It is with a good dose of sadness and a full measure of aloha that I have to say "a hui hou" to my blog. For now.
In Hawaiian, "a hui hou" means "until we meet again." So, it's not good-bye. I do think I'll be blogging again within a few months. But for right now, I cannot give the blog the time and attention it needs for it to be what I want. You may have noticed that a lot of the posts have been pretty superficial lately. Or maybe you haven't noticed...but I have. I like to write insightful things, or at least tell good stories, and I haven't been doing either of those things very well with my last few posts.
So, in the meantime, thanks to all my readers for your words of support and encouragement, your wonderful comments and just plain ol' being out there. Check back in a couple months. Hopefully I'll be back to writing again soon.
I can't believe I'm admitting that I can't do it all. Or at least "all" as well as I want to be able to do it.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
PBPL Conference Notes
OMG!! My 100th post! When I sign onto Blogger, it tells me how many posts there are, when the last one was and probably other stuff. I don't usually pay much attention to it, but 100 is kinda a milestone!
But that's not the subject of this post. The Patrol Boat Product Line Program Review is. It was in Norfolk, week before last. No one else much in the office was very thrilled about going, and I can't really say I blame them...nearly 48 hours total in travel time from Hawaii for a three day conference (at least I wasn't travelling from Guam). I don't know *how* long it took ASSATEAGUE's EPO to get to Virginia, but it probably was a really, really long time. Despite the travel time, I was really excited for the opportunity to go. I wanted to hear how the Product Line was doing, what is still left to be done, advocate on behalf of the D14 cutters and well, hang out with a bunch of engineers...'cause that's always fun! Call it as close to getting underway as I'm likely to get for a while.
I won't bore you with all 12 pages of my typed notes from the conference, but there are a few gems that I want to pass on. It's not in chronological order, or anything like that either. Kinda more organized by what piqued my interest (because this *is* the world according to Charlotte).
About midway through the first day, RADM Ronald Rabago, Deputy Commandant for Engineering and Logistics (CG-4) spoke to the group in his role as Chief Naval Engineer. He shared his three priorities as well as some guiding principles. And while I'm always leery of paraphrasing senior leadership for fear of mis-quoting or mis-representing what they say, I offer the following only as *MY INTERPRETATION* of what he said and *MY OPINION* of what he said that I thought was important (can I emphasize that any more?).
His three priorities are: People, Resources and Processes. The people part is pretty standard for CG-speak. Regarding resources: we need to focus on getting the money in the right places, which may require Operational Commanders to make tough choices. But better choices can be made with better information, specifically maintenance cost per operational hour. One of my favorite quotes from all three days was "Without maintained ships, there are no operations" (I wrote that one down, word-for-word). And process is about making sure who does what and how business is conducted is institutionalized and preferably codified. RADM Rabago mentioned that PUB-4 is coming out soon, which will be the capstone document for engineering and logistics, similar to PUB-1 for the CG as a whole.
I found his guiding principles to be extremely heartening. This is an abbreviated list:
-Pride in work: Engineers must take pride in what they do; if they don’t, something is not right and must be fixed.
-Stewardship: This does not just mean how to cut the budget. Stewardship is more a mentality and commitment to leaving the situation/condition/process better than you found it. Good stewardship means that a lot more can be done with limited resources.
-Share the Good News: Make sure the good news of hard work done well makes it up the Chain of Command. It creates value within the community. RADM Rabago wants to personally hear about successes and good, hard work done well.
-Core Values: The core values of honor, respect and devotion to duty apply to day-to-day work. They should be a touchstone for each engineer.
-Loyalty Matters: The field needs to give leadership the benefit of the doubt in some cases. Supervisors reward loyalty with trust. This does not to mean to be silent about concerns, but instead means to support a candid dialogue about issues.
-Community of Naval Engineers: Naval engineers are a special group of people, taking care of ships. They must create an active, participatory community. We don’t know how to do the difficult job of taking care of ships without the community support.
-Ownership: Own your world; accept it, feel responsible for it. Every EO and EPO must take ownership of their ships, and use the PL to leverage the ability to be the best in the fleet.
I especially like the ones about sharing the good news, ownership, stewardship and pride in work.
It seemed like the buzz-phrase from the conference was vocalized best by CAPT Ed Nagle, Surface Forces Logistics Command Industrial Operations Division (SFLC IOD) Chief. He said we are a "data-driven Coast Guard." He was talking about it specifically in regards to a new IT tool that IOD is bringing online to track project management, but it applies to so much of where the Product Line as a whole is going. One of the main drivers for a number of the new processes being implemented by the Product Line (besides better, faster and more efficient service, of course) is to nail down that elusive maintenance cost per operational hour figure...how much does it cost in maintenance to run the ships?
It'll be interesting to see what gets done with that data once it's had enough collection longevity to be useful. The figures will be different for different classes of ship, different missions, different operational hours. How will it be used to make strategic decisions (homeporting changes, maybe?), or operational decisions (when during the year a fisheries patrol gets done?) or even tactical decisions (that acceptable level of risk that ADM Papp has mentioned a few times?)? I read an article for one of my classes last semester that analyzed what sources of information state legislators trust regarding performance measures (Bordeaux, "Integrating Performance Information Into Legislative Budget Process," Public Performance & Management Review, Vol. 31, No. 4, June 2008, pp. 547–569). The author acknowledges that analysis is thin in this area, but states that legislators tend not to give very high value to data presented by the executive agency itself, relying more heavily on information from interest groups and constituents. While the article deals specifically with Georgia State Legislators, I wonder how much of the same theory applies to the federal system as well. Regardless, though, I still think the "data-driven Coast Guard" allows us as an organization to make better decisions on all three of those levels, strategic, operational and tactical.
