Bush and Flyboys of WWII

(July 14, 2010) Below, right: Former President George H.W. Bush watches flight operations from the landing signal officer's platform aboard the aircraft carrier that bears his name, USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). Bush and his wife, Barbara, spent their time aboard watching flight operations, touring the ship and visiting the crew. George H.W. Bush is conducting training in the Atlantic Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nicholas Hall/Released)

Review by Bill Doughty

When the former President and First Lady visited namesake USS George H. W. Bush, (CVN-77) this month, among other things, they watched flight operations, toured the tribute room where a model of his WWII ship USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) is on display, and visited the ship’s library, a place filled with books, including good reads about Navy history and heritage.

Bush, one of the “Flyboys” described in James Bradley’s 2003 primer on aviation in WWII, was barely 20 when he and his flight crew were shot down after a bombing run on Chichi Jima, the island near Iwo Jima from which the orders to bomb Pearl Harbor were transmitted.

The book, on the Navy’s supplemental reading list, describes Bush’s rescue by the submarine Finback (SS-230) and the tragic loss of his two shipmates, gunner Ted White and radioman John Delaney.

Bradley delves into the horrors of war, carefully documenting incidents of torture, cruelty, even cannibalism, and explaining how such inhumanity arises from hatred, racism and xenophobia.

Less than one hundred years after Matthew C. Perry was welcomed at Chichi Jima in 1853, the tiny island was a focal point for bombing, POW abuse and fierce fighting.

Bradley interviewed then-President Bush and transcribes emotional memories of personal loss and tragedy, focusing on his sense of duty and personal ethos, his coming to terms with the tragedy of war, and ultimate transcendence, with his return to Chichi Jima in 2002, to face the ghosts of war.

Bradley, son of the Navy Corpsman who helped raise the flag on Iwo Jima, author of Flags of Our Fathers, says he is dedicated to disproving philosopher Immanuel Kant’s contention that, for humans, “the normal state of nature is not peace but war.”

In Bradley’s words, “war is the tragedy of what might have been.”

The USS George H. W. Bush is training to prevent war, to protect and defend peace, but to respond if called upon. No doubt it will have opportunities to interoperate with American allies and U.S. Navy partners -- including Japan.

More...

The following interview with former President George H. W. Bush can be found at www.achievement.org. Both the former president and former first lady are big supporters of literacy, learning and reading. While president, Bush participated in Read Aloud events, sharing the gift of reading with young people.

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/bus0int-1

Was there a book that inspired you?

George H.W. Bush: One of the historians here in Williamsburg talked about War and Peace. I had to read that in school. It was an inspiring, lengthy treatise. I read it twice. It taught me a lot about life. There was a marvelous book by Salinger called Catcher in the Rye. There was a book about discrimination called Gentleman's Agreement. These books I think helped shape my life.

Was there an experience that changed your life?

George H.W. Bush: I think the major event that shaped my life was being a Naval aviator. I got my commission and wings at 18 years old, and then I went into combat at 19. And I think, as I look back on it, that whole experience probably shaped my life more than any incident, or any event. Although I remember when I was shot down in that war. I remember how terrified I was.

ATLANTIC OCEAN (July 15, 2010) Command Chaplain Cmdr. Cameron Fish and former First Lady Barbara Bush tour the ship's library aboard the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). The library is dedicated to the former president's daughter, who is also the ship's sponsor. Bush, along with the ship's namesake, George H.W. Bush, spent their time aboard watching flight operations, touring the ship and visiting with the crew. The aircraft carrier is underway conducting training in the Atlantic Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nathan A. Bailey/Released)

Heartfelt 'Destiny and Power' of Bush 41

Review by Bill Doughty

The future President George H. W. Bush was 17 years old, attending Phillips Academy Andover, when Imperial Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. When he turned 18 he went off to war. When he was 20 he was a naval aviator with VT-51 in the Pacific, flying from the deck of USS San Jacinto.

