Authentic Leadership – Here it is

Authentic Leadership and emotional intelligence, when paired with professional and technical excellence, provide a powerful differentiator for organizational leaders in the 21st century. Emotionally intelligent leaders are self aware, can self manage through all kinds of situations, and have excellent relationship building skills.

Authentic Leaders have high levels of emotional intelligence and are able to live and lead consistent with their authentic self – who they are when at their best, and living more of the time consistent with their values and vision.

Our Information Warfare community Flag leaders (RADMs Rogers & Brown, RDMLs Leigher, Filipowski, Tighe and Metts) have all (each) expressed that “our people are our greatest resource and our true difference maker.” Our IW Flag leaders owe it to us now to show the authenticity of their leadership by demonstrating the truth of that statement through their deliberate actions and interactions. Our Sailors are watching, waiting, judging.

What are your goals regarding Navy transformation?

The Navy is on a good course and speed regarding transformation initiatives and we have a good navigation plan for the future. If confirmed, my goals will remain largely consistent with our current efforts. For example, Navy has taken the lead within DoD in reshaping itself to meet current and future cyber threats and opportunities, but we have more work to do to capitalize on our progress to date and realize the full potential of our growing cyber force.

We must continue to mature Navy’s recently-formed Information Dominance Corps, which will help develop integrated solutions in unmanned ISR systems, Electronic Warfare, and C5I. We must continue to retain our advantage in the undersea domain in order to achieve joint assured access wherever it is needed. We will also focus on supporting the development of emerging technologies we think hold the greatest promise for future naval and joint warfighting (such as the railgun, Free Energy Laser, and Directed Energy).

Underpinning all these goals is a need to transform our demographics within the Navy to ensure our personnel reflect the society we defend. I intend to pursue diversity goals within established policy guidelines, so that we can recruit, retain, and promote the best talent the nation has to offer, regardless of color, creed, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender.

Admiral Greenert

Senate Confirmation Hearing to be the next Chief of Naval Operations

Cryptologic Technician Collection 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) Michael Joseph Strange

Petty Officer 1st Class Strange, 25, was a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the United States Navy in September, 2004.

After graduating from Recruit Training Command at Great Lakes, Illinois in November, 2004, he reported to the Center for Information Dominance at Pensacola, Florida. He completed his training at the Center for Information Dominance in April, 2005, and reported to Navy Information Operations Command, Kunia, Hawaii. In May 2009, he checked into his East Coast based SEAL Team.

Petty Officer Strange’s awards include Joint Service Commendation Medal (2) one with “V” device for valor, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Good Conduct Medal (2), National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (2), Rifleman Marksmanship Medal, and Pistol Marksmanship Medal.

STATEMENT OF VICE ADMIRAL KENDALL CARD

IDC Community,

The Department of Defense officially announced earlier today (Thursday, August 11, 2011) the names of the 30 U.S. Service members who died on August 6 while supporting Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. They died in Wardak province, Afghanistan when their CH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down.

With the release of this announcement, we can officially recognize and acknowledge the sacrifices of the two IDC Sailors among the 30 American heroes we lost:

– Information Systems Technician Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Jared W. Day, 28, of Taylorsville, Utah

– Cryptologist Technician (Collection) Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) Michael J. Strange, 25, of Philadelphia, Pa; and

Both were assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit.

Petty Officers Day and Strange represent the best of what we aspire to be: Warriors, fighting in service to our country. Their dedication to the mission, our Navy, and the United States of America must not be forgotten as we join their families and Shipmates in mourning their loss.

Please join me in offering a salute to Petty Officers Strange and Day, as well as the other 28 American heroes we lost – they made the ultimate sacrifice so that we all can enjoy the freedoms many take for granted. We honor them for their dedicated service, and offer our heartfelt condolences to their families, friends, and Shipmates.

Bias for action – essential in today’s Navy

No matter how full a reservoir of maxims one may possess, and no matter how good one’s sentiments may be, if one has not taken advantage of every concrete opportunity to act, one’s character may remain entirely unaffected for the better. With mere good intentions, hell is proverbially paved. A character is a completely fashioned will.