There was a strong and consistent exhortation by all representatives of the Product Line for supported units (Sector EOs and cutter EPOs) to provide feedback by all the means offered by the processes. Using CG-22 (on SFLC Central's webpage) to document discrepancies noted in any engineering drawings, tech pubs or Maintenance Procedure Cards (MPCs); using Quality Discrepancy Reports (QDRs) and Supply Discrepancy Reports (SDRs) when parts are received by a unit that are the wrong part, the wrong number of parts, or the part doesn't work; using 3rd A-Team meetings to provide feedback to the Program Depot Maintenance Branch on how the availability process worked; doing the leg work of submitting Time Compliance Technical Order (TCTO) suggestions when they've got a good, workable idea that improves the function of the cutter (instead of making "Chief Alts" and not documenting them anywhere); volunteering as a "prime unit" to validate MPCs, TCTOs and tech pub changes; tracking man-hours expended for various maintenance efforts (including wash downs and clean-ups); checking the "Discrepancy Found, Yes/No" box on the MPC. Lots and lots of emphasis placed on the role that the front line Naval Engineers had on improving things for everyone, including the next generation of Naval Engineers.
A couple of relevant quotes:
-"The Product Line makes sure the cutter can finish the marathon (the service life of the cutter); the Sector EO and cutter EPO make sure the cutter can finish the sprint (their two or three year tour).
-"Submitting QDRs and SDRs and CG-22s may not immediately help you and your current world of work, but it improves the processes for the entire system."
-"Things are tough right now. It's like going down I-95 at full speed, and changing all four tires.”
There was a presentation on the Fast Response Cutters (FRCs). I had seen the mock-ups of the ship, but hadn't really paid too much close attention to the specs. OMG! What a great ship it looks like it's gonna be! I hope, maybe, maybe, maybe, if all the stars align and the gods of the sea and assignment process smile down on me, maybe I just might get one. But it's a long shot.
There was a ton more great and useful information presented throughout the three days, but rather than bore you with all those details, I'll just mention one more--Ready for Ops/Safe to Sail (RFO/S2S). I don't know if that's the acronym that is going to be used, or if it's even going to happen, but CG-751 is asking the Product Line to develop a RFO/S2S MPC that must be completed every time before a ship assumes a Bravo status. Basically, from a supply, maintenance and casualty perspective, is the ship safe to get underway? That's not to say, necessarily, that if a cutter doesn't have every last widget they're supposed to have onboard, they wouldn't be able to get underway, since the Sector EO would have maintenance release authority. But in theory, it includes the engineering and maintenance perspective in operational decision making and can be used as a metric to determine prevalence of operational commander waivers and lost operational days. The Product Line would be the entity determining what required what kind of waiver for the ship to get underway. I guess the Small Boat Product Line uses something similar currently, just curious as to how that would translate to the cutter fleet.
It goes back to thoughts I've had before about where a CO's responsibility ends. I see three main players in this situation: the engineers, the operators and the Operational Command. The engineers need time to fix stuff and make sure it's not going to break. The operators (CO mostly, I think) wants to have the resources available to get the tactical mission done (which includes both equipment and personnel in my mind). And the Operational Command needs to know that they can cover all their mission requirements. In the end, I think some formalization of the process could only help alleviate some of the natural tensions among the three.
But that's not the subject of this post. The Patrol Boat Product Line Program Review is. It was in Norfolk, week before last. No one else much in the office was very thrilled about going, and I can't really say I blame them...nearly 48 hours total in travel time from Hawaii for a three day conference (at least I wasn't travelling from Guam). I don't know *how* long it took ASSATEAGUE's EPO to get to Virginia, but it probably was a really, really long time. Despite the travel time, I was really excited for the opportunity to go. I wanted to hear how the Product Line was doing, what is still left to be done, advocate on behalf of the D14 cutters and well, hang out with a bunch of engineers...'cause that's always fun! Call it as close to getting underway as I'm likely to get for a while.
I won't bore you with all 12 pages of my typed notes from the conference, but there are a few gems that I want to pass on. It's not in chronological order, or anything like that either. Kinda more organized by what piqued my interest (because this *is* the world according to Charlotte).
About midway through the first day, RADM Ronald Rabago, Deputy Commandant for Engineering and Logistics (CG-4) spoke to the group in his role as Chief Naval Engineer. He shared his three priorities as well as some guiding principles. And while I'm always leery of paraphrasing senior leadership for fear of mis-quoting or mis-representing what they say, I offer the following only as *MY INTERPRETATION* of what he said and *MY OPINION* of what he said that I thought was important (can I emphasize that any more?).
His three priorities are: People, Resources and Processes. The people part is pretty standard for CG-speak. Regarding resources: we need to focus on getting the money in the right places, which may require Operational Commanders to make tough choices. But better choices can be made with better information, specifically maintenance cost per operational hour. One of my favorite quotes from all three days was "Without maintained ships, there are no operations" (I wrote that one down, word-for-word). And process is about making sure who does what and how business is conducted is institutionalized and preferably codified. RADM Rabago mentioned that PUB-4 is coming out soon, which will be the capstone document for engineering and logistics, similar to PUB-1 for the CG as a whole.
I found his guiding principles to be extremely heartening. This is an abbreviated list:
-Pride in work: Engineers must take pride in what they do; if they don’t, something is not right and must be fixed.
-Stewardship: This does not just mean how to cut the budget. Stewardship is more a mentality and commitment to leaving the situation/condition/process better than you found it. Good stewardship means that a lot more can be done with limited resources.
-Share the Good News: Make sure the good news of hard work done well makes it up the Chain of Command. It creates value within the community. RADM Rabago wants to personally hear about successes and good, hard work done well.
-Core Values: The core values of honor, respect and devotion to duty apply to day-to-day work. They should be a touchstone for each engineer.
-Loyalty Matters: The field needs to give leadership the benefit of the doubt in some cases. Supervisors reward loyalty with trust. This does not to mean to be silent about concerns, but instead means to support a candid dialogue about issues.
-Community of Naval Engineers: Naval engineers are a special group of people, taking care of ships. They must create an active, participatory community. We don’t know how to do the difficult job of taking care of ships without the community support.
-Ownership: Own your world; accept it, feel responsible for it. Every EO and EPO must take ownership of their ships, and use the PL to leverage the ability to be the best in the fleet.
