Sailors & Marines First Whistleblowers

Review by Bill Doughty

Even as Americans fought to become a nation, some of the first Sailors and Marines stood up for honor, courage and commitment by reporting to Congress the unethical corruption and abusive misconduct of their commodore, Capt. Esek Hopkins.

And Congress stood up for them.

Two hundred and forty-two years ago – January 2, 1778 – Congress voted to fully terminate Hopkins's service and have him removed from the Navy.

America's first whistleblowers included Captain of the Marines John Grannis, Third Lieutenant Richard Marven (or Marvin) and Midshipman Samuel Shaw along with seven other Marines and Sailors, according to Stephen Martin Kohn, distinguished attorney and author of the comprehensive "The New Whistleblower's Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Doing What's Right and Protecting Yourself" (Lyons Press, 2017). Their bravery came before a U.S. Constitution or First Amendment was created to protect them.

"These sailors [and Marines] were devoted to fighting and winning the War for Independence. They were revolutionaries, risking their lives to build a free and independent America; they wanted nothing more than to fight and defeat their British foes. However, they feared that their commander could not successfully lead any such effort, for his tactics foreshadowed doom for the new American Navy. They blew the whistle on the mistreatment of prisoners almost 250 years before other whistleblowers exposed mistreatment of prisoners in the modern 'war on terror.'"

The Sailors' commander, Esek Hopkins, was commander-in-chief of the young Continental Navy. He came from a powerful family; his brother was governor of Rhode Island and a signer of the Declaration.

The Marines and Sailors, including the ship's carpenter and chaplain, petitioned Congress and reported allegations in letters that Hopkins "treated prisoners in the most inhuman & barbarous manner." He also failed to attack a British frigate that ran aground, and he disobeyed, disregarded and dismissed the U.S. Congress.

In "The New Whistleblower's Handbook" author Kohn publishes some of the testimony presented to Congress's Marine Committee, which conducted an investigation into the allegations and suspended the highest-ranking naval officer.

"John Hancock, the president of the Continental Congress, and the most famous signer of the Declaration of Independence, certified the resolution and ordered that it be served on Hopkins," Kohn writes. "Hopkins remained under suspension for over nine months. He never appeared before Congress to refute the allegations."

In a typical response to whistleblower complaints, Hopkins retaliated against his accusers, holding a sham court-martial and even jailing two of the men, who again petitioned Congress for help.

"On July 30, 1778, the Continental Congress came to the defense of Marvin (Marven) and Shaw. The Congress, without any recorded dissent, passed a resolution that encouraged all citizens to blow the whistle on official misconduct. Perhaps for the first time in world history – and unquestionably for the first time in the history of the United States – a government recognized the importance of whistleblowers in exposing official misconduct of high-ranking officials working for the government itself. The act of Congress could have been written today: 

'That it is the duty of all persons in the service of the United States, as well as all other inhabitants thereof, to give the earliest information to Congress or any other proper authority of any misconduct, frauds or misdemeanors committed by any persons in the service of these states, which may come to their knowledge.'"

The Founders authorized the government to pay the attorney fees for the jailed whistleblowers who Hopkins charged with libel. Congress also prevented obstruction by authorizing the release of all pertinent government records.

The whistleblowers were vindicated, and Congress ordered Hopkins to pay their court costs. Kohn contends that the case connects directly to the adoption of the First Amendment more than a decade later. The Navy whistleblower case influenced other acts in the 19th and 20th centuries and was recognized in a unanimous resolution by the U.S. Senate on July 7, 2016, honoring the Sailors and Marines and recommitting to support and protection of whistleblowers.

A Revolutionary Civil War Issue

The need for protecting whistleblowers seems to re-arise about during times of national division and increased defense spending. During the Civil War, Congress investigated frauds by government contractors such as selling sawdust as gunpowder, overcharging taxpayers, and otherwise "profiting from the terrible costs of war."

"When Congress investigated the frauds, it discovered that insider employees had blown the whistle and were subjected to retaliation. In one case the employee architect of the Benton barracks in Missouri reported that he was 'cursed and abused,' 'terrified,' and threatened with imprisonment for blowing the whistle on bribes paid to obtain construction contracts for the barracks."

This led to President Lincoln signing the False Claims Act, March 2, 1863, as protection for taxpayers and the treasury. The FCA became important two generations later in the lead-up to World War II to identify companies using deceptive contracting means to sell defective equipment, including "substandard' steel to the Navy."

Government contractors with powerful lobbying nearly defeated the FCA, and another generation went by before it became revitalized under the False Claims Reform Act and amendments. This was during the time of the $435 hammer, $640 toilet seat and $7,622 coffee pot.

"At the height of the 'Reagan Revolution,' and its gargantuan increases in defense spending, a freshman senator from Iowa, Senator Chuck Grassley, led the charge to increase oversight and accountability for federal spending by resurrecting the False Claims Act ... On October 27, 1986, the False Claims Reform Act was overwhelmingly passed by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan."

Sen. Chuck Grassley (Republican, Iowa) and Maj. Gen. Laura Richardson participate in a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and Joint Services reception held at the Russell Senate Office Building, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class David Marin)

The reinvigorated act restored the rights of whistleblowers to report fraud, waste and abuse, and demonstrated the federal government's protection of whistleblowers.

The explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986 led to an investigation that showed employees within Morton-Thiokol, a private contractor, had tried to blow the whistle over safety concerns. Nuclear power safety concerns, Enron's devastating scandal, Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, a company knowingly selling salmonella-contaminated peanut butter – all these cases involved whistleblowers, and each is discussed in the handbook.

But this book is not just about history.

"The New Whistleblower's Handbook" is also a practical, comprehensive (550 pages) guide for federal workers, private industry employees and the general public. It outlines hundreds of strategies and regulations related to whistleblowing in and out of government, acknowledging, "There is no single comprehensive national whistleblower protection law."

What are the pitfalls of using a company hotline? What if a complaint is with one's supervisor and manager? What are deadlines and statutes affecting different types of whistleblower rights? What about military service members?

"The Military Whistleblower Protection Act permits members of the armed services to lawfully communicate with Congress, their chain of command, and military inspectors general. The Act also permits members of the armed services to raise allegations of violations of law, discriminatory conduct and 'gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety."

Kohn provides information about deadlines, appeal rights, and relief entitlements.

Federal employees can get information about the Office of Special Counsel (https://osc.gov) and Merit Systems Protection Board (www.mspb.gov).

Capt. Mark P. O'Malley, the commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector Baltimore, gives his remarks during a press conference regarding a case between the United States of America and Irika Shipping S.A., a ship management corporation sentenced to pay $4 million for deliberately discharging oil and waste into the ocean, Sept. 21. A Coast Guard inspection crew discovered that the motor vessel Iorana, a Greek flagged cargo ship managed by Irika Shipping S.A., used a "magic hose" to bypass a oily water separator in order to discharge what was later revealed to be approximately 6,000 gallons of oil contaminated sludge and bilge waste. (Photo by: Petty Officer 3rd Class Robert Brazzell)

There's an APPS for That

Kohn explains various laws, regulations and specific acts like FCA, Dodd-Frank, Sarbanes-Oxley, Lacey, Atomic Energy, Airline Safety, OSHA, HIPAA, and environmental protection initiatives, including the Act to Prevent Pollution from ships. The latter incentivizes reporting with rewards and is having a positive affect on cleaning the oceans and protecting wildlife.

"Currently, most, if not all Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) ocean pollution cases are brought to the government's attention by whistleblowers, and these sources are now the key to the successful prosecution of ocean polluters. APPS includes a whistleblower reward provision that, over time, has proved vital to enforcing laws preventing pollution on the high seas.How can the United States obtain jurisdiction over pollution that is dumped into the high seas, outside U.S. territorial waters? Jurisdiction is based on how the United States implements the International Convention for Prevention of Pollution from Ships, as modified by the protocol of 1978, better known simply as the MARPOL Protocol, the leading international treaty protecting the oceans from pollution."

Kohn notes that in the past ten years the U.S. government, in cooperation with whistleblowers, collected about $279 million in fines and penalties from polluters who violated the APPS. Reports are made through the U.S. Coast Guard National Response Center, 800-424-8802; www.nrc.uscg.mil.

Tim Todaro, deputy inspector general, Regional Health Command-Pacific, leads his team through a practical exercise Jan. 12 during a Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General whistleblower reprisal investigations course, Jan. 12, 2017, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wa. (Photo by Flavia Hulsey)

Risks and Rewards

Whistleblowers in and out of government in various industries and activities have saved taxpayers billions of dollars. In one IRS case, whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld helped U.S. taxpayers recover more than 13.7 billion from wealthy tax evaders. He was awarded $104 million as part of a successful whistleblower claim.

But the serious act of whistleblowing carries risks. Employers and people in power are apt to "circle the wagons and shoot the messenger."

"One of the biggest mistakes shared by most whistleblowers at the onset of a case is the belief that somehow doing the 'right thing' will be rewarded and that the system will naturally work. Although a nice thought, that is the exception, not the rule. Regardless of the reputation of one's boss, it is simply not possible to predict how a company will respond to a report of wrongdoing by one of its own employees."

For whistleblowers who find the courage to stand up and report crimes, "there is no choice but to prepare a defense for his or her career and reputation," Kohn advises.

He presents hundreds of resources and points of contact for further research. The national framework of federal and state laws, including ongoing refinement of anti-retaliation laws, "is extremely complex and consists of numerous federal and state laws, but it is also plagued by loopholes and technicalities that cause unnecessary hardship to many employees."

Thomas Jefferson Memorial (Photo by TSgt. Eric Miller)

Kohn concludes with this reason for patriotic Americans to stand up for the First Amendment  and against corruption and – like the early Sailors and Marines and the nation's founders – denounce malfeasance:

"Corruption is a cancer on all democratic institutions. It converts the 'rule of law' to the 'rule of backdoor influence.' Greed trumps justice."

Asian Perspective

Review by Bill Doughty

East or West? Free for all or a free-for-all? Who's up and what's down in evolving global relationships?

