It All Starts With the Chief

I just read, with interest, an article on the U.S. Naval Institute's (USNI) blog entitled A Four Star Blog Post x 2: Lessons Learned from Our Carrier Tours by ADM Harvey and ADM Stavridis, with an introduction by CDR Robb Chadwick, Commanding Officer of USS ROOSEVELT (DDG 80).

Both admirals discussed their junior officer tours on aircraft carriers and their interactions with their chiefs.

This got me thinking of my own tour aboard my first ship, a twenty year old Knox Class Frigate in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. As mentioned in a previous post, my first division officer job was the Auxiliaries and Electrical (A&E) Officer. When I first arrived, as a 23 year old Ensign, a year out of the Naval Academy, I had approximately 25 Electricians (ETs), Interior Communications Specialists (ICs), Enginemen (ENs) and Machinist Mates (MMs) and one chief, EMC David. Most of them were older than I was.

A few months later, two of my First Class Petty Officers made Chief; EMC Lopez and ENC Hentley. Between the three of them, and especially with ENC, they took me under their wings. I thought I had learned a lot about leadership and shipboard life during my four years at the Academy and my two Midshipmen cruises; but that only scratched the surface.

My chiefs took a personal interest in my training as a junior officer. Though I was senior to them in rank, they were far superior to me in knowledge and experience. They did not hesitate to respectfully correct me when I did something that wasn't quite right, and they were always available for my many questions. My initial intimidation of them quickly turned into a professional relationship, with mutual respect, that I will always remember.

Admiral Harvey stated in the article, "The relationship between new division officers and their chiefs is essential to the shaping of our junior officers." He got that right.

During my two subsequent jobs on that ship; Electronics Materials Officer (EMO) and Navigator/Personnel Officer, I did not have a Chief. Fortunately the three chiefs I had from the Engineering Department were still there for me when I needed them.

When I went to my second division officer tour, aboard a brand new AEGIS Cruiser, I was assigned as the Fire Control Officer (FCO). I had approximately 35 extremely intelligent AEGIS Fire Controlmen (FCs), including three chiefs, that worked for me. Once again I was fortunate to have three FCCs (all ranked in the top ten in the Chief's Mess) who guided me, when required, and enhanced my technical knowledge of that impressive warship. I could not have succeeded without them.

I found that each tour I had in the Navy, especially during my command tour, that I relied heavily on the Chief's Mess to get the job done. When given a task to the Chief, I knew it would be accomplished, and no matter what my rank was, they were always there, in case I needed it, to ensure I did not put myself in a position to embarrass myself and to ensure I did the right thing. We were a team!

I salute the 40+ Chiefs, Senior Chiefs and Master Chiefs that worked directly for me during my time on active duty. I could not have done it without you!.

Interesting note: I taught Seamship to CDR Chadwick when he was a Plebe at the Naval Academy. I must be getting old!!!

Micromanagement: What is the Point?

Most people, at least those who have held a job, understand what micromanagement is. Merriam Webster defines micromanagement as "to manage especially with excessive control or attention to details."

One of my biggest pet peeves in the workplace is working for a micromanager. My first captain on my first ship in the Navy was a micromanager. I didn’t realize that until the second captain I had on that ship arrived. What a difference!!

In my view, a micromanager micromanages for one of three reasons: 1. They don’t trust you, or 2. They feel they can do it better themselves, so they ensure they are there to help you accomplish the task, or 3. They feel they need to be in control. I imagine there are other reasons.

Of course, I cannot bring up a topic without a sea story, so here goes. My first captain, let’s call him JA, had a significant engineering background. I don’t mean engineering in the academic sense; he served many tours in the engineering departments of several Navy ships.

The engineering department is responsible for maintaining the ship’s propulsion plant. Older ship’s had large steam boilers which made steam to drive turbines, which in turn, rotated the ship’s screw or propeller. Newer ships have gas turbine engines, which are very similar to jet aircraft engines. There are also nuclear powered ships, but that is an area I am not qualified to discuss.

My first ship had two large steam boilers that heated water/steam to a pressure of 1200 psi. This was an older ship, but the engineering plant ran very well. My first shipboard job as a 23 year old Naval officer was the Auxiliaries/Electrical Officer, or A&E. The Auxiliaries side was affectionately known as A-Gang. The A&E Officer “owned” the entire ship’s electrical distribution system, the telephone and alarm systems, the emergency diesel generators, the helicopter fuel system (JP-5), all of the hot water systems, galley equipment, and many other systems that I cannot recall now, after 23 years (half my life ago). My Sailors were always busy and in constant demand. I learned so much from them, especially my three Chief Petty Officers.

Ok, so you have some background now; sorry to drag this out.

I recall two distinct incidents with JA during this tour. One time I was the Engineering Officer of the Watch (EOOW), the watch stander in charge of the engineering plant while underway. We had some casualty to the plant that required us to shutdown the one boiler we were operating. The effect of this is steam is no longer produced, which makes the ship “dead in the water;” no propulsion. We also use that steam to generate electricity, so, until the emergency diesel generator comes online, the ship goes dark.