On September 2, 1944 Bush was shot down in action over Chichi-Jima, an island heavily defended communications/supply island 700 miles south of Tokyo. His squadron's mission was to take out a radio tower atop Mount Yoake.

Author Jon Meacham recounts the terror Bush felt before, during and after his plane was hit by enemy fire.

Bush was in range of the tower. The Japanese guns filled the air with flak. Flying at a thirty-five-degree angle to the surface, Bush zeroed in on the target and went straight for it. Racing ever closer to the island, the plane was hit. As the Avenger jolted forward, Bush was able to keep it on target. Smoke filled the cockpit. Flames raced along the wings.

Bush stayed the course and dropped his bombs, damaging the radio tower, according to Meacham, before accelerating back out to sea. He knew his plane was losing altitude due to the severity of the fire. "Hit the Silk" he remembers telling his two crewmen.

"Buffeted by the wind ... Bobbing on the surface ...stung my a Portuguese man-of-war ..." Bush was a target for the Japanese as he paddled with his arms and waited for help. He was rescued by the submarine USS Finback. His first concern was for his aircrew. Two were lost and never found.

Meacham's account comes in Part II of "Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush" (Random House, 2015). Part II is titled "War and Marriage."

The crucible event in the western Pacific galvanized Bush's character, which had first been shaped, according to Meacham, by Bush's mother to be "courageous, competitive, caring, and tireless."  Yet a complicated amalgam of guilt and appreciation for being alive continued throughout his life:

There was no logic to the costs of combat. Bush realized, no real rhyme or reason. All you could do was your best, and take what came ... "I'll always wonder, 'Why me? Why was I spared?'" Bush recalled. He spent the rest of his life striving to prove that he was worthy of being saved when others were doomed.

Undoubtedly his wisdom gained in combat and service in the Navy at such a young age helped inform his decision-making decades later as commander-in-chief.

Meacham's masterwork biography includes a generational perspective of Bush's family, including with his partner First Lady Barbara Bush; his time at Yale; his achievements in business; life in Texas; diplomacy in China; the "Age of Reagan;" the winning of the Cold War; his Presidency; and the "Twilight" years since.

While most of the book understandably focuses on politics, Meacham makes it personal; he takes us into the mind of the former president, thanks to extensive interviews, access to Bush's recorded diary and well-documented research.

Our only complaint is that there could have been more space devoted to Bush Sr.'s service in the Navy. There's a brief but warm mention of the commissioning of USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77). Still, there's more here than in other biographies of our 41st president.

Former Chief of Staff John Sununu, for example, devoted barely one page out of nearly 400 to his former Boss's naval career in "The Quiet Man: The Indispensable Presidency of George H. W. Bush" (Broadside Books, 2015).

Sununu writes:

"Underneath his kinder and gentler exterior are a bona fide toughness and a commitment to complete his missions. After he was shot down – he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroism – he arrived in Hawaii for reassignment. He was offered a choice of returning to the United States or rejoining his old squadron, which was still battling in the Pacific. Bush elected to return to his squadron."

Nearly all of the rest of Sununu's book is a subjective behind-the-scenes look at the Bush 41 administration. Nearly all political. Meacham's work is much more objective, more insightful and, ironically, more heartfelt.

Read a review of "Flyboys of WWII" on Navy Reads.

George H.W. Bush's Courage, Richardson's Insights

Review by Bill Doughty

Navy's youngest aviator in World War II, Lt. j. George H. W. Bush.

He was forged from the sea after being fished from the sea. The youngest U.S. Navy aviator in World War II was shot down in the Pacific and rescued September 22, 1944. George Herbert Walker Bush passed away late yesterday at 94. He is remembered for his honesty, which arguably cost him reelection to the presidency in 1994.

He is also revered for his courage and bold decision-making after Iraq invaded Kuwait and threatened to attack Saudi Arabia, giving Saddam Hussein control nearly half of the entire world's known oil reserves at the time. Western Europe, Japan and the United States could not tolerate such revanchism.

