GUEST POST from an anonymous (to you) member of the Information Warfare Community who has tired of all the discussion about "first woman this and first woman that".
If the Navy feels the need to repeatedly tell the world that a stellar Naval officer was the "first" woman to do something, they are failing in their public relations efforts and in the newsworthiness of that officer's accomplishments. Pointing out that someone is the "first" anything is usually a waste of time. "First" matters a lot less than "BEST". Even "better" matters more than "first". Honestly, "first" diminishes the achievement when it is followed by religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, country of birth, branch of service, sex, or virtually any other 'qualifier'.
Such is the case with VADM Jan Tighe. It is not so much the achievement of the "first" that should be focused on, but rather the road she took getting there. And, it was a long hard road.
- 1984 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, (not the first).
- EA to the Commander, U.S. Cyber Command. (Not the first).
- Command of NSA/CSS Hawaii. (Not the first).
- Russian linguist. (Not the first).
- Wartime Flight Operations - Desert Shield/Desert Storm. (Not the first).
- Deputy PM, Navy Information Warfare Activity. (Not the first).
- U.S. Cyber Command Deputy J3. (Not the first).
- OPNAV N2/N6 Director, Decision Superiority. (Not the first).
- President of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). (Not the first).
- Deputy Commander, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/TENTH Fleet. (Not the first).
- M.S. Applied Mathematics, NPS (Not the first).
- PhD Electrical Engineering, NPS (Not the first).
- Commander, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/TENTH Fleet. (Not the first).
- Mastered the art of life/work balance - wife to a pretty cool guy and mother to two bright children. (Not the first).
Even in that long list, there are many things that are missing. "First" has never mattered to VADM Tighe and it should not matter to us. Keep in mind, she has often been "better" and not infrequently, the "BEST".
There is a lesson for Sheryl Sandberg, author of LEAN IN, here. "Sheryl, if your aim is to help women sit at the table - your aim is a bit off. You should have them focus on sitting at the head of the table. VADM Tighe can tell you that, especially with regard to the Navy, women have been at the table for quite some time. And many are rightfully sitting at the head of that table."
14 comments:
I truly don't understand this infatuation with VADM Tighe. Her path to Flag is less than impressive -- very limited operational tours, no NIOC Command tours, no PCS afloat, no CRC tour, no Fleet Cryptologist tour. Even her Flag tours have been niche or special -- Director of Decision Superiority, Interim President of NPS, etc... Anxious to see what she can/will do as C10F, although I am certainly not optimistic. I don't think she has the experience necessary to couple any vision with a sensible way ahead. I fully expect simply more of the same out of a community that seems to be happy with the status quo...
Anon @ 7:20 AM
Your points are not relevant.
You cite "no NIOC Command tours" - she was CO of the larger organization NSA/CSS, a joint command which coordinated the efforts of the NIOC, Army and AF commands to fulfill the National mission.
You cite no PCS afloat - she was a COMEVAL on VQ-1 airborne recce missions in Desert Shield/Desert storm. This trumps your 'no PCS afloat and no CRC tour.
Her Flag tours have not been niche or 'special'. She can be counted on to get the tough work done and she is one of the few who is versatile enough to fill those roles.
She was Deputy COMNAVSECGRU and the Assistant PM for our crown jewel R&D organization in NIWA Suitland. She is a DAWIA Level III certified PM. PhD in EE.
Also fully qualified JPME Joint Duty Officer.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU, TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXCELLENT CAREER WHICH MAKES YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN COMMENT ON HERS !!!
Not relevant in your opinion.
And I wasn't aware that I had to have any sort of special career path (my is pretty damn diverse by the way) to make comments, but I digress. On to your points:
You cite "no NIOC Command tours" - she was CO of the larger organization NSA/CSS, a joint command which coordinated the efforts of the NIOC, Army and AF commands to fulfill the National mission.
--Yet no NIOC tours. And just one command tour.
You cite no PCS afloat - she was a COMEVAL on VQ-1 airborne recce missions in Desert Shield/Desert storm. This trumps your 'no PCS afloat and no CRC tour.
--One COMEVAL tour trumps PCS and a CRC tour? Interesting. Loads of folks with a single COMEVAL tour. And as far as I can tell this is her only real operational tour.
