Chiefs Should Take Responsibility

“The Chief Petty Officer can, and should, take the responsibility of keeping every Sailor under his leadership informed. If one of his Sailors has a problem, he has a problem. There should be no excuses. There is a solution to every problem, and it should be pursued until his Sailor is satisfied that every means has been exhausted in the effort to find a solution. I feel very strongly that we need to improve our leadership abilities to keep pace with the high level of technical skill. The rapidity of advancement has caused a need for establishment of more leadership classes at the command level. My feelings are that we must have a chain of command from top to bottom, but even more important, we must have a channel of communication and understanding.”

Former Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, MCPON Del Black

A new comment on your post "Chiefs Should Take Responsibility":

Captain,
Maybe it would be appropriate to point out that MCPON Delbert Black was the first MCPON. He was stationed at Dam Neck, VA in 1967 when he was selected for that job, and I was stationed there as well at Guided Missile School.
Very Respectfully,
Navyman834 (MCPO Hughes, USN, retired)

SORRY THIS IS A REPEAT POST FROM EARLIER IN THE YEAR. I GUESS IT MUST HAVE BEEN WORTH REPEATING. I DID IT BY ACCIDENT.

First Printing Sold Out !!

If you haven't already purchased Admiral James Stavridis' book, DESTROYER CAPTAIN, you missed your opportunity to own a First Edition copy. Not to worry, they are already printing the second edition. This is a great book. Required reading for those with any interest at all in leadership, the Navy, destroyers, command at sea, Sailors, Chief Petty Officers or serving one's country. I am biased, but this is a great companion tome for Michael Abrashoff's IT'S YOUR SHIP. Two completely different approaches to telling the story about the considerable challenges and rewards of 'destroyer command'.

Chief Petty Officer Responsibility

“The chief petty officer can, and should, take the responsibility of keeping every Sailor under his leadership informed. If one of his Sailors has a problem, he has a problem. There should be no excuses. There is a solution to every problem, and it should be pursued until his Sailor is satisfied that every means has been exhausted in the effort to find a solution. I feel very strongly that we need to improve our leadership abilities to keep pace with the high level of technical skill. The rapidity of advancement has caused a need for establishment of more leadership classes at the command level. My feelings are that we must have a chain of command from top to bottom, but even more important, we must have a channel of communication and understanding.”

MCPON Del Black, United States Navy's 1st Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy