Call to action

"Man has a large capacity for effort. In fact it is so much greater than we think it is that few ever reach this capacity. We should value the faculty of knowing what we ought to do and having the will to do it. Knowing is easy; it is the doing that is difficult. The critical issue is not what we know but what we do with what we know. The great end of life is not knowledge, but action. I believe that it is the duty of each of us to act as if the fate of the world depended on him...we must live for the future, not for our own comfort or success."

Admiral Hyman Rickover

General Henry H. Arnold on Integrity

This covers a very wide field.  To touch upon one or two , - it means, for example, maintaining the courage of one's convictions. By no means should this be confused with stubborn thinking. Stubborn thinking is as outmoded as the ox cart. Its exact opposite, resilient thinking, is Today's Must: a man must be able to accommodate his thinking quickly and accurately to his rapidly changing world; nevertheless, it must be his thinking, - not someone else's.

Personal integrity also means moral integrity.  Regardless of what appear to be some superficial ideas of present-day conduct, fundamentally, - today as always -, the man who is genuinely respected is the man who keeps his moral integrity sound; who is trustworthy in every respect. To be successful, a man must trust others; and a man cannot trust others, who does not trust himself.

TENTH Fleet Anniversary

Today marks the First Anniversary of the re-establishment of the TENTH Fleet and the initial establishment of U.S. Fleet Cyber Command.

How far we've progressed in one short year !

BZ Shipmates.

Mesothelioma Screening

From the Civil War’s Ironclads to the technology-laden ships of today, US Navy vessels have been used by brave men and women to protect and serve our country.  The Navy defended the United States during the threats of World War II, among so many other conflicts, and even today, it sets out to reduce energy consumption and improve the future of our nation and the world.  Navy veterans and present-day personnel deserve recognition and thanks.  Unfortunately, these very men and women may face hazardous health consequences, stemming from the very ships they used in service.


Beginning in World War II, the US military sanctioned the usage of asbestos in building components of cruisers, submarines, carriers, and destroyers.   In fact, thousands of tons of asbestos were used to construct, maintain, and repair ships used, whether they were deployed for battle or kept in reserve.


Asbestos products, once sanded, sawed, cut, or heated, release microscopic fibers into the air.  Though these fibers are impossible to detect through smell, sight, or taste, they can be inhaled and ingested, building up in the lungs or stomach.  Navy personnel who worked at ship yards, either constructing, repairing, or scrapping naval vessels, were exposed to the effects of asbestos.


If inhaled or ingested, asbestos may lead to a deadly cancer called mesothelioma. Mesothelioma symptoms include shortness of breath and chest heaviness, and are often latent for 20-50 years after initial exposure.  This means that World War II veterans, and even some that work and live on ships today, are unaware of the existence of mesothelioma until long after the cancer has spread.


Mesothelioma life expectancy is short, generally anywhere from a year to a few months. Because symptoms are subtle and common, doctors often misdiagnose veterans.  When the correct diagnosis is given, mesothelioma treatment is often too late and ineffective.   Of the 25 million US veterans, about a million have been exposed to asbestos over an extended period of time. Through secondary exposure to asbestos, even family members of these heroes may be in danger of cancer.


To prevent mesothelioma from consuming the lives of those veterans and of current Naval servicemen who may be exposed, request a mesothelioma screening.  If you or someone you know has served in the Navy, undergo or recommend the necessary cancer precautions: talk to a doctor, ask questions, and request testing.  Early detection of mesothelioma can lead to successful treatment and a longer, healthier life.

Krista Peterson

krista.peterson925@gmail.com

I Hate To Write

"...likes to commit his thoughts to paper, which is something I never do if I can help it.  Details and writing get me bogged down immediately.  I hate to write...I get bogged down as soon as I have to assemble my ideas on paper.  I can do so if necessary, but I have to go off alone, be completely undisturbed, and labor excessively."

