From a nice young man. Asked for some advice:
I’ve been reader of your blog for the past two years or so. I don’t really post replies but have done so on occasion. A little about myself – I’m a young JG in the oldest fighter squadron in the Navy. I’m set to deploy on my nugget cruise (soon).
I guess I am writing to ask for your advice. You’ve written many times, and many “more experienced” officers have commented on how they’re envious of the situation I’m in, first cruise about to begin, career barely started. What then, sir, would you do over again? What would you do differently? What would you do the same?
I guess it’s just nerves that is prompting me to write this. Please don’t regard my nerves as cowardice. Merely an uncomfortable feeling – not knowing how cruise is going to be, not knowing what to expect, worrying that my bombs hit the correct target, and the sort. Either way, cruise begins in a few days. I hope to make the most of it.
Keep writing sir, the stories are quite humorous. I sometimes forward them to my folks or friends as a, “yeah, that’s how it is and written more eloquently than I could have.” Thank you again for your time.
It’s harder than you’d maybe think to answer a note like that. I’m a gray old goat and even though I haven’t learned very much, neither have I forgotten anything. But I do have a tendency to run on. Ask my kids.
It was sincerely asked though, so I thought I’d share with the rest of you what I shared with him, knowing that there are many service members out there who have their own hard-won wisdom to add.
“I think just by asking this question you’re on the right track. It means you’re open to the notion that you have a lot to learn – and you do. You’ll never stop. I could go on and on about it I suppose and bore you to tears, but the best advice I could give a nugget aviator or JO is to try your best to authentically enjoy yourself. Which is *easy* to do in a Med liberty port, but can be harder on your 40th straight day on the line. It’ll start to feel like groundhog day a bit. People will start to feel sorry for themselves after a few months on the line. If that happens to you, try to imagine getting hit with an IED on your 14th month in Bagdhad. It should perk you right up.
But, although it sounds like BS? Attitude is *everything.* Show up five minutes early with a smile on your face. Appreciate the value of being quiet on the radio. When your time comes to talk, speak authoritatively in the fewest possible words. Volunteer to help out when something needs done – chances will be everywhere. Pick something that’s hard – TAMPS software for mission planning, or a complex weapons system like HARM – and learn everything there is to know about it, become the subject matter expert. Take the jobs you’re given as though they were the ones you *really* wanted even when they weren’t. Before you finish something up and send it forward, ask yourself if it really reflects your best work – if this would be something you’d want people to remember you by. Be proud of who you are but not prideful. If you eff up, fess up – bad news gets worse with time. Never give anyone any reason to question your integrity in the least way.
Remember that you’re in the fleet now, and it isn’t just about you anymore. When a Sailor routes a request chit up the COC asking for a special privilege, dig a little on him. Look in his service record, see what his last eval said, put some gouge on a 3×5 card and send that up with the chit. Shows your department head and XO/CO that you care enough about him/her to do your homework. If you’re a division officer, spend time with your people and really care about them. Put yourself in their shoes, see where they sleep, if they‚Äôve got pillows and rack curtains and a blanket. See how and what they eat, and ask yourself what you’d want somebody to do to prove that despite conditions that can be terribly reducing, somebody actually gives a sh!t about them. Don’t expect to be their friend and don’t expect them to thank you – after all, you’d only be doing your job. And don’t play games: They can tell when you’re faking it, and trust me, your leadership will know if you’re never around.
Learn how to fly your machine like your life depends upon it – it does. Learn how to fight it like others’ lives depend upon it – they do. Accept the fact that you’re never going to have the whole picture, but never stop trying to build it anyway. Keep your knots up – in a big brawl, turn to kill, not to fight. Come home with your wingie though, or don’t come home at all. If you’re going to drop any piece of ordnance off your jet, live or inert, combat or training, you’d better know exactly where it’s going and what’s on the other end. We don’t get any do-overs.
Set tough goals for yourself. Stretch your mind. PT. Have fun ashore, but never be the guy that everybody talks about the next day. Take pictures. Write your mother.
