A new Old Salt
December 15th, 2011 | Chief of naval operations Fleet Forces Command Navy Norfolk Naval Station Officers Photos The Old Salt | Posted by Bill McMichael
By custom, the surface warfare officer with the earliest Officer of the Deck qualification is recognized as the Navy’s “Old Salt” — an award initiated in 1988 by the Surface Navy Association.
On Friday, that distinction will be bestowed on Adm. John Harvey, commander of Fleet Forces Command, in a ceremony aboard the amphibious transport dock ship San Antonio at Naval Station Norfolk.
The current Old Salt is the recently retired Adm. Mike Mullen, who stepped back into civilian life Sept. 30 following four years as the nation’s top military officer and 43 years of service. There was no interim Old Salt, according to Ted Brown, a Fleet Forces Command spokesman.
Harvey, who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1973, earned his OOD qual on Oct. 11, 1977, aboard the nuclear-powered cruiser Bainbridge. He assumed command of Fleet Forces in July 2009.
Dec. 20 CLARIFICATION: According to Brown, Harvey earned his surface warfare officer or SWO pin in October 1977. He earned his OOD qual in the spring of that year.
Here’s the Old Salt and the Old Salt-to-be back in 2005, when Mullen, then the chief of naval operations, promoted Harvey to vice admiral.
Rear Adm. John Harvey, left, is promoted to vice admiral by then-Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen on Nov. 22, 2005. Harvey assumed the duties as Chief of Naval Personnel/Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education. Harvey is now a full admiral and commander of Fleet Forces Command. // U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer's Mate Johnny Bivera
Crowston comes out
September 21st, 2011 | Anti-gay slurs Commanding officers don't tell leadership Navy Navy secretary Officers Photos | Posted by Bill McMichael
Proposing call signs like “Fagmeister” and “Gay Boy” — and the winner, “Romo’s bitch” — one can only assume that at least a few of Lt. Steve Crowston’s fellow officers in Strike Fighter Squadron 136 felt pretty sure the unit’s administrative/legal officer and avid Dallas Cowboys fan was a homosexual. But Crowston, who filed multiple inspector general complaints over what he regarded as anti-gay hazing in the unit, had steadfastly refused to acknowledge his sexual preference, saying it was irrelevant and that his concern was over inappropriate workplace hazing.Tuesday evening, on the 6 p.m. newscast of Norfolk’s WAVY-TV, with the Pentagon’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy no longer in effect, Crowston came out. “I’ve been in 17 years, livin’ a lie, hiding who I really am, said Crowston (1:52 on the video), interviewed at a downtown Norfolk celebration of the end of the policy’s demise Tuesday. “People have suspected through the years, but I couldn’t come out. Now, I have that choice, without losing my career over it.”
Crowston’s complaints, first voiced following an August 2009 call sign meeting attended by his CO and XO, eventually found their mark. In July, the Navy announced that the very recently retired Cmdr. Liam Bruen, the former CO, had been censured by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus — this after being removed from his post-command job as operations officer on the carrier John C. Stennis. The former XO and current CO, Cmdr. Damien Christopher, wasn’t cited by Mabus but received two formal counselings from senior commanders and an unspecified letter of admonition. He was allowed to remain in command, with officials citing superior performance while in command.
Bruen and Christopher both took issue with the punishments. Bruen said he felt the Naval IG interpreted the Navy’s Equal Opportunity policy too broadly in saying he’d condoned hazing by allowing the call sign meeting to continue, even though he called a subsequent all-officers meeting at which he vowed to provide a command environment “free from hostility and marginalization.” Christopher said the IG used “flawed legal analysis” to impose a “new standard” under the Navy’s hazing policy upon him. Christopher also told Navy Times that the Naval IG’s findings are under review by the Department of Defense IG.
Crowston, now the administrative officer for the Naval Ocean Processing Facility at Dam Neck Annex, told Navy Times Wednesday night that he feels a great sense of relief that the policy has been eliminated and that he’s no longer in the position of “living a lie.”
“It’s such a relief to know that the silent knife that could stab you at any moment and cause you to lose your career in the military is no longer there!” he wrote. But while the policy is gone, there are battles ahead within the ranks, he told WAVY-TV.
