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Security is trump

Even in peacetime, naval communications involve the complex and cumbersome manipulation of difficult technical means and intricate human resources.
…the Navy persisted in its adherence to a communications policy in which ‘security’ was trump. They steadfastly refused to realize the truism that often it is more important to get information to one’s own forces that to withhold it from the enemy. “During the first year of the war'” Morison noted, “the Navy Department laid such a stress on security of communications that they sometimes failed of their essential purpose to communicate.”

From
The TENTH Fleet
Ladislas Farago

We still live by the same truism today with cyber security.  Fortunately, the architecture in NGEN will solve all of that.

Colonel Robert D. Heinl’s plea of nearly 56 years ago – restore the special trust and confidence of our officer corps

Point 4: Officer discipline must be unsparing.
Officers who transgress the code of their profession must be punished. In most cases they should be gotten rid of. Misguided reluctance on the part of commanding officers to do individual hurt must give way to realization that the price we pay for “special trust and confidence” is unsparing personal accountability.
If the individual failings which have given rise to blanket restrictions and erosion of officer status had been dealt with individually, the horrible examples with which this essay commences need never have existed.
Furthermore, unsparing officer discipline oughtn’t to start with the cases on the critical list—that is, at the general court martial stage. Commanding officers must discover the moral courage—and be fully supported by higher commanders—to correct and bring to notice officers whose habits and qualities are in the least below par.
An administrative reform which would greatly facilitate such corrective action would be a more realistic philosophy of fitness reporting so that individuals could be routinely appraised in their defects as well as in their virtues.
But commanding officers are not the only ones concerned with officer discipline. Every officer must be jealous of the special trust and confidence reposed in the whole officer corps.
The full essay remains available from the United States Naval Institute PROCEEDINGS archive – HERE.

Chief of Naval Operations Focus

“My guidance for the Navy and what we believe.  We use these three tenets – Warfighting First, Operate Forward, and Be Ready – as “lenses” through which we view each decision as we organize, train and equip the Navy.

I am in the process of drafting a “Navigation Plan” to define our course and speed now that our defense strategy is established and our budget request submitted.”

From CNO’s Testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) on 15 March 2012.  The full text of his prepared statement it HERE.

Keep a close eye out for the CNO’s “Navigation Plan”.

With All Due Respect…back in the day

Excuses for failure or negligence are always unacceptable. Officers should assume responsibility and not depend on alibis. If at fault, they should freely accept blame. Bootlicking, a deliberate courting of a person for favor, is despised. Seniors may temporarily mistake such tactics for a sincere desire to please and to do a good job. However, through long experience with such behavior, they in time recognize this false sincerity. However, junior officers must make a genuine effort to be friendly and cooperative to succeed. 
Persons with a continued willingness to undertake any task assigned and perform it cheerfully and efficiently eventually gain a reputation for dependability. They also ensure their popularity with fellow officers. Continued complaining has the opposite effect. The satisfaction of having done a good job should be sufficient reward in itself. The junior officer should not report each personal or divisional accomplishment to the senior officer. Of course a report that is required must be made, but work well done generally reaches the attention of superiors.
The conduct of members of the service must be above criticism. The Navy is often judged by the appearance and behavior of its personnel. Officers should carefully consider all undertakings and projects in advance and make all preparations necessary to their success well in advance. Officers should be capable of thinking ahead and making intelligent plans; they must always strive to demonstrate that they are entitled to the grade they hold. One of the best things a senior officer can say about juniors is that when given a job, they can always be depended upon for satisfactory results.
From NAVAL ORIENTATION

Bathsheba Syndrome – Revisited

A 14 March 2012   STARS AND STRIPES   article by Wyatt Olson asks “Do Fired Navy COs Suffer From Bathsheba Syndrome”?  The post below is from my blog in September 2010.  This subject is part of the lesson plan at the Command Leadership School for PCO/PXO.  It’s worth reviewing.

And also review the SHAKEN GLASS theory HERE which is an excellent argument against the Bathsheba Syndrome.

Commanding Officer leadership challenges

Ethical leadership is the way a particular leader acts within ethical guidelines, however set. Ethical leaders use their power to serve others and to further the mission, values, and goals of the organization. Unethical leaders use their power to further their own personal vision and goals.
Stories abound of the unethical acts of top-level leaders. Misuse of the organization’s resources, insider trading in stocks based on confidential information and sexual impropriety are a few common occurrences. Why do leaders act in this way? Do those who have no moral code to guide them take these actions? Or are these people under pressure to compete at any cost? One argument made is that it is not only unprincipled leaders or those under heavy competitive pressure who act unethically. It can be the very success of leaders that gives them the power and resources that can cause them to take actions that are obviously unethical.

