Caring about your Sailors

Admiral Nelson also deeply cared about his men, paying particular attention to their health. The admiral understood the two time tested principles of leadership: accomplish the mission and take care of your people. A leader can not be successful in the long run without following both of these mutually supportive tenets. Nelson’s men were aware of his devotion to them. His personal interest in every aspect of their training ensured that their actions in battle ultimately did not require his physical presence or direction when the battle was joined.

From Former SECNAV John Dalton's Trafalgar Night Speech 15 October 1988

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

The kind of officers we are looking for

Selfless leaders who value diversity and create an ethical command climate through their example of personal integrity and moral courage.

Mentally resilient and physically fit officers, who inspire their team to accomplish the most challenging missions, including leading in combat.

Technically and academically proficient professionals with a commitment to continual learning.

Critical thinkers and creative decision makers with a bias for action.

Effective communicators.

Adaptable individuals who understand and appreciate global and cross-cultural dynamics.

Role models dedicated to the profession of arms, the traditions and values of the Naval Service and the constitutional foundation of the United States.

VADM Jeff Fowler
USNA 78, Superintendent U.S. Naval Academy

Power of Alignment

Admiral Vern Clark, the chief of naval operations (CNO) for the U.S. Navy, said, "Better alignment enhances mission accomplishment and reduces costs through organizational and process efficiencies. ... When an organization is aligned, everyone from junior to senior shares an understanding of the goals and purposes of that organization, allowing them to contribute to their fullest. ... Aligning our organization is an ongoing effort that involves continual assessment of processes and systems."

A focus on alignment, however, doesn't denigrate actions related to strategy, Fleet and National customers, our Sailors, and processes. Just the opposite: A focus on alignment enables organizations to more fully capitalize on strategy. What must also be kept in mind is that alignment, like any kind of health, isn't a state of static perfection -- it's a constantly changing condition. What is perfect alignment in one warfare area/officer community may be a misalignment in another. Since the environment can change frequently and sometimes unpredictably, maintaining alignment is a constant process. Attaining alignment ... is a never-ending process of identifying and doggedly correcting misalignments that push the Navy (NETWARCOM) away from its core ideology or impede progress.

Suspects in Terrorist Attack on CTM3 Matt O'Bryant Arrested

From NAVY TIMES

The Associated PressPosted : Friday Oct 24, 2008 12:33:01 EDT

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Police arrested four men in connection with last month’s suicide attack on a hotel that killed 54 people, including a sailor and an airman, authorities said Friday.

The four are suspected of “indirect involvement” in the blast at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, police chief Ahmad Latif said. They are the first known arrests in the Sept. 20 attack that ended the lives of Navy Cryptologic Technician 3rd Class (Maintenance) Matthew J. O'Bryant, 22, of Duluth, Ga., and Air Force Maj. Rodolfo I. Rodriguez, 34, of El Paso, Texas.

The attack was a reminder of the gathering threat posed by Islamist militants in nuclear-armed Pakistan. Latif said the men were arrested in different parts of Punjab province but gave no more details. They were brought before an anti-terrorism court where a judge gave police permission to hold them for questioning for one week.

Militants in Pakistan have launched more than 90 suicide attacks on civilian, military and western targets since July 2007, killing nearly 1,200 people, according to military statistics. Authorities have said they suspect the Marriott blast was carried out by terrorists based in the tribal regions near the border with Afghanistan.

REJECTED !!

17 October 2008

Dear Captain Lambert,

Your submission, "Excellence in Global Maritime Knowledge Must be Unconstrained by Any Particular Organizational Construct," has been evaluated for publication in the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, but I regret to inform you that it did not survive the competition for the limited space in our pages.

Many thanks for keeping us in mind.

Sincerely,

Paul M. Merzlak

Managing Editor

Proceedings

Effective communication

Effective communication is the result of a deliberate strategy, and training and education in the profession is a key to achieving success to its fullest extent. The risks can be high, but the rewards are also high. There is no satisfaction quite like that of seeing the positive results of your efforts in print or on the air, or watching your Sailors act on new Navy policy because they understand it.