I especially like the ones about sharing the good news, ownership, stewardship and pride in work.
It seemed like the buzz-phrase from the conference was vocalized best by CAPT Ed Nagle, Surface Forces Logistics Command Industrial Operations Division (SFLC IOD) Chief. He said we are a "data-driven Coast Guard." He was talking about it specifically in regards to a new IT tool that IOD is bringing online to track project management, but it applies to so much of where the Product Line as a whole is going. One of the main drivers for a number of the new processes being implemented by the Product Line (besides better, faster and more efficient service, of course) is to nail down that elusive maintenance cost per operational hour figure...how much does it cost in maintenance to run the ships?
It'll be interesting to see what gets done with that data once it's had enough collection longevity to be useful. The figures will be different for different classes of ship, different missions, different operational hours. How will it be used to make strategic decisions (homeporting changes, maybe?), or operational decisions (when during the year a fisheries patrol gets done?) or even tactical decisions (that acceptable level of risk that ADM Papp has mentioned a few times?)? I read an article for one of my classes last semester that analyzed what sources of information state legislators trust regarding performance measures (Bordeaux, "Integrating Performance Information Into Legislative Budget Process," Public Performance & Management Review, Vol. 31, No. 4, June 2008, pp. 547–569). The author acknowledges that analysis is thin in this area, but states that legislators tend not to give very high value to data presented by the executive agency itself, relying more heavily on information from interest groups and constituents. While the article deals specifically with Georgia State Legislators, I wonder how much of the same theory applies to the federal system as well. Regardless, though, I still think the "data-driven Coast Guard" allows us as an organization to make better decisions on all three of those levels, strategic, operational and tactical.
There was a strong and consistent exhortation by all representatives of the Product Line for supported units (Sector EOs and cutter EPOs) to provide feedback by all the means offered by the processes. Using CG-22 (on SFLC Central's webpage) to document discrepancies noted in any engineering drawings, tech pubs or Maintenance Procedure Cards (MPCs); using Quality Discrepancy Reports (QDRs) and Supply Discrepancy Reports (SDRs) when parts are received by a unit that are the wrong part, the wrong number of parts, or the part doesn't work; using 3rd A-Team meetings to provide feedback to the Program Depot Maintenance Branch on how the availability process worked; doing the leg work of submitting Time Compliance Technical Order (TCTO) suggestions when they've got a good, workable idea that improves the function of the cutter (instead of making "Chief Alts" and not documenting them anywhere); volunteering as a "prime unit" to validate MPCs, TCTOs and tech pub changes; tracking man-hours expended for various maintenance efforts (including wash downs and clean-ups); checking the "Discrepancy Found, Yes/No" box on the MPC. Lots and lots of emphasis placed on the role that the front line Naval Engineers had on improving things for everyone, including the next generation of Naval Engineers.
A couple of relevant quotes:
-"The Product Line makes sure the cutter can finish the marathon (the service life of the cutter); the Sector EO and cutter EPO make sure the cutter can finish the sprint (their two or three year tour).
-"Submitting QDRs and SDRs and CG-22s may not immediately help you and your current world of work, but it improves the processes for the entire system."
-"Things are tough right now. It's like going down I-95 at full speed, and changing all four tires.”
There was a presentation on the Fast Response Cutters (FRCs). I had seen the mock-ups of the ship, but hadn't really paid too much close attention to the specs. OMG! What a great ship it looks like it's gonna be! I hope, maybe, maybe, maybe, if all the stars align and the gods of the sea and assignment process smile down on me, maybe I just might get one. But it's a long shot.
There was a ton more great and useful information presented throughout the three days, but rather than bore you with all those details, I'll just mention one more--Ready for Ops/Safe to Sail (RFO/S2S). I don't know if that's the acronym that is going to be used, or if it's even going to happen, but CG-751 is asking the Product Line to develop a RFO/S2S MPC that must be completed every time before a ship assumes a Bravo status. Basically, from a supply, maintenance and casualty perspective, is the ship safe to get underway? That's not to say, necessarily, that if a cutter doesn't have every last widget they're supposed to have onboard, they wouldn't be able to get underway, since the Sector EO would have maintenance release authority. But in theory, it includes the engineering and maintenance perspective in operational decision making and can be used as a metric to determine prevalence of operational commander waivers and lost operational days. The Product Line would be the entity determining what required what kind of waiver for the ship to get underway. I guess the Small Boat Product Line uses something similar currently, just curious as to how that would translate to the cutter fleet.
It goes back to thoughts I've had before about where a CO's responsibility ends. I see three main players in this situation: the engineers, the operators and the Operational Command. The engineers need time to fix stuff and make sure it's not going to break. The operators (CO mostly, I think) wants to have the resources available to get the tactical mission done (which includes both equipment and personnel in my mind). And the Operational Command needs to know that they can cover all their mission requirements. In the end, I think some formalization of the process could only help alleviate some of the natural tensions among the three.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Placeholder
Sadly, this post will just be a placeholder. I have a bunch of post ideas that are brewing in my brain, but haven't really taken the time to see any of them through to fruition. Here's a sampling:
--Gremlins...I *really* need to work on a general history, taxonomic classification system and brief exploration of culture of gremlins.
--The Patrol Boat Product Line Program Review just concluded. I took eight pages of notes...surely I have *something* to say about some of the presentations and discussions.
--When did Lieutenants start looking so young? Jeez, I only made LCDR two months ago, and I'm sure not comfortable with people shortening it to "Commander" yet.
--Howling into the wind v. providing useful feedback. This is directly related to PBPL conference thoughts, but can be much more broadly applied.
--The Fast Response Cutter. Also related to the PBPL conference since there was a good review of capabilities and support structure. But I really, really want to serve on one. There's also the broader thought-process about the rest of my career--competing priorities and squishy timelines.
--The gentle tension between engineers and operators, maintenance and mission, OPCON and PBPL. Who should win and why.
--That exploration of CG missions that I mentioned a bit ago.
