Dan Shanower - 9-11-01 - Gone, Not Forgotten - 9-11-2025

President John F. Kennedy said we have a duty to remember.  Please keep the Shanower family in your thoughts and prayers.

CDR Dan F. Shanower was born on February 7, 1961 in Naperville, Illinois. He was a member of Naperville Central High School’s varsity soccer team and graduated in 1979. He attended Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin, graduating in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. While a student at Carroll, he participated in the Washington Semester at American University, interning in the office of Illinois Senator Charles Percy, then Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. 

CDR Shanower attended Aviation Officer School in Pensacola, Florida and received his commission as an Ensign, U.S. Navy in June 1985. After attending the Armed Forces Air Intelligence Training Course at Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado, he reported to VAQ-136 onboard U.S.S. Midway in March 1986 as Squadron Intelligence Officer. In September 1988, he was assigned as Officer-in-Charge of the Pacific Fleet Area Support Team Detachment, Subic Bay, Philippines. Following this tour, he transitioned to the Naval Reserve, serving from August 1990 to October 1994 as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. State Department in the Philippines. 

CDR Shanower was recalled to active duty in November 1994 and reported to the Navy & Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center as a student. He was assigned to the Joint Intelligence Center, Pacific Detachment Japan in December 1994 as Operations Support Department Head. He served aboard USS BLUE RIDGE (LCC-19) which was the Flagship for the Commander, SEVENTH Fleet. In May 1997, he received orders to the staff of the Commander, U.S. Third Fleet in San Diego, California aboard the USS CORONADO as the Assistant Intelligence Officer. 

In June 1999, CDR Shanower reported to the Office of Naval Intelligence in Washington, DC as Fleet Support Department Head. He began graduate work in the Naval War College. In August 2000, he was selected as the Officer-in-Charge of the Chief of Naval Operations Intelligence Plot. There he was responsible for the provision of current intelligence support to the Navy Secretariat, Chief of Naval Operations staff, and the Director of Naval Intelligence. In December 2000, he was promoted to his final rank of Commander. 

CDR Shanower’s personal and professional commendations include the Defense Meritorious Service Award, two Navy Commendation Medals, the Navy Achievement Medal, the Purple Heart, and numerous campaign and service awards. Carroll College awarded him its first Distinguished Alumni Award for Service to Country in February 2002. Naperville Central High School recognized his contributions to his country by presenting him an Outstanding Alumni Award in May 2002. 

Dan was known for his ready smile, terrific sense of humor, love of conversation, ability to tell a story, love of politics, and his intellectual and cultural curiosity about the world. He loved the sea, sailing, scuba diving, water skiing, and above all else, his family, friends and the Navy. He enjoyed writing both fiction and non-fiction, and many of his opinion essays and articles were published in the United States Naval Institute Proceedings, including the poignant May 1997 one entitled, “Freedom Isn’t Free.” His article reflected on the loss of his shipmates in 1987, and he wrote: 

“Those of us in the military are expected to make the ultimate sacrifice when called. The military loses scores of personnel each year. Each one risked and lost his or her life in something they believed in, leaving behind family and shipmates to bear the burden and celebrate their devotion to our country… They knew the risks they were taking and gave their lives for something bigger than themselves.” 

CDR Shanower’s survivors include his parents, Dr. Donald (now deceased), WWII veteran and college professor, and Patricia, retired public school teacher; brothers, Thomas and Jonathan; sisters, Victoria and Paula; and eight nephews and nieces. 

He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery on October 1, 2001.

The diversity we were looking for (circa 2009)

 

CNO’s Sailing Directions describe a vision of the contribution and characteristics of the Navy over the next 10-15 years. Today and in the next decade, ready Sailors and Civilians will remain the centerpiece of Navy’s warfighting capability. 

To maintain our warfighting edge, it is essential that our people be diverse in experience, background and ideas; personally and professionally ready; and proficient in the operation of their weapons and systems. 

Diversity is not founded on statistics, percentages, or quotas.  

Diversity is about achieving peak performance. 

Our force will draw upon the widest possible set of talents and backgrounds to maximize our warfighting capability, adapt to address new threats and challenges, and take advantage of new opportunities. 

The unique personal characteristics and skills of each Sailor and Civilian will continue to add value to our Navy.  Our efforts to attain and sustain a force of diverse talent and experience will be an intrinsic part of recruiting, developing, retaining and employing our people. We will continue to be united by our shared commitment to the Nation and each other as part of one Navy team. Every Sailor and Civilian will adhere to a professional culture of fairness and respect, and value the contributions each one makes to the Navy’s warfighting capability, forward operations and readiness

Accountability

 

"Men will not trust leaders who feel themselves beyond accountability for what they do."

