Guest Post by LCDR
Christopher Nelson, USN
Wow, just...wow. I
recently finished Robert Gates’s book, Duty:
Memoirs of a Secretary at War -- it’s a great book. I had, like many of
you, read some excerpts in the Wall
Street Journal, the review in the New
York Times, and heard the hoopla prior to it hitting the shelves. Some of the early reviews managed to pull the
same quotes from the book, giving us the impression -- wrongly as it turns out
-- that the former Secretary of Defense was slinging mud all over the
place. Not so. Not even close. Well, instead of writing a review of the
book, I want to highlight a few things in the book that are unfortunately
missing from other reviews. And that is
1) his management style, and 2) some tid-bits that deserve some reflection and
thought for anyone wearing a uniform in today’s military. I hope these scraps are enough to persuade
you to pick up a copy and add it to your personal library. Here we go:
“Symbolic gestures have
substantive and real benefits.” Secretary
Gates made an effort early in his tenure to meet senior military commanders --
Combatant Commanders, the Joint Chiefs -- on their turf (e.g., COCOM HQs, “The
Tank”) rather than summoning the Commanders to the Pentagon. He noticed that [his] “approach in dealing
with the military leadership had a far more positive impact than [he] had
expected.”
On PowerPoint. “...it
was the bane of my existence in Pentagon meetings; it was as no one could talk
without them.”
Write the note. Following Admiral “Fox” Fallon’s Esquire interview, and the subsequent
fallout, he sent Secretary Gates a “very gracious, handwritten letter of
apology...”
Go into a meeting with a
strategy and a desired outcome. “A
meeting in the Situation Room was never just another gathering...outcomes were
important, and I always had a strategy going in.”
On Influences. “Political scientists, historians, and
reporters are often completely unaware of events or experiences unseen by the
public eye that influence important decisions...an HBO movie, Taking Chance...had an important impact”
[on his decision to publicly honor fallen service men/women arriving at Dover,
AFB]. (Me: If you haven’t seen Taking Chance, you need to find a copy
and watch it.)
Not all leadership is equal...and
just because you are the “next in line” doesn’t mean you are the best qualified
for the job. “...[T]he qualities important for military leadership and
success in war are not the same as those required in peacetime. In war, boldness, adaptability, creativity,
sometimes ignoring the rules, risk taking, and ruthlessness are essential for
success. These are not characteristics
that will get you very far in peacetime...too many officers were assigned to
command positions because the stateside personnel system identified them as
“next in line” rather than because they were selected as best qualified for the
combat mission.”
Know your expertise; Know
your lane. “For some reason, more
and more senior officers seem compelled to seek a high public profile and to
speak out, often on politically sensitive issues or even on matters beyond
their responsibility (not to mention expertise).”
And I could go on. There
is a lot to absorb in 594 pages. Even
from the few quotes I included above there is plenty to chew on. It is one of the most honest and candid
political memoirs that I’ve read. Yes,
to some the word “honest” is an oxymoron when coupled with the words “political
memoir.” I get it. But my guidepost when reading this type of
work has always been this: is the writer
able to criticize and analyze themselves?
And can they highlight mistakes they made? Do they discuss how they would have done it
differently if given the chance? If they
can do these things, then in my opinion, I would consider it an excellent
candidate for an “honest and candid political memoir.” I believe Secretary
Gates has done all these things, and done them well. But hey, go pick up a copy for yourself and
make your own decision.
LCDR Christopher Nelson,
USN, is an intelligence officer currently attending US Naval War College and
the Maritime Advanced Warfighting School in Newport, RI. The views above are his and his alone, and do
not reflect those of the United States Navy or the Department of Defense.
