Duty to defend hallowed traditions

In recent years, many whose duty it was to defend the hallowed traditions and the unique culture of their profession declined to do so when their voices were most urgently needed. Some are guilty of the ultimate disloyalty: To save or advance their careers, they abandoned the very ideals of their profession in order to curry favor with politicians…. What admiral has had the courage to risk his own career by putting his stars on the table, and defending the integrity of the process and of his people?

If the Navy is to regain its soul and its respect, the answer lies in the right kind of leaders. Leaders who understand that the seemingly arcane concepts of tradition, loyalty, discipline, and moral courage have carried the Navy through cyclical turbulence in peace and war.... It is time to give the Navy back to such leaders.

Where are the senior officers who are supposed to step forward and defend their institution when it’s being torn apart? The number-one tradition in the military is loyalty from the top down: Take care of your people.

—From a James Webb speech to the Naval Institute, April 1996
Former Secretary of the Navy
Current Senator from Virginia

Read about James Webb, the revolutionary here.

Master Leadership Equation Has Not Yet Evolved

"For many decades, men have searched for the magic formula for leadership. Volumes have been written in an attempt to describe those personal qualities that kindle the spark of inspiration among others in great human undertakings. But a master equation has not yet evolved, because leadership is a product of many variables - among them human character, individual personality, and the times and circumstances in which men live."

Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey

Six Core Strategic Leadership Traits

In 1988, Donald H. Rumsfeld described six core traits he thought were necessary to be a successful strategic leader.

- Must be able to set priorities.
- Know the importance of selecting the right people for key jobs.
- Must lead by consent, not command (emphasizing his ability to persuade, not order).
- Have a moral compass.
- Have guts at important moments.
- Have a small gap between what he thinks of himself and what his subordinates think of him.

Photo is from November 2004 when I was the Secretary of Defense's Staff Director for the Detainee Task Force working issues related to the abuses at Abu Ghraib, Bagram and Guantanamo terrorist detention facilities.

Bedrock Tenets of Command - ADM Mullen

LEADERSHIP. WE ARE ALL -- AT EVERY LEVEL -- LEADERS. IT IS OUR NUMBER ONE RESPONSIBILITY, AND MY EXPECTATION, THAT EACH OF US DEVELOP OUR OWN LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL AND THAT OF THOSE IN OUR CHARGE. OUR NAVY CORE VALUES PROVIDE THE BASIS OF THE ETHICAL LEADERSHIP I EXPECT YOU TO EXERCISE. MAINTAIN INTEGRITY IN ALL YOU DO AND ESTABLISH A COMMAND CLIMATE THAT FOSTERS THESE TIME-TESTED VALUES ALONG WITH SERVICE BEFORE SELF, LOYALTY, DEDICATION, AND UNITY OF EFFORT. LEAD TO INSPIRE, DEMONSTRATING PASSION FOR OUR MISSION AND COMPASSION FOR OUR PEOPLE. THIS WILL UNLEASH THE STRENGTH OF OUR COMMAND TEAMS AND WILL RESULT IN EXTRAORDINARY LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE.


ACCOUNTABILITY. THIS IS AN INESCAPABLE PART OF THE TRINITY OF COMMAND. BECAUSE WE ARE GIVEN TREMENDOUS AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY, WE MUST ANSWER TO AN EQUALLY HIGH STANDARD OF ACCOUNTABILITY. THE EXAMPLE WE SET, THE STANDARDS TO WHICH WE HOLD OURSELVES AND OTHERS, ARE UNDER A MICROSCOPE ALWAYS AND MUST STAY BEYOND REPROACH. EMPHASIZE THE CHAIN OF COMMAND AS THE BEDROCK UPON WHICH EFFECTIVE ACCOUNTABILITY RESTS -- IT IS TIME AND BATTLE-TESTED.


WARFIGHTING. WE ARE THE GUARDIANS OF A RICH MARITIME HERITAGE AND TRUSTED STEWARDS OF THE MARITIME DOMAIN. TODAY OPERATIONAL SUPREMACY IN A MYRIAD OF MISSIONS IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT AS WE CONTINUE TO FIGHT A GLOBAL WAR AGAINST A DETERMINED ENEMY. REGARDLESS IF YOUR COMMAND IS A DIRECT COMBAT ASSET OR SERVES IN A VITAL SUPPORTING ROLE, YOUR LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCY IS THE BASIS OF OUR WARFIGHTING ABILITY AND FUNDAMENTAL TO OUR COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS. DEVELOP THE WARRIOR ETHOS IN YOUR COMMAND WITH A SENSE OF URGENCY APPROPRIATE TO OUR CHALLENGES. BE FLEXIBLE, ADAPTIVE AND DYNAMIC.


