"We now have 30 minority flag officers and 32 female flag officers, or admirals, for a 49% increase since 2006.For those of you who are in the information world, this year it’s been my great personal pleasure for me as I welcomed into the ranks of our Navy admirals, a former shipmate, a great African American officer by the name of [Rear Admiral] Will Metts. He was selected for admiral this year. He was a close and personal friend, a consummate professional, who served with me in the Pacific Fleet, who later commanded the Navy Information Operations Center in Hawaii in a delightful little part of Oahu called Wahiawa. And in his first assignment as an admiral he will be the Director of Intelligence at the new U.S. Cyber Command."
Admiral Gary Roughead
Chief of Naval Operations
at the Black Data Processors Association
CNO's full speech to the Black Data Processors Association is HERE.
8 comments:
I'd be happier if he were just a great Naval officer.
Believe me -- So would Admiral Metts!
He is the highest ranking Black Information Warfare Officer and we are justifiably proud of him !!
For myself, I wish the CNO had not used the racial modifier, African American in ANY forum. Would he use "Caucasian American" in describing a white admiral to a white audience? I don't think so. Rear Admiral Metts' achievements stand on their own without any qualfiers. He is enjoying a VERY successful Navy career - the envy of many an officer. Using "African American" diminishes RDML Metts' significant accomplishments by linking them to his race as if we should be surprised that a Black man is capable of such achievement. We are NOT surprised.
@Proud Black Sailor...Why can't he just be "American?"
Captain Lambert,
About 50 years ago the Navy made an issue over race, and one of the conclusions was to remove any reference to race on most Navy forms and applications. A few years later it was determined all Sailors would go to Racial Sensitivity Training. As COB on a Submarine I was required to insure that all enlisted men attended that course. Did we need that training? Who knows; we served at the pleasure of most that had never spent any time riding a ship at sea. Now the CNO inserts racial identity in his communications and I would expect that makes his superiors grin because that now appears to be Navy policy.
Very Respectfully
Navyman834
Agree that referencing race diminishes his true accomplishments. And the metrics? Why have the numbers gone up so rapidly so recently? Does this reflect a huge year group bubble of minority officers hitting the flag boards? Or maybe Captains who can check the special group box have just been outperforming their peers recently. Either explanation is acceptable, but neither is what is really going on. Sadly, that diminishes the achievement of true performers.
CNO revealed himself by accident. "Will is my close and personal friend." Wonder how many people on the board were influenced by the CNO's personal relationship with Will? Doesn't the Navy punish people for improper senior subordinate relationships? Where's the hotline complaint on this relationship??
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