That should get you started. In a week’s time you’ll be all settled in. In a month’s time you’ll be perpetually sleepy, hungry and horny – just like everybody else. In three months time you won’t remember any other life. In six months you’ll be a veteran.
Good luck,
Lex
Godspeed Sir,
I have relatives and friends on the ground and on the seas. They depend on you being vigilant, valiant, and violent. Lex had great stuff to say. The only thing I would add is this;
Never take the credit for one of your subordinates good work. Don’t be afraid to let praise fall to those below you. They will make you look good.
Steve
FT1/SS (Vet)
You, sir, are a poet and a sage.
This piece damn near brought tears to my eyes remembering my first (and only) cruise, what I did right, and what I did (mostly) wrong those nine months on Yankee Station.
I sure wish someone had dispensed that same wisdom for me before we sailed.
Good gouge, I particularly liked:
“Appreciate the value of being quiet on the radio.’
and:
” Never give anyone any reason to question your integrity in the least way.”
Here’s some personal experience on two of Lex’s finer points:
Attitude: 100% on the money. The Navy is far from perfect (no job or career has all the sh!t slung out of it) but a positive attitude can do wonders. I went all the way through training with a good friend who perpetually viewed the glass as half full – me, not so much. We had completed our fleet tours and were both instructors at the FRS when Clinton began gutting the Navy. I perceived it as the beginning of the end, took the money and got out. He could see the light shining dimly at the other end and pressed on. He eventually screened for command AND transitioned from the shrinking VS community to command a Super Hornet squadron. His career is far from over unless he decides he’s had enough.
“Spend time with your people and really care for them.” Nothing could be more important. The best stick in the Navy is useless if he or she can’t lead and manage people. To be truly effective as a leader you must earn respect and they won’t respect the rank if they don’t respect the person wearing it. Spend time in the shop and up on the roof with your people. You need to know what they are faced with on a daily basis. They need to see that you really care. Make sure they have what they need to accomplish the mission. Your Chief will respect your rank because (s)he must but you still have to prove yourself worthy of that respect. Doing so will carry you far.
You’ve earned your wings but your education has just begun. Commit to it with all you have – the rewards are far greater than you can imagine.
Thank you for picking up the sword that us old farts are no longer privileged to carry. Enjoy every minute of it – before you know it you’ll be looking back wondering how it got away from you and longing for the chance to do it all over again!
Best of luck.
This should be handed out to every nugget heading out to the fleet. Truer words, ne’er put so eloquently…
Dang. Excellent advice, Lex, and from the commenters, too. Beats the Hell out of the last thing the Ol’ Man (Lt Col, USAF, Ret) told me before I got on the plane to go to Lackland:
“Stay away from airplanes.”
No, he wasn’t rated. Why do you ask?
Lex- if I had a sea-daddy like you “I coulda been a contenda”. Tremendous gouge.
- Learn something every flight and write it down (you can s-can the list after you make LT and let’s say… 200 traps). Read it after cruise.
- Force yourself to study that part of NATOPS you tend to avoid.
- When you stand SDO you have no buddies.
- Accept your callsign. Don’t blink an eye when assigned. It’ll be official when the Skipper uses it. You get to do it for someone else eventually.
-Bring your own pillow. Ships pillows suck. Drink a lot of water and wash your hands a lot. You may not be regular that 1st week at sea heading outCONUS. Don’t run to the flight surgeon, you’ll adjust. Trust me.
- Force yourself to go outside every day. Even state prison inmates have that privilige!
b2
When you are underway, look up at the flag as often as you can. That is what you are all about, we need and depend on you. Thank you for being there.
One thing I would add (NOTE: this is theory; those of you who’ve been there, done that, please verify):
Listen to your senior enlisted (LPO or Chief); part of their job is to help you learn yours, and you’re not the first nugget they’ve worked on.
Wish I had known some of this in my day. I never once thought to visit the berthing spaces of my crewmen.
All your commenters are outstanding as usual Lex. Therefore I will just add: Shower shoes. Don’t forget your shower shoes.
And thanks for your service FNG. I’d trade places with you in a heartbeat.
Young jedi:
Here’s the sum of my naval learning.