“There’s still gonna be homophobia,” Crowston said. “There’s still gonna be bigots. There’s still gonna be people who, you know, are gonna judge you, now that you can declare who you are.”
Advice from a guy who has done it before
September 13th, 2011 | Aviation Naval aviation Navy Officers | Posted by Joshua Stewart
The Tailhook Reunion and Symposium hosted a winging ceremony, a first for the annual meet-up. Two Navy and two Marine Corps officers received their wings. But before things were made official for Lt. j.g. Erik Michael Sink, 1st Lt. Jeffrey C. Monroe, Lt. j.g. Gregory Brett Maters and 1st Lt. Reid Savid, retired Adm. Tim Keating, formerly CO of Northern Command and Pacific Command, gave some advice that will help out any aviator headed to their first squadron.
- Don’t forget about mom and dad.
- Learn how to be a good wingman. “The best combat leaders I know … they were great wingmen. It’s a hard job to be in position, to be prepared.
- “Have fun, it’s hard enough work.”
- “Work hard. The fate of our nation is on your shoulders. It sounds like a momentous statement. It is. It’s meant to be.”
And with not much else, the four young pilots received their golden wings.
It’s a real FRUKUS
June 21st, 2011 | Counter-piracy Foreign navies Maritime interdiction Maritime operations Navy Officers Photos Royal Navy Ships Training | Posted by Bill McMichael
No, we haven’t lost our sense of decorum here at Scoop Deck. FRUKUS 2011 is an invitational naval exercise now underway off the Virginia coast involving ships from Russia, France, the U.K. and the U.S. Navy. “FRUKUS” is an acronym for all four nations — we’re guessing it rhymes with RUCKUS, which means a commotion — but it’s a bit more controlled than that denotes. It’s a two-week interoperability exercise … but let’s get to the pictures of the ships, shall we?
‘Ere’s the British ship, a destroyer …
HMS Dauntless, a participant in FRUKUS 2011, arrives at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Kristina Young.
FS Ventose, a participant in FRUKUS 2011, arrives at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Kristina Young.
U.S. Navy Sailors from the destroyer James E. Williams receive the lines from their counterparts aboard the Russian ship Admiral Chabanenko as it prepares to dock pierside at Naval Station Norfolk. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Darren Moore.
The French entrant, a frigate …
And the Russian vessel, a destroyer:
The exercise aims to improve maritime security through “open dialogue and increased training between the participating navies,” according to the Navy. There are two phases: ashore and at-sea. While ashore this week — the ships arrived June 20 — sailors are training on damage control, firefighting and ship handling. Next week at sea, under the command and control of a shore-based multinational combined task group staff, the ships will train on maritime domain awareness, and anti-piracy and maritime interdiction operations.
At the same time, senior officers from each nation will meet during the at-sea phase, presumably to get to know each other a bit better.
Early stumbles didn’t sink admiral’s career
June 15th, 2011 | Admirals Humor Naval Academy Officers | Posted by Sam Fellman
Adm. Mike Mullen recounted his early career missteps to laughs on the Late Show with David Letterman. // Defense Department
If your career seems rocky, consider this one: He was nearly booted from college, graduated in the bottom third of his class, and only a few years into his naval career, he struck a buoy with his ship.
That lackluster start belongs to Adm. Mike Mullen, now the military’s top officer.
Mullen recounted his early stumbles as a midshipman and junior officer to laughs and applause on the Late Show with David Letterman on June 13.
In his first month as a senior at the Naval Academy, Mullen said he racked up 115 demerits; only 35 more and he would be expelled, he noted.
“Wait a minute: and now you’re the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff?” Letterman replied, to applause. “I mean, does anybody look at your records?”
For his part, Mullen said it took 11 years to recover from hitting a buoy while he commanded a gasoline tanker and attributed his eventual success to finding good mentors and not giving up.
A partial transcript is below, edited for brevity.
David Letterman: What kind of student were you at Annapolis?
Mike Mullen: Ah, not that good.
DL: I don’t know anything about it other than their system of demerits in Annapolis and I guess all military academies, maybe schools generally. What do you have to do to get a demerit?
MM: Well, there are actually a lot of things that you could do and actually I got my fair share of demerits.
DL: You remember the high number of your visit there?
MM: Well in the last year that I was there, my senior year, you could only get 150 and if you get a 150 demerits you get kicked out. And I managed to get 115 within the first month.