In "Reflections of a Radical Moderate" (1996, Pantheon Books) Elliot Richardson recounts Bush's character in the first Gulf War, committing ground troops in numbers in the Gulf in numbers that would not allow rotation home with stateside combat units. "This decision precluded keeping the troops in place and awaiting further developments. A ground attack would have to be launched no later than the early spring of 1991 and completed no later than the middle of May because from then until October the desert heat would preclude sustained combat," Richardson writes.

"The die was thus cast on November 8, 1990, when the president announced the augmented deployment. Nine weeks later he sought and obtained by narrow margins congressional support for the use of military force and on February 24, 1991, he ordered the ground attack to go forward. The American people again united behind what they believed to be a just cause. In the end, however, other countries were the principal beneficiaries of our initiative. Although we had at most a 25 percent stake in the outcome, 75 percent of the ground troops in the Gulf, 74 percent of the planes, and nearly all of the naval firepower were American. And although we succeeded in persuading other countries to assume the current costs of Operation Desert Storm, passing the hat could not diminish our share of the blood risk. Nor was it ever suggested that we should ask anyone else to help us amortize the far larger investment we had already made in training, arming and equipping our Persian Gulf forces."When it was all over I wrote the president a letter. In it I saluted the courage, vision and steadfastness with which he had guided the nation's response to Iraq's aggression. I also observed that I had been unable to think of any previous example of a presidential course of action whose foreseeable outcomes were triumph or disaster, with nothing in between."

Richardson offered sage advice, though: "...The Gulf War posted a clear warning that it should not be taken as a precedent for military intervention in conflicts that do not involve equivalent economic and strategic interests."

Keep in mind that Richardson's book was written about 22 years after Watergate and 22 years ago today – well before 9/11 – when "Bush 41," was the only George Bush on the nation's radar.

Yet, Richardson's "Reflections" is fresh as today and as timely as tomorrow. He weighs in on topics like health care, climate change, criminal justice system, education, rich-poor gap, over-fishing, celebrity, cynicism and integrity in government.

Nixon looks on as Richardson is sworn in as Secretary of Defense.

He warns, "I do not think I exaggerate the current dangers to democracy in America. They arise from our failure to achieve the balance of realism honesty and moral responsibility that our situation demands ... Let down by lack of leadership and stampeded by populism, we are increasingly torn by divisiveness."

"Serious problems crying out for government action continue to multiply even as the government's capacity to deal with them progressively deteriorates," he writes. "Americans want a safer, more stable, more orderly, and more humane world not simply because such a world is better for us but because it is better for others too."

This ethical man who served in the administrations of four presidents and who had a number of cabinet positions, including Secretary of Defense and Attorney General, speaks highly of civil and public service, including in the military, as a public trust. He introduces us to Gen. John W. Vessey, Jr.

"Having in several capacities had the good fortune to become acquainted with many of the men who have risen to the top in the uniformed services, I'm deeply impressed by their consistently high quality. For that we owe a tremendous though unacknowledged debt to the continuing perspicacity of the armed services' selection and promotion systems. These views were reinforced when, during the events in June of 1994 commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy, I had the chance to talk with quite a few of our most senior officers. On the flight back from Normandy I sat across from General John W. Vessey, Jr. Now retired, he enlisted in the army at the age of seventeen, received a battlefield commission at Anzio in 1944, commanded the Fourth Division in Vietnam and U.S. armed forces in South Korea, became vice-chief of staff of the army, and ended up as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Since then he has given large chunks of six additional years to bringing about a final accounting for those mission in action in Vietnam. In all those capacities Jack Vessey was too astute to bamboozle, too strong to push, too courageous to intimidate, too patient to outlast, and too unassuming to flatter."

Although he laments President George H.W. Bush's lack of follow-through on "the vision thing," Richardson nevertheless praises him for his courage and foresight to work cooperatively within the framework of the United Nations and global community:

"With the relaxation of tensions brought about by the end of the Cold War this had at last become possible. With the united support of the permanent members of the Security Council and under the leadership of the United States, twenty-eight nations played active parts in a counteroffensive against Iraq that destroyed the world's fourth-largest army. In hailing this mutual effort, President Bush pointed to 'the long-held promise of a new world order – where brutality will go unrewarded and aggression will meet collective resistance.'"

