A leader lifts first and sets down last

A leader does not abide within his tent while his men bleed and die upon the fields.  A leader does not dine while his men go hungry, nor sleep while they stand watch upon the wall.  A leader does not command his men’s loyalty through fear or purchase it with gold. A leader lifts first and sets down last. A leader does not require service of those he leads but provides it to them.  He serves  them, not them he.

Stephen Pressfield paraphrased from
Gates of Fire

From the archives – 5 years ago. Still valid today?


I believe there is a set of fundamental attributes that members of the Information Dominance Corps should possess, they include:

  • Professional Competence
  • Dedication
  • Sense of Urgency
  • Leadership
  • Vision
  • The Highest Ethical Standards
  • Attention to Detail
  • Humility

If you possess all, or even most, of these attributes, you will be successful in the Information Dominance Corps.

VADM Jack Dorsett

3000th post on this blog

Thank you all for making the time to stop by and share your comments and read a little bit about leadership and the cryptologic community.  I appreciate it very much.

Thanks also to the 1000 people who have read the open letter to the IW community in the past 3 days.  It’s one of the most read posts in the last 6 months.

Cryptologic Community Foundational Principles – A refresher

One of the many things that drew us to the Cryptologic Community is the sense of belonging to a group that had unique and highly sought after skills.  Today, we continue to honor Captain Joseph Rochefort and his celebration of the fact that “we can accomplish anything provided no one cares who gets the credit.”  
In an effort to share expectations across the community, the following general responsibilities are recognized:
The Community Leader is committed to the following…
• Pushing regular updates directly to all interested community members  (i.e. record message, blog, RSS subscriptions, social networking, etc.)
• Biannual updates to Community Vision and Strategic Plan
• Creating opportunities to engage and celebrate traditions as a community
• Championing cryptologic contributions and capabilities to other warfighters
• Delegating and empowering as much as possible
The full package is HERE. 

prin·ci·ple
ˈprinsəpəl/
noun
plural noun: principles
1. 
a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.
synonyms: truth, proposition, concept, idea, theory, assumption, fundamental, essential, ground rule More

“elementary principles”
  • a rule or belief governing one’s personal behavior.
    “struggling to be true to their own principles”
    synonyms: morals, morality, (code of) ethics, beliefs, ideals, standards; More

    integrity, uprightness, righteousness, virtue, probity, (sense of) honor, decency, conscience, scruples 
  • morally correct behavior and attitudes.
    “a man of principle”
    synonyms: morals, morality, (code of) ethics, beliefs, ideals, standards; More

    integrity, uprightness, righteousness, virtue, probity, (sense of) honor, decency, conscience, scruple 
  • a general scientific theorem or law that has numerous special applications across a wide field.
  • a natural law forming the basis for the construction or working of a machine.
    “these machines all operate on the same general principle”
2. 
a fundamental source or basis of something.

An open letter to the IW Community

A few years ago the Cryptologic community made a significant transition as we sought to identify ourselves with the emerging mission area of Information Warfare (IW).  As a part of that transition, which ended quietly a few years later, we shifted the title of our officer corps from “Cryptologic Officer” to “Information Warfare Officer,” or IWO.  At the same time, the title of our enlisted cadre remained Cryptologic Technicians (CT).  Almost all that remains of that transition today is the title IWO.  Meanwhile, the term IW now officially refers to “Irregular Warfare.”

Today, our community is on a clear and steady course.  The Cryptologic Community Foundational Principles was issued with the intent to, “unify the efforts of the Information Warfare (IW) and Cryptologic (CT) Community, as we continue to create value through deliberate development of specialized expertise across our core skills…”  A particularly germane sentence from that document includes direction that we will, “go forward to our roots” and “focus on professionalization within SIGINT, CNO, and EW skill sets.”  The idea that we will “go forward” to our roots, as well as the focus on those three core skills, is especially pertinent to this discussion.  While communications technology has evolved, the very core of our competence remains grounded in the roots established by the likes of Captain Joseph J. Rochefort, Station HYPO, OP-20-G, and the “On the Roof Gang.”  Though the specific means by which we do so continues to evolve, our mandate remains “to create time and effects” for, and as, operational commanders.  As we do just that, it is clear that no single term in the U.S. Military lexicon, to include IW, encapsulates the core skills to which we are clearly committed and have been since that document was signed by each of our community’s Flag Officers and Senior Civilians serving at the time.

The final step of our transition should be to reestablish “Cryptologic Officer” as the official title for our officer cadre.  Information Warfare is no longer valid and the term IWO serves as a distraction from the clear course you continue to set. More importantly, as we “go forward to our roots” this change will make clear that we are a singular Cryptologic Community with both officer and enlisted warfighters who are aligned in name, competence, and vision.  A return to the title Cryptologist is far more than symbolic.  It is a name that represents our rich history, communicates who we are, and will serve to help focus our future.  As with any public change, this one will take time and the messaging is critical.  Should this change occur, it will be our collective responsibility as a community to amplify the message, and help all to understand the intent behind this change.

Sincerely,
C. H. Hall
LCDR, U.S. Navy