VALUE PEOPLE. THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE NAVY -- ACTIVE, RESERVE AND CIVILIAN -- SAILORS ALL, AND THEIR FAMILIES ARE CENTRAL TO OUR READINESS. EVERY COMMAND SHOULD BE A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO COME TO WORK. STRONG MENTORSHIP PROVIDES A CLEAR SIGNAL OF LEADERSHIP AND FOSTERS THE PROFESSIONAL GROWTH OF OUR PEOPLE.

STRIVE FOR TEAMWORK. CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT OF MUTUAL RESPECT AND TRUST. ESTABLISH PERFORMANCE AS THE ONLY LEGITIMATE MEASURE OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND DO NOT TOLERATE ACTIONS NOT IN CONCERT WITH THAT PRINCIPLE. REMEMBER WE RECRUIT INDIVIDUALS, BUT WE RETAIN FAMILIES; ALL LEADERSHIP TEAMS SHOULD PLACE SPECIAL FOCUS ON FAMILIES. PAY PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM AND FAMILY READINESS.

COMMAND IS THE PINNACLE ASSIGNMENT IN OUR PROFESSION -- IT IS WHO WE ARE. WE ARE LEADERS AT A CRITICAL TIME IN OUR NATION'S AND OUR NAVY'S HISTORY. OUR SUCCESS IS A FUNCTION OF HOW WELL WE LIVE UP TO THAT RESPONSIBILITY AND OUR ABILITY TO BALANCE COMPETING PRIORITIES, TO TAKE PRUDENT RISKS AND OUR FOCUS ON MISSION EXECUTION. I INHERENTLY AND COMPLETELY TRUST YOU. SAVOR COMMAND AND TAKE GREAT SATISFACTION IN YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORLD’S FINEST NAVY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AND ALL YOU DO EVERY DAY TO ENSURE OUR NAVY REMAINS DOMINANT AT SEA AND RELEVANT IN THIS UNCERTAIN AND HIGHLY DYNAMIC SECURITY ENVIRONMENT.

Gone Two Years Today - MCPO Schwartz

My Command Master Chief, CTMCM (SW) Ronald N. Schwartz passed away two years ago today (27 August 2007). I had the privilege of promoting him to Master Chief Petty Officer while I was Commanding Officer of U.S. Naval Security Group Activity Yokosuka, Japan and presiding over his retirement ceremony while I was Director of Training at the Center for Naval Cryptology - Corry Station in Pensacola, Florida. He was a remarkable Chief Petty Officer. He is remembered and greatly missed by the many Shipmates (including me) that he trained over the years.

2009 RADM James S. McFarland Scholarship Award

Just awarded the 2009 RADM James S. McFarland Scholarship a couple of months ago to a deserving cadet at Marion Military Institute in Marion, Alabama. The young woman who won was very deserving. I think the Admiral would be pleased with the selection committee's choice. The $1000 award will help with her tuition and keep her in school. She is the eighth cadet to have benefitted from the scholarhip thus far.

LCDR Frank Starr is doing a super job with the Marion Military Institute cadets in Alabama - having moved to Marion from the NJROTC program in Pamlico, North Carolina.

My tribute to RADM McFarland is located here.

More Thought Should Be Given To The Enlisted Man's Condition

We, in the Navy, shouldered with the responsibility of making the Navy efficient , are very apt to lose the proper perspective and fail to appreciate the Sailor's point of view. The officer at the Navy Department goes home when working hours are over and refreshes himself with other interests.

The officers at sea, on whose shoulders rests the most responsibility, are kept going and occupied all their waking moments, even with messages and "shop" throughout their meals and with scarcely a night passing without demands for their services. The enlisted man stands his watch or does his drill and cleans his station and then only thinks of his condition in general or sleeps.

More thought should be given to the enlisted man's condition. The officers of the Navy should arouse themselves to the vital needs of the thousands of men who are more necessary to make a Navy than the ships themselves.

From USNI PROCEEDINGS
January 1919 Volume 191

We are tired of leaders we fear, tired of leaders we love, and tired of leaders who let us take liberties with them.

"Leadership must be based on goodwill. Goodwill does not mean posturing and, least of all, pandering to the mob. It means obvious and wholehearted commitment to helping followers. We are tired of leaders we fear, tired of leaders we love, and tired of leaders who let us take liberties with them. What we need for leaders are men of the heart who are so helpful that they, in effect, do away with the need of their jobs. But leaders like that are never out of a job and never out of followers. Strange as it sounds, great leaders gain authority by giving it away."

Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale

Worth Reading

This desktop guide is a user-friendly first stop for officer candidates and midshipmen seeking information as they transition to naval officers. It offers practical advice in the basic tenets of leadership, naval policy, etiquette, and personal and professional management. In a conversational style, Commander Kacher demystifies the new roles and responsibilities of young officers as they grapple with concepts very different from their experiences as enlisted sailors or college students. Useful insights from officers who have recently made the transition and advice from successful commanding officers are included. This manual also provides a concise overview of the U.S. Navy's history, along with a recommended reading list, and serves as a gateway to the many online and print assets available to new officers.

