Tag: commanding officer

It is not aboard

In the words of the Naval Board investigating the mutiny on H.M.S. Bounty:

“If justice be not found in the mind of the Captain, it is not aboard.”

So much depends on the Captain. Explains why the Navy’s command screening boards are so important. NOTE: While on active duty as an (O5 – Commander) commanding officer, I actually failed to screen for command. Imagine being found unfit for a job that you had been doing with great success for about a year. They let me keep my job. It’s perplexing.

Absolute right to expect …

“A commander’s responsibility remains absolute, and that commander must, and will, be held accountable for the safety, well-being, and efficiency of his command. This accountability may be exacted in various ways. In some cases, commanders may be called to account in a court of law . . . in all cases, they will be judged by their professional peers – those who have been subjected to, and exalted by, the same stringent requirements of command.

Our country, and every Navy man and woman serving at sea or ashore, has the absolute right to expect that our commanding officers will be the finest, and the most responsible, we can provide. I intend to make it so.”

Admiral James D. Watkins, U.S. Navy