The Navy is a planned, hierarchical organization.
What happened today, in any unit, started as a a vague plan roughly 18 months ago.
It may have just been a box on a PERT chart somewhere at TYCOM, but that’s where today started.
About 6 months ago, some people started doing considerable amounts of work ensuring that whatever resources you needed for today would be there.
I won’t belabor the point. You see where this is going, all the way down to the YN3 who typed the plan of the day late last night.
My message is, you can be the person that’s six months ahead of the squadron or boat, doing the way-ahead work. Not only will you make yourself invaluable to your CO, its one of the few opportunities you have to make the Navy run faster and smoother with fewer resources. You’ll learn more, too.
I guarantee you won’t have a lot of competition, as many of your peers will be content with rolling out of the rack and reading the POD. Your department heads will unload this work on you without hesitation, as it falls into the “important but not urgent” category that DH’s never get uninterrupted time for.
If this actually works for you, pass it on to another JO when you roll to shore duty.
Mr. ManlyDad and nice young man,
Yes, visit your guys’ berthing, mess and workspaces. But always (or as much as possible) make it formal and with ample warning. Leave the surprises and such to the LPO or Chief.
Learn what makes the big machine work (a requirement to do your job, but learn it, know it with interest and gusto). Radio mast to bilge.
My favorite officer in my short stint was one who understood best what enlisted life was like (a mustang) [Hello Mr. Peters]. My least favorite was also a mustang, though [Hello Mr. Gunnet]. In the middle was a USNR grad of Mr. Lex’ tradeschool [Mix], but he was beaten somewhat by a ROTC guy from Purdue-U [Barran].
Thanks to all of them, and to you. Y’all are doing the hard work.
I have never seen better advice than that offered by Lex, and many above have added additional good points.
I’ll throw a few more out for whatever they may be worth:
Add to the “looking out for the troops” list:
Encourage and facilitate their eduction (college courses, etc) and their advancement- schools, OJT, learning new skills. Do the best you can on every enlisted evaluation (and later fitness reports) to speed the best and retard the unworthy. Encourage everyone to be good citizens, as with absentee ballot voting.
Set the example with your language- your image and respect are diminished by use of colorful sailor expressions. [Do as I say, not as I did....]
Read everything you can related to your profession as a naval officer. The sea and air can be cruel enemies, with devious tricks. History can provide many answers, or at least understanding, of past dilemmas and the actions others have taken. Even good nautical fiction can be valuable. Adm. Rickover once said “Learn from the mistakes of others, you won’t live long enough to make them all yourself.”
Learn what “shoes” do, too.
Keep informed about current events, and try to understand the strategic situation, as well as the culture of our friends and enemies.
Never place your career or advancement above doing the right thing.
Pursue your own education at every opportunity- it can be a tremendous advantage for advancement in the future.
Never forget that your family is also serving, and sacrificing along with you, but without the fun and adventure of being underway or in the air doing exciting stuff. You owe them, especially the kids.
I feel safer with youngsters like you now standing watch, as us geezers watch from afar.
Thank you for your service!
A little more advice.
When you get a chance, go to the back of the boat find a place to sit and then watch the sunset or sunrise.
Masterfully written as always, Lex. I couldn’t help but notice that pretty much the entire second paragraph (the one starting with attitude is everything) applies to everything, not just being a naval aviator on cruise.
Lt:
Good luck on your first cruise. To roger what everybody else has already said – Lex is spot on. Read it, learn it, live it. If I can add a tiny bit of widsom – words of praise can mean worlds of performance. It doesn’t hurt you or anyone else to tell somebody that they are doing a good job. Don’t say it unless you mean it (everybody can spot a fake!) but just a word or two of praise can mean the difference between a crushing depression and a great day. As I’m sure you’ve been told repeatedly – discipline in private and praise in public. Write that LOA or LOC and get the D/H to sign it. It will make someone’s week.
Thank you all for your service, your dedication and your commitment to your country. My God – we ask in this space at times “where do we get such men” when we read about extraordinary heroism or courage.
I submit that we get them from the likes of the men & women of our military – active or not – who grace these pages with their wisdom. You all put out might big footsteps to follow.
