Category: Uncategorized

Personal responsibility

“It is the personal responsibility of every Sailor to maintain a high level of physical fitness.  The Navy Operational Fitness and Fueling series can be used to assist Sailors in meeting their physical fitness goals anytime, anywhere.  I encourage all Sailors to consider incorporating the Navy Operational Fitness and Fueling series into their physical fitness routine as we strive to keep our Navy in top physical condition.”
  
VICE ADMIRAL J. M. BIRD, DIRECTOR, NAVY STAFF
 
You can download the application from the Apple Application Store.

Navy fires 12th Commanding Officer in 2012

Captain Lisa Raimondo, Commanding Officer, Naval Health Clinic Patuxent River, Md., was fired today following an inspector general’s investigation and administrative reviews of her command.
Rear. Admiral Alton Stocks, commander of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Bethesda, Md., and Navy Medicine National Capital Area on June 29 relieved Capt. Lisa Raimondo of command due to “a loss of confidence in the commander’s ability to command due to a significant lack of leadership and integrity that eroded good order and discipline in the command.”   No other details were provided other than the statement that the high quality of medical care at the clinic was not degraded in any way.
These actions are part of the Navy surgeon general’s continuing a crackdown on poor leadership in the medical community.  The command’s Command Master Chief was also fired. 

The Executive Officer

As the next ranking line officer ashore, the Executive Officer (XO) serves as the aide or “executive” to the Commanding Officer (CO). As such, the XO is the direct representative of the CO in maintaining the general efficiency of the command. With the assistance of the heads of departments, the XO arranges and coordinates all command’s work, drills, exercises, personnel organization, and the policing and inspection of the command.
The XO investigates matters affecting the discipline and conduct of the crew and makes recommendations concerning these matters to the CO. The XO usually approves or disapproves liberty lists and leave requests. If the XO is unable to carry out the duties of the office, the next senior line officer assigned to the normally assumes the duties.

I have always subscribed to this definition of "taking care of people"

David Marquet

From Captain L. David Marquet’s awesome book TURN THE SHIP AROUND – available soon from retailers everywhere.  You can pre-order HERE.

“It’s hard to find a leadership book that doesn’t encourage us to “take care of our people.”  What I learned is this: taking care of your people does not mean protecting them from the consequences of their own behavior.  That’s the path to irresponsibility.  What it does mean is giving them every available tool and advantage to achieve their aims in life, beyond the basics of the job.  In some cases it meant further education, in other cases crewmen’s goals were incompatible with navy life and they separated on good terms.”

You can also read about one of hundreds of ways that we took care of our Sailors at U.S. Naval Security Group Yokosuka, Japan HERE.

Why I love Letitia "Tish" Long and my wife doesn’t mind

I have been fond of Tish Long since the mid 1980s when I first met her at OPNAV while she was working Airborne Special Projects.  Sometimes I’d be fortunate to say a few words when I’d catch her at my friend’s home in Alexandria, Virginia when she’d visit for a ladies’ wine night.  These women were all fast-rising brilliant professionals in the program and budget world of the various intelligence communities.  She was brilliant then and is even more brilliant now.  She is smarter than most men and certainly much smarter than I am.  She was interviewed recently by Tom Fox of the Washington Post in their NATIONAL section.  You can read the full interview HERE.

But, this first part is what I really enjoyed most because she is all over the DIVERSITY issue and gets it like few professionals do.

Tom Fox asked, “What are the challenges and rewards of being a female leader in a traditionally male-dominated arena like intelligence?”

Tish said, “I tend not to think about being a woman in a man’s world. I really look at it as the challenges and rewards of being a leader in times like today. I cannot deny the fact that I am a woman. Women have made great strides in the intelligence and defense communities, and I think both communities clearly understand the business case for diversity. From an NGA perspective, we really focus on cognitive diversity, not diversity simply based on age, gender or ethnicity. Diversity is about your experience, your background and everything you bring to the table. The challenge is that we are leading during a challenging time, and the reward is being a part of an agency that delivers outstanding geospatial intelligence, analysis and products that make a difference.”

Acknowledging Predecessor Successes

I can promise you that former Commanding Officers, Executive Officers and Command Master Chiefs don’t get many (if any) letters like the one above.  Thanks Skipper Malloy!  If you’ve ever received one, I would be grateful if you shared it with me.  This relates back to my post (HERE) about Captain David Marquet’s book “Turn This Ship Around”.
Going from worst to first is a challenge but there’s only one way to go.  Taking over an exceptional command and sustaining that excellence may be more of a challenge.  Getting to the next level may be monumental, while falling back into the old habit of mediocrity may be more likely.