"Those who are looking for either rigid lines of alliance or moral clarity among Asia's shifting partnerships will find themselves in an Escher painting."

What's needed is a new perspective.

In "The Future Is Asian" (Simon & Schuster, 2019) author Parac Khanna notes that civilization was born in West Asia. "Asia dominated the Old World, while the West led the New World – and now we are coming to a truly global world. There is no turning back from today's multipolar, multicivilizational order."

While China plays a central role in the future global order, those "shifting partnerships" and tenuous loyalties are especially evident in the maritime commons, where "each littoral state has a different name for its portion of the South China Sea."

Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Blake Rodenas uses the “big eyes” on the starboard bridge wing of the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) while in the South China Sea, Dec. 23, 2019. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Damon Grosvenor)

As Capitalism becomes a common link even in China and Russia, the waterways throughout Asia, including in and around the Arab states, become even more strategically important. This week China, Russia and Iran are conducting an anti-piracy/anti-terrorism maritime exercise in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman. 

"The more South and East Asians engage with the Gulf region, the more they will want to protect their investments. China, India, Japan, and numerous other Asian powers have all stepped up their freedom of navigation, counterpiracy, and other naval drills in the western Indian Ocean. India, seeking to recover the Chola Dynasty's maritime might, has increased its naval acquisition to more than a quarter of its defense spending with the aim of becoming the gatekeeper of the eponymous Indian Ocean. In the name of maintaining a 'free and open Indo-Pacific,' India and Japan cooperate in the annual Malabar Exercise with the United States, which has renamed its Pacific forces to Indo-Pacific Command. China is also seeking to recover its Ming Dynasty glory, sending flotillas to the Indian Ocean led by modern-day Zheng Hes. China alone has four times as many destroyers, frigates, and other surface warships as India (though still fewer than the United States and Japan). In the coming years, it may anchor more of them in Sri Lanka's Hambantota Port – which the government leased to China in 2017 for ninety-nine years after being unable to repay the loans for the port's construction – or even the Maldives, which was agreed to become a maritime hub of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China's more active presence in India's maritime theater has the country on high alert."

Quartermaster 2nd Class Ziolan Bondoc, from Riverside, California, assists with navigation in the bridge of the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54) in the Philippine Sea, June 13, 2018, during exercise Malabar between U.S., Japan and Indian maritime forces. (MC2 William McCann)

Khanna presents in detail the nuances of Asian relationships. For example: Turkey's Erdogan who has "lurched toward Asia;" Israel "ever more a part of the Asian system;" Pakistan's rumored Chinese naval base on the Jiwani peninsula "to challenge the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet;" Myanmar as a strategic investment for China, India and Japan; and Vietnam's "pugnacious" approach toward China – "Vietnam is not afraid to send its navy to collide with Chinese vessels and oil rigs trespassing in its water."

Vietnam People’s Navy Lt. Cmdr. Le Thanh Binh, July 16, at RIMPAC 2018. (MC2 Kory Alsberry)

He notes that in 2018 the United States invited Vietnam to participate in the Rim of the Pacific exercise in Hawaii, while excluding China.

Meanwhile, "China's enormous investments in antiship ballistic missiles, stealth submarines, robotic warships, electromagnetic railguns, swarming drones, and militarized reclaimed islands and shoals in the South China Sea (are) all intended to push U.S. forces east of the international date line."

"At the same time, China knows it is not omnipotent. Though it has enormous leverage over most of its neighbors, even military triumph in outstanding disputes may generate such adverse political and economic backlash that it is not worth the price. China cannot assure itself that seizing the multitude of disputed islands and mountains on its periphery would not lead to a blockage of its BRI projects or large-scale diversion of foreign financial and industrial activity. China has learned from Japan's hyperaggression and the United States' overstretch to show restraint and caution, not pursue invasion and occupation."

Khanna shows how Russia and China are getting closer. "Asian states are forging new geometries of cooperation," Khanna writes, including "budding military cooperation among Japan, Vietnam and India; between Australia and Japan; between India and Indonesia; among China, Malaysia and Sri Lanka; and among China, Thailand and Cambodia." Asian nations, including especially China, are investing in and trading with African countries.



"The Future is Asian" presents a scholarly history, a present state of affairs, and predictions for what may unfold in countries throughout the region, including Russia, Iran, India, Pakistan and North Korea.

"North Korea will be the true test of whether Northeast Asia can move from strategic suspicion to tactical adjustments. North Korea has been thought of as an isolated failed state, but the fact that its covert nuclear program has had links as far as Pakistan's A.Q. Khan nuclear smuggling network, its chemical weapons program to Syria's Bashar al-Assad, its ballistic missile program to Iran, and its cyber-surveillance tools to Russia, are all evidence of the seedier side of the Asian system. Asian states can conspire to form an 'axis of resistance' to perceived U.S. hegemony."

Khanna notes that claims by the United States of domination and exceptionalism ("America First") ring hollow and sanctimonious to Asian ears. Harmony and humility are valued over power and pride.

Asians in general, Khanna argues, prefer "cooperation over anger" and "action over argument" – including when dealing with common issues like water shortages, agricultural challenges, inequality and poverty, immigration, pollution and climate change. "China, Japan and India are all major exporters of solar, wind, nuclear and other energy technologies that reduce our global carbon footprint."

