At the U. S. Naval Institute’s Defense Forum Washington (DFW) on 4 December, we found ourselves sobered not so much by the myriad embarrassing failures by the U.S. Navy over the past few years, but by the lack of clarity in how the presenters—who included Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer, former Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work, a panel of three retired surface warfare officer captains moderated by Naval Institute CEO retired Vice Admiral Pete Daly, and Vice Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Bill Moran—would solve the challenges presented.
It struck us that many of the issues discussed bear on the very fundamentals of our profession. The “Fat Leonard” investigation calls into question the broader issue of the moral and ethical fiber of our Navy. How is it that so many officers could accept offers of money, alcohol, food, and sex? Aren’t we taught better than that at the U.S. Naval Academy, Naval ROTC, and Officer Candidate School—and if we are not, why not? Isn’t ethical behavior fundamental?
How is the “premier navy” in the world—with a budget that dwarfs all others—unable in some cases to safely navigate its ships? The USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) and USS John S McCain (DDG-56) incidents showinter alia that the officer of the deck did not understand the Rules of the Nautical Road, the bridge watch team did not follow their commanding officer’s (CO’s) standing orders, and watch standers did not understand how to operate a steering console. Isn’t this fundamental?
We listened intently as the esteemed group of leaders at DFW postulated on the budgetary roots of many of these issues and agreed upon the need for bold strategies and more dollars. Meanwhile, our frustration grew because it became apparent that many are searching for a complicated solution to a set of fundamental problems, preferably one distillable to a soundbite for congressional testimony.
The Navy is making a serious mistake to view the recent collisions, deaths, and scandals as the problem rather than the alarm bell. It is naive to think these reflect just 7th Fleet or surface community problems. We are concerned that our Navy may have lost sight of its first principles, and that some of its fundamentals have decayed.
Rather than creating yet another lengthy report, we believe the Navy should focus its attention inward, taking note of Occam’s razor: the simplest solution is usually correct. We recommend:
Redefining and reaffirming the core values and competencies of naval officers.
Ensuring these core values and competencies are ruthlessly trained to and adhered to.
You cannot mandate foundational attributes with sweeping reviews, yet that is what the Navy seems to be trying. Recent statements by Navy leaders have attributed the rash of problems to all sorts of issues: continuing resolutions, budgetary delays, and a lack of (local) leadership. While there are elements of truth to all of those, the solution is simple. It's time to get back to fundamentals.
Perhaps junior officers should be encouraged to spend their time studying and training for ship-driving rather than the continuous focus on maintenance planning, collateral duties, or “check-in-the-box training.” Perhaps our leaders should provide guidance outside of “get it done,” lest that result in a loosening of values.
The Navy should take advantage of these crises to define the root problems so it can solve them. Rather than just issuing platitudes or firing some COs or an admiral, let’s DO something to make a meaningful change. It’s fundamental.
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