Monday, February 17, 2014

The Naval Officer

As the Officer Fact Book, NAVPERS 15898, states, the naval officer is above all a leader--responsible for directing the human effort of an organization and for property and lives.  The naval officer is a planner, responsible for large scale mobilization and world-wide logistic programs and operations.  He is an administrator concerned with thousands of people, millions of dollars worth of material, and extensive facilities.  He is an industrialist, a comptroller, a diplomat; a good manager of men and equipment, an exemplary ambassador of democracy in all parts of the world.  He is always a student.  His opportunties for experience are varied, and for education they are limitless.  As he improves in his job, he improves the naval service and contributes to the welfare of the nation and the world.

Above all, the naval officer is a leader, in all the moral, psychological, and managerial meanings of the term.  His leadership is expressed by precept and example, by planning, and by action within the greatest Navy of all time -- a Navy that numbers its officers, enlisted personnel, and civilians in the hundreds of thousands, its operations in the complexities of tens of thousands of organizations and activities.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Anybody remember the days back around 2004 when C6F, CINCUSNAVEUR were heading towards union and the home page at the one had a little blurb crawler that said something like, in WWII the US naval staff in Europe consisted of under 100 men and stayed on top of more than 11,000 movements of ships and aircraft every day. In 1999, the staff had grown to 4700 people and they assiduously stayed on top of the movements of 11 ship and aircraft movements per day?

We maybe aren't doing so great at this leadership thing. We need to take a grater to it if not a hatchet.