Robot Astro Boy

Keys for future success are in education and technology, Khanna asserts. Asians' views of AI and robots are closer to Astroboy (called "Atom" in Japan) rather than Terminator, he asserts.

Along with education and technology, technocracy is embraced. Freedom and democracy do not work without an educated citizenry led by experienced and thoughtful representatives and leaders. Khanna holds up Singapore and itsstatesman Lee Kuan Yew as models of excellence.

Still, he warns of technocracy leading to authoritarian governments that can practice corruption and trample civil rights. "Always beware the oligarch in disguise ... The essence of technocracy is improving governance, not preserving one's own rule."

"After observing Russia's manipulation of Facebook in the 2016 U.S. election – and viral videos sparking riots in India and Myanmar – Asians have recruited Facebook and WhatsApp to actively screen and counter viral hoaxes to ensure that 'fake news' does not destabilize communal harmony. As the economist Danny Quah puts it, free-for-all populist cultures resemble the comments section of online newspapers: they get hijacked by ranting trolls. A better model might be liberal societies in which officials act more like Wikipedia editors who ensure veracity and a sense of order."

Thefts of intellectual properties, tariffs, greed, revanchism and destruction of the environment are challenges for a peaceful future.

Khanna contends that Americanization is giving way to Asianization, even in Europe, and that "Asia is the most powerful force reshaping the world order today." He writes, "To appreciate just how rapidly global order can realign, consider the arc of the post-WWII era."

Whether or not readers agree with all of the author's conclusions and recommendations, especially his views on democracy, he compels us to consider other perspectives and how we approach the future – with less self-centeredness and arrogance and instead with greater humility, honesty and reflection.

Parag Khanna has served as an advisor to the U.S. National Intelligence Council and U.S. Special Operations Forces.

Faith in What

Review by Bill Doughty

A former president of the United States compares his faith and "commitment to a higher calling" to his time in the Navy, especially on deployment. Jimmy Carter contemplated death and eternity while served during the Korean War.

"It is difficult to explain, but I found this sense of inevitability and acceptance to be most similar to my feelings as a young submarine officer, when everyone who served in the military had to accommodate the prospect of potential death. We had a remarkable sense of liberation when we left our home port for a wartime cruise. The multitude of life's routine responsibilities and worries could be forgotten, with our concerns limited to those duties within the narrow confines of the submarine hull. Our written monthly reports concerning personnel and equipment were in abeyance until we returned, and even the cherished duties of a husband and father were left behind. I would be with seventy-one other men for a pre-ordained time and, of necessity, I had faith in the abilities and steadfastness of my fellow crewmen. The duties were onerous but, except for unforeseen crises within the ship, they were routine and predictable. The simplicity of this life was surprisingly satisfying. I dealt with potential concerns, even the possibility of tragedy, by focusing on my immediate duties, realizing that all results could not be under my control. On the ship, we all knew that a few dozen special people shared a special bond, each depending on all the others."

Carter's service in the Navy is brought up several times in "Faith: A Journey for All" (Simon & Schuster, 2018). It's an easy, introspective book with deeply personal thoughts, serving as another stream-of-consciousness memoir by the 39th president and a discourse on the meaning of faith. He writes, "My faith in other people, concepts and things ... (and) my faith as a Christian has provided necessary stability."

Among the concepts he values are peace, truthfulness, equality and justice. He says, "Regardless of our wealth, education, or other blessings, each of us can decide whether we want to be kind or cruel, generous or selfish, humble or proud, truthful or a liar, peaceful or combative, and loving or hateful." 

This book is a fascinating exploration what it means to be faithful and truthful, and how someone can balance facts revealed by science with beliefs in Christianity today.

Midshipman Jimmy Carter

"There is a difference between reasoning and believing," Carter explains, "but both can lead to faith. 'Faith' usually means belief either in a doctrine that we accept as truth or in a truth that is self-evident."

"The importance of telling the truth has been deeply engrained in me, first by my father and then at the U.S. Naval Academy. Daddy always reserved his most severe disapproval for any of us children who made a false statement to him or my mother. At Annapolis, we midshipmen all know that any revealed lie would be punished by instant dismissal."

Carter recounts growing up in the segregated South in Plains, Georgia, where white students rode to school in buses and black children had to walk, and where – even one hundred years after the Civil War – "only white adults were permitted to vote and to serve on juries."

"The next event that affected me directly was when I was a submarine officer and President Harry Truman ordained as commander in chief that all our military forces and the U.S. Civil Service end racial segregation. There was no trouble in implementing this command, and all of us on the ship saw the advantages gained by both black and white members of the crew. When our family returned home from the navy in 1953, this commitment to racial equality had become a part of our lives."

As in his other writings, Carter recounts his relationship with one of his mentors, Adm. Hyman Rickover, father of the nuclear Navy.

"I never discussed religious faith with him," Carter writes, "but Rickover had exemplary faith in his own ability and judgment, the value of tenacity, and the ultimate triumph of scientific facts."