Richardson notes the obvious, that "We the People" of the United States are our nation's government, its public. As part of a democratic republic we are in control of our destiny."But to adapt and endure, we need as individuals both to have hope and to believe in ourselves. And we must retain a measure of loving concern for one another."

Richardson died three years after his Reflections was published, at the end of the last millennium, Dec. 31, 1999.

Former Commanders-in-Chief Presidents Bush41, Obama, Bush43, Clinton and Carter.

At the George H.W. Bush Library website, we are reminded that President Bush, who joined the Navy on his 18th birthday, logged 126 carrier landings and was awarded the Navy Cross. "Mr. Bush credited his Navy service with 'making a man out of a scared little kid,' introducing him to shipmates from all walks of life and informing his decision-making as commander-in-chief.'"

Hertling on Trust: ‘If I Don’t Return’

Review by Bill Doughty––

Hertling

Hertling’s book “If I Don’t Return” is much more than its meaningful subtitle: “A Father’s Wartime Journal.” The war journal is a vital part, but this book is also about history, philosophy,  self-reflection, self-help, and –– most especially –– leadership. It’s also about building character based on trust.

His book for everyone, because nearly everyone understands and values the importance of trust. Hertling shares many personal lessons and beliefs, including this gem:

“…Over the years, I've come to believe one thing. That life and leadership are forged by one's character. And character is molded by experiences but defined by integrity, shared trust, enumerated values, honest humility, and different kinds of love.” Shared trust!

“Trust,” along with the other qualities he lists, is a foundation of core values and good leadership. Hertling saw the value of trust in 1990/1991 during the First Gulf War, when he helped kick Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi army out of Kuwait.

Trust in Unity

George H. W. Bush

“Looking back now at Desert Storm, I see how trust was the thread running through it all. At the unit level, trust was instinctive and immediate. We built it in our squadron, and President George H.W. Bush [Navy World War II Veteran, left*] generated it in our citizens. Chairman Powell and Secretary of Defense Cheney reinforced it in their conversations with politicians and the American people. We often didn't have the same in our later conflicts.

In combat, you cannot hedge or calculate trust—it must be whole. 

On a Bradley or Abrams tank crew, drivers trust commanders to navigate through the night; gunners trust leaders to identify targets; wingmen trust each other to cover their flanks. Once proven, that trust became indestructible. That was what carried us through exhaustion, confusion, and chaos. Desert Storm also enjoyed broad trust at home: 

Its objectives were clear, the coalition strong, the war short. That was due, at least in part, to the fact that Desert Storm was a quick war, and Americans like quick wars, with a lot of explosions shown on TV. 

By contrast, trust would not be as stable during our later counterinsurgency and counterterrorism wars. Soldiers in combat zones continued to trust what they could see: their buddies beside them, their leaders in the field, their sense of mission, and their practiced competency. But they couldn’t personally affect the shifting political calculations in Washington, the support of the citizenry of the country, or the intelligence that shaped actions. The disadvantages of long wars — counterinsurgencies and counterterrorism fights that took much longer to generate success-and the fleeting attention span of our citizenry caused a loss of interest in what the professional military force (less than 1 percent of our nation) was accomplishing. And the results of Operation Iraqi Freedom (and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan) stretched that trust thin, often to the breaking point. The false intelligence about chemical weapons, the changing conditions and mission creep, and the president's advice to citizens to keep going to the malls contributed to that deterioration of interest and trust.”

Trust in Your Eyes and Ears

When a reporter told President Trump (left) the other day that Navy families are concerned about their Sailors because of deteriorating conditions aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), he replied, “No they’re not.” When the reporter asked if the carrier was deployed too long, he replied, “No, no, no. Not nearly long enough.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth expressed gratitude to the Sailors aboard the carrier, but claimed news reports detailing poor living conditions and mental health struggles on the carrier were false or distorted and “completely misrepresented.”

