Becoming (and staying) a Navy Officer

[Hair Warrior]

http://www.navytimes.com/story/mili...ficer-xo-senior-enlisted-co-cmc-csc/71885254/

Maybe it's just me (an outsider) but it sure seems like a lot of officers holding command at sea and ashore were relieved of duty in 2015. I am not in the Navy so I have no idea if this amount is par for the course, or becoming more prevalent each year.

Any thoughts on the whole issue of "command climate"? What are some examples of poor command climate? Has the scrutiny on commanders gone up - or has it always been this way, but now there's more publicity? For current Navy officers who've served for a while, do you think the goal posts have shifted over the years?

###

Commanding officer:

• Capt. John Nettleton, the head of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, was relieved in January amid an investigation of an alleged affair with a woman on the base and the recent death of her husband.
• Cmdr. Tory Swanson, CO of the attack submarine Mississippi, was fired in February due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command.
• Capt. Michial Warrington, CO of U.S. Naval Hospital Rota, Spain, was fired in March after an investigation found he had behaved inappropriately.
• Capt. Heather Cole, commodore of the Navy's Strategic Communications Wing 1, was fired in March after a loss of confidence in her ability to lead.
• Capt. Rachel Haltner, CO of the hospital ship Comfort’s medical treatment facility, was fired in March amid an investigation into the command climate.
• Capt. Maria Majar, the CO of the Multinational Medical Unit at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan was removed in March alongside Master Chief Hospital Corpsman Shane Reece amid a toxic command climate investigation.
• Capt. John Banigan, skipper of the cruiser Lake Erie, was fired in April due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command. The investigation also questioned his judgment for allowing an adopted pygmy goat named Master Chief Charlie ride the ship from Hawaii to California.
• Cmdr. Kurt Bohlken, the CO of Strike Fighter Squadron 151, was fired in May for allegedly mistreating a sailor.
• Lt. Cmdr. Alisha Hamilton, CO of the patrol coastal ship Shamal, was fired in August following an investigation that found alleged inappropriate behavior.
• Cmdr. Patrick Foster, CO of the destroyer Barry, was relieved in August for "poor judgment, failure to meet and uphold the highest personal and professional standards, and poor program management,” the Navy said.
• Lt. Cmdr. Angela Cox, the CO of Navy Operational Support Center Earle, New Jersey, was removed from her post in August for fostering a poor command climate.
• Cmdr. Daniel Lombardo, the CO of the attack sub Springfield, was fired in September for professional shortcomings, the Navy said.
• Capt. Brian Sorenson, CO of the cruiser Anzio, was sacked in September amid allegations of personal misconduct.
• Lt. Cmdr. Linda McCauley, CO of the minesweeper Dextrous, was fired in September amid an investigation of alleged misconduct.
• Capt. Shawn Lobree, CO of the University of Oklahoma's Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps, was fired in September along with Cmdr. Shannon Corkill for alleged misuse of funds.
• Cmdr. Djamal Pullom, CO of Navy Recruiting District Seattle, was canned in October for allegedly not following federal travel regulations and misusing government funds for his personal gain.
• Lt. Cmdr. Bethany Busch, CO of the Bahrain-based patrol coastal ship Whirlwind, was fired in November for alleged misbehavior.
• Cmdr. Regina Cox, CO of Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station (NCTS), Sicily, was relieved in November after a command investigation into improper civilian hiring practices.

Executive officer:

• Capt. Kurt Henry, the No. 2 at NATO Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit, based at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, was fired in July amid allegations of sexual harassment and a negative command climate.
• Cmdr. Vinny Wood, the XO of Trident Refit Facility, Kings Bay, Georgia, was fired in August for allegedly flouting a military protective order and carrying on an unduly familiar relationship with a civilian employee.
• Cmdr. Shannon Corkill, XO of the University of Oklahoma's Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps, was fired in September along with Capt. Shawn Lobree for alleged misuse of funds.

Senior enlisted:

• Command Master Chief Bryan Bymer, the CMC of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 12, was fired in January for fraternization that occurred at a previous duty station.
• Master Chief Hospital Corpsman Shane Reece was fired from the Multinational Medical Unit at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, along with commanding officer Capt. Maria Majar, amid toxic command climate investigation.
• Fleet Master Chief Marco Ramirez, the senior enlisted leader of U.S. Pacific Fleet, was relieved for loss of confidence after a command investigation into allegations he violated travel rules.
• Command Senior Chief Aurelio Ayala, the senior enlisted leader of the hospital ship Comfort’s medical facility, was fired in July for allegedly getting drunk and acting up at a reception for the president of Panama.
• Command Master Chief Ralph Crowder, the CMC of the destroyer Pinckney, was removed in July after an equal opportunity complaint and a poor command climate survey.
• Command Master Chief Jeff VanBlaracum, the CMC of Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, was canned in July after allegedly driving drunk on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, where his truck struck a fence.
• Command Master Chief Torrence Kelly, the top sailor aboard the destroyer Barry only five months, was relieved in August for substandard performance.
• Command Master Chief Adrian McCown, the CMC of the destroyer Michael Murphy, was fired in October based on the preliminary findings of an ongoing command investigation.

 

[Brett327]

Define "a lot." Fleet-wide, it's about 1% of COs getting relieved.

As far as command climate, I'll say this... If you're a dick to your subordinates, you have a bad command climate and you could (should) get relieved. Your command climate matters in a big way. If people aren't happy or comfortable coming to work, or think their leadership isn't sensitive to their concerns, then you've got big problems as a CO. While I do believe that COs are under more scrutiny these days, the vast majority of people being relieved for pretty gross violations.

