CNO Delivers Remarks at NNOA-ANSO Joint Leadership Symposium

 

Below is a transcript of the remarks as delivered:

 

Thank you so much, and it is really a pleasure to be here with all of you today and see so many faces that I’ve had the opportunity to work with… but I’ve never seen the face of Adm. Harris like that, so thank you Mr. Garcia for giving us that walk down memory lane.

 

Adm. Howard, Mr. Garcia, MCPON, Vice Adm. Halsey – just nominated to be SOUTHCOM, Vice Adm. English - taking over the J4 on Friday, and I have to say hey to D-Day Walker who’s about to take over the Naval War College – our finest place of Navy learning, wargaming, experimentation – congratulations to you. I know I see a lot of other Flags and General Officers out there… NNOA President Cedric Pringle, one of my old shipmates from many years ago – great to see you… ANSO President Jose Montalvan thank you very much for being here.

 

I know we’ve got a lot of Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, I think we have some Merchant Marines, and we have Midshipmen or Cadets – good to see you… we’ve got active, we’ve got reserve. We have a lot of civilians as well, and I know we have some spouses, and veterans. Again, this is really a great opportunity to be here with all of you today. But I want to thank all of you for making time to be here this week.

 

Everybody’s busy, everybody has something to do, but this is probably the most important place that you can be this week as you build your network… you get to meet new people, share different perspectives. And I know, myself, having been at lots of different events like this I’ve always come back refreshed, recharged, and ready to go and tear it up.

 

So let me start this morning first by saying thank you. Thank you to each and every one of you for your service and for your sacrifice. Everybody has a choice in what they get to do in their life, and you have all chosen to serve something greater than yourself. So, I am grateful for each and every one of you and your service. What you do every single day makes a difference for our Nation. So how about giving yourselves a big round of applause?  

 

I also want to recognize our spouses that are here today, and the spouses that you represent. It goes without saying, but we don’t say it often enough, that we can’t do what we do every day without our families, without our support network. They serve and sacrifice right there alongside us. I always like to say, “we get to do the fun stuff, we get to go out do the nation’s mission and sometimes they get to do the stuff that’s not so fun,” so how about a big round of applause for all our families? I think you’re the glue that holds it all together. So, it’s great to see some of you here today as well.

 

The other thing I want to say is how proud I am of our team. I’m looking at a lot of Navy – and I usually say how proud I am of our Navy team - and I really need to say how proud I am of our Joint team. You know, as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as the person who provides the man, train, equip, organize function for the Navy, as I look around the world and I see everything that’s going on, I see our Joint Team in action. Whether it’s in the Red Sea, the Eastern Mediterranean, working hard as a member of NATO in support of Ukraine, working in the Indo-Pacific, and everything in between… I know that there is no other military on earth that can operate at the scale, the tempo, that we do, with the warfighting professionalism that each one of you – and the teams that you lead – deliver every single day.

 

We operate at the point of friction, far away, in the same domains as our adversaries. We also operate at the point of friendship every day with our Allies and partners. And those of you who have gone to serve overseas, you know, that American leadership matters and that our friends – our Allies and partners – are counting on us to lead. They also know that we are going to be there with them.

 

I just got back from a great trip – Micronesia, Philippines, Australia – and they are all-in on supporting the rules-based international order that has provided security and stability for the last three quarters of a century. That’s because you’re all out there doing our nation’s mission. I could not be more proud of this team, and I thank all of you for your leadership.

 

I know you’re talking a lot about leadership this week, so I’m happy to be here and have a chance to talk about that in person. Last year I had a chance to go out to NNOA at the Professional Development and Training Symposium, and then I did a virtual with Yvette Davids at the ANSO conference - Western Region Symposium – that was great. But it’s really nice to be here in person, side-by-side, for I think the first joint NNOA-ANSO event in about fifteen years. Is that right? Yeah, this is amazing.

 

I think events like this really demonstrate our desire to become better. A better service. A better service that does our Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marines mission every single day. They demonstrate our ability to come together, to learn together, to bring lots of different perspectives, to hear a lot of different stories, and talk about the things that unite us so we’re gonna be able to sail, fight, and win as one team. Because we will never fight alone. We’re gonna fight together, we’re gonna fight as a Joint team alongside those great Allies and partners.

 

Looking at this week’s agenda, I think the NNOA-ANSO team has teed up an impactful series of conversations. I’m sorry that I missed the generational conversation from Adm. Michelle Howard – I’m gonna have to get a personal tutoring session on that – but I know there’s going to be a lot of opportunities here for topics that are gonna educate, inspire, engage, and elevate each one of you. Who are really our leaders of today and of the future.

 

I think we have a lot to celebrate. Beyond the fact that our military is kicking butt all around the world, delivering warfighting excellence every day, as you pointed out, last year, we celebrated the 75^th anniversary of Executive Order 9981 – directing the desegregation of the United States Armed Forces. It was also the 50^th anniversary of the All-Volunteer Force, and 50 years of women in Naval Aviation.