Admiral Raymond Spruance
Quoted in AMERICAN ADMIRALSHIP

The United States Navy's 2011 Top Five Communication Themes

• America’s Navy - A Global Force for Good 
• The Navy is the branch of the military that fights on the water, under the water and over the water. 
• What the Navy does is important: water covers 70 percent of the Earth’s surface; about 80 percent of the world’s people live near the ocean; about 90 percent of all international trade travels by sea. 
• The Navy is America’s away team, meeting threats and providing assistance wherever needed. 
• The Navy is leading our country’s efforts to reduce energy consumption and achieve energy independence – initiatives that might win our next war, or even avoid it.

Navy Outreach RHUMBLINES is HERE.

Update from RADM Deets on the IDC

I recently visited a number of Navy and Joint commands in five European locations to talk to many of our Information Dominance Corps (IDC) members about our way ahead in this new warfare area. My team and I met with members of all of our IDC Communities: Intelligence (1830/IS), Information Professional (1820/IT), Information Warfare (1810/CT), Meteorology and Oceanography (1800/AG) and the Space Cadre. We visited NCTS Sigonella, NCTS Naples, 6th Fleet, NAVEUR, USEUCOM, USAFRICOM, Menwith Hill Station, and JAC Molesworth.

My team was comprised of representatives from all four IDC Communities (and an aviator for good measure), from a variety of commands and staffs:

CAPT Joseph Kinder (C6F) – Information Professional (1820)
CAPT Alfred Turner (OPNAV N2/N6) Intel (1830)
CAPT Joseph Boogren (PERS 47) Information Warfare (1810)
CDR James Gateau (EUCOM) Information Professional (1820)
CDR Howard Watson (OPNAV N2/N6) Aviation (1310)
CDR Christopher Gabriel (AFRICOM) METOC/Oceanography (1800)
LCDR Peter Bouras (OPNAV N2/N6) Intelligence (1830)
LCDR John Hill (OPNAV N2/N6) Information Warfare (1810)
LT Julia Poth (NNWC) Intelligence (1830)
ISCS Tonya Gray (OPNAV N2/N6)
ITCS Ronald Ramsey (OPNAV N2/N6)

Our series of global IDC Road Shows is designed to provide detailed information about the IDC, our individual communities, and the vision for our Navy’s way ahead in Information Dominance. We allowed all the time that was needed to answer the many questions we got from our Sailors and civilians. The best way to get the straight story is from the source, so my presence and that of the dedicated team that I took with me is critical to ensuring that everyone understands where we’re headed and why.

The rest of the story is in the INFO DOMAIN Winter Edition HERE.

LCDR Mark Venzor - Most promising engineer or scientist

LCDR Mark Venzor recently received the 2010 Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Award Corporation (HENAAC) Most Promising Engineer or Scientist - Advanced Degree Award during the “Tribute to our Hispanic S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Military and Civilian Heroes” recognition ceremony. 

Venzor is currently serving at Navy Cyber Forces (CYBERFOR) as the Force Diversity officer. During the past year, he implemented a domain-wide diversity strategy that integrates national and regional outreach, community service, mentorship, diversity training, and strategic communication in support of the Navy’s and CYBERFOR diversity policy.

A note on Admiral Ernest J. King

Admiral King was a harsh taskmaster; he did not suffer laziness or shoddy performance gladly.  He could be publicly abusive of subordinates to an extent the code of military command behavior does not countenance; praise he dispensed rarely and in private.  One of his daughters said of King, "He is the most even tempered man in the Navy.  He is always in a rage." Sometimes he seemed to go out of his way to find fault.  On the bridge of a ship, a junior officer said, "he was meaner than hell."  But those who measured up to his exacting standards knew a different King.  He could be impulsively considerate and generous; he looked after his own people; officers he relieved would be given obscure but honorable billets; his flag lieutenants were able to humor him and be relaxed about it.  "I suppose that his reputation was that he was difficult," said an officer who worked closely with him. "I never thought so." And another: "I never had a harsh word from Admiral King.  I never met a finer gentleman."