So, bottom line: Don't be a dick, don't screw the help, don't get a DUI, and don't be criminally negligent in managing official funds. If you can avoid these pitfalls, you'll probably do just fine.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Define "a lot." Fleet-wide, it's about 1% of COs getting relieved.

As far as command climate, I'll say this... If you're a dick to your subordinates, you have a bad command climate and you could (should) get relieved. Your command climate matters in a big way. If people aren't happy or comfortable coming to work, or think their leadership isn't sensitive to their concerns, then you've got big problems as a CO. While I do believe that COs are under more scrutiny these days, the vast majority of people being relieved for pretty gross violations.

So, bottom line: Don't be a dick, don't screw the help, don't get a DUI, and don't be criminally negligent in managing official funds. If you can avoid these pitfalls, you'll probably do just fine.

+1, there was a sub CO that was a dick to his crew several years ago, they accumulated incriminating evidence for over a year on this guy that blew the whistle, I think part of it was that he was having an affair.

 

[N4Life]

So, bottom line: Don't be a dick, don't screw the help, don't get a DUI, and don't be criminally negligent in managing official funds. If you can avoid these pitfalls, you'll probably do just fine.

But if you do, have a subordinate to scapegoat
*I'm not advocating this, but I have seen this happen*

 

[Randy Daytona]

But if you do, have a subordinate to scapegoat
*I'm not advocating this, but I have seen this happen*

Didn't help this guy....

• Capt. John Banigan, skipper of the cruiser Lake Erie, was fired in April due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command. The investigation also questioned his judgment for allowing an adopted pygmy goat named Master Chief Charlie ride the ship from Hawaii to California.

 

[Tycho_Brohe]

Didn't help this guy....

• Capt. John Banigan, skipper of the cruiser Lake Erie, was fired in April due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command. The investigation also questioned his judgment for allowing an adopted pygmy goat named Master Chief Charlie ride the ship from Hawaii to California.

 

[Short]

Female COs are punching above their weight class when it comes to getting fired this year.

 

[Brett327]

Female COs are punching above their weight class when it comes to getting fired this year.

I noticed that too. Somewhere in the bowels of the Pentagon, someone in the EO office is wringing their hands over that inconvenient detail. It would be very interesting to see a slide detailing who got fired for what, broken down by gender and designator.

 

[Short]

3 female SWOs fired for inappropriate behavior/misconduct, all in early commands (PC class or minesweepers). As you don't get fired for killing your helo aircrew, I will assume this is some variation on personal misconduct. On one hand, correcting female officers remains a third rail because of the threat of an IG, resulting in some poor officers making it further up the chain than they should. On the other female officers are more likely to get embroiled in a tempest in a teapot if they grab a cup of coffee with a male officer and are seen by a third party who wants to get the blades turning on the alert rumor mill.

 

[Brett327]

Well, that's one way to look at it. Absent additional details, this year's firings would suggest that ISICs haven't been at all gun shy about holding their female COs accountable for misconduct or a lack of performance. If poor performance is properly documented - something we continually preach as a Navy, but are very bad at actually doing - then a CO or ISIC should have all the evidence and support they need if the IG comes calling. It's when the documentation is lacking that people can get themselves into trouble and open themselves up to EO complaints or other diversionary subterfuge.

As far as perceptions and the rumor mill go, that cuts both ways across both genders.

 

[Short]

I think we are actually in violent agreement on the most significant points throughout this thread...1. CO firings are actually statistically insignificant, and with a few exceptions, are self induced. 2. Document poor performance...you owe it to the servicemember and yourself.

 

[Brett327]

I think we are actually in violent agreement

Truth!

I must say, though, that the proportion of female COs fired this year is... fascinating. Makes me want to peel back the proverbial onion...

...although it's probably a Pandora's box, cleverly disguised as an onion.

 

[zippy]

Could more female COs being fired be a result of greater selection opportunity to CO for females in general.

Personal misconduct is pretty broad, but definitely seems to be less of turning a blind eye to/ forgiving missteps today then there was a short time ago

It does seem that certain protected classes get handled with kid gloves.

I know of 3 women in 3 different squadrons that were either banging their bosses, peers and Chiefs (who were married), caught giving a squadron mate head in a stateroom, or married and banging a bunch of different dudes from the airwing- all of which their commands knew about. Their lack of action seemed to be less of a "boys will be boys" mentality and more because they didn't want to be perceived as having a woman problem as command leadership, and as a result leadership in each of those squadrons lost most of their credibility with the rest of their JOs.

 

[ChuckMK23]

We have a real problem in values as a Navy by equating your sex life (who you sleep with, are you or they married or not, etc) with professional ethics/ethos/morality.

These are archaic values our Navy embraces - and outdated - and simply wrong.

I can tell you the militaries of most EU nations could care less. It's time we stop losing talented leaders over completely natural needs. As long as it doesn't effect ones ability to make good clear operational decisions and lead - then it's none of the Department of Navy's business

 

[exNavyOffRec]

We have a real problem in values as a Navy by equating your sex life (who you sleep with, are you or they married or not, etc) with professional ethics/ethos/morality.

These are archaic values our Navy embraces - and outdated - and simply wrong.

I can tell you the militaries of most EU nations could care less. It's time we stop losing talented leaders over completely natural needs. As long as it doesn't effect ones ability to make good clear operational decisions and lead - then it's none of the Department of Navy's business

To me what zippy brings up is another one of those items that could lead to the perception of preferential treatment, did person A get rewarded with X because of their merits or because they are banging person B? It may be they would have been rewarded with X but their actions have now clouded the situation.

I only mention this because I have seen it first hand where a individuals did benefit with sleeping with a supervisor/peer/etc..., and on more than one occasion (both married and unmarried). I have also seen it where 2 married people did get caught and punished but neither of them had any connection with each others job.