CDR Fred Kacher knows what he is talking about. He won the 2005 Admiral Elmo Zumwalt Award for visionary leadership. You can order your copy of his great book here. CDR Kacher is the Commanding Officer of USS Stockdale (DDG-106). Awesome CO, awesome ship, awesome Sailors. You can visit them here.

Information Warfare Officer Community Evolving

The Information Warfare (IW) Officer community is rapidly evolving to meet new and expanded Navy and Joint Information Operations (IO) missions. In addition to our strictly cryptologic and SIGINT missions, there is a growing demand signal for IO leaders at sea and at Joint commands in most IW pay grades. These new IO billets represent key mission growth that is vital to global naval and Joint operations. Consequently, IW officer career planning must adapt to ensure a stable and maintainable workforce capable of fulfilling current and future requirements.

The fundamental building blocks for a successful naval career remain unchanged, and include, first and foremost, sustained superior performance across a variety of assignments including tactical and operational jobs, sea and air tours, leadership positions, interleaved with joint experience and built upon a strong foundation of SIGINT and IO skills and experience. Effective mission execution in wartime demands that we reward proven performance in challenging circumstances with advancement and expanded responsibilities.

The priority for assignment will always involve detailing the most talented officers to the most demanding positions.

CDR Jim Hagy
Senior IW Officer Detailer
NPC
Several Years Ago

The Peculiar Psychology of the Navy

"The Navy Department", wrote Henry L. Stimson, "frequently seemed to retire from the realm of logic into a dim religious world in which Neptune was God, Mahan was his prophet, and the United States Navy the only true Church."

A Failure to Communicate in the Navy 1941 - not to be repeated in 2010

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

Information Warfare Community Overview

Community Overview:

Information Warfare (IW) is a Restricted Line community of approximately 1100 officers. IW officers are the Navy’s Information Warriors with expertise in all facets of Information Operations (IO), including traditional cryptology, Command and Control, Computer Network Operations and space systems.

Mission:

IW officers create warfighting options for Fleet Commanders to fight and win in the information age. They deliver and operate reliable, secure and battle-ready global networks, and lead in development and integration of IO capabilities in the Fleet.

Guiding Principles:

(1) Warfare Competency: IW officers lead Navy IW missions by employing a thorough knowledge of the tenets of IO, sensor/weapons, national systems' capabilities and limitations, and how to optimally use them for “effects-based” warfare. IW officers develop tactics, techniques and procedures to realize tactical, strategic and advantages at sea and ashore.
(2) Leadership: Leadership is a core competency for all Navy Officers. IW officers are engaged , seize the initiative, motivate people, effectively apply resources and execute IW missions.
(3)Professional Expertise: IW officers require knowledge of engineering and technology (i.e. knowing how the signal or protocol was designed to function) and the human elements of adversaries through language and cultural awareness. They build expertise through a combination of formal education and experience gained through successive career milestone tours.

Training Pipeline:

New IW officers attend the IW Basic course for five weeks in Pensacola, Florida, and complete the IW Officer Qualification Program (IWOQP) JQR within 24 months of reporting to initial IW assignments.

Optimally, new IW officers are detailed to one of five National Security Agency Cryptologic Centers in Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, and Texas.

Special pay/bonuses. None.

Academic/professional expertise.

(1) Required. Baccalaureate degree, preferably in a technical field, along with completion of a full college calculus series (Calculus I and II) and a college level calculus based physics series (Physics I and II) with a minimum C+ average.
(2) Desired. Baccalaureate degree in Electrical Engineering, Information Warfare, or Computer Science.

Basic eligibility requirements: All candidates must be qualified for sea duty and eligible for a Top Secret/Special Access security clearance.

Accession Options.

(1) Direct Accession: The IW community is allocated direct accession officers from USNA, ROTC, OCS and STA-21 programs.
(2) Lateral Transfer and Redesignation: IW Officers are also accessed into the community from other designators via a bi-annual lateral transfer/redesignation board.

Career Path:

(1) IW officers serve in challenging operational billets of ever increasing scope and responsibility both at sea and ashore. The IW officer career path is designed to develop IW and Signals Intelligence competencies by interleaving sea, shore and educational tours. IW officers should be prepared for assignments to sea billets on Surface combatants (DDG, CG, CVN, LHD and LHA) as members of Strike Group Staffs and Joint Task Forces at every grade. Shore tours include assignments at NSA Cryptologic Centers, Navy Information Operations Commands that deliver critical operational support to Combatant Commanders, Navy, and Joint IW missions. Additionally, IW officers serve on major Navy and Joint staffs as well as command leadership opportunities around the globe.

(2) Advanced education: Postgraduate education is important to the success of IW officers. Many IW officers attend the Naval Postgraduate School to complete Masters Degrees in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science or Information Warfare curriculums.

(3) Qualification. IW officers are required to complete the IWOQP and encouraged to complete warfare qualifications during fleet tours.

(4) Overseas duty. The IW community is well represented throughout the world from Europe to the Caribbean, Hawaii, Asia and the Middle East.

