As set forth in U. S. Navy
Regulations, the Commanding Officer is charged with the absolute responsibility
for the safety, well-being, and efficiency of his command, except when and to
the extent he may be relieved therefrom by competent authority.
The duties and
responsibilities of the Commanding Officer are established by U. S. Navy
Regulations, general orders, customs, and tradition. The authority of the
Commanding Officer is commensurate with his responsibility, subject to the
limitations prescribed by constitutional, statutory, international, and
regulatory law including U. S. Navy
Regulations.
- US Navy
Regulations
Any officer in command of a ship, submarine or
squadron is by courtesy called "the Captain," regardless of rank (although in
the less formal aviation Navy, the commanding officer is more often called "the
Skipper").
There is a distinction
between a naval rank, and a position - you can reach the
rank of
commander, without ever receiving the
position
of command. Successful commander command is a prerequisite for promotion to the
rank (as opposed to the position) of captain. Since so very few officers will
ever achieve the rank of admiral, making the rank of captain defines a
successful career. There are places in the country (San Diego is not one of
them) where a captain with 30 years of service will receive retirement pay
sufficient to ensure that he never has to work again. But retirement pay is not
the objective - it is merely the least reward, for the opportunity to lead. For
the chance to be responsible. For command.
Command at sea is the pinnacle of
achievement in the career of a line officer. It is the culmination of years of
service, professional growth, demonstrated leadership and technical expertise in
his or her war fighting specialty. Having climbed through the ranks by selection
for promotion by statutory boards, and careful screening by administrative
boards, an officer will finally put the US Navy Command Pin on his uniform. It
is for many of us the height of our ambition, and a treasured symbol of
success.
Recently
it seems as though those pins are being attached with explosive bolts . As prestigious as it is to
achieve command at sea, to be "relieved for cause" is more than equally
disgraceful. The March issue of the Navy
Times reports that 22 commanding officers had
been relieved for cause in the preceding 13 months. Another three have been
relieved this calendar year, bringing the total for 2004 up to nine. These
numbers are unprecedented, and
disturbing.
-------------------
The
commander's responsibility is absolute - his authority is commensurate with his
responsibility. We are taught those words from the earliest days of our
apprenticeship as officers of the line, that is to say, officers qualified to
command at sea.
Hyman Rickover, the
father of our nuclear Navy, had this to say about
responsibility:
"Responsibility
is a unique concept. It can only reside and inhere in a single
individual. You may share it with others, but your portion is not
diminished. You may delegate it, but it is still with you. You may
disclaim it, but you cannot divest yourself of it. Even if you do not
recognize it or admit its presence, you cannot escape it. If
responsibility is rightfully yours, no evasion or ignorance or passing the blame
can pass the burden to someone else. Unless you can point your finger at
the man responsible when something goes wrong, then you have never had anyone
really responsible."
An early case
study that midshipmen still read was entitled "Hobson's Choice." The etymology
of this expression escaped me until today: According to the Word
Origins
website,
Tobias Hobson (c.
1544-1631) was a Cambridge stable manager who let horses. He insisted customers
take the horse in the stall closest to the door (the next one up) or take none
at all. Hence, a Hobson's choice is no choice at all. He was made famous by
Milton. The phrase dates to 1660.
I had
always presumed it to come from the name of a destroyer named the
Hobson,
which collided with the aircraft carrier
Wasp in
1952, based on an eponymously named Wall Street Journal
editorial.
The CO of
the Hobson
had been asleep when his watch team on the bridge allowed his vessel to
approach, and eventually collide with
Wasp,
turning into the wind to launch and recover
aircraft on a dark, foul night. He was awoken, assumed the conn, issued some
dubious orders and died in the collision, one of 176 to die that night.
The lesson we were to take from this was
one of accountability - A CO who allowed his ship to become hazarded, even if
he was asleep in his stateroom, was still accountable to the Navy, and to his
crew. As brand-new mids, some among us at first thought this somewhat unfair - I
mean, the CO could not be in all places at all times. But we were instructed
again about authority, responsibility, and accountability. The CO qualifies the
watch standers - he had delegates to them his authority for the safety of the
ship and crew. But the responsibility is always his, and he is always
accountable.
The dreaded words on
official correspondence relieving a CO will often read of the superior
commander's "loss of confidence" in the CO's ability to command. This loss of
confidence can stem from several reasons, although there is usually a straw that
breaks' the camel's (commander's) back. Some wryly attribute such actions to a
violation of the "three kisses" rule.
-
You may not kiss another ship (collision at sea - navigational buoys count
too)
- You may not kiss the beach (run
her aground)
- You may not kiss a
shipmate (a relatively new
phenomenon)
There seems to be no common
thread linking all these CO's getting the ax - and I think that's what most
disturbs naval leadership. The Navy gets pretty small at the top, and I know a
number of these folks - almost all of them exceptional individuals, carefully
screened for their responsibilities. But now their careers are ruined, and
that's just the way it goes. Because while I truly believe we are not a "zero
defect" organization, I also know, as do my peers, that you absolutely must get
the big things right. You must safeguard your ship and crew - that's Hobson's
choice. In other words, no choice at
all.
I've been in the Navy man and boy
for 26 years, and I've seen a lot of changes. This at least, has not
changed.
From that WSJ
editorial:
"On the sea there is a tradition older even than the traditions of the country
itself and wiser in its age than this new custom. It is the tradition that with
responsibility goes authority and with them accountability. ...for men will not
long trust leaders who feel themselves beyond accountability for what they do.
And when men lose confidence and trust in those who lead, order disintegrates
into chaos and purposeful ships into uncontrollable
derelicts."
Posted @
12:29 PM
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Posted in
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Sendit
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Credo
"Sign on, young man, and sail with me. The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves. Our job is to keep her free. Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all. To this solemn purpose we call on the young, the brave, the strong, and the free. Heed my call, Come to the sea. Come Sail with me." - John Paul Jones
"Pardon him, Theodotus; he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature" --George Bernard Shaw, "Ceasar and Cleopatra"
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."--Friederich Nietzsche