Admiral Kinnaird R. McKee

Director, Navy Nuclear Propulsion (1982-1989)

National Handwriting Day

 

John Hancock's birthday is today.  In honor of that day, the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association (WIMA) sponsors National Handwriting Day.

Once thought to be a lost art, handwriting is one of the few ways we can uniquely express ourselves. There’s something poetic about grasping a writing instrument and feeling it hit the paper as your thoughts flow through your fingers and pour into words. So, the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association (WIMA) suggests you take advantage of National Handwriting Day on January 23 and use a pen or a pencil to rekindle that creative feeling through a handwritten note, poem, letter or journal entry.

Handwriting allows us to be artists and individuals during a time when we often use computers, faxes and e-mail to communicate. Fonts are the same no matter what computer you use or how you use it. Fonts lack a personal touch. Handwriting can add intimacy to a letter and reveal details about the writer’s personality. Throughout history, handwritten documents have sparked love affairs, started wars, established peace, freed slaves, created movements and declared independence.

"Though computers and e-mail play an important role in our lives, nothing will ever replace the sincerity and individualism expressed through the handwritten word." 

David H. Baker 

WIMA Executive Director.

From The Green Notebook

 

Joe Byerly

Many professionals do not want to write because they feel by doing so they are telling people how to think or that no one will even care what the author, regardless of rank, thinks about a subject. What I have learned over the years is that published ideas, both good and bad, serve as a fuel for workplace conversations. And these conversations, which are a form of professional development, can have positive second and third order effects that the author never intended. 

For example, an article about improving performance counseling could lead to leaders reassessing and eventually changing their counseling programs in a unit on the other side of the globe. The changes may not be exactly in line with the article, but it was the article that got that commander or first sergeant thinking and talking about counseling in the first place.

Much more is available HERE.

Handwritten letter

 

"A good handwritten letter is a creative act, and not just because it is a visual and tactile pleasure. It is a deliberate act of exposure, a form of vulnerability, because handwriting opens a window on the soul in a way that cyber communication can never do. You savor their arrival and later take care to place them in a box for safe keeping."

Catherine Field - The New York Times

Handwritten Letters

 

A couple of years ago I did a random survey of 100 people on my Socials about who the number 1 handwritten letter influencer in the United Kingdom was.

The results are not surprising to me.

Dinah Johnson, founder of The Handwritten Letter Appreciation Society in Swanage, Dorset, United Kingdom was easily #1.

You can find her here https://thehandwrittenletterappreciationsociety.org/

I was member #0005 and she now has over 1700 members.  I am not among that number.

Her manifesto is simple:

MANIFESTO:

• We believe that a handwritten letter is one of the loveliest, most personal things, anyone can receive.
• We feel people may be missing a handwritten letter or two in their lives.
• We pledge to keep handwritten letters alive by encouraging people to carry on writing them.
• We see a person’s handwriting as a thing of beauty.
• Along with handwriting we feel all stationery and the Postal Service are wondrous things and something to be used regularly.
• We want others to be the collectors of their loved-ones’, friends’, and sometimes (if they are lucky) famous people’s handwriting.
• We would say “Just go for it!” You don’t need to be Jane Austen or Thomas Hardy to write someone a letter.
• In a pledge to encourage intimacy through letter writing we would only urge caution regarding sharing whole letters on-line. Those with permission are a wonderful insight and inspiration but those without kind of puts a spanner in the works and defeats the object of writing personal letters.
• We would definitely love to see the places where people write letters, e.g., dining room table, study, library, on a bus, in the summerhouse/treehouse/shed, tearoom, train, up a mountain, on a boat, in a classroom, in fact, anywhere you like.  It doesn’t always have to be the same place – just send us a photo to inspire us. (See Gallery.)
• Finally, may your love of handwritten letters be forever ignited and rekindled.

My Heart is Heavy

 

Back in 1981, the Chief of Naval Personnel, Vice Admiral Lando W. Zech Jr. made a very wise detailing decision.  He sent CWO3 Wallace Louis Exum to teach celestial navigation at Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island.  I was one of hundreds of his students.  Both men influenced my Navy career greatly.  VADM Zech signed off on my first set of orders in June of 1982, sending me to Atsugi, Japan to fly with Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron ONE.  Thirty years later, both men are still in touch with me and we have developed into great friends.

Today in 2011, very sadly, Vice Admiral Zech passed away and is no longer with us.  I saw him the week before and he was in good spirits.  He was ill and weakened from his lengthy hospital stay - but his spirits were high.  He was very much an old school submariner and later a surface warfare officer.  My goodness, how he loved the Navy and his family.  After his retirement from the Navy, he was Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.  He left behind a wonderful widow - Jo, 5 beautiful daughters and many grand children.  He also left behind a very sad Shipmate who grieves deeply and keeps his memory alive in all ways that he can.  

 

Farewell Admiral Zech.  

 

Those who knew you - loved and respected you greatly.  