The Bathsheba syndrome is named after King David of Israel and his affair with Bathsheba, the wife of one of his army officers. It describes how a leader’s success can cause unethical acts that the leader knows to be wrong. When the leader becomes successful, that person is given privileged access to information and the control over organizational resources. These are given for a reason. They are tools with which the leader keeps in touch with events in and outside the organization and which the leader uses to set and revise the organization’s strategy. But a leader might come to think that these tools of top leadership are in fact rewards for past successes. The leader may relax and enjoy the privileges and control of the position. When the leader succumbs to temptations that abound at the top, strategic focus may be lost. The job of leader is not being done.

Often these unethical actions can be covered up using the power that comes with the position. This then reinforces the leader’s belief in a personal ability to control outcomes. Further unethical actions are then taken. Leaders may come to see themselves as above the law with respect to the rules of the organization. Information about these actions is kept from those lower in the hierarchy. Power is wielded to force others to accept these abuses. Those who complain are likely to be removed from their positions.

The lesson in the Bathsheba syndrome is that everyone is susceptible to the temptations that come with power and control. It is not just the unprincipled that take advantage of being on top. To avoid this problem the leader must lead a balanced life of work and family. In this way the leader is less likely to lose touch with reality. It is also critical for leaders to remember that privilege and status were given to do the job and not as a reward.

The leadership of ethics refers to the leader’s actions to help set ethical guidelines and to encourage their use in organizational decision-making. Because leaders help to create the social knowledge in an organization, they must concern themselves with acting ethically and creating the conditions that encourage others to act in an ethical manner.

Acting ethically is critically important. Organizational members must see the leader as responsible and credible if they are to act ethically themselves. To create ethical awareness and the conditions for ethical actions, the leader needs to take three actions.

  • First, a code of ethical conduct should be created.
  • Second, ethical and unethical actions must be made explicit. Ethical gray areas must be discussed and clarified.
  • Third, the leader must be willing to reward ethical behaviour and punish unethical behaviour.

From Richard Field on Management and Information Science HERE.

Number 5 – Not proud of this one

CNO gets topside brief from CDR Haydel

Commander Jon Haydel, Commanding Officer USS Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) SAN DIEGO (LPD-22) was fired by Rear Admiral Gerard Hueber, Commander Expeditionary Strike Group THREE.  Commander Haydel was relieved for while an investigation into allegations of “personal misconduct” is ongoing.   USS SAN DIEGO is an amphibious transport dock.  The ship is en route San Diego from Pascagoula, Mississippi.

Award Winner – Proud of this one

After my award rant a week ago, I did want to point to one award I have that still gives me a great deal of pride, even 39 years later.  It was awarded to me as a Squadron Commander when I was a Cadet Lieutenant Colonel in Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps in the GR71st AFJROTC at General H.H. Arnold High School in Wiesbaden, Germany.

DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (DAR) AWARD

This award consists of a bronze medal and ribbon and is presented annually to one third-year (in a 3-year program) or fourth-year cadet (in a 4-year program) that meets the following criteria:

  1. Rank in the top 25% of their AS class. 
  2. Rank in the top 25% of their high school class.
  3. Demonstrate qualities of dependability and good character.
  4. Demonstrate adherence to military discipline.
  5. Possess leadership ability and a fundamental and patriotic understanding of the importance of JROTC training.

America’s Webbed Feet

Nor must Uncle Sam’s web-feet be forgotten. At all the watery margins they have been present. Not only in the deep sea, the broad bay, and the rapid river, but also up the narrow muddy bayou,and wherever the ground was a little damp, they have been and made their tracks.

Abraham Lincoln, 1863
President of the United States

As cited in the 2010 Naval Operations Concept available HERE.

Birth of the Naval Security Group and the Cryptologic Community – 77 Years Ago Today

In July 1922, the U.S. Navy formally established a cryptologic element, known as the Communication Security Unit, or Director of Naval Communications (DNC) OP-20-G. The unit was located at the Main Navy Building, commonly referred to as “Main Navy”, 18th St. Constitution Ave.
On March 11, 1935 (77 years ago), the unit was re-designated as the Communications Security Group (CSG). This date is observed as the birth of the Naval Security Group. In February, 1943, the CSG transferred to a new facility at 3801 Nebraska Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The facility at 3801 Nebraska Avenue was known as the Communications Supplementary Annex from February, 1943. It was renamed Naval Communications Station Washington (NCSW) on July 7, 1948, and re-designated as the Naval Security Station (NAVSECSTA) on September 21, 1950.