Carter cites the influence of theologians such as Reinhold Niebuhr, author of "Justice and Mercy," along with evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould, author of "Rocks of Ages." Carter writes:

"The basic moral codes that shape and control our lives are the results of the laws of evolution; they have not varied for ages, and we know that their preservation is always dependent on transmission from one generation to the next. Primarily because of the tools and weapons that ensure our dominance, our physical development of strength and agility is no longer important in competition with other animals for survival. This means that the course of ascending evolution will be shaped by whether we learn to cooperate in doing what is good for each other instead of how we can prevail over others in combat. I believe this means that humans will have to evolve and implement fair and equitable treatment among ourselves, which could come close to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, along with the Bible's Ten Commandments and moral verses in the Koran, Carter says, can provide guidance for the future. Other major world religions from the East, such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism, are barely mentioned if at all in "Faith," which makes Carter's argument for inclusionary religion curious.

Carter visits USS Carl Vinson in 2013. (MCSN Iain Stratton)

He acknowledges a personal interpretation of what may be fallible or infallible in scriptures, including in subjects such as women's rights, race and homosexuality. And he recognizes that his Christian orientation toward religion is rooted in his family and place of birth and in individual choice. "When there are apparent discrepancies I decide what to believe."

Faith, he says, is innate to all humans, and it comes in many forms.

"The first absolute faith that most of us developed was in our mothers, as we suckled at their breasts or relished the warmth of their protective bodies. Even as a child, I soon acquired faith in my father and later in my siblings, my teachers, some other relatives, and then a few of my close friends and playmates. I evolved faith in myself, with an increasing awareness of my own limitations. Later came faith in the U.S. Navy and fellow crew members on my submarine, plus things to which I was devoted during my career: democracy, freedom, and the ideals shared by citizens of the United States; service to others, justice, equality and truth."

Carter's Christian faith is one of tolerance and acceptance as well as action. His "higher calling" is service to others and living an honorable life. The former president says Jesus Christ is "a constant source of reassurance, strength and guidance" in finding a purpose in life and in combating the Seven Deadly Sins: "lust, gluttony, greed, laziness, wrath, envy and pride."

Committed to peace, Carter nevertheless acknowledges the need for a strong defense. "Although the life-and-death power I held as commander in chief was sobering, I was and am convinced of the moral rightness of maintaining America's military strength."

This book includes an op-ed by Carter from March 2003 just before the war in Iraq: "Just War – or a Just War."  And it comes with a recommended bibliography with works by Gould, Niebuhr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Clarence Jordan, Richard Kroner, Barbara Brown Taylor, Paul Tillich and others. Carter is a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23) transits the Hood Canal, Sept. 11, 2017, as the boat returns home to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. Jimmy Carter is the last and most advanced of the Seawolf-class attack submarines. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. Michael Smith/Released)

With Respect to the Truth ...

Review by Bill Doughty

Here's a mind-expanding book that offers cosmic advice for the future – and the advice is most welcome today. 

Can we distinguish between facts and beliefs? Do we understand why some people reject science and secular values of truth, compassion, equality, freedom, courage and responsibility? Are we ready for a world in which humans could be irrelevant but under the control of more authoritarian leaders? Oh, and by the way, "what is the meaning of life" (and why is that the wrong question)?

According to philosopher-scholar Yuval Noah Harari in "21 Lessons for the 21st Century" (Spiegel & Grau, Penguin Random House, 2018), twin revolutions of infotech and biotech are bringing about big data algorithms and bioengineering as the world races to embrace artificial intelligence.

"What we are facing is not the replacement of millions of human workers by millions of individual robots and computers; rather, individual humans are likely to be replaced by integrated networks," Harari writes.

USAF maintainers prepare an MQ-9 Reaper drone at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, July 23, 2019. (SSgt. Mozer O. Da Cunha)

This is a challenge already for the U.S. Air Force as it accelerates artificial intelligence technology:

"AI might help create new human jobs in another way. Instead of humans competing with AI, they could focus on servicing and leveraging AI. For example, the replacement of human pilots by drones has eliminated some jobs but created many new opportunities in maintenance, remote control, data analysis, and cybersecurity. The U.S. armed forces need thirty people to operate every unmanned Predator or Reaper drone flying over Syria, while analyzing the resulting harvest of information occupies at least eighty people more. In 2015 the U.S. Air Force lacked sufficient trained humans to fill all these positions, and therefore faced an ironic crisis in manning its unmanned aircraft."

Harari said the future may see "the rise of a new useless class" as we experience higher unemployment and a shortage of skilled workers. "Today, despite the shortage of drone operators and data analysts, the U.S. Air Force is unwilling to fill the gaps with Walmart dropouts."

In a rapid explanation of human history – from the African savannah through the Crusades and effects of the Industrial Revolution to today's Nuclear Age and into tomorrow – Harari provides an ominous warning:

"The challenge posed to humankind in the twenty-first century by infotech and biotech is arguably much bigger than the challenge posed in the previous era by steam engines, railroads, and electricity. And given the immense destructive power of our civilization, we just cannot afford more failed models, world wars, and bloody revolutions. This time around, the failed models might result in nuclear wars, genetically engineered monstrosities, and a complete breakdown of the biosphere. We have to do better than we did in confronting the Industrial Revolution."

