20 years ago I was pulled into the Secretary of Defense's staff to become the Staff Director of the Detainee Task Force - my final assignment in a Navy career that spanned from July 1975 - June 2006.  In fact, today (14 May) is the 20th Anniversary of my first day in that office.  I was in the Secretary of Defense's office at 0530 a.m. to meet Donald Henry Rumsfeld with MGEN Mike Maples, Special Assistant Preston M. Geren and my (soon to be) assistant (a Presidential Management Fellow) Sarah Nagelmann.  For the next two years, we would make a trip through hell and back.  It was an unpleasant and painful journey for all of us - Secretary Rumsfeld endured the worst of it.  He was accountable for the sadistic behavior of soldiers he led six or seven levels down the chain of command.  Everything that happened in the Department of Defense (good or bad) was his responsibility.  The hell of the Abu Ghraib scandal was the worst possible thing to occur on "his watch" and he suffered immensely for policies he inherited from others.  Every bad policy in the military services during his tenure as Secretary of Defense was attributed to this singular human being.  He offered his resignation to the President twice during this period and the President did not accept it.  It was a privilege to be in the same room with this man.  In my 30 years of service in the United States Navy, this letter was the highest honor I received. 

 

I was a year and 4 months into command. when I received this letter from the Chief of Naval Operations. It came out of nowhere and gave me a motivational boost that carried me through 8 more years and two promotions.  Personal letters have meant 1000 times more than any medal in my career.  I proudly left assignments on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense's Staff at the Pentagon with NO awards.  How about you?  What has meant more to you?

Motivating the Crew - Flag Correspondence

 

This is a letter from former Commander, Naval Security Group Command - RDML (at the time) James S. McFarland while I was Officer in Charge of Naval Security Group Barbers Point, Hawaii. I received this note almost a year into my tour (to the day). He sent a note of thanks to all the places he visited and to many of the hot running young Sailors he met along the way.

RDML McFarland had just visited our small detachment on a worldwide tour that took him to over a dozen Naval Security Group sites in the Far East and through SouthWestAsia. His hand was blistered and calloused from all the hands he shook of the Sailors he met. When he visited my detachment, he already knew all my Sailors by name. I'm not sure if it was good staff work or simply a great memory.

He corresponded regularly with his Commanding Officers and Officers in Charge. He sent a quarterly letter to the entire Naval Security Group claimancy once a quarter to keep everyone on the same page.

On these trips he usually brought a couple of the reps from the CNSG HQ to listen to issues and provide 'on the spot' assistance where they could. On this trip, he brought a recent lateral transfer to the cryptologic community by the name of Andrew M. Singer. You could tell instantaneously that this guy had it all in one seabag. The NSG team had a great visit with my crew. The crew went on to win two Meritorious Unit Citations, one Navy Unit Citation, the National Security Agency's TOP TEN Signals Award and honorable mention for our Sailor retention program. Not to mention - the three RADM G. Patrick March Awards for language proficiency - all presented by RADM March himself.

RDML McFarland's letters served as great motivation for me and my crew. I had nominated one of my linguists (Tim Kalvoda) for a Flag Letter of Commendation for achieving the SILVER level in the Samuel F.B. Morse Award program. RDML McFarland had his awards secretary (Mary Jo Crisp) call me to say, "If you don't mind,RDML McFarland would like to upgrade his award to a Navy Achievement Medal." RDML McFarland was just that kind of man. All of our linguists were dual-qualified (and mostly self-taught) as Manual Morse operators and Tim Kalvoda had achieved a level of expertise that some Cryptologic Technician Collection (CTRs) were not even capable of reaching.

What a great crew ! What a great Admiral ! What a great man ! And, I heard that Andrew M. Singer guy turned out to be a pretty good cryptologist - even if he had been a SWO first.

What I told my CO. Ensigns don't try this at your command. My boss and I were the same paygrade.

This is a summary of my 360 degree feedback to a former commanding officer.

Skipper, there's no doubt you're going to be the leader of this 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.