Got a long plane ride tomorrow and I've got to organize my notes from the conference, so hopefully that will inspire some ponderings for the blog.
--Gremlins...I *really* need to work on a general history, taxonomic classification system and brief exploration of culture of gremlins.
--The Patrol Boat Product Line Program Review just concluded. I took eight pages of notes...surely I have *something* to say about some of the presentations and discussions.
--When did Lieutenants start looking so young? Jeez, I only made LCDR two months ago, and I'm sure not comfortable with people shortening it to "Commander" yet.
--Howling into the wind v. providing useful feedback. This is directly related to PBPL conference thoughts, but can be much more broadly applied.
--The Fast Response Cutter. Also related to the PBPL conference since there was a good review of capabilities and support structure. But I really, really want to serve on one. There's also the broader thought-process about the rest of my career--competing priorities and squishy timelines.
--The gentle tension between engineers and operators, maintenance and mission, OPCON and PBPL. Who should win and why.
--That exploration of CG missions that I mentioned a bit ago.
Got a long plane ride tomorrow and I've got to organize my notes from the conference, so hopefully that will inspire some ponderings for the blog.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Responsibility Deconstructed
Responsibility is something I've been thinking about for a while, mostly in the context of how it relates to a Commanding Officer's responsibility for her ship and crew, but also as it extends to family and other general circumstances. We use the word so very much but I've never taken the time before to really consider how it deconstructs. What is responsibility, really? What are the elements of responsibility? I don't think I can cover all the intricacies, but what I came up with is this...responsibility is some conglomeration of ownership, agency, accountability and acknowledgement.
Huh, that doesn't help so much.
So, accountability--I used to think that responsibility and accountability were fairly synonymous, at least as the terms are used in CG-speak because they're used in tandem so often. With further consideration, though, I think that accountability is the enforcement arm of responsibility. Responsibility without accountability is pretty wet-noodled, wishy-washy and ripe for abuse. I mean, even if it's personal accountability in the form of integrity, some sort of long arm of the law is necessary to ensure the responsible person does what they say they're going to do and what they're supposed to do.
Acknowledgement--in the form of public acknowledgement of the individual's position of responsibility. *That* person is responsible for *that* thing, and everybody involved with *that* thing knows it. Other, unrelated people can know too, but the people that have some of their own stake in the matter must know. Kinda like why they make us all learn our Chain of Command in boot camp and include it in the IDP. That way there's not a whole bunch of people trying to be responsible for the same thing (too many Chiefs, not enough Indians) or everyone saying "it's not *my* responsibility."
Ownership and Agency--are they really the same thing? I think they're at least pretty closely related. Ownership is the personal recognition that you are responsible for something, while agency is the ability to actually do something about it. I like the description of agency here on Seth Godin's Blog: "Responsibility comes with the capacity to act in the world. If you can decide, if you can act, you have agency."
An example might help clarify each of these areas. Say you're a squirrel. As a squirrel, it's your responsibility to collect acorns. *You* know you have to collect acorns. You have ownership of the act of acorn collection. You own the acorn stash. The acorns are yours.
All the other animals in the forest know you collect the acorns. You fight over the acorns with the crows and the deer and the skunks and the...heck, I don't know what all else, the pigs and the fungus? They all know you want the acorns too, and on some level, they acknowledge your right to (some of) the acorns. Ok, so maybe the squirrel analogy doesn't work for acknowledgement so well. But you get the idea.
If you don't fulfill your responsibility of collecting the acorns...well, you'll starve. That's a pretty straightforward impact of not doing what you're supposed to do = accountability.
And you are able to collect the acorns. No one has caged you up, restricted your movements so you are unable to search out and store the acorns in your desired cache. You didn't have a mishap jumping from tree to tree where you whooops, missed by just a little bit and fell to break your leg on a rock. There is a bounty of acorns...no droughts or floods destroyed the annual acorn crop. You have the agency to collect acorns. (But what if there was a drought or flood, would you still have agency?...we're in a federal budget crisis. Do we still have sufficient agency over our budget? How do these externalities fit into the concept of responsibility?)
So maybe it breaks down like this: you have know you're responsible for the acorn, the world has to know you're responsible for the acorn, you have to have the power to do something about the acorn, and there have to be consequences if you don't do something about the acorn. I know it's a ridiculous and simplistic example, but am I missing anything?
Huh, that doesn't help so much.
So, accountability--I used to think that responsibility and accountability were fairly synonymous, at least as the terms are used in CG-speak because they're used in tandem so often. With further consideration, though, I think that accountability is the enforcement arm of responsibility. Responsibility without accountability is pretty wet-noodled, wishy-washy and ripe for abuse. I mean, even if it's personal accountability in the form of integrity, some sort of long arm of the law is necessary to ensure the responsible person does what they say they're going to do and what they're supposed to do.
Acknowledgement--in the form of public acknowledgement of the individual's position of responsibility. *That* person is responsible for *that* thing, and everybody involved with *that* thing knows it. Other, unrelated people can know too, but the people that have some of their own stake in the matter must know. Kinda like why they make us all learn our Chain of Command in boot camp and include it in the IDP. That way there's not a whole bunch of people trying to be responsible for the same thing (too many Chiefs, not enough Indians) or everyone saying "it's not *my* responsibility."
Ownership and Agency--are they really the same thing? I think they're at least pretty closely related. Ownership is the personal recognition that you are responsible for something, while agency is the ability to actually do something about it. I like the description of agency here on Seth Godin's Blog: "Responsibility comes with the capacity to act in the world. If you can decide, if you can act, you have agency."
An example might help clarify each of these areas. Say you're a squirrel. As a squirrel, it's your responsibility to collect acorns. *You* know you have to collect acorns. You have ownership of the act of acorn collection. You own the acorn stash. The acorns are yours.
All the other animals in the forest know you collect the acorns. You fight over the acorns with the crows and the deer and the skunks and the...heck, I don't know what all else, the pigs and the fungus? They all know you want the acorns too, and on some level, they acknowledge your right to (some of) the acorns. Ok, so maybe the squirrel analogy doesn't work for acknowledgement so well. But you get the idea.