Why worry about the growing influence of algorithms? Harari says the shift in authority from human control to networks of algorithms "might open the way to the rise of digital dictatorships."

One important question for our time, he says, is "who owns the data?"

Harari reminds us how George Orwell in "1984" warned of televisions watching us and controlling free will and freedom of choice. Biotechnology, memory storage capability and data assimilation are advancing exponentially and can be controlled centrally. Imagine the new technologies in the hands of authoritarian leaders.

"In fact, we might end up with something that even Orwell could barely imagine: a total surveillance regime that follows not just all our external activities and utterances but can even go under our skin to observe our inner experiences. Consider, for example, what the Kim regime in North Korea might do with the new technology. In the future, each North Korean citizen might be required to wear a biometric bracelet that monitors everything that person does and says, as well as their blood pressure and brain activity. By using our growing understanding of the human brain and drawing on the immense powers of machine learning, the North Korean regime might be able for the first time in history to gauge what each and every citizen is thinking at each and every moment. If a North Korean looks at a picture of Kim Jong-un and the biometric sensors pick up the telltale signs of anger (high blood pressure, increased activity in the amygdala), that person will be in the gulag tomorrow morning."

Harari warns, "Democracy in its present form cannot survive the merger of biotech and infotech," where authoritarian governments could control citizens "even more than in Nazi Germany."

In "Mein Kampf," Hitler wrote about the importance of constant repetition; his propagandist Joseph Goebbels said, "A lie told once remains a lie, but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth."

Using lies and intimidation, dictators like Hitler and Joseph Stalin in the previous century controlled people's minds through a cult of personality, belief and anger. "The dictator might not be able to provide citizens with healthcare or equality, but he could make them love him and hate his opponents," writes Harari.

Stalin shamelessly embraced false stories and propaganda as he controlled minds, persecuted dissenters and killed millions of people, including in Ukraine, where his imposed famine became a weapon.

More recently, after Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine and occupied Crimea in 2014 he lied about Russian troops being involved. Later, he and Russian nationalists claimed Ukraine is not a sovereign nation and should be part of Mother Russia.

"Ukrainian citizens, outside observers, and professional historians may well be outraged by this explanation and regard it as a kind of 'atom bomb lie' in the Russian arsenal of deception. To claim that Ukraine does not exist as a nation and as an independent country disregards a long list of historical facts – for example, that during the thousand years of supposed Russian unity, Kiev and Moscow were part of the same country for only about three hundred years. It also violates numerous international laws and treaties that Russia has accepted and that guarantee the sovereignty and borders of independent Ukraine. Most important, it ignores what millions of Ukrainians think about themselves. Don't they have a say about who they are?"

Fortunately, the U.S. Navy stands with its friend, the democratic nation of Ukraine.

Cmdr. Tyson Young, right, CO of USS Carney (DDG 64), meets with a Ukrainian Navy music conductor after a Ukrainian Navy performance during exercise Sea Breeze 2019 in Odesa, Ukraine, July 4, 2019. Sea Breeze is a U.S. and Ukraine co-hosted multinational maritime exercise held in the Black Sea and is designed to enhance interoperability of participating nations and strengthen maritime security and peace within the region. (MC1 Kyle Steckler)

Unfortunately, people throughout the world are unaware of verifiable facts. We are ill-equipped to deal with future "deep fake" attacks, attempts to interfere with free elections, and mind control by digital dictators.

Harari shows that human nature makes us susceptible to false information, and the so-called post-truth era may have started millennia ago with belief systems that reject science and objective reality. Fiction, for many people, is more palpable and believable than fact.

What to do? Harari says we should meditate in order to achieve greater consciousness, which he calls the greatest mystery in the universe. He says, "The big question facing humans isn't 'what is the meaning of life?' but rather 'how do we stop suffering."

This book is a good companion to Harari's other works, "Sapiens" and "Homo Deus." As with his previous works, "21 Questions" goes beyond nations, ethnicities, religions and human consciousness to present a cosmic perspective in examining big questions in search for ultimate truth and wisdom.

Leyte at 75, The World Wonders

Review by Bill Doughty

Was "Bull's Run" Halsey at fault in the Battle of Leyte Gulf? Was MacArthur's massive ego a factor? How did fatigue influence the outcome of the battles? And did fake news possibly prolong the war for Imperial Japan?

These are a few of the ongoing questions explored in Thomas J. Cutler's latest book, "The Battle of Leyte Gulf at 75: A Retrospective" (Naval Institute Press, 2019).

In ten insightful essays along with archival material from the United States Naval Institute, this work adds new reflections on what James D. Hornfischer calls "the greatest upset victory of our Navy and also one of the most embarrassing moments." Hornfischer writes:

"We can find reason to criticize the conduct of most of the high command in this battle, from Admiral Halsey, who failed to communicate clearly with his colleagues as he went north in pursuit of the Japanese carriers, to Admiral Kinkaid, who hung his fate on the unverified assumption that Halsey was watching his back, to Admiral Nimitz who gave Halsey in the first instance excessively flexible operational orders that permitted him to abandon his 'cover and support' mission in favor of offensive action. Underlying all of this was the unfortunate divided command structure that placed the Seventh Fleet under General MacArthur, who required all messages to and from the Third Fleet be relayed through his headquarters at Manus, thousands of miles away, causing critical delays. But the final legacy of the Battle off Samar should be one of appreciation and inspiration, not recrimination."