I know JA was on the bridge as we started shutting the boiler down, because he was screaming at me over the bitch box (appropriately “named” intercom system). As the boiler shut down, the ship went dark. I would imagine the lights were off for a couple minutes, and when they returned, JA was in Main Control standing next to me, continuing his rant. He promptly took control of the plant and restored the engineering plant. Hmmm, isn’t that what he qualified me to do? He didn’t do this just because I was the EOOW. He would have done if for anyone. He was just that way.

Another story, involved the emergency diesel generator; it was not working. Without it, if power was lost, you remained dark. As the division officer, I was down in Auxiliary Room #2 (Aux 2) checking on the Sailors who had the expertise to fix this equipment. I certainly did not have the knowledge and I wasn’t about to try to offer any technical advice. I was there to get the big picture to report back up the chain of command. Well, once again, JA didn’t waste any time coming to Aux 2 to “repair” the casualty.

I distinctly remember JA on top of the diesel engine turning wrenches. I’m pretty sure he was not a diesel mechanic. He then called me over and handed me a rag to wipe up some oil that had spilled on deck. He was an O5 and I was an O1 on my first ship. I certainly was not going to question his order. My Engineman Chief quickly interceded, taking the rag from my hand, and wiping up the oil. I had a lot of respect for Chief, and it was mutual. We discussed the incident later, at length.

So, why was JA like this? Did he not trust me to restore the plant? Did he not trust the Enginemen to fix the diesels? I don’t know his motive. What I do know is that his actions were insulting to me personally. I felt he did not trust me, even though I knew I was more than capable of restoring that plant. His leadership style was very demoralizing. I did not respect his actions.

Micromanagement may have a place at times, in rare circumstances under specific conditions. However, routine micromanagement can be detrimental to accomplishing the mission. The good leader will empower their people with the tools and knowledge to do the job and hold them accountable if they don’t.

This reminds me of another story that depicts the opposite of micromanagement (macromanagement?). My second captain on this same ship, let’s call him GA, was an electrical engineer by education. In my second position on this ship, I was the Electronic Materials Officer (EMO) in charge of all the electronic systems (radars, communications equipment, the closed circuit television system, etc.).

Our air search radar was not working and I had to go brief GA on the status. I conveyed the symptoms we were experiencing and our plan of action. GA asked me to bring him the electronic schematics of the radar, which I promptly did. After about five minutes of reviewing the schematics, he pointed to a component and said, “Check this.” I took this information back to the Electronic Technicians (ETs) and lo and behold, that was the problem. I was quite impressed.

GA knew what he was talking about, but he didn’t feel the need to go to the Radar Room to fix it. He offered a suggestion and let the ETs fix the problem. This is just how GA was.

I think it is obvious who I liked working for more. When I became a commanding officer, it was easy to determine which leadership style I would follow, and I must admit, it worked quite well.

Calm, Cool, & Collected

"Leadership has been defined as the ability to hide your panic from others"

— Anonymous

This quote reminds me of a former captain I had. When he first came aboard, my impression was that he was extremely smart, as most of the captains I served with were. It did not take long for me to look up to this man as a mentor and I learned a lot from him.

I recall being in the north Pacific evading a super typhoon. I don't recall the circumstances why we were there, but we certainly were. The seas were the roughest I had ever seen during my 20+ years in the Navy and routine work throughout the ship was secured, for safety considerations.

I was Officer of the Deck as we plowed through swells and waves that appeared higher than the bridge of this ship as it bobbled in the sea. We were looking up to see the tops of them. This was not a big ship and we were rolling, hawing and pitching all over the place. I must admit, the thoughts in the back of my mind at that moment were that men had built that ship, it was an older ship, and I really hoped it didn't break in half. That wouldn't be good.

The Captain came up to the bridge and noticed the watchstanders each had themselves wedged between pieces of equipment and bulkheads (walls). I recall I was between a radar repeater and a small table that we worked maneuvering board solutions on. We were all quiet, just watching the bow go in and out of the swells and waves. Fear was in the air and the Captain noticed it.

His first reaction upon "reading" his bridge team was to smile. As he held the wire rope traversing the width of the bridge, so he would not fall over, he stated, "Isn't this great?!!!" He said this like he was riding his favorite roller coaster. His reaction definitely put me at ease, as I trusted him, and he appeared to trust the construction of this ship.

His persona at all times was calm, cool and collected. Nothing seemed to phase him as he made the daily decisions of a successful warship captain. It was quite impressive from my perspective.

Years later I had the pleasure of meeting up with this captain again. I was on another ship and we pulled into a port where he was stationed at the time. He had never been aboard of ship of this class, so he was anxious for a tour. After the tour, we went to my stateroom and talked for quite some time. It was a great conversation, hearing his present perspective of his time in command several years ago. I was very surprised what he told me. He mentioned that as captain, he hated every time the phone rang or someone knocked on his door. He was afraid that bad news was coming; someone jumped overboard (yes, this did happen during his tour) or a piece of vital equipment was no longer working (on a 20 year old ship, this was not uncommon).

I never would have guessed these things bothered him. He certainly did not display these feelings, and believe me, I delivered plenty of bad news to him (that guy that jumped overboard worked for me).

I am pretty certain he did not panic, as he was a very competent mariner and leader, but he did mask his true feelings very well, which, for a person in his position, was vital to his crew.