If you don't fulfill your responsibility of collecting the acorns...well, you'll starve. That's a pretty straightforward impact of not doing what you're supposed to do = accountability.
And you are able to collect the acorns. No one has caged you up, restricted your movements so you are unable to search out and store the acorns in your desired cache. You didn't have a mishap jumping from tree to tree where you whooops, missed by just a little bit and fell to break your leg on a rock. There is a bounty of acorns...no droughts or floods destroyed the annual acorn crop. You have the agency to collect acorns. (But what if there was a drought or flood, would you still have agency?...we're in a federal budget crisis. Do we still have sufficient agency over our budget? How do these externalities fit into the concept of responsibility?)
So maybe it breaks down like this: you have know you're responsible for the acorn, the world has to know you're responsible for the acorn, you have to have the power to do something about the acorn, and there have to be consequences if you don't do something about the acorn. I know it's a ridiculous and simplistic example, but am I missing anything?
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Summer Plans
I love having choices. Options are *great* in my world. They make planning (which is What I Do) so much easier. And thanks to my wonderful Coast Guard, or at least my fantastically supportive Program Manager and his boss, I had a couple of options this summer.
The entering argument was that I had to be in Hawaii to help out with some family stuff. Well, I guess there was an option there too. I could have chosen not to come out to support my family...but that would have led to a life-time of regret (regrets are a total waste of time) and was quickly discarded as a viable choice. I could have taken leave and just had the whole summer off. Couple of problems with that: 1) that's a whopping lot of leave, 2) I think I would have lost my mind with boredom from not having something constructive to do, and 3) what would I blog about along the way?
So my aforementioned Program Manager and his boss got in touch with a contact at District 14 and asked if they'd be interested in having a warm body, with some experience in the AOR, to work for them this summer. Long story short, I'm doing some time at D14 (dre/drm) as the interim D14 Patrol Boat Manager until the end of July when the PCS fellow gets in, and also working on some projects with the Command Center that haven't gotten a huge amount of attention due to chronic personnel short-falls.
How COOL is THAT!?!
PS - I almost made my post/week this week. I know it's kinda a short one, and it's a day late...but I'm trying.
The entering argument was that I had to be in Hawaii to help out with some family stuff. Well, I guess there was an option there too. I could have chosen not to come out to support my family...but that would have led to a life-time of regret (regrets are a total waste of time) and was quickly discarded as a viable choice. I could have taken leave and just had the whole summer off. Couple of problems with that: 1) that's a whopping lot of leave, 2) I think I would have lost my mind with boredom from not having something constructive to do, and 3) what would I blog about along the way?
So my aforementioned Program Manager and his boss got in touch with a contact at District 14 and asked if they'd be interested in having a warm body, with some experience in the AOR, to work for them this summer. Long story short, I'm doing some time at D14 (dre/drm) as the interim D14 Patrol Boat Manager until the end of July when the PCS fellow gets in, and also working on some projects with the Command Center that haven't gotten a huge amount of attention due to chronic personnel short-falls.
How COOL is THAT!?!
PS - I almost made my post/week this week. I know it's kinda a short one, and it's a day late...but I'm trying.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Transitions
My sister very kindly pointed out to me that I haven't blogged in a while. She knew the date of my last post. While we were in the car. Driving. No computers around to check the date or anything. So, I guess that means I need to get back to posting. My goal for the summer is about a post a week. I mean I'm not taking classes, I don't have any crazy long class reading list, nothing that should keep me from writing more often. So, now that I've made the pronouncement of a post a week public, I can be held accountable for it.
Maryland's School of Public Policy graduation ceremony was last week. I was so excited when I heard a few weeks ago that ADM Allen was scheduled to be the keynote speaker. The first thing my friends at school asked me when the announcement came out was if I was going to go. Umm...OF COURSE!! Not only to see ADM Allen speak, but also to see my friends walk across the stage. I don't think I've been to a college spring commencement before (I graduated in the winter).
The School's Dean graciously sent out a video link of ADM Allen's address, which I highly recommend watching because it is a truly amazing speech! Black swans, wicked problems, leadership, management and governance, collaboration, conditions for trust, unity of effort, "an analog government operating in a digital world"...I could go on. There were a few familiar concepts I recognized from his All Hands communiques over the course of his tenure as Commandant. Lifelong learning, caring leadership, adapting to a changing world--that kind of stuff. While he talks to the graduates of the School of Public Policy as future leaders and public servants, I took to heart his charge of "creating the art of the possible where none existed before" by using our leadership skills, curiosity (which I think can extend to ingenuity and creativity), tenacity and compassion. It applies to all of us.
Side note: in a conversation with Dean Kettle after the ceremony, he said that very few organizations spend as much time, energy and focus developing their future leaders as the Coast Guard does. That made me feel good.
But my very favorite part of ADM Allen's speech was at the very end, when he charged the graduates with facing their future, "...be insatiably curious. Be life-long learners. And when you inhabit that world in the future, and you're presented with that problem, create the art of the possible where none exists. And walk among giants, and do not feel small." (Emphasis added, because that part gives me goosebumps.)
And then he got a standing ovation.
Maryland's School of Public Policy graduation ceremony was last week. I was so excited when I heard a few weeks ago that ADM Allen was scheduled to be the keynote speaker. The first thing my friends at school asked me when the announcement came out was if I was going to go. Umm...OF COURSE!! Not only to see ADM Allen speak, but also to see my friends walk across the stage. I don't think I've been to a college spring commencement before (I graduated in the winter).
The School's Dean graciously sent out a video link of ADM Allen's address, which I highly recommend watching because it is a truly amazing speech! Black swans, wicked problems, leadership, management and governance, collaboration, conditions for trust, unity of effort, "an analog government operating in a digital world"...I could go on. There were a few familiar concepts I recognized from his All Hands communiques over the course of his tenure as Commandant. Lifelong learning, caring leadership, adapting to a changing world--that kind of stuff. While he talks to the graduates of the School of Public Policy as future leaders and public servants, I took to heart his charge of "creating the art of the possible where none existed before" by using our leadership skills, curiosity (which I think can extend to ingenuity and creativity), tenacity and compassion. It applies to all of us.