A tendency to act only becomes effectively ingrained in us in proportion to the uninterrupted frequency with which the actions actually occur and the brain “grows” to their use. When a resolve or a fine glow of feeling is allowed to evaporate without bearing fruit, it is worse than a chance lost; it works so as positively to hinder future resolutions and emotions from taking the normal path of discharge.

– JAMES
USNI Proceedings
Vol. 58 August, 1932 No. 354

Standing on tradition

The value of tradition to a military or naval service is recognized only by those who know something of the deeds contained in its “Golden Book.” The effect that customs had in the formulation of naval regulations is a particular example of the influence of sound usage. Moreover, the worth of ceremony rests mainly in the fact that it binds us to the past while at the same time, it lends an air of dignity and respect in all official relations whether they occur at home or abroad. Ceremony is to a marked degree the cement of discipline, and upon discipline the service rests.

Naval Customs, Traditions and Usage
Leland P. Lovette
Lieutenant Commander
United States Navy
1934

Diminished ? – I don’t think so.

A great Shipmate of mine (Captain Bryan Lopez) and former Commanding Officer of Navy Information Operations Command San Diego was recently selected as a Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) (formerly Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation (HENAAC)) Luminary for 2011.

When I saw that he won this award, I wanted to feel great pride for him and his family. Instead, I feel like the award has diminished the nature of his service by allowing some to try to put him and this achievement in the “diversity box”. Do NOT put Bryan in a box.

Don’t get me wrong, Bryan is a rockstar. I’m sure that he’s proud of his Hispanic heritage (I am VERY proud to be part of a great Hispanic family myself), but he and his accomplishments (and those of his Lopez family) long ago put to rest the idea of any limitation on the levels of achievement they might reach. Captain Clyde Lopez was the most respected Inspector General and Captain the Naval Security Group during his time on active duty. He continues to serve as a civilian today. Bryan is in that mold.

My Shipmates and I are very proud of Bryan and his achievements over his long and distinguished career. His family name, alone, is legendary in our community and he brings great honor to it along with the rest of his Lopez family – Clyde, Barbara, Phil, Bryan’s sons and daughters, and others. He is a STANDOUT performer in EVERY environment. He is a qualified Naval Aviation Observer and Information Dominance Warfare officer, former commanding officer, current executive officer, acquisition expert, mentor, Shipmate, Sailor, and superb husband, father, grandfather and a hundred other things beyond a STEM Luminary for 2011.

Don’t put Bryan or his achievements in the “diversity box” – He’s in a class of his own – as good as any; better than most and often simply – THE BEST. I salute you Bryan. And, so do your Shipmates !!

RADM Michael S. Rogers nominated for Third Star – Fleet Cyber Command/TENTH Fleet

Subject: Flag Officer Announcements

Flag Officer Announcements
Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:37:00 -0500

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

No. 700-11
August 10, 2011

Flag Officer Announcements

Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta announced today that the President has made the following nominations:

Navy Rear Admiral Michael S. Rogers for appointment to the rank of vice admiral and for assignment as commander, Fleet Cyber Command/commander, Tenth Fleet, Fort Meade, Md. Rogers is currently serving as director for intelligence, J2, Joint Staff, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)

On the Web: http://www.defense.gov/releases/
Media Contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132

U.S. NIOC Menwith Hill Station Change of Command

Commander Albert Musselwhite

Air Force Colonel Michelle Clays, Commander Menwith Hill Station, will officiate at the U.S. Navy Information Operations Command MHS Change of Command today. Commander Timothy M. May will be relieved by Commander Albert M. Musselwhite.

Commander May will be reporting to an assignment in the Ft. Meade, Maryland area.

Bravo Zulu and CONGRATULATIONS to these fine officers. Thank you both for your service and leadership in our great Navy.