 

Those who didn't - missed out on a great experience.

Set a new course in 2025

 

As we sail toward the end of 2024, "adrift" is a word all too frequently associated with our great Navy. Several problems continue to erode confidence in our Navy's leadership and none is more insidious than the common perception that integrity can be hazardous to one's career -- especially if it means vocalizing issues that might embarrass the brass.

If allowed to continue unabated, this perception will breed yet "another" generation of cynical, risk-averse naval officers more concerned with getting promoted than with addressing and fixing problems.  Responsible criticism has long been considered an act of disloyalty. The Navy should reward integrity - above most other traits. We should consider changing the FITREP systems to include these simple questions: (1) Will this officer deliver the bad news, even when the boss doesn't want to hear it? (2) Will this officer risk his or her career for the men and women under him?

We should apply some positive steering now and get back on course. Otherwise, we may be heading into shoal waters.

20 years ago I was pulled into the Secretary of Defense's staff to become the Staff Director of the Detainee Task Force - my final assignment in a Navy career that spanned from July 1975 - June 2006.  In fact, today (14 May) is the 20th Anniversary of my first day in that office.  I was in the Secretary of Defense's office at 0530 a.m. to meet Donald Henry Rumsfeld with MGEN Mike Maples, Special Assistant Preston M. Geren and my (soon to be) assistant (a Presidential Management Fellow) Sarah Nagelmann.  For the next two years, we would make a trip through hell and back.  It was an unpleasant and painful journey for all of us - Secretary Rumsfeld endured the worst of it.  He was accountable for the sadistic behavior of soldiers he led six or seven levels down the chain of command.  Everything that happened in the Department of Defense (good or bad) was his responsibility.  The hell of the Abu Ghraib scandal was the worst possible thing to occur on "his watch" and he suffered immensely for policies he inherited from others.  Every bad policy in the military services during his tenure as Secretary of Defense was attributed to this singular human being.  He offered his resignation to the President twice during this period and the President did not accept it.  It was a privilege to be in the same room with this man.  In my 30 years of service in the United States Navy, this letter was the highest honor I received. 

 

I was a year and 4 months into command. when I received this letter from the Chief of Naval Operations. It came out of nowhere and gave me a motivational boost that carried me through 8 more years and two promotions.  Personal letters have meant 1000 times more than any medal in my career.  I proudly left assignments on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense's Staff at the Pentagon with NO awards.  How about you?  What has meant more to you?

Motivating the Crew - Flag Correspondence

 

This is a letter from former Commander, Naval Security Group Command - RDML (at the time) James S. McFarland while I was Officer in Charge of Naval Security Group Barbers Point, Hawaii. I received this note almost a year into my tour (to the day). He sent a note of thanks to all the places he visited and to many of the hot running young Sailors he met along the way.

RDML McFarland had just visited our small detachment on a worldwide tour that took him to over a dozen Naval Security Group sites in the Far East and through SouthWestAsia. His hand was blistered and calloused from all the hands he shook of the Sailors he met. When he visited my detachment, he already knew all my Sailors by name. I'm not sure if it was good staff work or simply a great memory.

He corresponded regularly with his Commanding Officers and Officers in Charge. He sent a quarterly letter to the entire Naval Security Group claimancy once a quarter to keep everyone on the same page.

On these trips he usually brought a couple of the reps from the CNSG HQ to listen to issues and provide 'on the spot' assistance where they could. On this trip, he brought a recent lateral transfer to the cryptologic community by the name of Andrew M. Singer. You could tell instantaneously that this guy had it all in one seabag. The NSG team had a great visit with my crew. The crew went on to win two Meritorious Unit Citations, one Navy Unit Citation, the National Security Agency's TOP TEN Signals Award and honorable mention for our Sailor retention program. Not to mention - the three RADM G. Patrick March Awards for language proficiency - all presented by RADM March himself.

RDML McFarland's letters served as great motivation for me and my crew. I had nominated one of my linguists (Tim Kalvoda) for a Flag Letter of Commendation for achieving the SILVER level in the Samuel F.B. Morse Award program. RDML McFarland had his awards secretary (Mary Jo Crisp) call me to say, "If you don't mind,RDML McFarland would like to upgrade his award to a Navy Achievement Medal." RDML McFarland was just that kind of man. All of our linguists were dual-qualified (and mostly self-taught) as Manual Morse operators and Tim Kalvoda had achieved a level of expertise that some Cryptologic Technician Collection (CTRs) were not even capable of reaching.

What a great crew ! What a great Admiral ! What a great man ! And, I heard that Andrew M. Singer guy turned out to be a pretty good cryptologist - even if he had been a SWO first.

What I told my CO. Ensigns don't try this at your command. My boss and I were the same paygrade.

This is a summary of my 360 degree feedback to a former commanding officer.

