A naval officer

recognizes her responsibilities and therefore does not accept them lightly. A Naval officer understands that her word is her bond, exercised by everyday actions and daily decisions. A Naval officer will not waft through life selfish or disconnected, like someone who carries a fickle mind. A Naval officer, the genuine article, will not make promises she cannot keep, and chooses her words as carefully as she does her commitments. And because a Naval officer honors her words, she is in turn honored in her actions.

You are a Navy man

You are a Navy man, part of the largest and strongest seagoing force in the world. When you were sworn in and put on your uniform for the first time, you became part of a great tradition. All the brave men who have gone before you, and those who will follow you, make up an unbroken chain of courage and devotion to duty that should make you proud to wear your uniform. 

As a Navy man you are, in a special sense, a good citizen of these United States. Your uniform alone does not entitle you to special privileges, rather it obligates you to set high standards of conduct and performance of duty. At home, and on duty abroad in foreign countries, you will be under constant observation as a representative of the United States government. Be sure that no careless act of yours brings discredit to your uniform or to your country's flag. 

Service in the Navy can be whatever you make it. It takes some time to understand and become adapted to the ways of the Navy, for going to sea in ships and aircraft is a tough, serious business, particularly in these troubled times. If you must work hard and at times miss a leave period or a few liberties in your home port, remember that you chose a man's job when you joined the Navy. 

From THE BLUEJACKET'S MANUAL 

NOTE: The Bluejackets Manual has just been reissued.  I would guess this has changed in its wording to be more inclusive.

More Command Excellence - Not Rocket Science

• Lead by Example – Leaders have to change their own attitudes and behaviors before they can expect their Sailors to change.

• Listen Aggressively – Leaders don't simply listen, they hear what their Sailors say to them . They know that those on the deckplates are the ones most familiar with how operations can be more effective.

• Communicate Purpose and Meaning – Leaders help their Sailors understand (collectively and individually) how their work contributes to the success of the overall mission, as well as understand how that work supports the personal goals they have for themselves.

• Create a Climate of Trust – Leaders trust and cultivate trust from their Sailors. Without trust, the barriers that prevent excellent performance will never be lowered.

• Look for Results, Not Salutes – Leaders maximize performance by making their Sailors grow. Leaders experience success only when their Sailors experience success.hey success.

• Take Calculated Risks – Leaders know that taking prudent, calculated risks can help maximize performance.

• Go Beyond the Navy's Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) – Leaders see standard operating procedure as a guideline, because SOP may not change as rapidly as the environment and competition. Leaders foster a climate that encourages their Sailors to come up with better and more innovative ways to accomplish the mission.

• Strengthen Others/Build Up Your People – Leaders focus on making their Sailors grow and create an environment where all Sailors win, thereby making the entire command stronger.

• Generate Unity of Purpose – Leaders work to not only change undesirable behaviors but to alter the underlying attitudes. By working toward a mutual respect for all Sailors, they level the playing field, permitting all Sailors to perform at the highest levels.

• Cultivate Quality of Life – Leaders actively integrate fun into the work experience. Leaders want their Sailors to have as much fun from 6 am to 6 pm as they do at home from 6 pm to 6 am.

From Navy Command Excellence Seminar - Navigating a New Course to Command Excellence as implemented by CDR D. Michael Abrashoff on USS BENFOLD and as he wrote in It's Your Ship. Also see Command Excellence and the Wardroom.

What I told my CO. My boss and I were the same paygrade.

Ensigns, don't try this at your command

This is a summary of my 360 degree feedback to a former commanding officer. Skipper, there's no doubt you're going to be a leader in the community; these things may help you.