DL: Wait a minute: and now you’re the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff? I mean, does anybody look at your records? How does this happen? [applause] What was the problem?
MM: Actually when I got there, having no idea, I just met really great people and one of the reasons that I’m in the military today is because I’ve been around great people for coming up on 47 years, truly extraordinary. And some of us like to have a good time. So I just had a good time early in my senior year and didn’t do much the rest of the year.
DL: That’s interesting, isn’t it? Where did you graduate in the class?
MM: In the bottom third.
DL: Wow. [applause] The audience applauding underachievement.
DL: So now [you’re] chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. How did you get the job and what do you do there?
MM: I stayed in the Navy originally because I had the honor of commanding a ship early in my career. I was in my mid-20s.
DL: What was the ship?
MM: A gasoline tanker, really from Vietnam and World War II, a 100 sailors, deployed to the Mediterranean and the responsibility was great and actually getting exposed to the world was really great. And enjoyed that and wanted to command.
DL: How old were you as a captain?
MM: The first time I commanded a ship I was 26.
DL: 26. Wow. I didn’t even have a driver’s license when I was 26. Is that typical of ship captains, they tend to be in their mid-20s?
MM: Well, some of them. For young lieutenants and those — you’re encouraged to do this by some and you’re encouraged to not do it by others because you take a real chance in your career and actually at the end of that two years, my career was in pretty bad shape.
DL: Really?
MM: Yes.
DL: For reasons that what, were out of your control?
MM: Well I received on what I would call an A-to-F scale an evaluation that was in the F category and it took me – for an incident I had when I accidentally collided with a buoy in the channel, which is not a good – Where is this going, Dave?
DL: Wow. Wow.
MM: But it took me, so it took me about 11 years to actually recover from that and get my next command and a couple after that. But no aspirations to ever get to this level.
DL: Well I guess, in all aspects of the military, but certainly in terms of leadership, it is fraught. It’s a minefield. I mean the mistakes are all there for a man or a woman to make.
MM: One of the things that I’ve learned is more from those mistakes than I have from those successes. It was a measure of getting up after those mistakes and actually having mentors who saw something in me that might bode well for the future and let me continue.
DL: Did you ever think consider, well, geez, maybe because of how I did at Annapolis and running into the pier in San Diego or whatever it was, maybe I really am not going to get my sea legs under me here?
MM: Actually, never gave it a second thought.
Top ship-driver chosen
May 2nd, 2011 | Navy Officers Ships | Posted by Sam Fellman
Lt. j.g. Nicole Lobecker won the 2010 shiphandling competition. "I didn't believe it at first when I found out I was shiphandler of the year." // U.S. Navy
At a San Diego, Calif. trainer, over rounds of virtual underway replenishments, man overboards, and pierside moorings, the Navy’s top junior officer shipdriver emerged from a field of 28 finalists, the Navy announced Friday.
And the 2010 winner is… Lt. j.g. Nicole Lobecker, assistant combat systems officer on cruiser Port Royal.
“It was surreal,” Lobecker, in a Navy newsstand story, said of unexpectedly winning the award. “I was stressed and nervous when I showed up for the final competition. I stayed up late studying the rules of the road the night before and I even brought briefs with me to study.”
The contestants were graded on engine and rudder commands, obeying the rules of the road, and executing a navigation plan, but also being able to improvise. In the end, it came down to Lobecker and Lt. Matt Klock, navigation officer onboard destroyer Truxtun. Lobecker won.
“It was clear that both these officers understood both their individual ship characteristics, the basic forces that effect a ship, and superbly demonstrated exceptional knowledge, confident and mariner skills,” Vice Adm. D.C. Curtis, head of Naval Surface Forces, said in a message Friday. “In the end, Lt. j.g. Lobecker excelled across the range of challenging shiphandling evolutions, including mooring to a pier, unrep and man overboard recovery.”
Curtis summed up the message with a quote from former Fleet Admiral Ernest King: “The mark of a great shiphandler is never getting into a situation that requires great shiphandling.
“Lt. j.g. Lobecker and Lt. Klock,” Curtis continued, “epitomize his words.”
