On Leadership "On Leadership” is a feature column in every issue where Rotary Wing Flag Officers are able to submit articles on leadership topics of their choosing. RDML Alvin “Bull” Holsey proposed the idea and provided the lead article on “Mentoring - What Matters Most?” in the Fall 2019 Issue.
Resilience is Commander’s Business What is resilience and why is it important to our Navy? By RDML John Menoni, USN, Commander, Joint Region Marianas
I
n Advantage at Sea, our nation's recently released Tri-Service Maritime Strategy, resilience is defined as, “ability to retain or rapidly recover operational effectiveness during or immediately following a kinetic or non-kinetic attack.” The United States is in the midst of a long-term strategic competition with capable adversaries. The potential for this competition to escalate into conflict highlights the critical need of having a force that can take battle damage and casualties, stay in the fight and win. History has many examples of superior resilience in pressurized, challenging scenarios. The actions of USS Johnston (DDG 557) and USS Laffey (DD 724) during their service in World War II’s Pacific Theater are prime examples of resilience. During the Battle of Leyte Gulf in operations off of Samar Island on October 25, 1944, CDR Ernest Evans took the initiative, leading Johnston on the initial torpedo attack against the much stronger Japanese Center Force threatening to destroy the beachhead on the island of Leyte. Though his ship was severely damaged after its first torpedo run when it faced off against a heavy cruiser, Evans returned to the fight knowing that additional attacks could lead to the destruction of his ship and crew. Johnston and her sister ships followed their first torpedo runs with a second, receiving significant battle damage. Once all her torpedoes were expended, Johnston continued to attack the superior Japanese force with guns even as she was sinking, allowing most escort carriers of TAFFY 3 to avoid serious damage. During the Okinawa campaign, Laffey, commanded by CDR Frederick Becton, was assigned radar picket ship duty with a primary mission of providing advance raid warning and anti-aircraft fire support against Japanese air forces intent on attacking the Fleet supporting the invasion. On April 16, 1945, the crew of Laffey found themselves in the fight of their lives. Over a span of 80 minutes, Laffey was struck by six kamikaze aircraft and also hit with four bombs. She was credited with no less than eight enemy kills while suffering 32 dead and at least 71 wounded. Following the engagement, Laffey proceeded to Seattle, Washington for repairs under her own power. There are vital lessons to be learned from these examples. Without question, both Johnston and Laffey’s crews were resilient. Each suffered multiple attacks resulting in significant battle damage. Both crews had to deal with the heartache of lost shipmates, but each stayed in the fight until the mission was complete. Resilience isn’t about who is the strongest, most fearless, most experienced individual or the technologically superior force. Resilience often comes from within, whether it is an individual who is able to weather their own personal storms or a command with a culture that enables it to stay on mission despite having received battle damage and losing shipmates. So, as leaders, how should we go about developing resilience within our organizations? There are three areas where direct attention by command leadership can help. Training. Paul Sullivan discusses in his book Clutch how high performers excel under immense pressure. The basic premise is that individuals or organizations that we think of as clutch performers are those that make the extraordinary seem routine during a crisis, pressure-filled moment or in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environment. Rotor Review #152 Spring '21
16