• You are a great speaker. Be careful not to lose the feeling behind the words. Words have meaning; actions have con­sequences. Ensure your actions match your words. Some Sailors actually listen to every word. They can sense any hint of insincerity. 
• Your command philosophy should be written down and distributed widely in the command. This is a huge reason for the CNO's success in the Navy. We all know where he's going and we talk about it. The command wants to follow you. Tell us where you want to go. 
• Respect our time. Typically, ten or more people are always awaiting your late arrival at some function (staff meeting, wardroom meetings, dinners, graduations, etc). If people believe that you are willing to consistently waste their time, they will stop feeling guilty about wasting yours. 
• Be consistent with your administration of military justice. It's easy to punish junior members in the command for trivial violations. Applying the same standards across the board does not always work. In fact, the more senior the individual is, the more accountable they should be held for their action or inaction. Everyone is watching and judging. 
• When senior officers visit the command, maximize their exposure to the junior Sailors of the command. They will benefit the most. 
• Take your junior officers, Chiefs, and Sailors to lunch or simply go have lunch with them in their mess. Everyone will learn a lot, especially you. 
• Invite your key command leaders to your home for a social event so they can see how it's done. Juniors need to see how their seniors do this. It's part of the learning process. 
• Share information with your department heads. It is astounding how much information a commanding officer is exposed to and that is not shared with the department heads. Distributed information is enormously powerful. Your department heads can keep a secret if there is a requirement for secrecy. Trust them. 
• Don't play favorites with members of the wardroom. It hurts the wardroom and it hurts you. 
• Focus your calendar on the command 's mission. Ceremonial events and public relations are important, but your time should be spent on those areas the commanding officer can directly influence for the greatest benefit to the command's mission. 

From my January 2007 PROCEEDINGS magazine article "360-Degree Feedback: Can We Handle the Truth?"  You can subscribe to PROCEEDINGS (the professional journal of the U.S. Navy) HERE.

Stay tuned to this blog for the 360-degree feedback I received from everyone following my command tour. It's a very interesting and eye opening experience.

What's your code?

Excellence is the standard

"Admiral Rickover was the genius that gave a generation of naval officers the idea that excellence was the standard."

Handwritten

Navy - Top Leaders

http://www.navy.mil/cno/docs/NLDF_Final.pdf

Top leaders inspire their teams to perform at or near their theoretical limits. By making their teams stronger, they relentlessly chase “best ever” performance. They study every text, try every method, seize every moment, and expend every effort to outfox their competition. They ceaselessly communicate, train, test, and challenge their teams. They are toughest on themselves; they routinely seek out feedback, and are ready to be shown their errors in the interest of learning and getting better. When they win, they are grateful, humble, and spent from their effort. By doing all these things, great leaders bring their teams to a deeply shared commitment to each other in the pursuit of victory. 

Are you a Navy leader? Has someone in your chain of command shared this with you?

Have you attended a Navy leadership course? Has this been shared with you?

Makes you wonder if the Navy is serious about this, doesn't it.

Station Hypo is 2 years old - BZ!!

From my blog on 30 September 2015 . . .

A small team of bloggers would like to invite you to a recently established blog called Station HYPO. Please join us as we remember the past, recognize the present and explore the future of Naval Cryptologic community. 

http://www.stationhypo.com/

Command Excellence - The Wardroom

Navy Information Operations Command Hawaii, for example - 

 The wardroom at NIOC Hawaii:
•    Is Cohesive
•    Matches CO-XO Leadership
•    Raises Concerns with CO and XO
•    Takes Initiative
•    Does Detailed Planning
•    Takes Responsibility for Work-Group Performance

The wardroom is the interface between the senior officers of the command, who make the policy, and the senior enlisted, who carry out the tasks of the command. The wardroom is responsible for developing and imple- menting plans that achieve the goals set by the CO and XO. In top commands, the department heads and division officers make sure these plans are specific, deciding who is to do what, when, and how. They gather information from chiefs and other relevant sources, and are careful to coordinate their department's or division's activities with other work going on.

This means that the wardroom must work as a team with the CO and XO. In superior commands there is more congruence between the wardroom and the CO-XO on command    philosophy    and leadership style than in average commands. Everyone is headed in the same direction. They identify with the goals set by the CO and XO and with how the CO and XO wish to accomplish them.