‘XO Movie Night’ videos are out … all of them
March 4th, 2011 | Admirals Carriers Enterprise Fleet Forces Command Investigation JAGMAN leadership Navy Navy secretary Officers Personnel Video | Posted by Bill McMichael
As you probably know by now, Adm. John Harvey of Fleet Forces Command on Thursday unveiled the results of his investigation into the controversial “XO Movie Night” video skits aired on the carrier Enterprise from 2005 to 2007, recommending that secretarial letters of censure be issued to two admirals and two of the carrier’s former executive officers — including Capt. Owen Honors, who as XO played a primary role in most of the questionable productions.
If you haven’t read about the findings yet, here’s our short version. For those with a LOT of time on their hands, and perhaps curious about the 22 previously unleaked/unreleased videos containing what Harvey decided was objectionable material, go here. (Warning: Make sure you’re on a computer with a lot of juice and some volume control …)
Honors: Should he stay, or go?
February 2nd, 2011 | Board of Inquiry Carriers Detachment for Cause Fleet Forces Command Navy Navy Personnel Command Officers Personnel Retirement Show Cause | Posted by Bill McMichael
We reported in our print edition this week (dated Feb. 7) that Fleet Forces Command chief Adm. John Harvey has recommended Capt. Owen Honors be detached for cause. As those in the service know, that’s not separation from the Navy, but the formal completion of the administrative process of removing him from command of the carrier Enterprise, which was done Jan. 4 when he was fired by Harvey over his involvement in controversial shipboard video skits recorded several years earlier when he was the flattop’s XO. And Harvey can only recommend a DFC; approval is up to the chief of Navy Personnel Command, currently Rear Adm. Donald Quinn.
However, a DFC can lead to getting kicked out, and the formality of the DFC is required to continue the process. If the DFC request is approved, the official designated as the Show Cause Authority — either Quinn or the deputy chief of staff for Manpower and Reserve Affairs — will review Honors’ entire record and decide whether he should be required to “show cause” why he should be retained on active duty. (Of note: under the regulation, either official could delegate the authority to an “Officer Exercising General Court-Martial Jurisdiction” — such as Harvey.)
If so inclined, the Show Cause Authority would order the convening of a Board of Inquiry, whose members would consider Honors’ overall record of service, including the DFC findings, in determining whether to recommend separation. If they did, members would also decide whether Honors, who with 27 years of service is retirement-eligible, should be retired as a captain or at a lesser grade. The final decision would be up to the secretary of the Navy.
While it remains to be seen what might be decided, granting the DFC would seem to be a foregone conclusion. The greater question: whether you agree with his being fired or not, does Honors deserve to get the DFC and the boot, or to remain in the Navy? What are your thoughts?
Firing Honors, pro and con, Week 2
January 10th, 2011 | Blogs Carriers Fleet Forces Command leadership Life at Sea Morale Navy Officers Personnel | Posted by Bill McMichael
Adm. John Harvey learned about the controversial, four-year-old shipboard videos co-produced by Capt. Owen Honors on Dec. 31 — the day before they were published for the first time outside the skin of the carrier Enterprise — and “immediately ordered an investigation,” he says in a Jan. 7 post on his command blog.
Harvey also says he reviewed the videotapes published online by Norfolk’s Virginian-Pilot newspaper that weekend and then made his controversial decision to fire Honors, who’d graduated from executive officer — his position when the sometimes-racy, meant-to-be-humorous short films were produced — to become the 49-year-old carrier’s commanding officer. Honors was canned barely a week before the carrier deploys Jan. 13, possibly for the final time.
“When I did view those videos, I took action – just as I would have had I seen them four years ago,” Harvey wrote.
Those weighing in on Harvey’s decision seem to fall into two distinct camps. 1: Honors was a great leader who motivated his hard-working, much-deployed crew with humor they could relate to, the content wasn’t any edgier than what is broadcast every day on cable TV and his dismissal is a gutless reaction to outside media pressure. 2: XOs and COs are supposed to behave like grown-ups; Honors created a poor command climate that denigrated at least some crew members; and like it or not, today’s naval leaders must be cognizant of the image they project, here and abroad.
One Honors supporter’s view: “How dare anyone act as if those silly videos compromise the Navy,” wrote a civilian identifying herself as Dani MarieBernadette D’Angelo. “They are what they are, a means of blowing off steam for our sons and daughters who are so far from home and in dangerous situations. … the only reason that they have become a problem now is because the Navy wants to bow to the politically correct agenda. Captain Honors lives by a set of core values that anyone would be proud of.”