Nevertheless, Halsey's ghost – and in one chapter his own recounting – hovers throughout this book. Why did Halsey abandon his station and chase after part of the Imperial Japanese fleet? Was he justified but wrong in his judgment? Was he duped?

Halsey's contemporaries and historians in the past 75 years mostly conclude his actions in the battle were a "mistake," an "unfortunate decision," and "overly aggressive."

Kurita

Historians, both American and Japanese, also evaluate the actions of IJN Admiral Takeo Kurita, who appears to have misjudged his enemy and departed the scene prematurely. In this volume of essays, Cutler and other authors examine the effects of fatigue and lack of sleep on Kurita's and even Halsey's actions.

Justifying Kurita's decision to retreat, his chief of staff Rear Adm. Tomiji Koyanagi wrote in USNI's Proceedings in 1953 (included in this book), "A night engagement against our exhausted forces would undoubtedly have been disastrous for us." Koyanagi extolls the fighting acumen of U.S. Navy forces, explains Japanese strategies and tactics, and chalks up some of the outcomes to luck and chance.

In the essay "Halsey's Decision," author Trent Hone notes, "Halsey and his subordinates were tired":

"They had been at sea almost two months. TF 38 began supporting the invasion of the Palaus on 31 August with strikes on the Bonins and Yap. Strikes against the Visayas followed. In mid-September, large-scale attacks on the Philippines convinced Halsey that plans for the invasion of Leyte could be accelerated; they were, but this left little time for rest or to absorb lessons. From 9 to 17 October, TF 38 struck Formosa, the Ryukyus, and targets in the Philippines. The assault on Leyte immediately followed. By the evening of 24 October, Halsey had been 'without sleep for nearly two days.' The Third Fleet had kept the pressure on the Japanese, but the admiral and his men were fatigued with the effort. This made it more likely that they would default to established plans, fall into entrenched habits, and fail to respond creatively to Japanese moves."

Imperial Japan's battleship Musashi under attack during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

Along with dry assessments of the planning and conducting of the battle, we get piercing personal recounts by warfighters as well as the cinematic prose of historians Hornfischer (author of "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors") and Cutler. Here's some of Cutler's assessment, republished from Naval History, October 1994, putting the battle in context in his essay "Greatest of All Sea Battles":

"The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the biggest and most multifaceted naval battle in history. It involved hundreds of ships, nearly 200,000 participants, and spanned more than 100,000 square miles. Some of the largest and most powerful ships ever built were sunk, and thousands of men went to the bottom of the sea with them. Every facet of naval warfare – air, surface, subsurface, and amphibious – was involved in this great struggle, and the weapons used included bombs of every type, guns of every caliber, torpedoes, mines, rockets, and even a forerunner of the guided missile.But more than mere size made this battle significant. The cast of characters included such names as Halsey, Nimitz, MacArthur, even Roosevelt. It introduced the largest guns ever used in a naval battle and a new Japanese tactic that would eventually kill more U.S. sailors and sink more U.S. ships than any other used in the war. It was the last clash of the dreadnoughts and the first and only time that gunfire sank a U.S. aircraft carrier. It was replete with awe-inspiring heroism, failed intelligence, sapient tactical planning and execution, flawed strategy, brilliant deception, incredible ironies, great controversies, and a plethora of lessons about strategy, tactics and operations."

Cutler offers a humble introduction to this volume, revealing his personal interest in the battle and acknowledging the flexibility of history as new information and assessments come forth. "No historical topic is ever beyond further insight and interpretation," he writes.

Nimitz presents Halsey with gold star in lieu of a fourth award of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal aboard USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor, Sept. 28, 1945.

Near the end of this collection we see how each side believed they were operating with divine inspiration. In the case of Imperial Japan, commanders operated "with confidence in heavenly guidance" and believed encountering U.S. Navy ships was a "heaven-sent opportunity." Meanwhile, Nimitz said U.S. ships were saved by "nothing short of special dispensation from the Lord Almighty." Assured of having God on their side, Imperial Japan had begun sending kamikaze ("divine wind") pilots on suicide missions.

In his essay from the Proceedings archives (March 1951) "Leyte Gulf: The First Uncensored Japanese Account" we read James A. Field Jr.'s Orwellian aspect of the war as reported in Japan:

"Following the arrival of American occupation forces in Japan, restrictions on accurate reporting of the course of the war were removed. It was obviously important to set the record straight and to explain to the Japanese public how such an unsurpassed series of victories had led to such utter defeat. It was important not alone for academic reasons of historical accuracy, but also as a vital step in the re-education of the Japanese, and as an object lesson in what happens when a people permits totalitarian control of all sources of information."

Aboard USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55). (MCSN Zachary Pearson.)