Officers of superior commands take initiative in several ways. They try to find new and better ways to do their jobs, and when they see that something needs to be done, they do it without waiting to be told. They are often willing to do more than they are required to do in order to achieve the command's mission. And they readily ask for guidance or information from the CO or XO if they believe these are necessary to accomplish their jobs or to develop themselves professionally. They also raise command issues with senior officers before those issues turn into serious problems.

One of the greatest strengths of wardrooms of superior commands is their sense of responsibility for the performance of their subordinates. This leads them to try to anticipate problems before they occur, to take responsi- bility when a problem does occur that they should have prevented, and to hold their personnel accountable for meeting the command's standards. There is a strong sense of ownership and pride.

Finally, superior wardrooms support division officers, who, although they outrank enlisted personnel, are among the youngest people in a command and are relatively inexperienced when it comes to hands-on technical knowledge and management know how. Thus, department heads must do their own jobs and also attend to the needs of their junior officers.

FOR MORE ON COMMAND EXCELLENCE, GO HERE.

Won't - Can't

A Naval officer who won't lead has no advantage over one who can't lead.

Captain Samuel Langhorne Clemens

USNish, retired

Correspondence is history kept alive

While in command (1997-2000) of U.S. Naval Security Group Activity Yokosuka Japan, my Executive Officer (LT Bob Duncan) and I would meet at the command at 0630 or so each morning to spend 30-45 minutes handwriting letters to a different set of parents or relatives of our Sailors to let them know what 'their' Sailor was up to. One in 20 (5% or so) letters generated a response from a grateful parent or relative. The letter above is one such letter. The XO and I cared deeply about each of the 200 or so Sailors under our charge. Some of them understood and some didn't. Some came to that understanding later as they transferred to 'less caring' commands. Some still don't understand.

One of the most heart-warming examples of the meaning of all this correspondence came on two separate occasions for my Command Master Chief - CTMCM(SW) Ronald N. Schwartz. In 2003 when he retired, his Mother and Father (Ron and Sandra) brought a notebook to his retirement ceremony (over which I presided) at Corry Station, Pensacola Florida (where he started his cryptologic career as a student). The notebook was filled with the letters I sent them regarding the Master Chief's many accomplishments helping me lead our Sailors. There were many letters and news articles sent as he accomplished a great deal. I was gratified to see his parents had kept every letter. In 2007, I saw those same letters in a notebook in plastic liners at a far less joyous occasion when the Master Chief passed away tragically in an accident. Those letters meant so much to his parents because they reflected a detailed accounting of his very successful career history. His parents and I still exchange letters as I keep them informed of our efforts to keep his name and memory alive in the Navy.

10000 hour rule - Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell's latest book OUTLIERS talks about what separates the stars from everyone else. It isn't raw talent. It is sheer persistence--those who practiced harder did better, and those who practiced insanely hard became wildly successful. Can the same be applied to Naval leadership? 

Gladwell dubs this phenomenon the "10,000-hour rule."

I think this can be applied equally to leadership. Becoming truly great at anything -- (leadership included) -- requires ten years of experience and 1,000 hours of practice per year. "Ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness," he argues.

What are the elements of 'deliberate practice'? It's designed explicitly to improve performance -- the little adjustments that make a big difference. It's repetitive, which means that when it's time to perform for real, you don't feel the pressure. It's informed by continuous feedback; practicing leadership only works if you can see how you're improving.

 Bits and pieces paraphrased (and others cut and pasted) from HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW.

You are a leader, if ....

Pulled from the Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command handbook available HERE.

I encourage you to read some thoughts from the most prolific Cryptologic Warfare Officer thought leader - you can find him HERE.  Thank you Captain Sean Heritage for allowing so many to play in your wake.

