Spotlight on a leader taking action

Note: This is the first in what I hope to make a series to periodically celebrate an action oriented leader who is walking the walk and leading regardless of his/her job title or billet description. 

Mr. Mario A Vulcano currently serves as an Instructor of the Information Warfare Basic Course at the Center for Information Dominance in Pensacola, FL. Though he has a distinguished career as CTR about which he is justifiably proud, the reason we are celebrating him is not a result of the countless significant contributions he has made over his 23 years of service in uniform (CTRSN to CTRC and ultimately CWO3) and 30 years (and counting) of total service. Today we highlight his ongoing effort to continually improve new accession training for Information Warfare Officers.

For the last five years, Mr. Vulcano has been a constant in shaping the minds of new Information Warfare Officers. He has helped to revise and deliver IW curriculum to an ever changing requirement. And though all training objectives continue to be met, he and a cadre of others have identified numerous seams in the training they are tasked to deliver. He, and others, have also grown concerned with the way such training is delivered (i.e. Death by Power Point and drinking from a firehose). Never one to look to others to fix things before doing all that he can, and firmly believing that though he might not have the authority to make things the way they ought to be, he has the responsibility to control what he can and influence what he can't. He is currently championing the cause to weave the following mentorship opportunities into IWBC:

- IW Flag Officer engagement

- Leadership Perspectives from distinguished IW Leaders

- "Magnet" NIOC CO/XO Communication of Expectations

- Expectations of a JO - A Master Chiefs Perspective

- Community Management and Detailer Overview

- FITREP/EVAL writing 101

- Ethics, Critical Thinking and Decision Making with Capstone Case Studies

No requirement for him to do so, but feedback from students, commanding officers, and his own personal critique of the state of training give him reason to take permission and do all that he can to meet and ultimately exceed expectations. Sometimes it's not the training solution that is the constraint. This is but a case where the training requirement is the limiting factor. Mr. Vulcano is indirectly shaping the requirement by delivering what we need beyond what was stated as a requirement. Thank-you, Shipmate.

Clearly, there are numerous action leaders serving our country, the Navy and the IDC community. I would love to feature them here so that we can all be more aware of their significant contributions, be inspired to follow their lead, and think about how we might be able to contribute to the cause they are championing. We speak of collective ownership, self-synchronizing, and taking permission. This series is about those who do more that talk the talk. Please nominate action leaders you appreciate so we can shine the spotlight on those most deserving.

Thank-you, Mario, for your leadership, personal initiative, and strong desire to make us better. May every IWO who graduates from their 8 weeks with you arrive to the Fleet ready, willing, and committed to following your example.