Another: “Leaders lead by example,” Anonymous wrote. ” CAPT Honors produced a funny, over the top, and professional [sic] filmed movie which was not to be taken seriously. You talk to his sailors; CAPT Honors was all business, a role model, and one hell of a Navy Officer. He is the guy you want fighting your ship in battle.”
Others say Honors set a poor example for others to follow. “What those individuals have missed is, to my mind, the TRULY grievous act that CAPT Honors committed: setting a negative, hostile command environment for the crew of ENTERPRISE when he was XO,” wrote James. “He mocked anyone who objected to his unacceptable behavior. He erased ANY personal credibility that he had when it came to dealing with issues of sexual harassment. It was even implied that filing a grievance would do no good — he was `above’ their control. That, more than anything, is what makes his behavior so damaging and toxic.”
Added SubIconoclast: “The line between ‘bold’ and ‘reckless’ can shift depending on whether we are at war or in peace, and senior officers must recognize that even units employed in war WILL be evaluated against peacetime standards when they appear in the national media of a nation which is generally at peace.
“Today’s combat leaders simply have to meet both standards; complaining about it won’t change the fundamental facts of the situation. CAPT Honors knew that – he just made the mistake of assuming that he could get away with skipping the `Washington Post’ test before recording videos and broadcasting them to thousands. That doesn’t make him a bad American but it does diminish his ability to command effectively.”
Both camps generally express a common thread: Go after the senior leaders who knew of the videos and didn’t react decisively four years ago. Some of those leaders are the subject of our story in this week’s Navy Times.
Support for Capt. Honors
January 3rd, 2011 | Aviation Carriers Facebook Fleet Forces Command leadership Life at Sea Morale Movies Navy Officers Video | Posted by Bill McMichael
The Navy didn’t mince words in its official reaction to Capt. Owen Honors’ role in the creation of what are viewed by many as overly suggestive or inappropriate videos — meant to be humorous — that were broadcast aboard the carrier Enterprise during his run as XO back in 2006-2007. “Those in command … are held accountable for setting the proper tone and upholding the standards of honor, courage and commitment that we expect sailors to exemplify,” said Cmdr. Chris Sims, spokesman for U.S. Fleet Forces Command.
You won’t find any such criticism on a Facebook page, “We Support Captain O.P. Honors!”, established on Jan. 1 — the same day the story was broken by Norfolk’s Virginian-Pilot newspaper — that describes itself as a “Support Group for a great Executive Officer and his extraordinarily funny XO Movie Night Skits.” It’s growing by the minute, with 1,230 members as of 12 noon EST Monday and nearly 600 posts, nearly all praising Honors, who now commands the ship as it prepares to deploy, and dismissing the videos as harmless fun meant to lighten the stress of shipboard life. Here are some examples:
“I used to be a sailor aboard the USS Enterprise and served while Capt Honors was both a XO and a CO,” one woman wrote. “I was aboard the ship while the videos under question were being filmed and watched them myself. The way the videos were reported to the world as `raunchy’ and `lewd’ is completely unrepresentative of the good-natured humor behind them. Capt Honors’ videos were always a highlight of the week.”
“I served with then-CDR Honors during the 2006 Deployment and know him to be an honorable man,” wrote one man. “The XO made the videos to address real shipboard issues in a comedic fashion. The crew always looked forward to them. Do not sacrifice this officer on the altar of political correctness.”
In the Tell Us What You Really Think Department, 0ne woman really let fly. “I pretty much hated EVERYTHING about being on the Enterprise EXCEPT for the people I worked with, and XO MOVIE NIGHT!,” she wrote. “Way to GO Capt. Honors! F*** EVERYONE ELSE that finds that s*** offensive….let them get back to their Lifetime Original Movies.”
The videos — you can see an edited version here — have generated national attention, with broadcast stories on every network. The videos include scenes of simulated same-sex showers and masturbation and a reference by one of Honors’ “alternate personalities” — a video trick — to another as “fag SWO boy,” leading some commentators to call the videos lewd, sexist and homophobic. Others raise questions about Honors’ leadership style. Sims said Fleet Forces has launched an investigation into the production of the videos.
What do you think?