Moral Leadership - perhaps we need to bring back NAVPERS 15890

Today, many are focusing on lessons-learned in the Navy.  One might think about what we have forgotten in the Navy and what we have moved away from.  Progress is great, moving forward is useful - but, what have we forgotten?  We've moved away from some very sound principles in the Navy. Find NAVPERS 15890 and read it.  Moral Leadership is as important as ever.

This is from All Hands in 1958. . .

For your information, the Navy is starting a leadership program. In a sense, it broadens the character program of which you have heard. It applys to handling a ship’s boat, to servicing the guns, to scanning with radar.


It applies to the fighting man (or the man ready, able, willing to fight-if you prefer). It applies to leading and being led. Perhaps it most closely applies to the petty officer, the CPO and junior officer.  

For example, we were briefed on the program by an ex-POW. What he had to say opened our eyes. Inter-reliance; self-leadership; strength of character- these were the terms he used.  He used them to describe the men who had survived in POW camps. It was an object lesson to us.

We’re giving you some of his ideas, together with the principles of senior officers, past and present. A new manual, Moral Leadership (NavPers 15890), tells more about the program. You take it from there.