But after a visit to USS Abraham Lincoln, Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander, U.S. Central Command, who is the top U.S. commander in the war with Iran, said, “I applaud Lincoln’s leadership –– the senior enlisted leaders in the Chief Petty Officers Mess in particular –– for stepping up and making mental health and crew resilience a leadership priority.”

In the face of rising prices and Americans’ concerns about the economy, Trump –– who along with his family is making billions of dollars while in office –– said several weeks ago, “I don't think about Americans' financial situation, I don't think about anybody.”

Opinion polls show most Americans hear that lack of care and so have a lack of trust.

Trust in ‘Johari’

In “If I Don’t Return,” Hertling refers to more than a dozen other thinkers and authors. One of those authors is emergency medicine physician Dr. Omayra Mansfield, who wrote "The Trust Transformation."

"In her book, Dr. Mansfield relayed a core message that is simple but profound: Before you can build trust in others  –– your patients, their families, your colleagues and leaders — you must first trust yourself. Leadership requires clarity of individual values, consistency of action, and authenticity of presence. She knows this is true in an emergency room, and I know it is true in a combat zone. It is something that must also remain true for citizens and policymakers. When trust is absent –– when leaders are inconsistent, opaque, or self-deceiving, and when employees or citizens don't feel a part of the team — trust quickly collapses. 

Many of those who study trust often revert to a model called the ‘Johari Window.’ It's a rhetorical tool used to explain self-awareness and trust between individuals. In combat, soldiers operate almost entirely in the ‘open quadrant’ of that theoretical window — we depend on what we know about each other, gained from close connection, shared hardship, and repetitive experiences that all lead toward trust. There are no illusions about fear, courage, or capabilities. But in other groups— larger teams in different situations — the Johari Window posits that participants often exist in the ‘hidden’ or ‘blind’ quadrants. Some individuals often withhold their full motives (hidden), fail to see their own limitations (blind), or are misled by information that is just not true. 

The result is a breakdown in trust … I’m convinced that trust is the building block of relationships, leadership ... and life. Trust is gained in myriad ways, and, as I once heard someone say, trust is earned in drops but lost in buckets. Trust is relatively easy to build in small teams, if one knows what it takes to build it. But it is much harder to sustain when hidden motives, blind spots, egos, and personal agendas that are often present in larger teams enter the equation. 

Interestingly, military theoretician Carl Von Clausewitz described something similar in broader terms for warfare. He wrote of war as a paradoxical ‘trinity’ — a  balance of passion, chance, and reason — that found its practical expression in the relationship between the government, its army, and its people. Each had to trust the other. Citizens had to believe their government's cause was just. Armies had to believe their political leaders would use their sacrifices wisely. And governments had to trust their soldiers to execute with discipline and competence. If one leg of that triangle fails or is even oft kilter, if confidence collapses, the nation that goes to war will suffer significant consequences. Ukraine's resistance to Russias invasion in 2022 illustrated this perfectly: Ukraine's people trusted their government, its army trusted both the people and their leaders, and the government trusted the army enough to unleash it with broad support. That synergy sustained Ukraine when the odds seemed impossible. Trust, in that sense, is not just personal — it is strategic. 

As a nation — as a government, as citizens, and as an army — we were successful in building the trust needed to execute Desert Storm inside our units, between the government and the people, and between the people and the army. But during later wars, we found ourselves in a place where no military leader, and certainly no government, wants to be. Despite tough fighting by courageous soldiers, competent diplomacy of the State Department, and the desire of governmental officials to achieve stated goals, three of the other wars — Vietnam, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and Operation Iraqi Freedom — were failures. In my view, a big part of the reason boiled down to an unbalanced Clausewitzian triangle. A lack of trust. 

To me, the lesson is simple. Trust is critical between people, between the citizenry of a nation and its government, and between governmental officials and their army. Find ways to build trust — improve communication, eliminate misinformation, define the mission, maintain humility, ensure competency and integrity, create understanding — and it will bring you closer to success. All seemingly easy, but to paraphrase Clausewitz, the simplest things are often the most difficult.”