But communication success is certainly not easy, and cannot be expected with one attempt.

Some communications researchers claim that it takes "seven touches" for a concept to be successfully communicated. People must hear it, see it, feel it, pick it up, turn it upside down, shake it and hear it again before they’ll remember anything substantial about it. We need more than a deliberate strategy; we need persistent presence on the communication front.

Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations in the 2008 Navy Playbook

No Arts of Compromise

THE Old Navy had terms for such a man as he -- sun-downer, hard case, shell back. For him there were no arts of compromise; he knew nothing of the subtleties of flattery. He was, in his own words, strict but fair. He believed in keeping men and ships up to the mark: he preferred a taut ship to a happy one.

Admiral Ernest J. King

From TIME MAGAZINE

Senior Naval Officers Refuse Awards

Washington D.C. 26 December 1919 - Secretary Josephus Daniels has reconvened the Naval Board to reconsider naval awards as the result of the refusal of Admiral Sims to accept a medal and the general criticism which has arisen over the awards and honors approved by the Secretary.

Following the recent refusal of Admiral Sims to accept the Distinguished Service Medal, it was learned that honors awarded them had also been refused by Vice Admiral Hilary P. Jones and Captain Raymond Hasbrouck.

The correspondent adds that further rejection of awards are expected and that Rear Admiral Henry T. Mayo, who was allotted the Distinguished Service Medal, will officially decline the honor.

Reports here tonight are that half a dozen others, singled out for honors, intended to refuse them.


Special to The New York Times.

Courage of his convictions - the Aid for Operations resigns his post

Admiral Fiske has the courage of his convictions and they are founded on knowledge and experience. He believes that what he said about the bad condition of our Navy before the House Committee on Naval Affairs last December was strictly true; that it is unprepared for emergency and has lacked facilities for training its men for war work. Granted that the Admiral may be a trifle pessimistic and inclined to look to the dark side, no testimony whatever in contradiction to his statements has been forthcoming.

The country has abundant faith in its Naval officers, while it has no reason to be confident of the good judgment of the civil head of the Navy. Perhaps Secretary Daniels is as well fitted to his exhalted position as many of his predecessors, but these are perilous times and there is a widespread desire to have our defenses put in good order. It seems that the statements of an officer of the large experience of Admiral Fiske should be heeded. It is not to be doubted that he has the good of the Navy and of the country at heart.

The withdrawal of Admiral Fiske from his post as Aid for Operations in the Navy Department is not a matter of trifling importance. As the foremost among the advisers of the Secretary, his appointment to the new post of Chief of Naval Operations seemed logical. The report is that the Admiral has requested to be transferred because he is not in accord with the policy that prevails at the department. What is that policy? The people would like to know. Is it chiefly concerned with the prevention of the use of alcoholic liquor and the appointment of new chaplains? Does it depend altogether on the Secretary's conception of himself as a headmaster in a school? If so, it is perhaps an amiable and well-meant policy, but it does not meet present requirements.

The inference that an experienced officer like Admiral Fiske would prefer not to take up the responsibilities of Chief of Naval Operations under the present conditions, is somewhat disturbing.

The New York Times, April 4, 1915

American Military Officers Are Different

American military officers are different. We train you to be able to make hard decisions – that is your job. As an American, you have been imbued with basic beliefs, about human decency, freedom of speech and worship, and equality. When your conscience tells you that these moral tenets are being violated, it is time to take a moral stand – this is expected of you.

Former Secretary of the Navy, John Dalton

Information Warfare Officer Leadership Changes

Rear Admiral Edward H. Deets III, Vice Commander, Naval Networks Warfare Command, presided over a Change of Command and retirement ceremony on Friday, 17 October 2008 at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland for Captain Robert A. Zellmann. Captain Zellmann concluded 28 years of Naval service as a key leader in the cryptologic and information warfare community. He is a 1980 graduate of The Citadel with a B.S. in Physics. In 1994, he led the Naval Security Group Command's (CNSG) "Information Warfare Tiger Team" that developed the initial Chief of Naval Operations' policy which designated NSG as the Navy's executive agent for information warfare. For the 14 succeeding years, he has been a key leader in formulating and executing information warfare capabilities for the Navy - ashore and afloat.