FNG, keep a daily or weekly log. Write down what happened and what you are thinking. It will be a document beyond value in 10-20 years. Trust me.
John Spencer, very good advice. One can get so caught up in the excitement of the moment they can forget to take just a second look around and enjoy where you are.
That should be printed up, laminated and handed out to everyone, O’s and E’s, upon boarding.
Good luck to you, sir!
My advice is also from Husband’s experience. Don’t burn your bridges (nor nuke ‘em as Husband did when he left a squadron he disliked a lot). You may change your mind and/or be working with the same people again someday. Your reputation travels ahead of you.
Be graceful in all things. Be sure to leave, or have others leave, with a good opinion of you and you integrity.
What you don’t know ~ ASK! Show a willingness to learn and most people will forgive any question.
Again, this applies to most of life, not just deployments.
Good luck to you! May God keep you in the palm of His hand.
Never hesitate to keep your seniors in the know and ask for guideance or help when you think you might need it. Nothing crushes a nugget JO’s credibility faster than delivering a problem to a DH in the 11th hour, then even the XO/CO may not have enough time to fix it.
“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes.” Charles Swindle (from the Augustana Cursillo Fourth Day).
The above was given out by a CO of mine aboard a Destroyer on cards. They were special cards, if you received one, it was a keeper. I still have mine in my wallet. I read it everyday. He also said his sacred cows were:
Safety, Quals, PM’s, Cleanliness, and Personnel. He became a Commodore of a Destroyer Squadron shortly after his follow on shore duty from being my CO. Must have worked.
Lex,
Can’t add a single syllable that would be worthy of what you gave that young stud. God bless him and those like him. May they all be so fortunate as to have the leadership of men cut from the same bolt as you, my friend. As well as all the other warriors’ wisdom who have contributed to this thread. And they can be there to save the butts of thems like me when the time comes.
GEO6
What Rellag, John S., and Lee said.
Best advice my old man gave me was :
1] Be early for everything
2] Read the Good Shepherd, by C.S. Forester
http://www.navyreading.navy.mil/Covers/GoodShepherd.htm
There’s a scene in the book where a situation is developing, but it isn’t yet clear what action to take. A young officer standing watch on the bridge with the captain puts his hand over –but does not press — the General Quarters alarm, and calmly looks to the captain for his decision.
The exhausted captain is silently grateful that he didn’t have to think of everything himself, that the inexperienced junior anticipated this likely command, and was prepared to execute.
Nobody expects you to be the brain, but you are still the eyes, ears and hands of your leadership.
Anticipate your leadership’s intent, and then carry it out to the best of your ability.
That was awesome advice.
It was very near the same advice my dad (see my blog for his memorial page) gave to me before I went into the Navy.
Except his was not as detailed. In his inimitable style, he told me simply, “Volunteer for everything, kid.”
Lt. You have some great advice and counsel here – wonderfully written by Lex and enhanced by all the comments. Let me consolidate it a little with and acronym I learned from a great CO – RRPI:
The Key is to be – Responsive to all the tasking, challenges and opportunities – Receptive – take all your talents and employ them for each of those events – Positive – the glass is 3/4 full and people want to put more into it, there are a million ways to say no, always say yes… it can be done – Involved, with your people, with your mission, with all of the elements of the ship and the deployment experience – RRPI is a great formula for success. Thanks for your service and good luck on your deployment. Sorry I was late to the party.. Irish
So then, Lex.
i’m guessing you’ve now settled on your choice of career for after 1AUG08.
congratulations, and good luck with teaching Junior NROTC. let me know what high school billet you draw, i’ll be happy to stop by.
Well said, MajMike. I think he’d be superb at it.
Unfortunately, unless NROTC has a different pay scale than regular teachers, he won’t be able to make a living as an entry-level teacher (even with a Master’s degree).
Excellent advice, lex.
I’ll Echo Taxi1. Keep a journal. Include dates/times/places/names/Bureau Numbers and modex numbers. I’ll be the best gift you can give yourself for your forty-fifth birthday!
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President
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