Our Sailors - true 44 years ago, true today

The rugged seagoing man is still of great importance in the Navy, and the need for officers and enlisted men armed with sophisticated knowledge is growing every day. Inevitably, as both ships and society change, our enlisted men are also changing. Always dependable, always competent, the new enlisted man retains these fine characteristics of his predecessors but, in addition, brings to the Navy an increasing amount of expertise and knowledge.

He is, inevitably, more demanding of his leadership, and never has the challenge to our officers been so great in this area as today. The educational difference between officer and petty officer may be much smaller than it once was, and as a result, both parties to the relationship must bring to bear great understanding and dedicated performance. High moral character, mental alertness, tolerance, and a broad understanding of our nation's position and problems are increasingly characteristic of our enlisted personnel. Working with these young Americans in a leadership position represents an extraordinary challenge in itself.

Rear Admiral James Calvert
The Naval Profession - 1965

Train and Educate

The Navy’s Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education Strategic Vision states the following:

“Professional education is key to the development of competencies, professional knowledge and critical thinking skills…Education is a strategic investment in the future of our Navy.”

I couldn’t agree more. The increasingly dynamic and complex nature of the evolving security environment demands that we take bold steps to develop the talented, innovative, and highly educated Naval Intelligence force our nation requires. Therefore my #1 priority is to Recruit, Train, and Educate a highly professional and diversified workforce. That is not just a bullet on a slide but a personal goal I am deeply committed to. Commensurate with its importance, I am dedicating significant personnel and financial resources to make it a reality for Naval Intelligence. We will invest in the education of our workforce and our Nation will reap the return on that investment many times over.

VADM Jack Dorsett in his 25 October 2008 DNI Update Memo on Education

Intelligence—The Profession of Specialists

"If Naval Intelligence is to realize its vision of achieving information dominance over potential adversaries and create decision superiority for our commanders, our operational forces and our allied partners, we must fundamentally alter course with regard to how we look at ourselves. We must be highly skilled and possess extensive experiences in the profession of intelligence. We must invest in educating our people to a dramatically higher level than we ever have in our history. I commit to you my energies and leadership, but I will need your help and your innovative thinking as we implement new methods for training and educating our professionals. This is our highest priority. Standby your stations, we’re about to crank it up to flank speed."

Vice Admiral Jack Dorsett, Director of Naval Intelligence