Side note: in a conversation with Dean Kettle after the ceremony, he said that very few organizations spend as much time, energy and focus developing their future leaders as the Coast Guard does. That made me feel good.
But my very favorite part of ADM Allen's speech was at the very end, when he charged the graduates with facing their future, "...be insatiably curious. Be life-long learners. And when you inhabit that world in the future, and you're presented with that problem, create the art of the possible where none exists. And walk among giants, and do not feel small." (Emphasis added, because that part gives me goosebumps.)
And then he got a standing ovation.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Cuttermen Association Annual Meeting
Last Tuesday was the Cuttermen Association's inaugural Annual Meeting. It was in Alexandria, just a short Metro (and a little bit of a walk) away. I couldn't *not* go.
Note to self, though: when chatting with your new Program Manager, don't brag about cutting class to attend a very professionally important, but hardly academic meeting. Especially right before trying to talk to him about what office might be open for your upcoming payback tour. He took it pretty well, but definitely grimaced/smirked at me.
And, like most things I write, this post will be my perspective on the meeting and some of the surrounding discussion. It is not endorsed by the Cuttermen Association, nor is it a complete synopsis of what went on. If you're interested in that, I recommend looking to the meeting minutes.
I got there a little late...doors on the Metro train were stuck for about ten minutes at Fort Totten. I think I would have been late anyway. But when I finally strolled in, there were about 45 to 50 people already seated, listening to CDR Mike Cribbs go over the Election Nominations. He finished up and CDR Rusty Dash (my second CO when I was XO on WASHINGTON) took over to "take a fix" on the organization. He went over membership information and trends (562 members as of 5 May 2011!!), the state of the website, what had been accomplished over the last year since forming, what hadn't been accomplished over the last year, and what we hoped to look like this time next year. I must have come in after President, CAPT Brian Perkins introduced and thanked the Surface Navy Association (SNA) for their support and sponsorship, but there was lots of discussion throughout the day about the Cuttermen Association relation with the SNA.
A couple of observations as I settled in: there were LOTS of Academy class rings in the audience. Like probably a solid 40 percent of people were wearing them. And there was only one other Girl in attendance (I actually just now struggled with whether to call her a Girl, woman or female; I went with Girl in the spirit of the blog; hope you don't mind, Chief). MKC Tina Calflin, the Women Afloat Coordinator from EPM, was there. Two other Girls showed up for the pre-lunch address by ADM Papp. But that still means the majority of people there were male officers. And thankfully (though out of sequence), there was some discussion about needing to change that to be more inclusive of both junior enlisted and women.
There's something I have to say about being more inclusive, which really didn't come to me until the Cuttermen's Call later in the afternoon, but it fits here, so I'll go with it. As far as I could tell, there were two Lieutenants in attendance as the most junior officers there (in a statistical oddity, I have worked with them both before), the most junior enlisted person was probably a Chief, and well, me and Chief Calflin represented our gender. I chatted with a great number of people, but only two people I *didn't* know took the time to introduce themselves. With the people that I talked to that I didn't already know, I initiated the conversation...which, even as an O-4 (yay! finally made it), is pretty intimidating when that someone is an O-6, or even O-7 (ret).
So, here's my suggestion on how to be more inclusive of all participants: the senior people, the ones that are scary to talk to sometimes, need to take the initiative and not just talk to their peers. Talk to the junior people, talk to the Girls, talk to people you don't already know. There may have been a lot more of this going on than I actually saw/experienced, but as a (very obvious) minority in the room, I felt like there could have been more of it. And yes, there is something instructive in this for me to keep in my mind as well. I am no longer as junior as I once was. It is now incumbent upon me to make the effort to be inclusive as well.
The most detailed debate was prompted by LT Eric Quigley's review of the Association By-Laws. Some changes are needed to promote efficiency, rules of order and general sensibility. I don't think anything was formally decided (I didn't entirely follow all the procedural stuff), but it was a good discussion of the Association's ideology. Like, what is the real and effective difference between regular and associate members, who can be on the Executive Board, and whether having a permanent or temporary cutterman's pin should make a difference. As I said earlier, look into the minutes of the meeting if you want all the particulars.
After Eric's By-Law session, CWO John Baker (ret) gave an overview of the Association's budget. The main point I wrote down from CWO Baker's presentation was that donations, above regular dues, are tax deductible because the Cuttermen Association is set-up as a not-for-profit organization.
And then the Ancient Gold Mariner, the Coast Guard Commandant, ADM Bob Papp came in for a half-hour session. I took not-so-great notes of his speech, so I don't want to risk misrepresenting anything he talked about. But one thing he said really resonated, especially for me and in the context of the Cuttermen Association. I know that he's taken some heat lately about his use of the terms "shipmates" and "maritime service," that he's being preferential towards the cutter fleet. He made it clear, at least to me, that he uses those terms inclusively and as terms of respect. We are no longer solely a "sea-going service," but a "maritime service" because of all the work that goes on even as cutters cut ties to the shore and sail off to do their mission. As cuttermen, we rely on the efforts of those shipmates on shore, doing their jobs at Command Centers, Small Boat Stations, NESUs, Sector Prevention Departments, Air Stations, in order to accomplish the overall mission of the Coast Guard. Cuttermen have been a part of the organization from the very beginning of the Coast Guard's beginnings (Hamilton's Federalist Paper Number 12 in 1786). And as sailors, we learn certain things about ourselves and others, about how to overcome insurmountable challenges, and that spirit has carried our service through 212 years of...well, service.
And then he went on to answer some questions from the audience about the budget and the future of the icebreaking fleet. Oh, and then, he recognized CDR Rusty Dash's hard work with getting the Cuttermen Association webpage up and functional, and the great effect the webpage had for increasing the Association's membership! Very cool to have the Commandant come in to personally endorse the group's efforts.