 

And I have to plug my own SWO community (and the aviation community back then), but it was the 31st anniversary of the initial repeal of the combat exclusion law that opened up the doors that would let me walk through to become the 33^rd Chief of Naval Operations and for women to serve in every branch to promote to the highest level of their desire.

 

Having had a front-row seat to history for a longtime now, coming up on 39 years in the Navy, it is remarkable to see the impacts of all of those bold moves. The courageous people that stepped forward to make them, and their decisions, and see how far we’ve come as a fighting force since all of those actions were taken.

 

But y’all know there’s more work to do. And I like to say there will always be more work to do. And we always have to keep out foot on the gas.

 

In this decisive decade, where the world is becoming increasingly fragile and the character of war is changing before our eyes, we need to be building great people, great leaders, great teams. And that comes from having talented people as the Secretary said, from every corner across that rich fabric of America, and even from across the world.

 

I think that we’re strongest and most effective as a force when we build strong, inclusive, connected teams. That’s how we deliver warfighting advantage every day. And that’s what leadership is all about, creating the most qualified, combat-ready team possible and then giving them the tools and the skills necessary to fight and win anytime, anywhere, against any adversary.

 

That’s how we advance leaders: connected, committed, and ready to fight for the future, and I know that’s the theme of your conference this year.

 

So today I thought I would just spend a little bit of time talking to you about the qualities that I consider most important about being a “leader of consequence” in this decisive decade. I think this applies whether you’re an officer, enlisted, civilian, veteran … because every single one of you in this room, you have your own sphere of influence. You have an opportunity to influence that sphere. And as you get more senior, your sphere just gets bigger, and you have the opportunity to have even more influence. So, I hope some of the things that I talk about today, and the things that you’re learning here today are not just retained in this room, or in your head. That you actually go back and share these conversations with your teams.

 

Over the last 38 years, I’ve kind of distilled my experiences into about six things that matter to me. And they’re sort of six principles that have really been the foundation for me to stand on throughout my career. I’ve really come to describe them as the things that matter to me – or the things that matter the most.

 

So, the first one is integrity. Integrity matters. I think it is the foundation of trust as a team. We need to know that when we look to the left and the right, that the people next to us are gonna do their job, and their gonna do it with integrity. It is the foundation of trust. We have to build it up and down the chain of command. And that’s how we build teams that are connected and teams that are cohered, because we trust each other. We have to know that there gonna do the right thing even when no one is looking.

 

It also means that we need to be our own best critics. We have to be humble; we need to be transparent about our own shortfalls if we expect our Sailors, Marines, Coastguardsmen and Merchantmen to do the same.

 

I think if we step back and look at it, and the things we’ve been working on in the Navy, that really is the essence of our Get Real Get Better (GRGB) mindset - Navy call to action – it’s intended to empower people at all levels to solve problems, spot problems, break down barriers, and achieve exceptional performance. We gotta have that courage to embrace the red, call out the things that are not working, share them, and work together to correct them, assess our corrections, and then always learn.

 

I think integrity again is the most important characteristic that we can have as a leader.

 

The second thing is people. People matter. I know many of you have been involved in developing, creating, selling, maintaining, modernizing great technology over many years… but truthfully, we can have all the best equipment in the world, but without our amazing team, it can’t go anywhere or do anything.

 

Our people make a difference. That contribution of our Sailors every day is really important. So, what you need to think about is when you go back to your commands… notice what your people are doing every day. They are having an impact. Take the time to savor those small victories, because the big ones, they’re few and far between. Recognize those little victories every day and reward those who make them happen. Our people are more than just the people wearing the uniform. As I mentioned earlier, it’s our spouse, it’s our families, they are all part of that team. And that’s part of our responsibility as leaders – to have the 360-degree approach to taking care of our people and enabling them to take care of themselves.

 

The third thing that matters to me is warfighting excellence… that probably came through in the beginning of my talk. This is where we make our money. It is what the American people are couniting on us to do. To deliver that, to defend our way of life every single day.  I’ve spoken a lot about the Sea Services, and again, we’re not just mariners, we are warfighters through and through. That is in our DNA. The threats to our nation are real and they are growing. The character of war is changing, and we’ve got to view everything we do through a warfighting lens.

 

For warfighting excellence to take hold, that’s where we bring to bear the best talents of everybody on our team. Creating a climate where people are empowered to speak up … another tenet of Get Real Get Better. So, we’ve got to make the most out of everybody’s perspective… I would really like to understand more about how to make sure all of our generations feel like they’re ready and they’re able, and free to bring up the things they see. Because only they have that unique perspective that they can add. They will add transparency, they will help us solve our problems, and they will help us learn. 