Expectations of a Commanding Officer

Second, my expectations for Commanding Officers:

As a fathom is to a foot, so must your standards of behavior be many times higher than the already high standards of an officer. As Commander, you are now not only an example for your crew; you are an example to your officers. A Commander who drinks too much, swears too much, doesn’t know his or her profession, who doesn’t place the welfare of his people far above his own—that Commander will create officers who behave that way, for lack of proper example.

A good Commander will, immediately upon taking command, publish in writing to his command his expectations, his desires, his standards.

A good Commander will write himself a private letter, describing the Commander he resolves to be. He will set standards for himself. He will re-read that letter at least monthly during his time in command.

A good Commander will sit with his senior officers and instruct them: “Help me to be better. Help me to avoid temptation. Help me to avoid breaking any rules, however slight, either through ignorance or neglect or lack of attention.”

A good Commander knows he is human, and seeks the counsel of his support team to keep him on the straight and true.

A good Commander will have read all the guidance provided by the service concerning the ethics and behavior required of commanders. He will keep those papers in a packet at his desk, for frequent reference. As even the godly among us go to church often, and re-read from the Bible often, so too must even the virtuous Commander frequently review, and re-read, the guidance on ethics and behavior. Actions form habits, which in turn form character, which leads to destiny.

Excerpts from RADM Wray’s excellent piece – available in its entirety HERE.

Captain Janet Stewart is the new Commander, Naval Network Warfare Command – effective Friday, 5 August

Captain Janet Stewart relieved Rear Admiral Edward H. Deets III as Commander, NETWARCOM.

Captain Stewart, a native of Mascoutah, Illinois, graduated from McKendree College, Lebanon, Illinois, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education in 1981. Following Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, she was commissioned an Ensign, General Unrestricted Line, on 1 October 1982, and reported to the Combat Systems Technical Schools Command, Mare Island, California.

In October 1987, she reported to the Fleet Combat Direction Systems Support Activity, Dam Neck, Virginia, as a Systems Integration Test Officer, and was instrumental in the installation and at-sea testing of the Advanced Combat Direction System New Threat Upgrade in USS HARRY E. YARNELL (CG 17), USS BIDDLE (CG 34), and USS RICHMOND K. TURNER (CG 20). Follow-on tours included: Officer in Charge of the Personnel Support Detachment, Northwest, Chesapeake, Virginia; Naval Air Technical Training Center, Millington, Tennessee; Executive Officer for Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station, Pensacola, Florida; and Space, Information Warfare, Command and Control Directorate, (OPNAV N6). In November 2000, Captain Stewart took command of the U.S. Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station, Bahrain, providing communications to Warfighters throughout Southwest Asia in support of Commander, FIFTH Fleet, including Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. In December 2003, Captain Stewart reported to Commander, Carrier Strike Group SIX in Mayport, Florida, as the N6 for the USS JOHN F KENNEDY (CV 67) Strike Group for their 2004 Combat Deployment to Southwest Asia. From September 2005 to July 2007, she served as the Current Operations Division Chief and C4 Systems Support Division Chief for the J6 Directorate, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, DC. Prior to her current assignment, she was the Commanding Officer of Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station, Pacific, Wahiawa, Hawaii, from August 2007 to October 2009. She served as the Chief of Staff for Naval Network Warfare Command, Little Creek, Virginia from November 2009 until August 2011.

Captain Stewart has been designated as a Joint Qualified Officer and Master Training Specialist, and has earned Masters Degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, in September 1987, and the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, in November 2003.

Captain Stewart has earned subspecialties in Information Technology Management, Weapons Systems Management, Education and Training Management, and Manpower Management. She is authorized to wear the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (two awards), Meritorious Service Medal (four awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (two awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (two awards), and other service and campaign awards.

Captain Stewart most recently served as the Chief of Staff, NETWARCOM.

At the Information Dominance Corps Industry Day held on 2 March 2011, VADM Jack Dorsett announced that the Chief of Naval Operations had approved the disestablishment of NETWARCOM. No word on when disestablishment will occur.