An Ocean Away

AWAY FROM THE OCEAN

By Commander Jack Holthaus ’05, USN

At the Naval Academy, first class midshipmen experience two very memorable events that determine the trajectory of their careers: Service Selection Night and for the surface warfare officers (SWOs), Ship Selection Night. These are the last times your personal choice and merit are the primary factors that determine where you end up.

When joining the fleet, an officer quickly learns about the “detailing triad,” which are the influences that detailers at the Bureau of Naval Personnel, or PERS, use to match people to billets. The “detailing triad” is made up of personal preferences, career needs and the needs of the Navy.

Every so often, a unique opportunity presents itself that meets all three wickets, and the timing lines up perfectly. For me, that time was the Federal Executive Fellowship (FEF) program where I currently serve. Having recently selected for Commander, I wanted to find a job that brought me back to Northern Virginia after my XO tour. After a rewarding 18-month tour in Japan during COVID-19, I was excited to get back to the United States where my family had remained.

As an FEF, officers are assigned to a Washington, DC, area think-tank, an academic institution or a think-tank outside of the beltway. During the year-long fellowship, officers are encouraged to immerse themselves within the institution and explore areas that they typically do not have time to in their traditional career paths. Fellows are encouraged to research and learn about the national security decision making process. Additionally, fellows provide Navy-relevant information and programs from their institutions back to OPNAV N71.

After selection to the FEF program, I was assigned to the Stimson Center in Washington, DC. Coming from the Forward Deployed Naval Forces (FDNF) in Japan, I knew I wanted to further expand my knowledge about the Seventh Fleet region. I jumped on the opportunity to learn from regional experts at Stimson on Japan, China, North Korea, Southeast Asia and South Asia. Additionally, I linked with the Defense Strategy and Planning fellow on staff. I have also had the opportunity to share my Navy experiences with the staff at Stimson, providing insights that they might not otherwise had gleaned. The think-tank staff that fellows are exposed to in this program devote their careers to learning, and make recommendations that shape public policy and how the government functions.

After completing an FEF, officers will complete a utilization tour in a strategist billet on the OPNAV staff, likely in N5 or N7. For due-course officers looking to serve in the Maryland-DC-Northern Virginia area, this is a great way to expand your politico-military knowledge and gain vital international relations experience that can be directly applied to future assignments on a Navy staff.

The 2021-2022 Federal Executive Fellows and the Hudson Fellow recently conducted their capstone event in the National Capital Region. Pictured from left to right: CDR Dan Jones, USN, Institute for Defense Analysis; CDR William Buford, USN, Tufts International Security Studies Program; CDR Andrew Adams ’06, USN, Center for a New American Security; CAPT William Patterson, USN, Council on Foreign Relations; LCDR Brian Harrington, USN, Stanford Hoover Institute; CAPT Tom Petersen, USN, Georgia Tech Sam Nunn School of International Affairs; CAPT Brent Spillner, USN, Hudson Fellow, St. Antony’s College Oxford; CDR Chris Bernotavicius, USN, Center for Strategic and International Studies/U.S. Naval Institute; CDR Chet Lee '03, USN, Chicago Council; CDR Michael Knickerbocker, USN, University of Texas Clements Center for National Security; CDR Jack Holthaus ’05, USN, Stimson Center; LCDR Gerry Mauer, USN, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Security Studies Program; CDR Andrew Vardiman, USN, Atlantic Council; CDR Grant Wanier ’06 , USN, Harvard Kennedy School.

Despite a mostly virtual experience due to COVID, this has been a tremendous opportunity. I have had time to read, reflect and write. As Hyman Rickover once said, “Nothing so sharpens the thought process as writing down one’s arguments. Weaknesses overlooked in oral discussion become painfully obvious on the written page.” FEF is just one of several fellowships that naval officers are invited to apply and I’m grateful that the “detailing triad” afforded me the opportunity to participate. a

CDR Jack Holthaus ’05, USN, is a nuclear surface warfare officer assigned as a Federal Executive Fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington, DC. Selected as a Bowman Scholar in 2004, CDR Holthaus attended the Naval Postgraduate School immediately after graduation. He previously

served in CHAFEE, ENTERPRISE, MAHAN, GEORGE H.W. BUSH, CHANCELLORSVILLE and on the OPNAV staff. He reports as executive officer in MICHAEL MURPHY in July.