(5) Promotion opportunities. Promotion to LTJG and LT occur at 2 and 4 years of commissioned service respectively. The IW community is competitive with the Unrestricted Line (URL) communities for promotion to LCDR and higher. IW officers promote to LCDR between 9 and 10 years of commissioned service; to CDR between 15 and 16 years of commissioned service; and to CAPT at approximately 22 years of service. The IW community has three Flag Officers.

Point of Contact: Commander James Hagy, PERS-4410, DSN 882-4080, commercial (901) 874-4080, mail to:James.Hagy@navy.mil

From the NPC IW Website 08 20 09.

Info is slightly dated but mostly correct. Phone # should get you to Captain Will Metts, the current detailer. CDR Hagy was promoted to Captain and moved to NIOC Hawaii about a year ago.

SECNAV APPROVED FY10 IW OFFICER COMMUNITY BRIEF IS HERE.

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership - John Maxwell - The Law of Process

Leadership Develops Daily, Not in a Day

Spend your life building your leadership worth. It can’t be built in a day. The secret is found in your daily agenda. Leadership is complicated. It has many facets: respect, experience, emotional strength, people skills, discipline, vision, momentum, and timing – the list goes on. Leaders are learners. The learning process is ongoing, a result of self-discipline, and perseverance. Build each day on the previous day’s progress.

The four phases of leadership growth:

Phase 1 – I don’t know what I don’t know
- Try to think of yourself as a leader and then work to become one.

Phase 2 – I know what I don’t know
- Recognize that you may not know what you need to know to lead effectively and start learning.

Phase 3 – I grow and know and it starts to show
- Recognize your lack of skill and begin the daily discipline of personal growth in leadership.

Phase 4 – I simply go because of what I know
- Your dedication to improving your leadership ability on a daily basis begins to pay off and your ability to lead becomes almost automatic.

No matter where you’re starting from in the leadership continuum, you can get better. It really is about daily preparation.

21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Summary
John Maxwell

Long Awaited Information Warfare Officer Listing (IWOL) 2009

Here is the unclas website (Admin NEWS) link (CAC Required)...

For those with .mil access only.

https://www.portal.navy.mil/cyberfor/Admin/default.aspx

SECNAV APPROVED IW OFFICER COMMUNITY BRIEF IS HERE.

New Commander TENTH Fleet Facts

Chief of Naval Operations will establish Commander, FLTCYBERCOM.

FLTCYBERCOM will be dual-hatted as Commander, TENTH Fleet. Operational control (OPCON) to USCYBERCOM and Administrative control (ADCON) to the Chief of Naval Operations.

FLTCYBERCOM will have its headquarters at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland in close proximity to the National Security Agency.

Service Cryptologic Command (SCC) functions (those previously performed by the Naval Security Group Commander) will transition from NETWARCOM to FLTCYBERCOM.

“Fleet Cyber Command’s mission will be to serve as [the] central operational authority for networks, intelligence, cryptology/signals intelligence, information operations, cyber, electronic warfare and space in support of forces afloat and ashore,” according to the Chief of Naval Operations.

GOOD NEWS on all counts, especially the transfer of SCC functions. Time to reassert ourselves in the NSA arena.

Unlike the other "numbered" Fleets which have specific regional responsibilities, COMTENTHFLT's responsibilities are worldwide and may extend into space.

Strategic Leadership Traits

Intellectual openness. Because the scope of strategic leadership is so wide and the range of opinions on strategic issues is so diverse, leaders must be open to different points of view.

Nuance. The problems that occupy the inboxes of strategic leaders involve ambiguity and complexity. If they were unambiguous and simple, they would be solved at lower levels. Strategic leaders must be able to recognize and deal with this ambiguity and complexity and the shades of nuance that they present. This requires effective skills in managing cognitive dissonance, for evidence and argumentation usually send conflicting signals.

Intellectual agility. Strategic leaders do not have single-issue inboxes nor do they fully control their agendas. Strategic leaders must be able to transition with little or no warning, and at times turn on a dime, from one problem to another.

Integration. The problems confronting strategic leaders are rarely unidimensional. Almost by definition, strategic problems are multidimensional, involving military, political, economic, cultural, social, religious, and historical factors and forces that are often difficult to disentangle from each other.

Teamwork. Government operations on the strategic level require teamwork. Strategic leaders must build an effective team within their own agencies that includes career officials (both civilian and military) and political appointees.

Ethics. Ethics is always important, but especially given the challenges that the Nation confronts today. Strategic leaders must personally set and periodically recalibrate their own moral compasses. Doing so begins with one’s own moral values and principles, those inherited from family (and, for many, from religion) and nurtured in school. Professionals are guided by an ethos that defines and regulates their profession—military, public service, the law.

From
On Strategic Leadership
Joint Forces Quarterly

What it means to ANCHOR UP !