"Brilliant" on the basics? Some commands don't even have the light on.

If you were to assess your command in these six categories, how would you score? 

The foundation for success in any command can, in part, be attributed to these six areas that form the enduring foundation upon which a successful career can belaunched: 

 

1. Sponsorship/first 72 hours:

Proactive interaction by a sponsor and ombudsman can solve many issues before the Sailor and family arrives aboard. Paving the way for a smooth transition and making each Navy family feel like a genuine part of their new command can ensure a family commitment of support to enable success for all. 

 

2. Assign a Mentor:

Leader’s should be proactive in mentoring; give junior Sailors and peers the benefit of your experience. There are formal and informal means in which to execute an effective mentorship program. Each of us can attribute our own success to a great mentor. Ensure our Sailors understand the value of senior and peer mentorship. 

 

3. Indoctrination:

A great sponsorship program must be followed up by an effective indoctrination program. This will send a strong, positive signal that we value the talent and skills of the Sailor and we have a plan to integrate them into the team. Additionally it immediately sets the tone on what you expect of the Sailor and also what should be expected from you. Requirements and best practices can be found in OPNAVINST 1740.3C. 

 

4. Leadership: 

Career Development Boards (CDBs) - Leadership involvement, primarily by the CMC, the Chief’s mess and the Command Career Counselor, is critical to the success of every Sailor. CDBs are required within 30 days of a Sailor reporting aboard, and again at 6 and 12 months. (Many commands can't get EVALs/FITREPS done on time and you can imagine their success in accomplishing the CDB requirement).

 

5. Ombudsman program:

Ombudsman are trained to disseminate information from the chain of command to the families, including official command information, Quality Of Life opportunities, and community information. They can also provide referrals and are instrumental in resolving family issues before the issues require extensive command attention. EverySailor and Family member should know the Command Ombudsman. How do you advertise your Ombudsman? 

 

6. Recognition:

The end of tour should not be the only time a Sailor is recognized. Recognition can also include mid-tour awards, Flag Letters Of Commendation, letters of appreciation, and highlighting accomplishments in the POD and other public venues. Be creative, praise in public, and make your Sailors know they are appreciated. Something as simple as public recognition, a hand shake or a pat on the back often means more than an official award.

 

The power of letters. Our Navy's leadership's willingness to recognize our greatest generation's contribution to the good of our country. I asked Admiral Dave Gove to recognize my OCS instructor as "Honorary Navigator of the Navy". This act of generosity cost less than a dollar and paid off in years of good feelings and warmed an old Sailor's heart. CWO4 Exum was wounded at Iwo Jima at 18 years old while landing Marines aboard an LCS. He served from WWII, through the Korean War and Vietnam War, retiring in 1985. His only personal award for achievement was a Navy Achievement Medal in his last tour for saving a ship from sinking in San Francisco Bay (1985).

The number 1 handwritten letter influencer in the United Kingdom

 I did a random survey of 100 people on my Socials about who the number 1 handwritten letter influencer in the United Kingdom was.

The results are not surprising to me.

Dinah Johnson, founder of The Handwritten Letter Appreciation Society in Swanage, Dorset, United Kingdom was easily #1.

You can find her here https://thehandwrittenletterappreciationsociety.org/

I was member #0005 and she now has over 1100 members.

Her manifesto is simple:

MANIFESTO:

• We believe that a handwritten letter is one of the loveliest, most personal things, anyone can receive.
• We feel people may be missing a handwritten letter or two in their lives.
• We pledge to keep handwritten letters alive by encouraging people to carry on writing them.
• We see a person’s handwriting as a thing of beauty.
• Along with handwriting we feel all stationery and the Postal Service are wondrous things and something to be used regularly.
• We want others to be the collectors of their loved-ones’, friends’, and sometimes (if they are lucky) famous people’s handwriting.
• We would say “Just go for it!” You don’t need to be Jane Austen or Thomas Hardy to write someone a letter.
• In a pledge to encourage intimacy through letter writing we would only urge caution regarding sharing whole letters on-line. Those with permission are a wonderful insight and inspiration but those without kind of puts a spanner in the works and defeats the object of writing personal letters.
• We would definitely love to see the places where people write letters, e.g. dining room table, study, library, on a bus, in the summerhouse/treehouse/shed, tearoom, train, up a mountain, on a boat, in a classroom, in fact, anywhere you like.  It doesn’t always have to be the same place – just send us a photo to inspire us . (See Gallery.)
• Finally, may your love of handwritten letters be forever ignited and rekindled.

