • Continue to be visible around your organization. Get out and walk around.
  • Spend time in the galley, at training sites and in the field talking to Sailors, civilians and leaders doing their jobs. Never be too busy to stop and ask for thoughts and ideas from your subordinates.
  • Visit your BEQs during duty hours, at night and on weekends. Talk to staff duty officers and Petty Officers and visit with Sailors. 
  • Observe subordinates every chance you get to determine their state of discipline, standards and morale. Being seen early also pays dividends by building confidence and gaining the respect of your subordinates.
  • Assess the initial level of experience between yourself and subordinate leaders. For example, leading at the command level is different than the Department Head level. At the command, your DH, Division and other leaders may have five to eight years experience and you will have 17 to 20 years. The gap is significant. Therefore, the Commanding Officer provides more precise guidance, direction, mentoring and direct leadership for his officers.
Initial Counseling
  • Conduct initial counseling of your immediate subordinates. Be committed to getting their counseling input forms and conducting initial counseling within required time-frames (within first 30 days). NEVER, NEVER, NEVER submit evaluations or FITREPS late. There is simply – NO EXCUSE – none whatsoever – ever!
  • Consider providing separate letters outlining your expectations for everyone you rate. Use the letter as the basis for their initial counseling sessions during which you discuss philosophy and goals.
  • Set-up follow-on quarterly performance counseling sessions to provide ample preparation time.

Cadet Katie Watts wins 2012 RADM James S. McFarland NJROTC Scholarship Award

 

Cadet Katie Watts of the Bloomfield Indiana NJROTC unit has been selected by a group of active duty and retired cryptologists as the 2012 winner of the RADM James S. McFarland NJROTC Scholarship. Her numerous achievements in school and her handwritten essay led to her selection as this year’s winner. 

This scholarship, in RADM James S. McFarland’s name, was established in 2005 by Captain Mike Lambert while he was serving as Staff Director for the Detainee Task Force for the Secretary of Defense, Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld. 
This scholarship is supported through the generosity of many of 
RADM J.S. McFarland’s friends, Shipmates, colleagues and followers.

The scholarship was originally intended for Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) students at Butler County High School in Morgantown, Kentucky. The scholarship came about from a visit to the school by Captain Mike Lambert at the invitation of retired cryptologist LCDR William Frank Starr. Captain Lambert was so inspired by the good works of LCDR Starr and his Chief that he worked to establish the scholarship.

Bloomfield Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp

Bloomfield Jr.-Sr. High School is one of six schools in the state of Indiana to offer a Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp program.  Bloomfield NJROTC was established in 1994.  In 2011 the Cadet Corps was comprised of approximately 21 % – one fifth of the Bloomfield student body, freshmen thru seniors.  The NJROTC unit is a four year elective program.  Students who participate are not obligated to any military service upon graduation.  If Cadets are interested in the Armed Forces upon graduation from high school then by participating in this program for two years qualify for accelerated advancement and pay upon completion of basic training as well as additional consideration for college scholarship opportunities if seeking a commission to serve as an officer in the military. 

LCDR Frank Starr is the Senior Naval Science Instructor (SNSI) at Bloomfield High School in Indiana. This scholarship followed him from Kentucky to Alabama and now to Indiana.
 
Thank you Frank for your unselfish service to our Nation’s youth!

Congratulations to these new Information Warfare Captains (Navy Reserve) and the Reserve IW Flag selectee

Victor Alan White
Ingrid M. Rader
Mark Thomas Smith
Glenn Earl Murray

CAPT Dan MacDonnell, Commanding Officer of Navy Reserve, Commander TENTH Fleet was recently selected as the next IW Reserve Flag (pins on on the USS Constitution in Oct – he’s from Boston!).

Hat tip to Captain Greg Rowe, Commanding Officer, Navy Reserve Navy Information Operations Command Maryland, 87176

Navigating A New Course To Command Excellence – Antithesis to the status quo

In the Model for Command Excellence, between the inputs and results, were factors the model termed intermediate outputs. The intermediate outputs of superior commands also distinguished them. Sailors in the command had a sense of mission. They were motivated and committed to the command. Morale, pride, and teamwork were evident throughout the command. Attitudes and values of Sailors on board reflected this. These intermediate outputs directly affected the final outputs.

What accounts for the differences between them in superior and average commands?

Three areas make a difference between the results of superior and average commands:

  • the Sailors in the command,
  • the relationships between them
  • the activities they perform
“Sailors” refers to the different people in the command. This includes the Commanding Officer (CO), the Executive Officer (XO), the Wardroom, the Chiefs Quarters (Mess), and the Crew.

“Relationships” refers to the relationships between different groups of Sailors and the ways these groups of people interact with each other. “Activities” include those things that people do that make the biggest differences between average and top commands.

Five activities were identified:

  • Planning
  • Maintaining Standards
  • Communicating
  • Building Esprit de Corps
  • Training and Development

The book is available HERE. Check the document properties; this is a 2005 update of our original version from 1997.  There are two companion summaries: Command Excellence and the Wardroom and Charting the course to Command Excellence.