Then it was lunchtime. I didn't have any plans for lunch, so kind of attached myself to a group of folks who looked like they knew where they were going. Turned out to be a bunch of crusty old engineers, Master Chiefs and Warrant to Lieutenants (to now Commanders). One of them looked really familiar, but I couldn't place where I knew him from. CDR Steve Tucker and I did a little hull history comparison and realized we were both out in Honolulu at the same time, and attended plenny of XO's Breakfasts together. I think the lunch group's combined sea service was more than twice as long as I've been alive.
I didn't make the post-lunch session with Dr. Robert Browning for his Association History Presentation. I got hung up in the lobby talking to LT Eric Cooper. We sailed together for about a month on MAUI before he transferred off to be a Norwegian Exchange Officer. He asked me, "do you plan on going back afloat?" I kinda looked at him a little squinty-eyed and asked if he was serious. OF COURSE I plan on going back afloat, what kind of question is that?!? But then I realized I didn't have the same fervor when we sailed together a couple of three years ago.
After CDR Cribbs announced the election results (sorry, didn't write down the details), LCDR Shawn Decker talked about the "Status of the Afloat Community (Human Resources and Assignments)" from a distinctly OPM perspective. He's the Junior Afloat Assignment Officer, and I have to admit to being very interested in what he had to say. It was kinda intimidating. First, I hadn't really thought this through, but of course it makes sense, but the afloat community offers command opportunity at every paygrade (after O-1). He talked a little about how we're losing ENS racks onboard ships as we move from the WHECs to the WMSLs, so ENSs are being placed on WPB 110s and the new FRCs as they come out. This does raise an interesting question for me: if we're losing ENS racks on ships both in terms of number of racks per ships (WMSL has less available racks for ENSs than WHEC) and in number of ships (we're only getting 8 WMSLs to replace 12 WHECs), how does that square with the importance the Commandant places on ENSs getting "maritime experience" onboard cutters? Will be interesting to see how that shakes out over the next few years.
Shawn talked about O2 and O3 jobs afloat (CO, XO and OPS), but I admit to not paying overly close attention, or at least not taking any notes on it. And then he said that the WMEC XO slate is one of the most competitive slates there is, primarily because it is the main pipeline to being a major cutter CO. He also mentioned that it was the most diverse slate in AY11, with four minorities and three women assigned as WMEC XOs. He named the women XOs for me later, and they are definitely an *august* group! But again, that's scary, because that's gonna be the slate I'm competing in here in a few years after my payback tour.
Someone asked about how Engineering Officers In Training (EOITs) fared with follow-on afloat assignments, which is always a great question. Shawn said that the best way for EOITs to get second tours afloat is to have documented shiphandling, judgment, leadership and LE experience. He also made the point that the first three qualities are necessary for really *any* continued opportunity afloat.
There was an open forum to wrap things up. A lot of things were discussed, with a call to action to participate on committees by the general membership. Many of the current committees are committees of one or two, and some of them are staffed with the same four or five names over and over. Again...I need to heed my own words and volunteer to step up to serve on a committee.
Cuttermen's Call afterward was fun. I chatted with both Erics (Quigley and Cooper), ranted a little about whales and things (can't believe Quigs told that story! especially combo'd with the ammo box!). I didn't stay too long...had to get home to let the dogs out before they destroyed the laundry room from being cooped up all day. But the Annual Meeting was well worth attending, to see a bunch of shipmates, meet new ones and continue the tradition. I highly encourage participation!
Note to self, though: when chatting with your new Program Manager, don't brag about cutting class to attend a very professionally important, but hardly academic meeting. Especially right before trying to talk to him about what office might be open for your upcoming payback tour. He took it pretty well, but definitely grimaced/smirked at me.
And, like most things I write, this post will be my perspective on the meeting and some of the surrounding discussion. It is not endorsed by the Cuttermen Association, nor is it a complete synopsis of what went on. If you're interested in that, I recommend looking to the meeting minutes.
I got there a little late...doors on the Metro train were stuck for about ten minutes at Fort Totten. I think I would have been late anyway. But when I finally strolled in, there were about 45 to 50 people already seated, listening to CDR Mike Cribbs go over the Election Nominations. He finished up and CDR Rusty Dash (my second CO when I was XO on WASHINGTON) took over to "take a fix" on the organization. He went over membership information and trends (562 members as of 5 May 2011!!), the state of the website, what had been accomplished over the last year since forming, what hadn't been accomplished over the last year, and what we hoped to look like this time next year. I must have come in after President, CAPT Brian Perkins introduced and thanked the Surface Navy Association (SNA) for their support and sponsorship, but there was lots of discussion throughout the day about the Cuttermen Association relation with the SNA.
A couple of observations as I settled in: there were LOTS of Academy class rings in the audience. Like probably a solid 40 percent of people were wearing them. And there was only one other Girl in attendance (I actually just now struggled with whether to call her a Girl, woman or female; I went with Girl in the spirit of the blog; hope you don't mind, Chief). MKC Tina Calflin, the Women Afloat Coordinator from EPM, was there. Two other Girls showed up for the pre-lunch address by ADM Papp. But that still means the majority of people there were male officers. And thankfully (though out of sequence), there was some discussion about needing to change that to be more inclusive of both junior enlisted and women.
There's something I have to say about being more inclusive, which really didn't come to me until the Cuttermen's Call later in the afternoon, but it fits here, so I'll go with it. As far as I could tell, there were two Lieutenants in attendance as the most junior officers there (in a statistical oddity, I have worked with them both before), the most junior enlisted person was probably a Chief, and well, me and Chief Calflin represented our gender. I chatted with a great number of people, but only two people I *didn't* know took the time to introduce themselves. With the people that I talked to that I didn't already know, I initiated the conversation...which, even as an O-4 (yay! finally made it), is pretty intimidating when that someone is an O-6, or even O-7 (ret).