This means get out from behind your computer, get out of the Chief Petty Officers' (CPO) Mess, and plant yourself firmly on the deck plates leading our Sailors. No one else can do it, not even that stellar first class who’s been doing a bang-up job as your leading petty officer.

Even a great first class petty officer should never be considered a suitable substitute for a CPO. When the job calls for a CPO, anchor up, Chief, and get the job done. Take that stellar first class petty officer with you, while you’re at it, and show her or him how it’s done.

Some argue that a CPO Academy would be more useful than CPO initiation (Season of Pride/ Transition) in developing Chiefs. But, based on personal experience, I think a better case can be made for Chiefs simply reasserting the role of their mess.

More than 30 years ago, I began my life as a Sailor being raised by Navy Chiefs. By most accounts, they did a good job. I would not have progressed from seaman recruit to captain without strong CPO leadership at every level—from my division Chiefs to my Command Master Chiefs. I needed course corrections at every paygrade.

Fortunately, there was always a strong CPO to provide the necessary guidance. I have 100 percent confidence that today’s CPOs are even better equipped to provide this guidance to our Sailors and junior officers.

From: Anchor Up, Chiefs! - Reset The Mess
USNI Proceedings
By: Captain Mike Lambert

Lead By Example

If you set high standards—and you should—then you should live to those standards. Your credibility—and the squadron’s discipline—will likely go out the window the second you start applying double standards or ones that don’t appear reasonable. If you absolutely must deviate, then you owe it to the troops to explain why to prevent misperceptions. Like it or not, the commander is always watched, on and off duty. Think of your bosses. You likely watch them and how they react to all kinds of situations. People want the commander to succeed. But more importantly, they are looking to the boss for leadership and the right way to do things. Here’s where living core values keeps a commander from looking over his shoulder. Living core values also provides a positive example, no matter when people are watching.

Squadron Command Excellence
Roderick C. Zastrow
Lt Colonel, USAF

The Curse of Loyalty

"Loyalty- Too often we place loyalty as the highest trait we demand of those that are part of our organizations. It is given the most significant measure or weight in how we judge individuals. Sometimes it becomes blind loyalty. It can push aside integrity, honesty, openness, the willingness to offer constructive criticism. It puts pressure on the organization when loyalty becomes the ultimate trait that is desired. I much prefer the blessing of integrity. Make that the priority. Because, if you demand integrity and honesty and you allow people to speak their minds, present their views, to always come from a position of honesty and integrity that is in their own code, I think they will value an organization that is led that way. The loyalty will follow. But, the reverse is not true." Or words to that effect.

General Anthony Zinni

Well said but hard to practice, even by the General.

NIOC Fort Meade and NIOC Yokosuka Change of Command

Captain Steve Ashworth relieves Captain Rick Bodziak as Commanding Officer of Navy Information Operations Command, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland at 10 a.m.

Captain (sel) Justin F. Kershaw

Commander Niels Mateo relieved Captain (sel) Justin F. Kershaw as Commanding Officer of U.S. Navy Information Operations Command Yokosuka, Japan at 10 a.m. Rear Admiral William Leigher was the presiding officer/guest speaker.

Seapower - Like the Human Hand

... you can liken seapower to the human hand where with great delicacy, sensitivity, and perception it can be used to solve the combination of the lock on a safe, or the skilled hand of a surgeon who, with the greatest delicacy, can excise the cancerous growth from the human body, or again, it can be clenched in the fist representing the brute force philosophy of an all-out exchange.

Rear Admiral John Sidney McCain, Jr.
on Capitol Hill
12 April 1962

Navy and Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center Change of Command

Selected remarks from VADM Jack Dorsett's Speech at the Change of Command where Captain Don Darnell (IW officer) relieved RDML Liz Train (Intel officer).

We’re at the threshold of a new era. The Navy is seizing a unique opportunity to revolutionize its warfighting capabilities. We’re undergoing one of the most momentous changes in the history of our Navy. Change that is both profound, and exciting. We’re transforming the Navy for the Information Age.

Similar to earlier days, when the Navy shifted from sail to steam, and from cruisers to dreadnaughts, or when we introduced naval aviation and then nuclear power into the fleet…today’s Navy and Marine Corps team intends to remain the most prominent and dominant Naval Force the world has ever seen. No one comes close, and we aim to keep it that way!

Now, let me turn to the issue of the future of NMITC.

One of the CNO’s most important objectives is for the Navy to maintain its competitive advantage over potential adversaries in the areas of Intelligence, Cyber, Command and Control and Information & Knowledge Management.

Throughout most of my career, Navy seniors referred to Intelligence as a supporting or enabling function. Those days are past and opening.

Today, based on lessons from Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Horn of Africa, the CNO and Navy seniors now talk about our Intelligence & Information capabilities as a Main Battery of U.S. Navy warfighting power.

And NMITC is the Torpedo Factory of the 21^st Century. Today, kinetic weapons…mines, missiles, torpedoes and 5” shells are being supplanted by the main battery of the Information Era…our highly skilled Intelligence, Information Warfare & Information Professionals.

