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Servant Leadership: The Essence Of Being A Navy Chief

One of the hardest concepts for me to describe is the “how” being a U. S. Navy Chief Petty Officer transformed me. We have a saying, “Once a Chief, Always a Chief.”

While browsing my LinkedIn feed, I saw a link blog post with a curious title.

U.S. Naval Institute Blog (usni.org) – blog post link

The history of the Navy Chief (short for Chief Petty Officer) is rich. I don’t have enough time to cover all the bases, but it’s unrivaled by any other position in the U.S. armed forces.

The Link: Servant Leadership & Chiefs

The author, Tony Palmer, noted content from the letter that former MCPON (Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy) Mike Stevens wrote in 2014 which explains how I was transformed.

In his December 2014 “Letter to the Mess” MCPON Mike Stevens defined the chief petty officer rate by stating, “A Chief Petty Officer is a quiet, humble, servant leader. We have the responsibility to establish and maintain the conditions that provide all of our people the opportunity to be successful and accomplish whatever mission we have been given. And we do this while treating one another with dignity and respect.” Stevens went on to quote the British writer and lay theologian, C. S. Lewis. “Being humble is thinking less of yourself and thinking more about others.” His final sentence reflects the essence of his vision for a humble leader, “Being mindful that the more senior you become, the more people you serve.”
Tony Palmer (emphasis above is mine)

For me, Mike nailed the “how”. I saw servant leadership modeled by Chiefs.

As a result, I became the person I saw modeled. In the Agile product and service development space, we talk about servant leadership. I lived it before joining the Agile community.

I Was Blinded By Sound Then Technology Took Hold

I was blinded by sound then technology took hold. Not literally blinded, but in the sense because sonar systems on submarines fascinated me and the sound was on full volume, wow! I must admit, the technology bug bit me when I was still in elementary school. How that happened is a post for another time.

The official phrase is “acoustic analysis” for what I did as a sonar operator in the Navy onboard submarines. I stood sonar watch on the USS ARCHERFISH (SSN 678) and the USS WYOMING (SSBN 742). I might have stood the watch onboard the USS OHIO (SSBN 726), my memory is fuzzy on that one.

USS ARCHERFHISH 1992 — *The USS ARCHERFISH (SSN 678) in Groton, Connecticut, US*

Anyway . . .

The technology used at the time was fascinating. In a sense, I was blinded by sound then the technology took hold because the sonar array took analogue noise and converted it into a digital signal. I could look at the noise on a display and “see” if it was harmless or a threat.

This analogue to digital conversion was all it took to pull me into the information technology career field. I was completely unprepared for how fascinating the world of sonar and ACINT (acoustic intelligence) would be. The tech bug bit me harder and has never let go since then!

For me, this was and still is, the intersection I can point to that set me on the path to find a solid career. My interests continue to orbit around technology, but with a twist. Now those interests consider the human factors involved in building technology.

With that in mind, I’ll share more of my military technology experience in future posts. Hold on tight as this is just the beginning! You will be in for quite a ride!