Charge of command

By Capt. John Byron,
USN (Ret.)

Best Defense office
of nautical affairs



Admiral Gary Roughhead, outgoing Chief of Naval Operations, last month issued a
memorandum
to current and prospective Navy commanding officers reminding them of their
traditional and statutory duty in command. He implemented this with a directive
that COs and PCOs meet with their ISIC (Immediate Superior In Command) to
discuss the topic and leave behind a copy of the memo with their signature on
it.

Some (I'm one) see this as an example of what
Ernie King called "orders to follow orders," a pernicious practice
that substitutes for more effective leadership. I also see frustration stemming
from Roughhead's otherwise fine tour as CNO being tainted by the recent series
of command screwups in the Fleet (which, BTW, he has no direct authority
over). 

Some serving officers think this aimed more
at members of the flag-officer community as reminder of their duty
to make things turn out right. And many welcome this as a useful comment
on why command at sea is so distinct, seeing this a useful tool in training
PCOs in the pipeline.

Useful? Silly? Redundant?
Effective? Your thoughts?