Trust in Truth

Hertling writes, “What I learned from both Iraq and Ukraine is that opportunism thrives in the vacuum left by failed institutions. People who have no faith that their government will provide food, water, fuel, or security will take matters into their own hands.”

In the United States, great social change has been brought about both violently (the Civil War) and nonviolently (FDR’s New Deal after the Great Depression). MLK’s Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 60s achieved integration and LBJ’s Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act through a non-violent strategy but with violent repercussions

Hertling warns:

“In America, we've seen moments when institutions faltered and riots turned cities into places of fear and lawlessness. In those moments, ordinary people are swept up in mob behavior that tears at the fabric of community and civility.

The lesson is stark: Without trusted institutions, the human condition bends toward chaos. Leaders — whether military or civilian — must not only prepare to confront that chaos but also work tirelessly to prevent it by ensuring their people are cared for, protected, and respected. A government that cares for its people will always be more resilient than one that leaves them desperate.”

On a hopeful note, he writes, “… Chaos, if left unchecked, will consume everything. But with strong leadership, institutions built on trust, and the kind of professionalism modeled by leaders like Henadii Vorobiov in Ukraine, and later Barham Salih in Iraq, societies can resist the pull of opportunism and corruption and instead move toward stability and hope for the future.”

Trust in Communication

Hertling’s life’s path has led him into public affairs and journalism as a national security analyst. Again, “trust” is at the ore of communication with the public.

While serving in Iraq again in 2003 as an assistant division commander in the 1st Armored Division, his commanding general, Marty Dempsey, directed him to communicate with three distinct audiences in three very different ways. Above all, to do so with honesty and integrity, especially when communicating with the American people. Hertling received this directive: “Expand information operations, public affairs, and command information.”

“At the time, those three terms had distinct doctrinal meanings. Information operations referred to the full spectrum of activities designed to influence our enemies and protect our own decision-making. IO consisted of psychological operations, electronic warfare, deception, and information security. Public affairs was the communication of facts to the public, usually through the media, and it focused on telling the army's story truthfully and effectively. We were not allowed to use information operations against journalists. Finally, command information referred to internal communication within the force: that is, messaging that kept soldiers, families, and the army community informed so rumors didn't fill gaps.

Dempsey understood something few others did: In modern conflict, these three were interconnected. If we wanted to stabilize Iraq, we couldn't just fight insurgents; we had to protect information from the enemy, but we also had to win narratives, build trust, and tell the truth.”

Telling the truth is the foundation of building trust. And trust is, again, “earned in drops but lost in buckets.” The three pillars of communication may be interconnected, but they must be distinct to their audience. That’s why public affairs interaction to the public or internal communication with troops must never include lies or disinformation of “information operations,” strictly used against bonafide enemies. And the media are not "enemies of the people."

In 2026, we are right to demand leaders of good character who tell the truth and build trust.

[This is the second in a three-part series of reviews of this important book.]

*Former President George H.W. Bush departs the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., Jan. 8, 2009.  (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Joel S. Kolodziejczak)

Tank photo: BAGHDAD, Iraq An M1 Abrams Tank from B Company 1st Battalion 37th Infantry, attached to 1st Battalion,, 36th Infantry, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division as part of Task Force 1/36 maintains perimeter security inside a traffic circle in the Rusafa district of Baghdad, April 2004. (Cpl. Benjamin Cossel)

Navy Volunteer!... But Why?

by Bill Doughty

Thousands of Sailors volunteer to read to students at schools throughout the United States. Service members, Navy civilians and families volunteer to work at community service projects to help the environment, prevent drug abuse and assist people in need.

Why?

