There is a leadership crisis in the Navy

... but it is not at the operational level. The real crisis exists at the tactical level, and it is a consequence of a misaligned, fragmented, and marginalized system of officer professional development. The Navy’s recent attempts to transform officer development from the top down have fallen well short. The Navy should direct its best efforts to institutionalize a leadership and professional development continuum that focuses on the bulk of its officer corps, not only the cohorts well into their careers. If “everything starts and ends with leadership (as Admiral Mullen says),” the Navy’s paradigm of leadership cultivation must start at the beginning.

Commander Christopher D. Hayes
DEVELOPING THE NAVY’S OPERATIONAL LEADERS