AN OCEAN AWAY

SUMMERTIME IN ANNAPOLIS (On Restriction)

By Commander Doug Robb ’05, USN

Many former midshipmen nostalgically transport themselves back to Annapolis this time of year to remember croquet, parades, flyovers and celebrations from their student days. Recently, however, I found myself reliving a more somber time that I spent on the Yard.

I was in a dimly lit helicopter hangar aboard a guided missile destroyer out at sea, ventilation whirring and the ship rolling from side to side. I was standing behind a podium beside my CO, Commander Micah Sybor ’02, USN, who was presiding over what is colloquially known as Captain’s Mast to address one of our sailors’ recent shortcomings.

I confess that my mind began to wander. In my reverie, I found myself transported back to a day when—18 years earlier—the roles were reversed and I, a youngster, was staring down the proverbial barrel that was aimed right at me. Like past generations of felonious alumni (a group that includes my Black NS sweater-earning captain), I had committed a rules infraction the details of which should have faded with time (they haven’t).

When my “adjudication” was over, the Commandant sentenced me to serve hard time in Bancroft Hall—over the summer. I was convinced that life, as I knew it, would never be the same. In fact, I was right.

Looking back, I am certain that restriction was among the most valuable leadership experiences I had at the Academy. Not because I am especially remorseful for what I did (I’m not) or because I cheerily claim that the Academy’s disciplinary system reformed me (it didn’t).

Instead, the real lessons took time to ingrain and have shaped my perspective since then. I had been a top student with a sterling record but the experience forced me to be introspective: I was responsible for my actions and was being held accountable—and I was humbled.

Time on restriction imparted myriad lessons—all of them sounding like clichés fit for bumper stickers, though that does not diminish their worth. Among them:

Don’t be so quick to judge (lesson: fairness).

Treat others the way you want to be treated (empathy).

If the shoe was on the other foot … (equity).

Bad things happen to good people (compassion).

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger (resilience).

Don’t let a single mistake define you (perseverance).

Life is not about being but becoming (growth).

Truthfully, I think about my time in the Rotunda each time I preside over my own executive officer’s inquiry or consider a serious but necessary disciplinary recommendation. While the consequences of the Naval Academy and fleet nonjudicial punishment can be vastly different, my time on restriction was nevertheless memorable, formative and, I believe, contributed to making me a better officer.

I still chuckle watching the scene in “The Shawshank Redemption” when Morgan Freeman’s character, Red, reflects on whether he’s been rehabilitated while sitting before the parole board: “I look back on the way I was then. ... But that kid’s long gone, and this old man is all that’s left.” The sting of that summer has faded but thankfully, the lessons linger on. a

CDR Doug Robb ’05, USN, is a former speechwriter for the Chief of Naval Operations and co-author of Naval Officer’s Guide to the Pentagon (U.S. Naval Institute Press). He currently serves as the executive officer aboard SPRUANCE (DDG 111).

SHIPMATE • MAY 2021 - U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation magazine