Inordinately Fortunate

 

I was inordinately fortunate during my early professional career.  I worked for some truly awful leaders.

Thus, during the subsequent free time that life sometimes provides, I always had a full wagonload of professional grist waiting to grind.  The important questions were always the same.  Why had my bosses acted without apparent thought?  Why didn't my supervisors understand the effects their actions had on people?

Why had our team always done everything the hard way?

I had spent hours on these questions.

For the answers to these and other penetrating leadership questions, read Rear Admiral Dave Oliver, Jr.'s book, LEAD ON! A Practical Approach to Leadership  

You can get a preview HERE.

My signed copy is available for loan.  Shoot me an e-mail.

Writing is writing

 

Planning to write is not writing.  Outlining a book is not writing.  Researching is not writing.  Talking to people about what you are doing, none of that is writing.  Writing is writing.

E. L. Doctorow


Today, I received letters from two NIOC COs, a NIOC XO, a NIOD OIC, a retired Navy Captain colleague, my sister, a priest and a NWC graduate attending the Warfighting school.  As you can imagine, it was a very good day for me. These men and my sister understand what it means to write.  

As per H.L. Mencken's example, I will send out my responses by day's end.  I will be writing.

"Write on, write on, write on."  Matthew McConaughey (Uvalde native)

10 Reasons I've Enjoyed Posting To This Blog Over The Years

In no particular order.

1.  It allowed me to engage with a wonderful author and to write the Chapter 1 opening vignette for a Wall Street Journal/Amazon best-selling business book.  Dr. Stephen Covey and Bono 'open' for me.

2.  It gave me the opportunity to help a Pulitzer prize winning author with research for his story on The SeaWitch in TIME magazine.

3.  It has allowed me to remain connected to the Navy's cryptologic community, which I love.

4.  It earned me an invite to speak at a Women In Defense forum and to contribute ideas to numerous professional publications.

5.  It has allowed others to freely express their frustrations on a variety of topics important to them. 

6.  It allowed me to expand the network of Sailors of all paygrades that I mentor and with whom I share lessons learned.

7.  It allowed me to collaborate with the former CNO on avenues to gain recognition of the Navy as a TOP 50 Employer in the United States.

8.  It allowed me to keep alive the memory of some stellar Sailors.

9.  It has allowed me to write everyday, which I love.

10.  It has connected me to some great Navy veterans and many others who proudly serve today.

Seth Godin's NEVERs - My ALWAYS

 Seth Godin - Delivering on never

I will never miss a deadline
I will never leave a typo
I will never fail to warn you about a possible pitfall
I will never charge you more than the competition
I will never violate a confidence
I will never let you down
I will never be late for a meeting
There are lots of sorts of never you can deliver to a customer. You can't deliver all of them, of course. Picking your never and sticking with it is a fabulous way to position yourself.

Mike Lambert - Delivering on always

I will always answer the mail.

I will always give my best advice.

I will always deliver on a promise.

I will always give you a second chance.

I will always have your back.  (You know who you are).

I will always remember every Sailor.

I will always try to make it better.

I will always have something to add to this list.

What's your always?