From COMMANDER IN CHIEF - Franklin Delano Roosevelt, his lieutenants and their war
Eric Larrabee

Information Warfare Officer Community Management Guidance From RADM Deets

1. The IW Officer community is rapidly evolving to meet new and expanded Navy and Joint IO missions. In addition to our strictly cryptologic and SIGINT missions, there is a growing demand signal for IO leaders at sea and at Joint commands in most IW pay grades. These new IO billets represent key mission growth that is vital to global naval and Joint operations. Consequently, IW officer career planning must adapt to ensure a stable and maintainable workforce capable of fulfilling current and future requirements.

2. The fundamental building blocks for a successful naval career remain unchanged, and include, first and foremost, sustained superior performance across a variety of assignments including tactical and operational jobs, sea and air tours, leadership positions, interleaved with joint experience and built upon a strong foundation of SIGINT and IO skills and experience. Effective mission execution in wartime demands that we reward proven performance in challenging circumstances with advancement and expanded responsibilities.

3. The priority for assignment will always involve detailing the most talented officers to the most demanding positions and a successful assignment process includes milestone screening. One of the questions that leadership hears most often from IWOs is about career paths: “the right jobs,” promotion criteria, and the like.  Establishment of the screening process and advertised milestone jobs will bring a new level of rigor to career management and help to clearly define what is necessary for you to achieve a successful career."

Other aspects of the message have changed sufficiently so as not to be relevant any longer under the Information Dominance Corps umbrella.  The full message/memo is (was?) available on the IWO page of NKO.  Not sure those pages (NKO) or the pages on npc.navy.mil are maintained (updated) any longer.

From RADM Deets' guidance in 2007.  I've not seen an update.

Healthy Perspective on Retention in the Navy

The skipper of Navy Information Operations Command Pensacola has a great perspective on retention.  You can read about it HERE.

Mark Your Calendar - 11 March 2011

Navy Tightening Up PRT Standards

Male Body Fat Standards:

Age 17 - 39: Max of 22% body fat
Age 40 and over: Max of 23% body fat

Sailors who exceed their allowable body-fat are deemed "overweight." They are screened by medical personnel, and then entered into a mandatory weight-loss program. While in overweight status, sailors are ineligible for promotion, ineligible for many volunteer assignments and schools, will adversely effect their Navy FITREP and are not eligible to reenlist.

Centennial of Naval Aviation - Milestone from this day 100 years ago

Aviator Eugene B. Ely is seated in his Curtiss pusher biplane on board USS Pennsylvania (Armored Cruiser # 4), during preparations for his return flight to Tanforan field, San Francisco, California, 18 January 1911.

Father of the American Navy - John Barry

Few Americans are well-acquainted with the gallantry and heroic exploits of Philadelphia's Irish-born naval commander, Commodore John Barry. Obscured by his contemporary, naval commander John Paul Jones, Barry remains to this day an unsung hero of the young American Republic. As most naval historians note, Barry can be classed on a par with Jones for nautical skill and daring, but he exceeds him in the length of service (17 years) to his adopted country and his fidelity to the nurturing of a permanent American Navy. Indeed, Barry deserves the proud epithet, "Father of the American Navy," a title bestowed on him not by current generations of admirers, but by his contemporaries, who were in the best position to judge.

In the space of 58 years, this son of a poor Irish farmer rose from humble cabin boy to senior commander of the entire United States fleet. Intrepid In battle, he was humane to his men as well as adversaries and prisoners. Barry's war contributions are unparalleled: he was the first to capture a British war vessel on the high seas; he captured two British ships after being severely wounded in a ferocious sea battle; he quelled three mutinies; he fought on land at the Battles of Trenton and Princeton; he captured over 20 ships including an armed British schooner in the lower Delaware; he authored a Signal Book which established a set of signals used for effective communication between ships; and he fought the last naval battle of the American Revolution aboard the frigate Alliance in 1783.

Excerpt from the complete article HERE.

The U.S. Naval Academy has agreed on a memorial sight near the pedestrian gate at USNA, the naming of that gate honoring Commodore Barry, and naming the area the “Barry Plaza.”