I received this response today from the Navy's FOIA office about CTs killed or wounded in the GWOT/OCO. Note that my request was sent to them via their online processing system 6 months ago.
"Poor training, impenetrable bureaucracy and cultural resignation have caused a spike in the number of technical problems and a dip in the operational performance in"... _______________ (fill in the blank; the problems are widespread).The findings came in the report of the "fleet review panel," convened last September by Adm. John Harvey, head of Fleet Forces Command, to conduct an outside assessment into the readiness of the surface force.
to every officer-indeed to every Sailor in the Navy. Success, up to the limits of one's innate abilities, is available to all who dedicate themselves to their career, who are willing to work long and hard to prepare themselves, who recognize and develop the high character necessary to successful leadership, who love their fellow humans and show concern for their well-being, and who can communicate with other officers in a manner that inspires confidence and devotion to duty.
Commander Herman Pfaeffle is the 9th commanding officer to be fired in 2010. He was the skipper of FFG-32 - USS John L. Hall. The ship hit a pier nearly a month after he assumed command. His photo and bio have been removed from the official USS JOHN L. HALL website and the Chain of Command page is listed as "UNDER CONSTRUCTION".Commander Pfaeffle was fired by Vice Adm. Harry Harris, 6th Fleet commander. The pier strike occurred during a port visit to Batumi, Georgia (part of the former Soviet Union).
USS John L. Hall was conducting joint drills with Ukrainian naval pilots and the Georgian coast guard in the Black Sea.
Commander Pfaeffle is a former enlisted submarine Sailor mustang. He entered the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps through the Navy’s Broadened Opportunity for Officer Selection and Training (BOOST) Program and received his commission in 1993.
Navy Information Warfare Officers and cryptologic technicians are world class professionals and I'm not saying that just because they work for me and they wear the same uniform. I went around the world and visited them in their workspaces. These people are incredible.
"TO INTERCEPT AND DESTROY ENEMY AIRCRAFT IN ALL WEATHER CONDITIONS, ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN AIR SUPERIORITY AND DELIVER ORDNANCE ON TARGET, ON TIME, FIRST PASS"
Commander Stone Davis concluded his 22 year Navy career with a retirement ceremony at Commander, 10th Fleet/Commander, Fleet Cyber Command on Friday 18 June 2010.
On the other side of failure is success. Upon conclusion of my command tour, I received this kind letter from the former Commander, SEVENTH Fleet Cryptologist and Commanding Officer of NSGA Kunia, Hawaii - Captain Jerome P. Rapin.
As a Lieutenant Commander, I assumed command of Naval Security Group Activity Yokosuka, Japan (a Commander command) in January 1997 from LCDR Eric Newhouse (the interim CO). The CO previous to Eric had been relieved 6 months earlier, after failing two successive Inspector General inspections.
First of all, if I could, just with respect, correct a term that I have never felt was accurate. Warfare is not network centric. It's commander centric. And that commander is enabled by networks.
“When doing a job, any job, one must feel that he owns it, and act as though he will remain in the job forever. He must look after his work just as conscientiously, as though it were his own business and his own money. If he feels he is only a temporary custodian, or that the job is just a stepping stone to a higher position, his actions will not take into account the long-term interests of the organization.”
• Targets Key Issues
Training in superior commands links directly to combat readiness. Training for 'training's sake' is avoided. If a drill or exercise doesn't advance the combat readiness of the command, then it's changed around until it does.Don't assume your high performing staff officer knows how good he is. Instead, use these three tips to give him the feedback he wants and deserves:
1. Identify development areas. There may only be a few and you may need to work hard to identify and articulate them, but help your star naval officer understand what he can get better at.
2. Show your appreciation. Failing to say thank you is a simple and common mistake. Your star officers need feedback and praise just as much as everyone else.
3. Give feedback often. Don't wait for review time. High performing officer thrive on feedback and it's your job to give it frequently.
"I'm wasting a tremendous amount of time," she complained to me in her e-mail, "I'm in some kind of meeting all day. The only way I can get any real work done is by coming in real early (0500) and staying super late (2000). My kids hate me."
My JO had moved from a very lean, tactically focused operational shipboard organization to a land-locked organization of several hundred and was ironically drowning ashore in the time suck of of Headquarters Staff collaboration. She is one Action Officer among dozens.
