The Ward Room

 Note that is one is not in order relative to the other posts. This one takes place while Captain A was in charge. It happened while prepping to go to the Med. Note that there will some graphic content discussed. Before the issue can be further discussed and analyzed, the stage must be set. For this, we go back a few days when the group was in Puerto Rico. We were anchored just off the base and had to run small boats to the base. We were allowed full use of the base but since we were only planning to be there for only a couple of day, we were not allowed off the base. In the group were five ships, LPH (helo carrier), LKA (amphib repair ship), LSD (my ship, medium troop carrier with a helo deck and well deck), LPD (larger troop carrier similar to LSD but has a helo hangar), and LST (flat bottomed troop carrier designed to go on the beach, let vehicles roll off the top, then pull themselves off). As I was coming on watch, on the bridge since we're running boats and not tied to a pier

 It was a dark and stormy night, a shot rang out, a door slammed and suddenly... yeah, ok, not really. But was a dark and gloomy. On the horizon we could see the burning oil fields. Thick sickly black stringy clouds loomed in the air, reflected off the moonlight.They contrasted against the normal clouds you would see at midnight while in the middle of the Persian Gulf. It was the third day of the ground attack of Operation Desert Storm, and we had a mission. My job was to steer us there and back.  One thing to remember about leadership is it's a skill, like a lot of things. Most people aren't born one way or another when it comes to skills, though as you grow you will gravitate towards something. You can be trained to be a leader, just like an architect, gymnast, engineer, or speaker.  That night I had one job, keep our ship 2000 yards (1 nautical mile) behind the helo carrier and staying in its wake. Fortunately, Captain A taught me all of my ship handling skills because Capta

 "USS <redacted>, this is Comphibron 6. Since you can't seem to get your directions straight, we'll do it for you! Now get your head out of your ass and come to course 350 and rejoin the formation! Comphibron 6 out!" This was an actual transmission to our ship from Commander Amphibious Squadron Six. He said this to us after my 2nd captain, a total racist, refused to listen to and acknowledge my initial recommendation to rejoin the squadron. Let me set the scene. Several months prior, our great captain rotated out. He started as a Commander (05) by rank but make Captain (06) when he left. Note: Captain refers to anyone in charge of a ship, regardless of rank. Commander refers to the Executive Officer of a ship, regardless of rank. However, they are also ranks in the Navy. My first captain, I'll refer to him as Capt A going forth, was a straight shooter, mentor, and knew how to handle a ship. He passed these skills down to his officer. Our second captain, Capt

 I will admit, I wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed when it came to Navy traditions. Going to ROTC, you miss out on a lot of the more nuanced traditions in the Navy. For example, it is customary for the Bull Ensign - the next one to be promoted to Lieutenant (Junior Grade) - to give a speech when the previous bull is promoted. As the Bull Ensign, you walk around with large gold bars that are designed to be worn on coats and jackets, not collars. They also have the words "Bull" engraved on them. Well, I didn't know about this tradition and wasn't ready to give a speech. My captain then said, "Say something now or give an hour speech in 2 days." I belted out something to the effect of, "Thanks, it's an honor, I look forward to serving, blah, blah, blah." Very plain and basic. Now the next person, who was a Naval Academy grad - also know as "ring knocker" - came prepared with a silly fun speech promising outrageous things like ice

 One of the things the Navy emphasizes it training.In my division my CPO had scheduled a training session on personal finance. Being that I had a Management Science degree from Georgia Tech and had take personal finance, I was well qualified to teach this class. The only thing was, I wasn't supposed to teach it. My CPO had scheduled someone to teach our junior enlisted this class. As the division officer, I was only to observe and make sure they received the training they were supposed to receive. Well, if that had happened, I wouldn't be writing this. The person who was supposed to teach it got called away. So there we were, in my space (what you call your room, location, area your in charge of in the Navy) and no one to teach. Being as I am the DivO I stepped up. I told my CPO, "No problem, I'll teach this lesson."  Ok, I need to let everyone know, that as a Management Science Major at Georgia Tech, I was required to take public speaking. When I joined Toastmast

As a young ensign, reporting to my first duty station, there was a lot to deal with. When looking at it from a leadership position, this is the one thing you must understand: You are going to be put in charge of people who know more than you, most have been in the Navy longer than you, and there are some, though subordinate to you, who have been in the Navy longer than you've been alive. It's intimidating! How do you survive it? Here are a few tips on how to lead those who know more about what's going on than you. These are ideas to keep in mind in the civilian world too. 1. Chain-of-command.  A lot of people who go the enlisted route don't want to be in charge. Also, they know and respect the chain-of-command. This applies in the civilian world as well. I had a job as a project manager primarily because the programmer who was the previous PM didn't want to do it. They wanted to stick to programming, not deal with the paperwork and the day-to-day items of making sur