I just read that paper sitting in an airport lounge. A couple thoughts occurred to me as I read it:
- It took a solid 20 minutes to read and actually digest, and any admiral who claims he could never take 20 whole minutes to read a paper is a liar. Reducing it to a ppt would make it (and the readers) dumber, not smarter.
- The intro and research are quite good, and I think it is very useful that somebody made the effort to collate it.
- The discussion of command losing its attractiveness is spot-on, and one of the most important things senior leaders can take away from this.
- The fear that the Navy will lose its best officers at a greater rate than the mediocre to poor ones is something I've often seem claimed (especially on this board), but I've never seen it proved.
The recommendations were a lot weaker to me, specifically:
- Talking points won't solve anything. In the age of the internet, sailors who are interested can already find out exactly what message senior leadership wants to push. I found that whole section to miss the point. They don't want talking points they want the facts, help understanding them IF they trust the source of that help, and the opportunity to talk about what those facts mean in context. (Note I'm only talking the "talking points" issue here).
- A 3year/15k bonus is not large enough to change anything. It is well behind the bonuses their retired peers earn very year, and won't significantly move the needle.
- The shift in lineal numbers idea needs some corresponding change to reduce blue-on-blue of community players and allow more time for ticket punching. (Or a major overhaul in our FITREP and promotion boards). It isn't impossible to do, but I don't see the benefits. The promotion system as currently constituted needs fodder.
- I understanding wanting to both reduce deployments and improve facilities, but where does he see the money coming from? Cutting GMT would be great for morale, but it won't save enough money to fund other programs.
The comments above aside, I'm glad he wrote it and I hope it gets passed around.