The lessons of the Battle of Leyte Gulf carry to our century despite the evolution of sea control, air power and naval warfare.

As Hornfischer concludes in is essay "The Tin Can Sailors are Gone: What Naval History Loses with the Passing of the World War II Generation," "A nation rises to the level of the stories it tells about itself."

The well-respected and passionate Thomas J. Cutler has put together a compelling collection of then-and-now stories, assessments and analyses. This Naval Institute Press book is another highly recommended edition for anyone interested in World War II and especially the Pacific War.

This month and for much of this year, USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet areas of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and Pacific through the Western Indian Ocean and three strategic choke points. Sailors of USS Leyte Gulf are underway as part of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (ABECSG) deployment in support of maritime security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th, 6th and 7th Fleet areas of responsibility. With Abraham Lincoln as the flagship, deployed strike group assets include staffs, ships and aircraft of Carrier Strike Group 12 (CSG 12), Destroyer Squadron 2 (DESRON 2), USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) and Carrier Air Wing 7 (CVW 7); as well as Alvaro de Bazan-class frigate ESPS Méndez Núñez (F 104). 

Naval Gazing: 'Sailing True North'

DC2 Reginald Selgren looks out at the horizon on the flight deck of USS Stockdale (DDG 106) while underway in the Pacific Ocean. (MC3 Abigayle Lutz)

Review by Bill Doughty

The deck of a ship provides a platform to simultaneously contemplate eternity and look within to understand our place in the universe.

"... any sailor can walk out on a rolling deck at night and stare at the distant point where the sky meets and sea and recognize that we are merely the smallest part of a huge and diverse universe that stretches forever unto the mind of God, and which will last far beyond the age of human beings. This combination of attributes – the endless vision of eternity dangling before our eyes – creates a deepening of character in the best of sailors ... and deepen our own characters."

Adm. James Stavridis, USN (ret.), brings us aboard with short biographical stories in "Sailing True North: Ten Admirals and the Voyage of Character" (Penguin Press, 2019). The bios and stories illustrate key character traits: creativity/innovation, resilience, humility, balance, honesty, empathy, justice, decisiveness, determination, and perspective.

Stavridis poses with instructors at the Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center in 2018. (Lt. M. Stroup)

Contemplating "great deep waves" and endless stars above and over the horizon provides perspective through deep reflection. 

Stavridis laments shortened attention spans and constant distractions in recent years that prevent us from reflection and true awareness. The antidote: reading, thinking and learning – reflection.

We can see the future and understand the present by looking into the past as well as the horizon. 

Through personal anecdotes and stories from history, Stavridis teaches about how to achieve a good character and practice good leadership.

Reagan, Lehman and Rickover in 1982.

He compares humble Rear Adm. Grace Hopper with irascible Adm. Hyman Rickover and offers a powerful story of Rickover's confrontation of Secretary of the Navy John Lehman and President Reagan in the Oval Office. Sometimes exemplary (and often flawed) character traits are illustrated in sea stories about such diverse figures as Themistocles, Zheng He, Sir Francis Drake, Mahan, Zumwalt and Nimitz ("In so many ways he was the greatest of the Navy's admirals").

Among the character traits that seem to really set the good apart from the bad are humility, justice, empathy and honesty. "Truth matters for us all," Stavridis writes, "but especially for leaders whose decisions shape the world. Character that is built around a respect, really a veneration, for the truth is the sort of character to have."

As for empathy, this trait when conducted – like gazing at the horizon from a ship's deck – helps us get out of our own skulls, escape the notion that we are the center of world. In that context, Stavridis introduces us to the "brilliant and memorable" speech by David Foster Wallace, delivered at Kenyon College in 2005, "This is Water."

Wallace calls for valuing lifelong education, caring for others, and awareness in living "life BEFORE death." Wallace demands we question what we worship and be open to new ideas. "Blind certainty," had says, is "a close-mindedness that amounts to an imprisonment so total that the prisoner doesn't even know he's locked up."

"If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It's the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. On one level, we all know this stuff already. It's been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, epigrams, parables; the skeleton of every great story. The whole trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness. Worship power, you will end up feeling weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to numb you to your own fear. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart, you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. But the insidious thing about these forms of worship is not that they're evil or sinful, it's that they're unconscious. They are default settings."

Obviously, Stavridis is open to inspiration from diverse sources in order to overcome our personal default settings. 

Two of Stavridis's mentors, Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, testify at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan and Iraq, Sept. 22, 2011. (PO1 Chad McNeeley)

"True North" reveals the author's mentors Adm. Mike Mullen, Gen. Colin Powell, and secretaries of defense Bob Gates and Leon Panetta. We read profiles on Adm. Bill McRaven and Adm. Michelle Howard, and we get quotes from Coach John Wooden, Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde.

Wilde's quote, by the way, is a found haiku:

"We are all in the

gutter but some of us are

looking at the stars"

Stavridis offers a wealth of books in his "selected bibliography and further reading." 

"True North" is worth a place on any sailor's bookshelf and is recommended for anyone interested in what it takes to lead an examined life as a good leader.

Happy Thanksgiving indeed.