For it is the ability of our Intelligence Professionals to collect, analyze, assess, and deliver the right information to the right decision-maker; or the right data across the right circuit…at a speed that outpaces our adversaries’ decision cycles…that gives the U.S. Navy its competitive advantage.

It should not be lost on anyone that, for the first time, an Information Warfare Officer…who happens to be an Intelligence Professional, too…is taking the helm of NMITC.

Why? It’s simple, Don Darnell is best officer for the job. He has the right demeanor, the right focus, the right dedication. He is an inspirational leader, with a boundless concern for the welfare and education of our Sailors.

But it’s not only about skill sets. CAPT Darnell is assuming command today, because of the CNO’s imperative to ensure the Navy maintains our competitive advantage.

The CNO has also tasked us with championing innovation across the Navy’s intelligence and information enterprise. I strongly believe that innovation can best be achieved by creating opportunities for specialists from diverse backgrounds, with diverse skills, and with diverse outlooks to come together and work issues with open minds.

The professionalism of our force is built upon mastery of a core set of skills that every intelligence professional must possess. It all starts with a deep understanding of the fundamentals of intelligence, and a requirement that our professionals think clearly, and convey their analysis and assessments just as clearly to our Navy and our nation's decision-makers.

COMTENTHFLT - Now as then

There was nothing like the Tenth Fleet in the U.S. Navy, nor for that matter in any navy of the world. ...it (is) was made up of some of the Navy's brainiest officers, both regulars and reservists; and even the petty officers and yeomen attached (are) were remarkable for their brilliance. The idea behind it (is) was to harness in a single, small and flexible, essentially intellectual unit the best brainpower to aid the combat elements of conventional seapower-to put teeth into the U-boat (cyber) campaign by fusing brains and brawn.

The Tenth Fleet (is) was, in the truest sense of the phrase, a cloistered "think factory" of chosen experts who play(ed) their anonymous part in the war around the clock, in the cold glare of incandescent lights in front of huge maps and charts behind the closed doors of their plot room, in the bay of cackling teletypes. Their job (is) was to analyze every aspect of the U-boat (cyber) war from all angles, to supply split-second intelligence to CINCLANT, to recommend tactical maneuvers for offensive actions, to develop new hardware along abstruse scientific lines.

From: The TENTH FLEET
Ladislas Farrago (Author of PATTON)

NOTE: The parenthetical notations above are mine.
---------------------Cut Line----------------------
It is remarkable that in World War II the U.S. Navy’s Tenth Fleet exercised network-centric antisubmarine warfare (ASW) operations in the Battle of the Atlantic against German submarines, characterized by Morison as “… a contest between systems of information …” (as quoted by Cohen, Eliot A., and John Gooch. 1990. Military Misfortunes: The Anatomy of Failure in War, The Free Press, A Division of Macmillan, Inc., New York and Collier Macmillan Publishers, London, p. 75).

The Tenth Fleet integrated information from distant direction-finding fixes with data from local high-frequency direction finder and radar contact from forces in the action area with decrypted messages and other intelligence from vessels attacked, and with the help of a strong operational analysis group directed the coordinated efforts of warships, aircraft, and convoy commanders, with time delays from initial detection to action orders of minutes to hours. The Tenth Fleet also shared its operational picture and coordinated actions with the British in charge of the Eastern Atlantic ASW operations and conducted information warfare in the form of psychological warfare messages directed specifically to the enemy submarines at sea.

From: NETWORK-CENTRIC NAVAL FORCES

An Aid to Navigation

Friendships with Your Navy Seniors

Such friendships usually take the form of a mentor relationship and it often starts with your skipper or other boss taking special interest in your performance and career development. But he or she will be very careful to keep official relationships official because they must be concerned with the performance of the department or unit as a whole and not play favorites. Typically such mentoring matures after you or your boss have been detached. But I should raise a caution flag. (An aid to navigation, if you will.)

You will notice that most, if not all, skippers or bosses will address you by your first name. The reverse is, of course, not in order. Don't think for a minute that because your skipper or boss addresses you by your first name that you are his or her friend. Not yet, anyway. Seniors will have occasion to chew you out (the more modern term is counseling) but don't think that because they use your first name on such occasions that they are counseling you as a friend. You are being "wire brushed" as an errant subordinate.

Moreover, your skippers are not social workers who are inordinately concerned about your "feelings", perceived inadequacies, or your self esteem. They are interested in whether or not you are pulling the wagon, doing your duty, and growing professionally, Friendship has absolutely nothing to do with it.

The Professional Naval Officer - A Course To Steer By
RADM James A. Winnefield

New COMTENTHFLT - Scuttlebutt

Mission:

To maintain control of the 'Sea of Information' and the 'Oceans of Data'.

OF COURSE, it's much bigger than that!! Someone was trying to be clever !!