 

So back to the warfighting part, it doesn’t matter what part of our organization you are. Whether you’re on the pointiest end, which I know some of you are right now, or you’re back in the rear supporting those on the pointiest end, you make a difference and you help us deliver that warfighting excellence, so we are ready to fight today and in the future.

 

The fourth thing that matters to me is teamwork. I was a coxswain in college – I used to be a lot smaller, so they didn’t have to pull around all this weight – but the rowers were the most important thing. I got to sit in the back. I got to steer the boat. What I learned from that experience was, is it’s all about the team. Everybody in that boat had to row in unison. Every oar had to go in the water at the same time, come out of the water at the same time.

 

When you think about teamwork - that’s what you’re doing every day as a leader. It doesn’t matter what level of leader you are. You are going to motivate a team to persevere through adversity, and you are gonna drive them on to victory, just like the boat. It will hum along and sing. Some of you have probably been on really great teams, and they’re singling along just flying down to the finish line. Then you’ve been on teams that are struggling a bit – just to get their oars in the water. Understand what makes the difference. Learn from those lessons. Then, when you’re the leader, do it the way to make the boat win. Then everyone feels empowered that they can pull that oar to the best of their ability. The whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

 

So, it’s on all of you to unleash that creative power of your Sailors and your teams.

 

The fifth thing that matters – safety. I have to say that because that really underpins everything we do. What we do in the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and as civilian mariners is dangerous.  Accidents happen, enemies get a vote.  As leaders, we gotta be on the lookout, head on a swivel, and try to figure out where our biggest vulnerabilities are. In the error chain there is always a series of events, there’s a bunch of circuit breakers where everyone shuts, the Swiss cheese whole all line up… and it just takes one voice to be the one that opens the breaker, pulls apart the holes, to changes the outcome forever.

           

So again, you have you create that climate where people can speak up and feel comfortable being that one voice.

 

And finally, the sixth thing that matters to me has always been attitude. Attitude does make a difference. We need to approach each day with a winning mindset. “Stuff” happens to everyone, it’s really how you react to it that makes the most difference. So, whether it’s on a deployment, at home, in your squadron, in your place of employment… no one can avoid the challenges that come your way, but as a leader it’s important that you help people project the positive. Not cover up things that aren’t going well. Not have a fake winning mindset. But figure out how to motivate your team to win. And again, that’s what we do as leaders every single day. Sailors are watching, they want their leaders to lead them.

 

So be positive, embrace the red, and move out with urgency and purpose. Positivity is definitely contagious, and I think will make everyone’s lives better, including your own.

 

If you stay focused on these things. The things that really matter: integrity, people, teamwork, warfighting excellence, safety, and attitude, I know that there will be nothing that your team can’t do under your leadership.

 

So, I want to wrap up my remarks a little bit with a couple of quotes. This is a quote that has helped every step of my way, since I was Midshipman, and it actually still helps me today.

 

Adm. Nimitz once said, and I’m gonna paraphrase here, “learn all you can, do your best, and don’t worry about the things you can’t control.”

 

When I first joined the Navy women could not serve in command at sea, women could not serve on combatant ships… in fact there were only 17 women a year that got to go to sea when Adm. Howard or I joined the Navy team. But as my career progressed, those barriers fell, and many courageous women pioneers broke the waves – including Adm. Howard - for me to follow. They told me what I needed to do, what experiences I needed to have, what were the qualifications I needed to get, so could become a successful Surface Warfare Officer and potentially, one day, serve on a combatant ship.

 

So, I did my very best to do all of those things, get all the experience I could have, to learn from my Chief Petty Officers, to grow and develop as a leader. So, when the doors opened in 1993, and that combat exclusion law was repealed, I was ready to raise my hand and walk right through. And that made all the difference.

 

So, although today’s military is different than the military I joined, and a lot of barriers have been removed, there’s still work to do. There’s still always going to be wrought to do, and it’s all our job to make our Navy better. Make that better in your own sphere of influence. Pull every lever that you can to create a culture where every person on your team will bring their best every single day, and where our best and fully qualified leaders in our Navy will excel and make a difference.

 

You’ve gotta be up to that task. Lean on those leadership principles I just talked about. Learn all you can from each other. Do your own best and unleash that power of your teams.

 

Again, I’m really happy to be here today. I really appreciate the very warm welcome.

 

I’m gonna leave you with one last little quote. When I was a Midshipmen I had a quote book, and I wrote down all of these quotes because I knew they were going to motivate me over time, and I used them to motivate my rowers too. This one is attributed to the all-knowing “Anonymous.”

 

It goes like this, “I wondered why somebody didn’t do something. Then I realized, I am somebody.”

 

You have the power to be that somebody. You are somebody to make a difference in America’s Warfighting Navy and deliver warfighting excellence every single day, so use it.

 

Thank you very much.