Thomas Jefferson saw charitable giving of time and resources as part of responsible citizenship and good morality. In his 1786 letter to Maria Cosway, “Dialog Between My Head & My Heart,” Jefferson wrote:

And what more sublime delight than to mingle tears with one whom the hand of heaven hath smitten! To watch over the bed of sickness, & to beguile its tedious & its painful moments! To share our bread with one to whom misfortune has left none! This world abounds indeed with misery: to lighten its burthen we must divide it with one another.

Evolutionary biologists, anthropologists and sociologists may explain the benefits of volunteering in scientific terms -- altruism has its roots in survival of the species through natural selection. Those who cooperate and collaborate increase their chances for survival by being able to more effectively feed and defend their families.

In practical terms, Sailors today who volunteer in their communities are more likely to achieve success in their careers. The Sailor benefits and so does the Navy and society, in general.

(Aug. 17, 2010) Sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) pick up trash at the Virginia Zoological Park during the ship's "1,000 Points of Light" community service event. Nearly 2,000 George H.W. Bush Sailors volunteered at approximately 100 different locations around the Hampton Roads area. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eric S. Garst/Released)

Last week the Navy Community Service Program council met in Washington, D.C. to evaluate the effects of Navy Volunteer efforts in communities nationwide.

The council looked at ways to streamline the annual volunteer awards program and clarify instructions and processes.

As part of the annual meeting, the council attended a welcoming ceremony hosted by CNO Adm. Gary Roughead for the CNO’s Indian Navy counterpart, Adm. Nirmal Kumar Verma. The CNO spoke of the importance of the strategic partnership with the Indian Navy and the importance of working together toward increased interoperability.

The U.S. and Indian navies worked together in the exercise Malabar 2010, training together as friends and maritime allies.

The strategic importance of volunteering and working together -- whether globally or locally -- is a key theme in the Navy’s mission, outlined in the Maritime Strategy and Commanders’ goals, where preventing war is better than fighting war.

Another highlight for the council was visiting the headquarters of the Navy's Ceremonial Guard. Check out this performance of the guard being shared on line:

In my next blog post I’ll review The Art of the Long View -- Planning for the Future in an Uncertain World by Peter Schwartz, who discusses scenarios for predicting and adapting to change. Schwartz supports the idea of collaborating in an ever-more diverse and integrated society.

Schwartz writes:

The world needs a framework of new international institutions -- a new global commons -- to coordinate people worldwide and help resolve conflicts over resources like oil and territory, or the impact of pollution on a country’s neighbors. The rich and the free need to assure the poor and repressed that they, too, can have a realistic sense of hope for the future -- that the gulf between the top and bottom does not widen so much that we who are well off find ourselves living at the expense of a desperate and angry mass.

More on his perspective next week...

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(Aug. 21, 2010) Lt. j.g. Michael Anderson, command chaplain at U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka, plays with a child from Fujisawa City's Misono Orphanage during a community relations event sponsored by the hospital and the guided-missile cruiser USS Cowpens (CG 63). More than 70 children were transported onboard Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka for a day of bowling, playing in the park and an American style barbecue with more than 100 command volunteers. (U.S. Navy photo by Ben Avey/Released)

‘How to Lead’ -– Attributes

Review by Bill Doughty

What makes a good leader? What attributes can be found in successful ethical leadership? Listen to this.

David M. Rubenstein hears from renowned leaders in “How to Lead: Wisdom from the World’s Greatest CEO, Founders and Game Changers” (Simon & Schuster, 2020). He interviews people like Bill and Melinda Gates, Gen. David Petraeus, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and President George W. Bush, and others. He arranges the interviews in six categories: visionaries, builders, transformers, commanders, decision-makers, and masters.

According to Rubenstein, here are attributes of a good, successful leader: luck, focus, persuasiveness, a desire to succeed, pursuit of something unique, willingness to work long hours, ability to keep learning (“nothing focuses the mind like a good book”), integrity, humble demeanor, credit-sharing, ability to keep learning, responding to crises, and rising from failure.

“Failure teaches humility and exponentially enhances the desire to succeed the next time,” he writes.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, interviewed in this book, gives this advice about good leadership: “You don’t dictate to people. But if you let them know what your vision is, hire the best people, and then don’t get in their way, those are the qualities of a good leader.”