Preventative Leadership Assessments

It's human nature for Naval leaders to wait until we're sick before we head over to sick bay. However, Naval medical professionals have proven time and again that their preventive medical assessments actually improve health, save lives, reduce down time, and medical costs. That same preventative approach can be beneficial to leadership assessments, too.

Naval leaders can take a preventative approach to leadership issues and head off problems before trouble surfaces.

Ask the Sailors around you for feedback about what's working and what's not. Be sure you understand the Commanding Officer's/Executive Officer's/Department Head's expectations and where you may not be meeting them.

Having a full understanding of where you are as a Naval leader gives you a greater sense of control and power to shape your future.

SECDEF Robert Gates on 'Blunt Truths'

More broadly, if as an officer one does not tell blunt truths or create an environment where candor is encouraged, then they have done themselves and the institution a disservice. This admonition goes back beyond the roots of our own republic. Sir Francis Bacon was a seventeenth-century jurist and philosopher as well as a confidante of the senior minister of England’s King James. He gave this advice to a protégé looking to follow in his steps at court: “Remember well the great trust you have undertaken; you are as a continual sentinel, always to stand upon your watch to give [the king] true intelligence. If you flatter him, you betray him.”

An officer's duties are:

• To provide blunt and candid advice always.
• To keep disagreements private.
• And to implement faithfully decisions that go against you.

Dr. Robert Gates
Secretary of Defense
Parameters Magazine

Khaki Pants

From Hey, Shipwreck - Khaki Pants. With all Sailors in khaki now, Chiefs and officers will now be referred to as "khaki pants". No more, 'ask the Chief'; it's 'go ask khaki pants." That just can't be.

COMTHIRDFLT Cryptologist Turnover

Colleagues, shipmates, friends,

I have completed my turnover with CDR Abe Thompson, and will departing for PACOM in mid-August. I leave C3F confident that C3F IW/Cryptology is in very good hands. Abe, along with CDR(Sel) Mike Elliot, LT Eren Cataloglu, and our extremely talented and capable CT Chiefs and crew (coupled with an outstanding N2 department and N39 crowd) will no doubt continue to perform superbly supporting THIRD Fleet and the nation.

It has been a pleasure and a rewarding experience working with all of you and I hope to have the opportunity to do so again in the future. Thank you for your support both professionally and personally.

Take care and God bless,
Vr/CDR Dietz (Eric)

NOTE: That, ladies and gentlemen is a class act. Not surprising that Commander Dietz was recently selected for Captain.

VADM Stockdale Leadership Award

Annually, two Naval officers (one from the Atlantic and one from the Pacific) are selected from a group of peer- nominated Commanding Officers below the grade of Captain who best exemplify the enduring inspirational leadership characteristics of VADM Stockdale. The award seeks to recognize those officers who best represent the five roles of leadership that VADM Stockdale exhibited himself.

Those roles are:

Moralist
Commitment to a personal code of conduct which emphasizes strong moral ethics, courage, resolve, and humility as demonstrated by personal and professional service to members of the Naval service.

Jurist
Ability to establish policy, which can be implemented and obeyed, and to make those hard decisions, based on the policy, in those difficult situations, which portend endless complications.

Teacher
Example of self-discipline, sensitivity to others, and ability to place the major issues in proper prospective while creating the motivational command climate essential for job satisfaction and organizational pride.

Steward
Example of competence, proper regard for the rights of others, and personal commitment to the development and maintenance of accepted standards, unit loyalty, and esprit de corps.

Philosopher
Ability to reason, understand and explain the essence of reality and recognize the need for forethought in dealing with uncertainties.

Story about the VADM J.B. Stockdale Award winners here.

((The portrait was painted by Margaret Holland Sargent))

Admiral Vern Clark - 4 years retired

"Visionary leaders through the decades have proved crucial to the long-term success of the Navy.

I have worked with (Admiral) Vern (Clark) for four-and-a-half years. He is bold; he is purposeful. He’s also passionate. He’s helped mightily in moving from simple deconfliction to the powerfully leveraged cooperation of truly joint warfare. He has taken on the right fights and been willing to do so for the good of the Navy to be sure -- but also, for the good of the armed forces and for the good of our country. He leaves a stronger and more capable navy to the benefit – the great benefit of the United States of America."

Donald H. Rumsfeld
Secretary of Defense
22 July 2005
U.S. Naval Academy

Value System of the Naval Service

The Naval Service is rich in traditions and values such as loyalty, esprit de corps, and service to country. These are concepts that have made this country and the Naval Service what they are today.

Those in the Naval Service must be on guard to ensure the qualities necessary for their profession are not diminished. Their ethical responsibilities are unparalleled by those of any other profession; few individuals in other professions - if any - have the responsibility of the country or the lives of subordinates in their hands or are recognized by the public to be absolutely necessary. The Naval Service, no matter how you slice it, is clearly a profession, and as such must establish minimum standards of behavior.

