On Leadership

On Legacies and Legends

By VADM Jeffrey W. Hughes, USN

I thought I would begin with my take on the theme for Symposium this year. “Forging Legacy - Legends Past and Present,” it seems obvious and in looking at the definitions for legacy and legends I offer the following assessment. Legacy is something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past, where a legend is a person or thing that inspires. The confluence is how we are inspired by those with whom we serve, have served or have preceded us in charting the course for our development and that of the community. How this inspiration manifests itself among us is both broad and potentially unique to each of us individually, but I believe there are elements of this that determine who we are as a community. Things that collectively define us and make us proud. Things that are core to who we are and will transcend our time to those who follow us. Enough philosophy, what’s the so what. I see three themes for us to consider during this upcoming Symposium. First, recognition and celebration of those legends that have guided our individual and collective journeys. Second, a reflection on the evolution of the community to provide the ready forces necessary to conduct missions uniquely suited to naval rotary wing aviation. Third, given that there is an action word that precedes legacy – forging – this is our call to action to accelerate the preparation necessary for us to succeed in competition against comprehensive adversaries – now and in the future.

History is replete with stories of aviators, aircrewmen, and technicians who enabled the conduct of or flew daring missions that yielded consequential outcomes. But, I would contend that we should also recognize those legends that inspire us daily to be the very best versions of our professional selves. So who are these legends – maybe your on-wing instructor in HTs, the FRS instructor who flew night DLQs with you for the first time, your fellow H2Ps grinding it out with you during the initial stages of your first tour, the HAC with whom you were paired for extended periods on cruise, your Detachment Officer-in-Charge (Det OIC), your first Leading Chief Petty Officer, the junior crewman who made the difference during a varsity mission, the list could go on forever and never stops.

I recently assumed the prestigious honor of serving as the Golden Helix – the naval aviator on active duty with the earliest date of designation as a naval helicopter pilot. What made it more special than what appears at face value is that I replaced a legend – per the criteria above – in the former Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Bill Lescher. Then LCDR Lescher was a Department Head/Det OIC in HSL44 in the early 1990s when I was a nugget. I learned much from him, both in the air and on deck, and this developmental (and personal) relationship continued on for three decades where I most recently served for him as Vice Chief. It is also noteworthy that during this same timeframe, my second CO went on to serve as one of the community’s first Vice Admirals. Not too many rotary wing flag officers back in the 1990s - that tide has turned.

There are many ways to define what success looks like in reference to your personal legends, but take the opportunity periodically to reflect on those special people who made you great. Seek them out and tell them – the NHA Annual Symposium is always a great venue to do this. Also, never forget that YOU are a legend to many with whom you serve. Bear the standard and raise our collective game.

When I think of the legends of the community, and their tremendous legacy, I find a common theme over the nine decades of Naval Rotary Wing Flight – that being the adaptation and deliberate evolution to bring our warfighting capabilities to the fore in ever-changing and dynamic security environments. As I ponder the breadth of missions we have performed throughout our rich history, I assess that what they all have in common is the need for a machine/weapons system to possess certain flight attributes to accomplish a mission that few others could perform. From timely SAR, to open ocean spacecraft recovery, to riverine warfare, to overthe-horizon targeting and extended electronic warfare, to precision ASW weapon employment, to combat logistics – we bring results that have proven decisive for decades. While the actual mission outcomes are the stuff of legend, I will contend that the forethought and deliberate force development of the Rotary Wing Community warrants celebration. This doesn’t just happen. Legends in the past have brilliantly predicted warfighting capability gaps and opportunities and drove the evolution, and in some cases transformation, of our community to meet validated needs. As I look at the current and likely future security environment, I see another inflection point where the Naval Service will look to its rotary wing community to bring capability to naval core missions like Sea Control/Denial, Power Projection, Maritime Security and Safety, and Sealift. Much like we did during the incredibly successful implementation of the Navy Helicopter Master Plan / CONOPS that delivered tangible mission outcomes via the evolved HSM/HSC/HM Communities, we find ourselves in position to define the needs for the coming decades. What made the last transition so successful is that we focused on much more than just the evolution of our platforms. We looked at the best ways to organize, train, and equip. We put mission focused community expertise in positions of great influence to drive outcomes. We charted the course for the development and employment of manned-unmanned teaming. Many legends of our community – to include names you probably have not heard – were responsible for the most comprehensive and successful transition in the history of Naval Aviation.

It’s now our turn – we have the controls to forge the legacy of the future of the community, where we will arguably face the greatest challenges across the spectrum of conflict in history. So here is the call to action – tell us where you see the community in the coming decades. How to use existing kit differently or employ more creatively today? What are the capabilities that we design, develop and deliver to meet the six CNO NAVPLAN defined force design imperatives – distance, deception, defense, distribution, delivery, and decision advantage? How do we best experiment, learn, and adjust to enable our naval capstone concept – Distributed Maritime Operations – to yield the warfighting and deterrence outcomes we must deliver for the Joint and Combined Force. We rely on your thoughtful and well informed contribution and must incorporate it into the community design for future vertical lift (FVL).

My charge to us all – active, reserve, retired, industry – is to be legendary in what it is you do right now, but help us find that next gear as a learning and adaptive organization to appropriately posture for the future. The upcoming Symposium in the new venue is the opportunity for us to celebrate our legends and forge our legacy!