For Memorial Day - Two notable Marines: Top Rogers and PVT Roznowski - generations apart (This was written in 2002)

First, let me tell you that it is a true honor and privilege to be a part of this ceremony today.  I love the United States Marine Corps.  I love the Marines.  In fact, I am a proud member of the Marine Corps family.  For you to fully understand how I feel about TOP ROGERS, I have to tell you about another Marine.  50 years ago this month, my wife's Uncle Richard Roznowski shipped out from San Diego to Korea.  He was a private fresh from Recruit Training at Parris Island in South Carolina.  He was trained as a machine gunner.  In high school, he was a boxer and football player at St. Joseph's Catholic school in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  50 years ago during the Korean War, I think that it was every Catholic mother's secret wish that one of her sons would become a priest to ensure his ascent into heaven.  I'll tell you that at that time in our country’s history it was every father's wish that his son would become a Marine and raise some hell.  And that was no secret.

Richard spent less than one month in Korea.  In September of 1951, a Navy Chaplain and a Marine Corps Reserve Officer visited 1304 Guns Road in Bellevue, Wisconsin and delivered an American flag, a prayer book for Catholic servicemen, 3 medals including this Purple Heart and a letter from his Commanding Officer.  Richard was dead.  I cannot recount the grief of his mother Elouise, his father Bernard or his brother Jerry.  But, I don't doubt that Richard fulfilled both his parents' wishes - He certainly made it into heaven and he even raised some hell.

So, I ask each of you today to consider that words have meaning and actions have consequences.  Why do I tell you this?  Because you need to know that I am going to use some words to describe Top Rogers that have lost their meaning through overuse in our every day language.

I met Top Rogers nearly 10 years ago and I've followed his career with keen interest ever since.  He is the finest Marine I have ever been associated with in my 26 years of Naval service.  I have not said before this of any other Marine.  I will never say it again.  I do not mean to even remotely suggest to you that Top Rogers is a politically correct Marine.  He is not, was not, and never will be.  He speaks his mind freely to all who will listen, kind of like our Master Chief John Vincent. So, don't ask him what he thinks unless you really want to know.  Because, he will tell you.  And you, in all probability, will not like it.  

He will tell you that his Marine Corps is not the place for social experiments.  You don't need to talk to Top about equal opportunity because he doesn't believe in hyphenated Marines.  There are no Black Marines, White Marines, Hispanic Marines, Asian Marines or even Catholic or Jewish Marines.  These men and women are United States Marines, straight up, tried and true.  They truly are THE FEW - THE PROUD.  They are his Marines and this has been his Marine Corps - America's most valued institution -- fundamentally unchanged in over 225 years.  I don' think we would want it any other way.  I don't think America could afford to have it any other way.

2 years ago, Marine Corps Commandant General Jones was satisfied that the Marine Corps was on the right track when he assumed command.  His first order to the Marines was "continue to march."  

Top Rogers, as you conclude your career I say, "continue to march."  

And I hope you make it into heaven because God knows you have raised enough hell.

Better than a medal

 I served on the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) staff as the Branch Chief for Information Assurance (J6K) and on the Secretary of Defense's staff as Staff Director for the Detainee Task Force from 2003 to 2006.  I am fairly certain I am the least decorated O6 during that time but I am proud to have this letter instead.

.

Is 10,000 hours enough?

 

 

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.

Becoming a leader requires "deliberate practice." 

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.

The Mustang

 

The Mustang, aka Methuselah

Task & Purpose

The Mustang has more Good Cookies (Good Conduct Medals) than a box of Chips Ahoy, and he’s an officer. He has campaign medals that no one even recognizes. Where the hell is Kosovo, or for that matter “Southwest Asia,” anyway?

The junior enlisted troops love the Mustang. They think it’s cool as hell that someone went from enlisted to officer. The senior enlisted troops are not nearly as enamored, because the Mustang doesn’t fall for their bullshit. “It doesn’t take all day to do that, gunny. If you need time off, how about you just freakin’ say it?”

The Mustang is not, objectively speaking, that much older than his contemporaries. But whatever happened during those seven or eight extra years of enlisted service, it sure looks like it got to him. As they say, “It’s not the years, it’s the mileage.” Apparently the Mustang hasn’t just been around the block, he’s been around the planet. Twice.

Stolen from: https://taskandpurpose.com/humor/6-types-majors-meet-military/