A Sailor needs to be "about something"

A Sailor needs to be “about something” at his or her core and feel deeply why some things are worthwhile and others are worth everything. Whether a Sailor resolves this well or poorly, rightly or wrongly, the effort is crucial to being fully human.

It is especially important in the case of Sailors as well as others for whom honor is quintessential. Conscience, duty, orders, leadership, professionalism, loyalty, courage, and judgment—and their evil opposite qualities—all derive from the inner development of a person.

This progress may be advanced in silence and solitude, through reflection, or amidst a profusion of difficult, even stressful activities. But, it must be advanced; there must be progress. There must be growth.

From writings on the foundation of moral obligation
- William G. O'Neill

Sailor - Shipmate - Priest, Rest Your Oars

James S. Zmyslo
with a smile to soften the hardest of hearts

Friend, Shipmate, Sailor, Priest, cryptologist

April 21, 1952 - March 25, 2009

Our Shipmate and fellow cryptologist, The Reverend James S. Zmyslo, of State College, Pennsylvania entered into eternal rest on Wednesday, March 25, 2009. Born in South Bend, Indiana, Father Zmyslo entered the United States Navy after graduating from college. During his distinguished 20-year Naval career from which he retired as a Lieutenant Commander in 1996, Father Zmyslo attended the Naval Postgraduate School, in Monterey, California where he received a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering.

Father Zmyslo moved to State College to work at the Penn State University Applied Research Laboratory (Promoted to Associate Research Engineer in July 2000) and later opened a State College office for Klein and Stump (now Centurum, Inc.), a defense contract company from Virginia. In 2004, Father Zmyslo entered The General Theological Seminary in New York City. Upon graduation, he was ordained to the ministry of The Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania on June 2007. Father Zmyslo accepted the chaplaincy at Penn State University. He had also served at Saint Andrew's (State College) and Saint John's (Bellefonte) Episcopal Churches.

Father Zmyslo is survived by his loving wife, Charlotte; stepson, Jeffrey Bishop; one sister, Paulette Calkins (Patrick); two brothers, Ron (Sharon), and Alan (Lynn) Zmyslo; as well as nieces and nephews.

Internment of his ashes will take place at Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday, June 10, 2009, at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in honor of Father Zmyslo may be made to The Episcopal Campus Ministry, c/o Jean Beierlein, 484 Orlando Avenue, State College, PA 16801.

Note of remembrance from Captain Tom Botulinski: Jim was a retired Cryppie who worked for us when we were KSI; a fine Naval officer and a brilliant engineer. He ran our Penn State office doing work for NIWA. Many of you will remember him; he sometimes visited us at the old Arlington office. A super guy...one of the kindest and nicest men you will ever meet. Jim heard the call to the ministry a few years ago and left KSI to become a Priest. I recall that he did his summer internships in several hospitals in Pennsylvania, caring for grieving family and friends in the emergency rooms. Father "Z" is going to be missed by many. R/ Tom

Sailors Are Our Most Important Asset . . .

"I don't think the 'leadership' (Blogger's note: 'leadership', as yet unidentified - the head guy in the Navy maybe - who is in charge of EVERYTHING) who made this decision took into account just how important ball caps have become to Sailors," said Command Master Chief (SW) Tom Meglin, the top enlisted Sailor onboard the transport dock ship USS San Antonio. "There's a lot of bad feelings among Sailors about this issue. Sure, it's only a hat, but to these men and women it means something, it means a lot for sure."

For some, it's even worse that the well-liked hat is being replaced by something they don't like.

FROM NAVY TIMES

Living in blissful ignorance

"Most of us, most of the time, live in blissful ignorance of what a small, elite, heroic group of Americans are doing for us night and day. As we speak, all over the globe, American Sailors, submariners and aviators are doing something very dangerous. 'People say, Well, it can't be too dangerous because there are no wrecks.'

But the reason we don't have more accidents is that these are superb professionals; the fact that they master the dangers does not mean that the dangers aren't real. Right now, somewhere around the world, young men (and women) are landing … aircraft on … pitching decks … at night! You can't pay people to do that: they do it out of love of country, of adventure, of the challenge. We all benefit from it, and the very fact that we don't have to think about it tells you how superbly they're doing their job -- living on the edge of dangers so the rest of us need not think about, let alone experience, danger."

~ George Will, ABC News Commentator

My kind of guy - General Mattis - USMC

"My intent is that every individual at this command has a bias for action. Consciously examine your words and actions to prevent a 'not my job' or 'business as usual' attitude. Our success will require innovative thinking, a spirit of cooperation, dedication, hard work and sacrifice. Our nation and its men and women deployed in harm's way deserve no less."

The quote is from his guidance on Irregular Warfare.

The letter above is to his men in IRAQ. He has a reputation for straight talk.

Leader Development

Self-development is the third domain of leader development and an essential component of lifelong learning (first introduced to Navy training by Admiral Vern Clark). Self development is a goals-based, feedback driven program of activities and learning that contributes to professional competence, organizational effectiveness, and professional development. Individual and organizational assessment and feedback programs in the operational and institutional domains, linked to developmental actions, grow competent and confident leaders, and result in trained and ready organizations and units. Developing leaders to meet the needs of the service and the nation requires agile and innovative leader development and education systems.