On Loyalty - Up, and down the chain of command

(From Written on the Wall)

While the fabric that has held society together has worn thinner in our modern age, it is still loyalty that lends the cloth its strength. It is loyalty that keeps the world functioning. We could not conduct business transactions or personal relationship without it. Loyalty is the idea that we are who we say we are and we will do what we say we will do. It is the hope that the integrity with which we initially encountered someone will endure indefinitely.

It’s also what keeps us unified. We live out our lives as part of agreed upon norms that allow us to operate from day to day. We need to know who we can count on. We all understand that ideally, friends will have your back, lovers will remain true, and businesses will not cheat you out of your money. When someone is disloyal, they break from these expectations and weaken the trust that holds us together.

From The Philosophy of Loyalty by Josiah Royce

Harvard Lecture Series 1908

American Military Officers Are Different

American military officers are different. We train you to be able to make hard decisions – that is your job. As an American, you have been imbued with basic beliefs, about human decency, freedom of speech and worship, and equality. 

When your conscience tells you that these moral tenets are being violated, it is time to take a moral stand – this is expected of you.

Former Secretary of the Navy, John Dalton

Selection for command

Congratulations on being successfully screened and selected by senior members of your community for command –– it has the potential to be the best assignment you will ever have in the Navy during your long career.  To help you get off on the right foot, some of your predecessors would offer some suggestions to help with your preparation.

To start with, you'll need a personal command philosophy and initial focus. Three reasons: (1) you have to have a well-formulated plan if you're going to take your command to new levels of performance excellence, (2) for much of what you actually accomplish in your command tour, you must first establish a focus in your initial 1-2 months, and (3) your first few weeks in command will haunt you over your entire tour if you aren’t prepared to hit the deck running.

Those Sailors entrusted to your charge want and need to be led from day one of your command tour.

Get to know, network, and collaborate with your fellow commanding officers––irrespective of your career field or warfare specialty. If you are exceptionally successful, you will all become senior officers together before you know it. You will need one another. If you regard each other as competitors, you will hurt yourselves, your chain of command, and potentially - the Navy. Don’t get lost in the “glory of being the boss.” You’ll find the command experience produces many challenges along with equal measures of reward and disappointment.

Now is a good time to send a short thank you to family members and any mentors that helped you during your career. An e-mail won't suffice for this important task.  As you've certainly already been taught –– the personal touch of a hand-written note shows good breeding and professionalism.

Have 3 years passed already? Remembering - 10 October 2014 - Disestablishment of one of the CROWN JEWELS of the cryptologic/information warfare community

Archer A. Vandegrift writing about Moral Courage

Moral courage involves both the fortitude to do what is right in the face of not just failure, but disgrace, and the willingness to set aside profound personal considerations. Military education emphasizes and rewards "boldness"; taking calculated risks to win. But that same education inculcates limits on acceptable risks. 

Junior officers at the beginning of service typically envision physical courage as at or near the pinnacle of martial virtues and are apt to overlook or diminish moral courage. Those who go on to extended careers discover that physical courage is commonplace in American armed forces, but that a depth of moral courage is an indispensable quality for higher command and that it is rarer than physical courage - or boldness.

LEADERSHIP EMBODIED

Five Characteristics of Weak Leaders as exhibited by General McClellan

@MichaelHyatt talks about General McClellan's characteristics HERE.

1. Hesitating to Take Definitive Action

2. Complaining About Insufficient Resources

3. Refusing to Take Responsibility

4. Abusing the Privileges of Leadership

5. Engaging in Acts of Insubordination

DON'T DO THESE THINGS.

Michael Hyatt - I am a fan

I don't advertise but I really like what Michael Hyatt has to say about journaling, goal setting and productivity.

He's on Twitter @michaelhyatt

You can read more about his FULL FOCUS PLANNER HERE.

Leader versus boss

"People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. 

The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert. 

The leader leads, and the boss drives." 

Theodore Roosevelt
American tough guy

Do you truly care about your Sailors?

