Category: Uncategorized

The Spirit of Hope Award Winner – CTR1 (IDW/SG/SW/AW) Jamar Salters

THE SPIRIT OF HOPE AWARD IS NAMED FOR MR. BOB HOPE, AND IS PRESENTED ANNUALLY BY THE WIEGAND FOUNDATION TO INDIVIDUALS OR ORGANIZATIONS THAT EMBODY MR. HOPE’S FIVE DECADE-LONG COMMITMENT AND SERVICE TO MILITARY MEN AND WOMEN.
CTR1(IDW/SG/SW/AW) JAMAR SALTERS WAS NOMINATED BY THE COMMANDING OFFICER, NAVY INFORMATION OPERATIONS COMMAND (NIOC) HAWAII, FOR HIS SELFLESS DEVOTION, DEDICATION, AND COMMITMENT TO HELPING MORE THAN 3,300 SAILORS REACH THEIR EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL GOALS; HIS COMMITMENT TO MOTIVATING FELLOW SAILORS FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE THROUGH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A MILITARY SERVICE MEMBER VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION; AND HIS TIRELESS SERVICE AND SUPPORT TO THE COMMUNITY AND FAMILIES THROUGH INVOLVEMENT IN NINE SEPARATE VOLUNTEER FUNDRAISING, EDUCATIONAL, AND COMMUNITY PROJECT EFFORTS.

A short video of the ceremony is HERE.

Express Oneself in Writing

Learning to think as a naval officer requires expressing oneself in writing. Naval officers must be able to find the language in which to explain their thinking. Research and writing are inextricably linked and are at the center of the historical enterprise. Both aspects of the craft can be fun, as well as rewarding.  Give it a try.  You’ll be better for it.

Admiral James Stavridis

Difficult and challenging

“A ship at sea is a distant world in herself and in consideration of the protracted and distant operations of the fleet units the Navy must place great power, responsibility and trust in the hands of those leaders chosen for command. . . . This is the most difficult and demanding assignment in the Navy.”

Everything Starts and Ends with Leadership

Admiral Pratt while CNO

“As the youth progresses onward to mature manhood, he reaps a harvest from experience, he gleans much knowledge from his studies, he learns concisely what the laws of the seaman require, and the rules of the art of war demand. . . . But who is there to tell him that toward the end of your career you cannot pick up new tools and use them with the dexterity of the expert unless you have spent a lifetime with them, tested the temper of their steel, and made them a part of your life’s equipment.”

REAR ADMIRAL WILLIAM PRATT, LEADERSHIP

MULTIPLIERS – How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter

Some of our fellow naval officers drain all the intelligence and capability out of their teams. Because they need to be the smartest, most capable person in the room, these officers often shut down the smarts of other really smart Sailors, Chiefs, civilians and officers, ultimately stifling the flow of ideas. You know these officers, because you’ve worked for and with them. You may be working for one now.  If that’s the case, sorry – it sucks to be you. On the other hand, if your boss is a ‘multiplier’, you are one very fortunate individual.
Consider the senior naval officer who, week after week, suggests new tasks and assignments for your team—never letting you complete any one task, forcing you to scurry to keep up with her thinking rather than think for yourself and contribute your own ideas. Or, the executive officer who, despite having more than 15 top-notch officers in the wardroom, admits that he listens to only a couple of people at weekly meetings, claiming “no one else really has anything much to offer.” These naval officers—we call them “diminishers”—underutilize people and leave creativity and talent on the table.
We can’t afford to leave anything on the table.  Read Liz Wiseman’s book and learn how to become a MULTIPLIER and not a DIMINISHER.   Drop me a note with your e-mail address and I’ll send a few of you a complimentary autographed copy.

21 Skippers Fired – One common thread

The Navy Times has an article about 7 of the 21 skippers who have been fired in 2011.  The common thread among 7 of them was abuse of alcohol.  
The real common thread among the 21 skippers fired is that they didn’t live up to the demanding personal and professional standards required of our commanding officers.
The Navy is interviewing the fired skippers to find out if there are some “hard lessons learned” that they can incorporate into training and the selection process.

Developing Senior Navy Leaders

The array of expertise required to be a successful leader in the U.S. Navy has become more complex. To be a successful Navy leader, it is no longer sufficient to be skilled only at surface, submarine, or air warfare. Additional kinds of expertise are needed to lead and manage the Navy of today and the Navy of the future. Furthermore, like its sister services, the Navy also has a large and distinct core of senior civilian leaders that continues to provide a broad array of in-depth business skills, as well as the continuity and stability of senior leadership.
We examined the Navy’s structure, its force development, its doctrinal documents, and its technology acquisitions for the past decade and the next decade to forecast how the demand for domain-specific expertise may change in the future. The areas of domain-specific expertise with the strongest evidence of increasing future importance to the Navy are:
  •  Information Warfare
  •  Information Operations
  •  Information Technology
  •  Surface Warfare
  •  Submarine Warfare
  •  Special Warfare
  •  Expeditionary Warfare
  •  Intelligence
  •  Logistics and Readiness
  •  Anti-Submarine Warfare
  •  Littoral Warfare
  •  Sea Basing

From the RAND Sjtudy: Developing Senior Navy Leaders – Requirements for Flag Officer
Expertise Today and in the Future

Presidential Proclamation – November is National Military Family Month

“Just as our troops embody the courage and character that make America’s military the finest in the world, their family members embody the resilience and generosity that make our communities strong. Day after day, week after week, spouses resolutely accomplish the work of two parents, sons and daughters diligently keep up with homework and activities, and parents and grandparents patiently wait for news of their child and grandchild’s safe return. To these families, and to those whose service members never come home, we bear a debt that can never be fully repaid.”
 
“As America asks ever more of military families, they have a right to expect more of us — it is our national challenge and moral obligation to uphold that promise.”
And, for your sacrifices, we are going to give you a 1.6% pay raise.

“If we hold ourselves to the same high standard of excellence our military families live by every day, we will realize the vision of an America that supports and engages these heroes now and for decades to come.”

Intended for serious study by professionals

Naval Operations Concept 2010 (NOC 10) describes when, where and how U.S. naval forces will contribute to enhancing security, preventing conflict and prevailing in war. NOC 10 is not designed for a cursory reading; it is a publication intended for serious study by professionals.  You can read it HERE.  Are you a professional?  Have you given this serious study?  Are you really a Navy professional?  Have you even read it?   This is a self-graded test.  How did you do?  You know whether you need to be ashamed or not.  Report your results to your next superior in the chain of command.