“Cyber Transformation”

REAR ADMIRAL BILL LEIGHER, Director, Information Operations (OPNAV N3IO/N39), U.S. Navy will be on a distinguished panel at THE 2009 EASTERN CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION OPERATIONS in WASHINGTON, D.C. • APRIL 30TH– MAY 1ST, 2009.

The focus is of his segment is THE SERVICES’ EVOLVING VISIONS, STRATEGIES, AND PLANS FOR INFORMATION OPERATIONS.

RDML Leigher's presentation will include a discussion of:

• Intersection of Cyberspace and the Maritime Domain
• Critical Processes and Interdependencies
• Proven Cyber Warfare Operations

For more information and the brochure, click HERE. DON'T MISS IT !!

Information Operations Functional Area

Unique purpose of Information Operations Functional Area.

Information operations (IO) are the integrated employment of the core capabilities of electronic warfare (EW), computer network operations (CNO), Psychological Operation (PSYOPS), military deception (MILDEC), and operations security (OPSEC), in concert with specified supporting and related capabilities, to influence, disrupt, corrupt, or usurp adversarial human and automated decisionmaking while protecting our own. IO engage enemy, adversary, neutrals, and others in the information environment to influence perceptions, affect actions, and generate a range of effects in the information environment. IO includes the use of capabilities to influence perceptions of foreign and friendly audiences.

Information Operations Officers are warfighters, personally and professionally prepared to deploy worldwide at all times.

Sailor Development

If you are in a leadership position, when was the last time you sat down with your Sailors in a structured, formal manner to help them plan their lives and careers? Do your people see an EVAL or FITREP form only twice a year at midterm counseling and report time, or is there ongoing, steady feedback going on? Every month, can you honestly say that you've helped Sailors along in their career journey?

From CAPT G. Mark Hardy III, USNR, National VP for Professional Development

Jim Stavridis - A Leader for the Ages

And, A Leader in Our Time

"Certainly the majority of what I learned was about myself — especially my own failures, challenges, and responses. I found the limits of my ability, but in doing so liberated myself from fear of failure. I also learned a great deal about what it takes to lead a ship successfully, which includes above all the ability to encourage and trust your crew. People, in my experience, will almost always become what you convince them they are — so if you are encouraging and positive in your approach, they tend to respond in overwhelmingly positive ways. I also found a great deal of value in spending time walking the ship and engaging in dozens of small but important conversations each day with as many crew members as possible. Finally, I found a real enjoyment in trying to teach the younger officers in the wardroom what I had learned along the way about shiphanding, tactics, and leadership. Fundamentally, a Captain is a servant and a teacher to the crew; what I learned was how to balance those two things."

Admiral James Stavridis in an interview with Jim Dolbow on USNI Blog about his book DESTROYER CAPTAIN

NOTE: I am pleased to say that I served with him when he was the Senior Military Assistant to the Hon. Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense and that he considers me a friend.

No Longer Indespensible

“A man doesn’t begin to attain wisdom until he recognizes that he is no longer indispensable.”

Rear Admiral Richard E.Byrd,
USNA Class of 1912, Alone (1938)

The United States Navy

“There is no black Navy, no white Navy—just one Navy—the United States Navy.”

Admiral Elmo R.Zumwalt Jr. USNA ’43,
“Equal Opportunity in the Navy”(1970)

New ideas are not to be feared

“I was always being asked by the Navy brass what a destroyer skipper needs to know about Immanuel Kant; a liberally educated person meets new ideas with curiosity and fascination. An illiberally educated person meets new ideas with fear.”

Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale ’47,
quoted in Newsweek,1 September 1980

Communication is the key

One of the keys (to success) is to be communicating with each other so everybody knows where they are - constantly, even as things change. And a lack of communication in that regard, from a leadership perspective, is going to let an organization drift.

Admiral Mullen

Navy Performance Excellence

"In sum, the empirical results from the analyses support the notion that leadership plays a central role in influencing organizational operations and systems. In turn, while managing and developing human resources directly impacts the performance results outcome and implementing strategic quality plans directly impacts the customer focus outcome, managing quality processes is the one dimension that has a significant and meaningful relationship with both the leadership dimension (the driver) and both desired outcomes. The basic management tasks of leaders - gathering and utilizing information, planning strategically, effectively managing and developing organizational employees, and designing a well-oiled process for producing outcomes - create the critical outcomes related to the organization. The direct personal impact of the leader on key organizational outcomes - namely performance results and customer focus - is, by and large, FICTION. Unless leaders can influence the organization through its systems, they have little hope of affecting bottom-line results. Management in the trenches, it seems, more than management from the mountaintop is the key to quality outcomes."

"The Navy Performance Excellence Guidebook is designed to help foster this change. It provides leaders a management framework to guide their commands through a perpetual cycle of improvement, including a five-step strategic planning process with an easy-to-use performance excellence self-assessment. Though crafted “in house” by Navy experts, the Guidebook draws extensively from collaboration with outside agencies and organizations from whose own transformation initiatives we can learn."

Admiral Michael Mullen