So, here's my suggestion on how to be more inclusive of all participants: the senior people, the ones that are scary to talk to sometimes, need to take the initiative and not just talk to their peers. Talk to the junior people, talk to the Girls, talk to people you don't already know. There may have been a lot more of this going on than I actually saw/experienced, but as a (very obvious) minority in the room, I felt like there could have been more of it. And yes, there is something instructive in this for me to keep in my mind as well. I am no longer as junior as I once was. It is now incumbent upon me to make the effort to be inclusive as well.
The most detailed debate was prompted by LT Eric Quigley's review of the Association By-Laws. Some changes are needed to promote efficiency, rules of order and general sensibility. I don't think anything was formally decided (I didn't entirely follow all the procedural stuff), but it was a good discussion of the Association's ideology. Like, what is the real and effective difference between regular and associate members, who can be on the Executive Board, and whether having a permanent or temporary cutterman's pin should make a difference. As I said earlier, look into the minutes of the meeting if you want all the particulars.
After Eric's By-Law session, CWO John Baker (ret) gave an overview of the Association's budget. The main point I wrote down from CWO Baker's presentation was that donations, above regular dues, are tax deductible because the Cuttermen Association is set-up as a not-for-profit organization.
And then the Ancient Gold Mariner, the Coast Guard Commandant, ADM Bob Papp came in for a half-hour session. I took not-so-great notes of his speech, so I don't want to risk misrepresenting anything he talked about. But one thing he said really resonated, especially for me and in the context of the Cuttermen Association. I know that he's taken some heat lately about his use of the terms "shipmates" and "maritime service," that he's being preferential towards the cutter fleet. He made it clear, at least to me, that he uses those terms inclusively and as terms of respect. We are no longer solely a "sea-going service," but a "maritime service" because of all the work that goes on even as cutters cut ties to the shore and sail off to do their mission. As cuttermen, we rely on the efforts of those shipmates on shore, doing their jobs at Command Centers, Small Boat Stations, NESUs, Sector Prevention Departments, Air Stations, in order to accomplish the overall mission of the Coast Guard. Cuttermen have been a part of the organization from the very beginning of the Coast Guard's beginnings (Hamilton's Federalist Paper Number 12 in 1786). And as sailors, we learn certain things about ourselves and others, about how to overcome insurmountable challenges, and that spirit has carried our service through 212 years of...well, service.
And then he went on to answer some questions from the audience about the budget and the future of the icebreaking fleet. Oh, and then, he recognized CDR Rusty Dash's hard work with getting the Cuttermen Association webpage up and functional, and the great effect the webpage had for increasing the Association's membership! Very cool to have the Commandant come in to personally endorse the group's efforts.
Then it was lunchtime. I didn't have any plans for lunch, so kind of attached myself to a group of folks who looked like they knew where they were going. Turned out to be a bunch of crusty old engineers, Master Chiefs and Warrant to Lieutenants (to now Commanders). One of them looked really familiar, but I couldn't place where I knew him from. CDR Steve Tucker and I did a little hull history comparison and realized we were both out in Honolulu at the same time, and attended plenny of XO's Breakfasts together. I think the lunch group's combined sea service was more than twice as long as I've been alive.
I didn't make the post-lunch session with Dr. Robert Browning for his Association History Presentation. I got hung up in the lobby talking to LT Eric Cooper. We sailed together for about a month on MAUI before he transferred off to be a Norwegian Exchange Officer. He asked me, "do you plan on going back afloat?" I kinda looked at him a little squinty-eyed and asked if he was serious. OF COURSE I plan on going back afloat, what kind of question is that?!? But then I realized I didn't have the same fervor when we sailed together a couple of three years ago.
After CDR Cribbs announced the election results (sorry, didn't write down the details), LCDR Shawn Decker talked about the "Status of the Afloat Community (Human Resources and Assignments)" from a distinctly OPM perspective. He's the Junior Afloat Assignment Officer, and I have to admit to being very interested in what he had to say. It was kinda intimidating. First, I hadn't really thought this through, but of course it makes sense, but the afloat community offers command opportunity at every paygrade (after O-1). He talked a little about how we're losing ENS racks onboard ships as we move from the WHECs to the WMSLs, so ENSs are being placed on WPB 110s and the new FRCs as they come out. This does raise an interesting question for me: if we're losing ENS racks on ships both in terms of number of racks per ships (WMSL has less available racks for ENSs than WHEC) and in number of ships (we're only getting 8 WMSLs to replace 12 WHECs), how does that square with the importance the Commandant places on ENSs getting "maritime experience" onboard cutters? Will be interesting to see how that shakes out over the next few years.
Shawn talked about O2 and O3 jobs afloat (CO, XO and OPS), but I admit to not paying overly close attention, or at least not taking any notes on it. And then he said that the WMEC XO slate is one of the most competitive slates there is, primarily because it is the main pipeline to being a major cutter CO. He also mentioned that it was the most diverse slate in AY11, with four minorities and three women assigned as WMEC XOs. He named the women XOs for me later, and they are definitely an *august* group! But again, that's scary, because that's gonna be the slate I'm competing in here in a few years after my payback tour.
Someone asked about how Engineering Officers In Training (EOITs) fared with follow-on afloat assignments, which is always a great question. Shawn said that the best way for EOITs to get second tours afloat is to have documented shiphandling, judgment, leadership and LE experience. He also made the point that the first three qualities are necessary for really *any* continued opportunity afloat.
There was an open forum to wrap things up. A lot of things were discussed, with a call to action to participate on committees by the general membership. Many of the current committees are committees of one or two, and some of them are staffed with the same four or five names over and over. Again...I need to heed my own words and volunteer to step up to serve on a committee.
Cuttermen's Call afterward was fun. I chatted with both Erics (Quigley and Cooper), ranted a little about whales and things (can't believe Quigs told that story! especially combo'd with the ammo box!). I didn't stay too long...had to get home to let the dogs out before they destroyed the laundry room from being cooped up all day. But the Annual Meeting was well worth attending, to see a bunch of shipmates, meet new ones and continue the tradition. I highly encourage participation!
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