In order for the Naval Service to contribute to the defense of the nation, individuals must have moral values. Human nature itself dictates this. BECAUSE PEOPLE COME FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES AND HAVE DIFFERENT VALUES, NAVAL LEADERS MUST INDOCTRINATE ALL PERSONNEL IN THE VALUE SYSTEM OF THE NAVAL SERVICE.

Where do ethics come from?
Final Considerations for Naval Officers
NAVAL LEADERSHIP

Too Much To Ask For ? How about 2010?

Work with me.

Still waiting for word. It's going to be a LOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNGGGG wait.

Kevin Eikenberry check out this blog.

CY2010 Information Warfare Officer (IWO) - Command Screening Results

Request widest dissemination: All, our CY10 IWO Captain and Commander Command Screen board has reported out. Please join me in congratulating these outstanding officers. Results have been posted on the Navy Personnel Command, Pers 472 Web site.

Best,
Rear Admiral Edward H. Deets III,
Vice Commander, Naval Network Warfare Command

Captains Selected: (From 30 eligible - 10%)
CAPT Jeff Cole (at US Fleet Forces Command)
CAPT Steve Parode (At OSD; previously commanded NIOC Sugar Grove, WV)
CAPT John Post


Commanders Selected: (From 73 eligible - 6.85%)
CDR Sean Heritage (current IWO Community Manager)
CDR Joe Pugh (PACOM J2)
CDR Doug Schelb (CCSG-9 DIWC)
CDR Julia Slattery (NIOC Suitland)
CDR Tyrone Ward (SECOND FLEET)

Command assignments have yet to be determined.

SECNAV APPROVED IW OFFICER COMMUNITY BRIEFING IS HERE.

Competence Revisited

Competence is required of officers in a wide range of areas, but in the Naval service three main themes emerge. They are: being technically and tactically proficient (knowledge), being a leader of people (leadership), keeping standards high (set the example). These three areas encompass nearly all aspects of the Navy.

An officer who lacks competence in one of these areas can be in jeopardy and place others in jeopardy. If officers do not know the technical or tactical aspects of their jobs, there is a distinct possibility that lives will be lost in combat or in safety related mishaps. If officers can't lead their personnel effectively, lives can be lost. If they fail to set a proper example at any time, they risk having their subordinates believe the standards that have been set by the Navy or Commanding Officer "don't mean anything."

These risks are unacceptable, and therefore competence in these areas is MANDATORY.

From - NAVAL LEADERSHIP
Final Considerations for Naval Officers
Conclusion: Professionalism and Ethics

The Shadow of The Leader

Voltaire once said, "An institution is the lengthened shadow of one person," and it clearly depicts the critical role of the leader. This basic concept of the central importance of the leader in relation to the group has not changed, but scientific research in recent years has contributed much in relation to fostering motivation, and building trust in leadership practices. Because leadership deals with people, the new "person-centered" approach has important implications for the role of the leader as well.

The Information Dominance Corps will be the lengthened shadow of VADM Dorsett. It will be a good thing to have 3 star representation as the head of our officer community. He has done an excellent job of communicating his vision and is a prolific writer/communicator in the style of Admiral James Stavridis, USEUCOM.

One of VADM James Bond Stockdale's Favorite Poems - Sunday Thoughts

We asked for strength that we might achieve;
He made us weak that we might obey.
We asked for health that we might do great things;
He gave us infirmity that we might do better things.
We asked for riches that we might be happy;
We were given poverty that we might be wise.
We asked for power that we might have the praise of men;
We were given weakness that we might feel the need of God.
We asked for all things that we might enjoy life;
We were given life that we might enjoy all things.
We received nothing that we asked for
But all that we hoped for.
And our prayers were answered.
We were most blessed.

VADM Stockdale said this poem helped sustain him during his many years as a Prisoner of War in Vietnam.

Counseling for Officers Who Fail of Selection (FOS) for Promotion

For those of you seeking counseling on Failure to Select for promotion to CDR and LCDR...

20. Counseling for Officers Who Fail of Selection for Promotion. Per reference (j), article 1420-050, CHNAVPERS shall provide, upon request, counseling for officers who fail of selection for promotion to grades 03 to 06. Counseling shall consist of reviewing the officer's record and indicating any factors that may account for not having been selected.

a. The counselor will be an officer experienced in officer personnel matters who is senior to and when practicable, in the same competitive category as the officer requesting counseling. The counselor may not be an officer who served as a member, recorder, or administrative assistant for a promotion selection board which failed to select the requesting officer for promotion.

b. Requests for counseling should be submitted to NAVPERSCOM (PERS-4).

From SECNAVINST 1420.1B "PROMOTION, SPECIAL SELECTION, SELECTIVE EARLY RETIREMENT, AND SELECTIVE EARLY REMOVAL BOARDS FOR COMMISSIONED OFFICERS OF THE NAVY AND MARINE CORPS" of 28 March 2006

This counseling is part of our leadership covenant with our subordinates. We have a moral and professional obligation to do this for our officers.