Admiral Nelson also deeply cared about his men, paying particular attention to their health. The admiral understood the two time tested principles of leadership: accomplish the mission and take care of your people. A leader can not be successful in the long run without following both of these mutually supportive tenets. Nelson’s men were aware of his devotion to them. His personal interest in every aspect of their training ensured that their actions in battle ultimately did not require his physical presence or direction when the battle was joined.

From Former SECNAV John Dalton's Trafalgar Night Speech 15 October 1988

From the archives - 9 years ago

Information Warfare Officer Leadership Changes

Rear Admiral Edward H. Deets III, Vice Commander, Naval Networks Warfare Command, presided over a Change of Command and retirement ceremony on Friday, 17 October 2008 at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland for Captain Robert A. Zellmann. Captain Zellmann concluded 28 years of Naval service as a key leader in the cryptologic and information warfare community. He is a 1980 graduate of The Citadel with a B.S. in Physics. In 1994, he led the Naval Security Group Command's (CNSG) "Information Warfare Tiger Team" that developed the initial Chief of Naval Operations' policy which designated NSG as the Navy's executive agent for information warfare. For the 14 succeeding years, he has been a key leader in formulating and executing information warfare capabilities for the Navy - ashore and afloat.

Captain Diane K. Gronewold assumed command of Navy Information Operations Command - Suitland. She had previously served as a division officer at NIOC-S predecessor command - Naval Information Warfare Activity (NIWA) when (then) Commander Bob Zellmann was her department head. Captain Gronewold's father was in attendance at the Change of Command. Both RADM Deets and Captain Zellmann said that Captain Gronewold was "the perfectly qualified officer" to assume command. She has a B.A. in Mathematics, a B.S. in Physics and an M.S. in Electronics Engineering.

The Change of Command/Retirement ceremony was PUNCTUATED by CWO2 David Kivi's (from NIOC Ft Meade, Maryland) amazing and truly inspirational delivery of "THE WATCH".

A Bronze Star with VALOR - worth noting - VALOR UNDER FIRE

A Bronze Star with VALOR - worth noting - VALOR UNDER FIRE

BRONZE STAR WITH COMBAT «V» and NAVY COMBAT ACTION MEDAL

In a brief ceremony at the Headquarters, Naval Security Group Command on 25 July 1969, the following citation was read to all assembled:

"The President of the United States of America hereby bestows to LCDR James S. McFarland, United States Navy, the Bronze Star with "V" Distinguishing Device (second award) and the Navy Combat Action Medal. The citation reads as follows:

On 13 April, 1969, Lieutenant Commander McFarland was assigned as liaison officer to the Fifth Special Forces Unit, THUONG DUC SFC, Vietnam. At approximately 1100 hours on the morning of the 13th, the camp was taken under intensive and extremely accurate mortar and rocket attack. Heavy casualties were inflicted on friendly forces within the first few minutes of the attack and within ten minutes seventy per cent casualties were suffered.

As the attack intensified, the enemy began preparations for a frontal assault of battalion size. The battle raged for over six hours with all perimeters subjected to heavy attack, including hand-to-hand fighting. During this action, LCDR McPARLAND distinguished himself by repeatedly rallying Vietnamese soldiersand directing effective zones of fire. Several times he left the relative safety of his perimeter bunker to assist In repulsing enemy infiltrators. On one such occasion he killed three enemy about to satchel charge the camp command bunker with automatic weapon fire and successfully turned back additional attackers with grenades.

LCDR McFarland's valor under fire is hereby awarded by presentation of the Bronze Star with "V" (second award) and the Navy Combat Action Medal."

Certified this 25th day of July 1969
William B. Clarey
Admiral United States Navy

"Command" is a marvelous instrument

"Command" is a marvelous instrument. Commanding Officers who fail to make the most of it to maximize mission accomplishment and Sailor development are cowards.

Captain John Mitchell
United States Navy

Oops, he did it again. Craig Easton has retired from Federal service

Thank you for your service, again.