She pointed to the same three things we have all struggled with that wasted our time the most on the staff - unnecessarily long meetings with disinterested participants and no firm agenda, hundreds of unimportant e-mails, and protracted PowerPoint brief preparation, revision, and presentation.
I called her this past Friday at 1630 to give her some advice. Proudly, she had already solved the problem herself - she went home. Some problems resolve themselves.
Let's not forget our Coast Guard Shipmates. The current ESCANABA skipper and his crew pay tribute to those lost.On August 4, 1943, the citizens of Grand Haven, Michigan stood somber as a ray of sunlight pierced the blackened sky. The mood changed instantly when a band broke the silence with the tune "Semper Paratus." The crowd of over 6,000 had gathered as they had for many years to celebrate Coast Guard day. This year, however, the crowd assembled for a more important reason; to pay tribute to the cutter Escanaba which had been sunk just six weeks before.
"The backbone of the Navy" is how one old adage sums up the importance of the chiefs quarters. Superior commands are especially quick to acknowledge the chief petty officer's special role and contribution. The uniqueness of that role is a function both of the position the chief occupies in the organizational structure and of the job qualifications that must be satisfied before the position is attained. Chiefs have considerable managerial and technical expertise and are the linchpin between officers and enlisted.
Disable enemy threats with communications technology Information Warfare
"If you can't delight someone, there is little point in writing."
Not to be outdone by the Navy, the USAF has named its first female fighter pilot to command wing
Captain (select) Sara Joyner was announced by the CNO as the first women selected to head a Carrier Air Wing.
The CNO has directed that the Navy be the most prominent and dominant Service in the areas of Intelligence, Cyber Warfare, Command and Control, Electronic Warfare, Battle Management and Knowledge of the Maritime Environment. This aspiration is only possible if we continue to break down barriers between fields, professions and skills … and create a dramatically more competent and influential information-focused work force for the future.
You are probably already aware that CTT1 Cassandra Foote, stationed at CID Corry Station, was recently selected CNO Shore SOY. I had learned about her earlier selection as NETC SOY and the fact that she is originally from Vergennes, VT, the town right next to where I am retired. As I am on the Memorial Day parade committee for our local Legion post, I undertook an effort to try to get her back to her hometown to be the Grand Marshall of our parade (which is the largest in the state.) To make a long story short, the CO at Corry thought it was a good idea and we put the plans in motion. To make a good thing even better, by the time Memorial Day rolled around, she had been selected MPT&E SOY and then CNO SOY.
In the bloodiest days of Iwo Jima, Marine Chaplain LT. E. Gage Hotaling spoke the last words over fallen Marines and Navy corpsmen as they were buried in the island’s black sand.
Leadership also requires integrity. You may, at times, prove better than your word, but you will rarely prove better than your actions. The high standards by which you measure your own personal behavior and that of others, say more about you and your potential than any statements you make or guidance you give. You should strive to conduct yourself always in such a manner that it can never be said that you demanded less of yourself or of the men and women in your charge than that which is expected of you by your families or your countrymen.Mullen recalled going to a diversity conference in New Orleans in 2005, when he was serving as chief of naval operations.“I walked in with my immediate staff, which was all white males,” he said. “A young officer from the Coast Guard sent me a note after that that said, ‘You have to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.’ He wasn’t happy with what my staff looked like.
“About 18 months later in my home,” he continued, “I was having a farewell party for my immediate staff of about 15 to 20 officers, and I stood back and looked at that immediate staff, and I THINK I WAS THE ONLY WHITE MALE IN THE GROUP.”
“It was absolutely the best staff I’d ever had,” he recalled. “And I can’t remember if there was a white male on that staff.”
What struck him, the admiral said, is the missed opportunities of the past and HOW LONG IT TOOK HIM TO FIGURE IT OUT.
“In fact, all I did was create opportunities for them, and they excelled,” he said. “They made me better, they made our Navy better, and I stood there looking at what I could have done had I figured this out earlier. And I would urge you to think that way, because you are young – to reach out and make sure you grasp and take advantage of the diversity that we have as a country. It will become more and more critical in the future.”
Full article here. As the Admiral notes: "...success in a life of service is a product of guidance, grace and love from leaders and mentors."