Captain Diane K. Gronewold assumed command of Navy Information Operations Command - Suitland. She had previously served as a division officer at NIOC-S predecessor command - Naval Information Warfare Activity (NIWA) when (then) Commander Bob Zellmann was her department head. Captain Gronewold's father was in attendance at the Change of Command. Both RADM Deets and Captain Zellmann said that Captain Gronewold was "the perfectly qualified officer" to assume command. She has a B.A. in Mathematics, a B.S. in Physics and an M.S. in Electronics Engineering.

The Change of Command/Retirement ceremony was PUNCTUATED by CWO2 David Kivi's (from NIOC Ft Meade, Maryland) amazing and truly inspirational delivery of "THE WATCH".

Information Warfare Officers

Guiding Principles:

(1) Warfare Competency: IW officers lead Navy IW missions by employing a thorough knowledge of the tenets of IO, sensor/weapons, national systems' capabilities and limitations, and how to optimally use them for “effects-based” warfare. IW officers develop tactics, techniques and procedures to realize tactical, strategic and advantages at sea and ashore.

(2) Leadership: Leadership is a core competency for all Navy Officers. IW officers are engaged, seize the initiative, motivate people, effectively apply resources and execute IW missions.

(3) Professional Expertise: IW officers require knowledge of engineering and technology (i.e., knowing how the signal or protocol was designed to function) and the human elements of adversaries through language and cultural awareness. They build expertise through a combination of formal education and experience gained through successive career milestone tours.

From the NPC IW Officer Webpage

Worth reading INFORMATION OPERATIONS - Warfare and the Hard Reality of Soft Power

Leadership in the "DIGITAL AGE" - Business Icon Jack Welch

“The Internet…ushers in a whole new level and scope of employee engagement. Leaders should welcome this development, and most do, but it’s a mistake to treat it lightly. Once employees engage you by speaking out, albeit electronically, they expect to hear back. We would suggest that it can be just as damaging for a leader not to respond to feedback as it is not to ask for it at all.”

Most leader-bosses are trying to embrace this—even when it scares them silly—because if they don’t they can’t hire. That’s right, engagement is high on the list of employee demands and not just by Millennials and if it isn’t there, well, it’s available somewhere else.

“…one aspect of leadership we believe the Internet won’t change because it can’t. Real leaders touch people… They get in their skin, filling their hearts with inspiration, courage, and hope. They share the pain in times of loss and are there to celebrate the wins.”

It’s called face-to-face and it’s where many leader-bosses are not cutting it. I see too many of them who embrace the orderly world of digital communications as a way to avoid messy, in person interactions—but it doesn’t work.

Click here for Jack Welch's - Business Week Article

Mark your calendars

Defense Network Centric Operations (DNCO) 2008
Marriott Gateway - Alexandria, Virginia
1-3 December 2008

On 2 December 2008 at 10:15, Rear Admiral Bill Leigher is slated to deliver a briefing on "Operational Superiority in Cyberspace." Rear Admiral Leigher is the Director, Information Operations (N3IO)/Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence for Cryptology (N2C).

The conference purpose is to "Effectively Managing Defense Networks To Ensure Secure And Appropriate Information Sharing"

DNCO has partnered with leading publications and associations to provide a meeting place for the most innovative and forward thinking leaders in net-centric ops for both military and industry personnel that are focused on: Information Assurance, Interoperability, Network Security, Information Integration, Research and Development, C2, C2ISR, C3, C4, C4ISR, Information Analysis, Network Technology and Geospatial Solutions. Past summit participants have been eager to express their satisfaction of the timeliness and effectiveness of the presentations ensuring a gathering where leaders are able to assess where tomorrow's technologies can be leveraged to give the war fighter tactical advantage.

Key topics on this year's agenda include:

• Evolving NCO policies
• C4ISR
• Information Assurance
• Network Security
• Spectrum Management
• Interoperability
• Future NCO Technologies