Skipper, there's no doubt you're going to be the leader of this community; these things may help you. You are a great speaker. Be careful not to lose the feeling behind the words. Words have meaning; actions have con­sequences.  Ensure your actions match your words.  Some Sailors actually listen to every word. They can sense any hint of insincerity.

• Your command philosophy should be written down and distributed widely in the command. This is a huge reason for the CNO's success in the Navy. We all know where he's going and we talk about it. The command wants to follow you. Tell us where you want to go. 
• Respect our time. Typically, ten or more people are always awaiting your late arrival at some function (staff meeting, wardroom meetings, dinners, graduations, etc). If people believe that you are willing to consistently waste their time, they will stop feeling guilty about wasting yours. 
• Be consistent with your administration of military justice. It's easy to punish junior members in the command for trivial violations. Applying the same standards across the board does not always work. In fact, the more senior the individual is, the more accountable they should be held for their action or inaction. Everyone is watching and judging. 
• When senior officers visit the command, maximize their exposure to the junior Sailors of the command. They will benefit the most. 
• Take your junior officers, Chiefs, and Sailors to lunch or simply go have lunch with them in their mess. Everyone will learn a lot, especially you. 
• Invite your key command leaders to your home for a social event so they can see how it's done. Juniors need to see how their seniors do this. It's part of the learning process. 
• Share information with your department heads. It is astounding how much information a commanding officer is exposed to and that is not shared with the department heads. Distributed information is enormously powerful. Your department heads can keep a secret if there is a requirement for secrecy. Trust them. 
• Don't play favorites with members of the wardroom. It hurts the wardroom and it hurts you. 
• Focus your calendar on the command 's mission. Ceremonial events and public relations are important, but your time should be spent on those areas the commanding officer can directly influence for the greatest benefit to the command's mission. 

From my January 2007 PROCEEDINGS magazine article "360-Degree Feedback: Can We Handle the Truth?"  You can subscribe to PROCEEDINGS (the professional journal of the U.S. Navy) HERE.

"Brilliant" on the basics? Some commands don't even have the light on.

If you were to assess your command in these six categories, how would you score? 

The foundation for success in any command can, in part, be attributed to these six areas that form the enduring foundation upon which a successful career can belaunched: 

 

1. Sponsorship/first 72 hours:

Proactive interaction by a sponsor and ombudsman can solve many issues before the Sailor and family arrives aboard. Paving the way for a smooth transition and making each Navy family feel like a genuine part of their new command can ensure a family commitment of support to enable success for all. 

 

2. Assign a Mentor:

Leader’s should be proactive in mentoring; give junior Sailors and peers the benefit of your experience. There are formal and informal means in which to execute an effective mentorship program. Each of us can attribute our own success to a great mentor. Ensure our Sailors understand the value of senior and peer mentorship. 

 

3. Indoctrination:

A great sponsorship program must be followed up by an effective indoctrination program. This will send a strong, positive signal that we value the talent and skills of the Sailor and we have a plan to integrate them into the team. Additionally it immediately sets the tone on what you expect of the Sailor and also what should be expected from you. Requirements and best practices can be found in OPNAVINST 1740.3C. 

 

4. Leadership: 

Career Development Boards (CDBs) - Leadership involvement, primarily by the CMC, the Chief’s mess and the Command Career Counselor, is critical to the success of every Sailor. CDBs are required within 30 days of a Sailor reporting aboard, and again at 6 and 12 months. (Many commands can't get EVALs/FITREPS done on time and you can imagine their success in accomplishing the CDB requirement).

 

5. Ombudsman program:

Ombudsman are trained to disseminate information from the chain of command to the families, including official command information, Quality Of Life opportunities, and community information. They can also provide referrals and are instrumental in resolving family issues before the issues require extensive command attention. EverySailor and Family member should know the Command Ombudsman. How do you advertise your Ombudsman? 

 

6. Recognition:

The end of tour should not be the only time a Sailor is recognized. Recognition can also include mid-tour awards, Flag Letters Of Commendation, letters of appreciation, and highlighting accomplishments in the POD and other public venues. Be creative, praise in public, and make your Sailors know they are appreciated. Something as simple as public recognition, a hand shake or a pat on the back often means more than an official award.

 

The power of letters. Our Navy's leadership's willingness to recognize our greatest generation's contribution to the good of our country. I asked Admiral Dave Gove to recognize my OCS instructor as "Honorary Navigator of the Navy". This act of generosity cost less than a dollar and paid off in years of good feelings and warmed an old Sailor's heart. CWO4 Exum was wounded at Iwo Jima at 18 years old while landing Marines aboard an LCS. He served from WWII, through the Korean War and Vietnam War, retiring in 1985. His only personal award for achievement was a Navy Achievement Medal in his last tour for saving a ship from sinking in San Francisco Bay (1985).