Her Flag tours have not been niche or 'special'. She can be counted on to get the tough work done and she is one of the few who is versatile enough to fill those roles.
--Sounds like an empty FITREP bullet.
She was Deputy COMNAVSECGRU and the Assistant PM for our crown jewel R&D organization in NIWA Suitland. She is a DAWIA Level III certified PM. PhD in EE.
--Fantastic. No issue with either. In fact, this may be the most impressive part of her career.
Also fully qualified JPME Joint Duty Officer.
--As are most/all Flag Officers, prior to making Flag.
But that is OK. You are infatuated. But I ask you take a look at the bio's of our current/recent past Flag Officers. The differences are startling...
Anon @ 3:31 PM
As much as I am infatuated with the significant achievements of VADM Tighe, you appear to be a hater.
You share none of your significant expertise that legitimizes your criticism of the VADM.
She was duly evaluated by a promotion board consistent with the precepts outlined by SECNAV. She was found to be deserving of promotion when considered against all eligible candidates. This closes the case, in my opinion.
Not a hater of VADM Tighe, a hater of the system that put her where she is now.
Your faith in that system trouble me.
As for my career, give me your email address and I'll send you my full bio.
Anon at 6:18 PM
If you post your email address, I'll do exactly that. I don't know how to reach you otherwise.
Love the drama! Post your bios!
Anon May 12 @ 7:20AM
Count me among those who don't understand your comment about her path to Flag being less than impressive. Does the path matter? Is her path less impressive than Sean Filipowski's, Will Metts', Tim White's, Steve Parode's. I don't recall Mike Rogers even having O6 command but I could be wrong. I don't know if the path matters if you can make it successfully to that particular destination. Give us a snapshot of your path.
Why does everyone "mirror image" their career path on others, both up and down the chain of command? As much as we all want there to be a clearly defined path to a particular job or pay grade, there isn't one - people who take the percieved correct path fail to select and likewise there are those who accept more risk by taking a different path and succeed.
Anon @ 3:31 PM
If you aren't comfortable enough to make your own decisions regarding your career as evidenced by the need to slight others then perhaps it's simply time to separate from the Navy all together.
This is nothing personal against VADM Tighe, and this really has nothing to do with my career. But when I look at her career path I scratch my head. As a mentor, I would never recommend anyone go her route, regardless of her selection to VADM. It is her lack of tactical and operational SIGINT/ EW/Cyber, that really bothers me, especially for someone running the Navy’s effort in that arena.
In my opinion there is no comparison to Filipowski, White, Metts, and Parode. Look at their bios online. Key excerpts here…
Metts: Afloat time as a SWO, CRC, det Potomac Ops, DH/XO NCTS Guam, CO NIOC HI, Senior Detailer.
Filipowski: Afloat time in SSBN’s, CRC, JSOC, 7th Fleet Staff, CO NSGA Yoko, CO NIOC GA
White: Afloat time as a SWO, C5F Staff, C7F Staff, COS JFCC-NW, CO NSGA Bahrain, CO NIOC MD
Parode: (BIO isn’t posted) Afloat Time, CRC, C6F Staff, CO NIWA
VADM Tighe's bio stands up well in her selection to Flag. She understands what the community is all about and has excelled in every assignment. She is respected by most everyone who has served with her. I served with her three separate times, including DS/DS. I don't know anyone smarter or who works harder in our community.
I am glad to see the battle among the anonymous posters has concluded.
You can save your evaluation of VADM Tighe's performance as FCC/C10F until after she has had the opportunity to do the job the Navy has tasked her to do.
It is so easy to throw spears anonymously. Where is the honor? Where is the courage? Perhaps as a Navy professional (officer and enlisted) we should say (in fact demand) we do everything in the 'light'. If we dont start standing for right and wrong, how can we expect others to follow us?
Full Disclosure ... I worked for her in N2/N6 and I must say I was impressed and honored to be on her team.
As always, the anonymous posters argue back and forth about their creds without ever actually letting anyone know who they are. Believe it or not, in a community this small, all you have to do is put your name down and everyone will immediately know what you have or haven't done in your career. Why not try to own your statements instead of clicking on the anonymous button?
Post a Comment