As for other advice in responding to crises, Rubenstein writes:

“Leaders are most needed when crises occur, as we have been reminded this year during the COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd. Rising to the occasion when an existential crisis occurs can mark a leader forever –– Lincoln holding his country together during the Civil War or Churchill rallying his country to fight the Nazi attacks.”

Powell, Bush and Schwarzkopf attend a memorial service in Kuwait, Jan. 26, 2001. (Sgt. B. Beach)

In an interview with Gen. Colin Powell (former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and former Secretary of State), Rubinstein listens to how the United States responded to a crisis –– Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait leading to the first Gulf War during George H. W. Bush’s administration.

Powell said every good leader must have a strong vision and understand “why we are here” and then instill that understanding of “why” through all levels of the organization or team. 

“That’s what leadership is all about –– inspiring others,” he says.

Powell discusses how United States Marines achieved the mission in the first Gulf War, not only following their initial orders but also seizing an opportunity to advance when they saw the chance. Agility and nimbleness are good attributes for any leader.

Powell also takes questions head-on about his role in the second Gulf War, in which the CIA provided information Powell then relayed to Congress about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq –– as justification for an invasion. He offers a thoughtful and critical analysis.

Cadet Dalton MacAfee receives the Mike Krzyzewski Teaching Character Through Sport Award May 6, 2019 at West Point Military Academy. (PO1 Bryan Ilyankoff)

Interviewing Coach Krzyzewski (“Coach K”) of Duke basketball, Rubenstein asks about what he rightly calls “one of the greatest games ever played”: the 1992 semi-final game between Duke and Kentucky. Kentucky scored an improbable basket in the last seconds of overtime, putting them up by one point. With 2.1 seconds left in the game, Duke had the ball and called a timeout.

Coach K  remembers, “The very first thing a leader has to show is strength, so I met them as they were coming to the bench, and I said, ‘We’re going to win. We are going to win.' Then he called up a creative play –– Grant Hill passing 75 feet to Christian Laettner at the top of the key for a turnaround jump shot. Duke won the game and went on to win the championship thanks to their leader’s confidence.

Among this book’s eclectic group of leaders –– including Condoleeza Rice, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Yo Yo Ma, Robert F. Smith, and James A. Baker III –– is an unexpected but rewarding choice of subjects: Lorne Michaels, creator and producer of Saturday Night Live. SNL has catapulted the careers of Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Billy Crystal, Chris Rock, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Amy Poehler, Kristin Wiig, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Kate McKinnon, and scores of other comedians, talk show hosts, and actors.

Second Lieutenant Leah Davis speaks with actor Bill Murray, at the Wrenwoods Golf Course, Joint Base Charleston, S.C., Aug. 17, 2012. Murray participated in the golf tournament sponsored by the Airlift/Tanker Association. (SSgt. Katie Gieratz)

Michaels discusses the challenges of leading generations of creative people. “You try to create a culture where everyone feels they’re heard,” he says. “You lead by example.” He admits to being “ruthless” in ensuring the show is good. He is equally ruthless in ensuring everyone’s voice is heard and in being flexible enough to adapt quickly to change. He listens. To everyone.

It’s interesting to hear also about the history of how SNL got started; its ties to Johnny Carson, Howard Cosell, and first host George Carlin; and how the show and comedy itself has evolved over nearly 50 years.

Most of the very best leaders, by the way, have another important attribute: a sense of humor.

Robert M. Gates praises this book in a prominent blurb: “A wonderfully entertaining book about leaders from very different professions and walks of life … Rubenstein discerns the attributes of leadership they all have in common. ‘How to Lead’ is an exceptionally instructive and inspirational book.”

Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Gilday uses the 1MC to address the crew aboard the Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Billings (LCS 15). Gilday visited Naval Station Mayport Mar. 3, 2021 to engage with Sailors, speak to local Navy leaders, and tour a number of commands in the area. (MC3 Austin Collins/Released)