Commodore's Corner
Hold the Line
By CAPT Teague "Metro" Laguens, USN
O
ne of my all-time favorite movies is Gladiator. It has fantastic scenery and high drama, but they are not the best parts; Russell Crowe’s Maximus character provided us with those. His respectful leadership of the Roman army against the barbarians and his enslaved gladiator days are both applicable and appropriate to us. In one of the earliest competitions at the Coliseum, Maximus found himself surrounded by an unguided, scared group of men ready to battle individually to certain death. He observed this and immediately rallied them saying, “If we work together, we survive.” In spite of the overwhelming disadvantage in the arena, he gathered his team, exclaiming, “Hold … Together," until the time was right for their strike. His decisive patience and expert combat knowledge earned him the reverence of those men and respect of the crowd. In that moment, he won the battle and ultimately the war. Under tremendous pressure where everything was seemingly stacked against him, Maximus adapted his leadership, and earned the favorable outcome due to his unrelenting belief in his goal. Throughout all the adversity, Maximus maintained an unwavering dedication to the founding principles of his country and a heart for his family. I love that movie! Mic drop … lesson over … homework assigned. Go watch Gladiator. Metro out. Since I am not a SWO and I do not have great comm discipline, I meant “over” not “out!”
Rotor Review #156 Spring '22
As our leaders have unpacked GPC (Great Power Competition) and what they envision that fight to look like, the CNO aptly challenged us to further develop our team of seasoned naval warriors. He is asking us to fight beyond all obstacles, be successful, and persevere in the end. Hopefully now it makes sense to you why I chose a fictional movie character to lead off this article. Put Russell Crowe in a flight suit, or a flight deck jersey, or some Type IIIs and he is you or the Sailors we are privileged to serve alongside as we do our nation's bidding across the globe. For years we have been relatively unchallenged in our efforts to maintain the postWWII status quo in the global maritime commons. That is changing and we must adapt too. I have always said that E5s and LTs are the backbone of the NAE. These are the people who carry the burden of the workload; the resident keepers of the most up-to-date procedures (and the gouge); the truth-tellers unencumbered by the naiveté of inexperience or the politics of promotion. The backbone, however, cannot operate alone. It needs to connect to a set of hands to hold tools, a pair of legs to do heavy lifting, a mind with which to strategize, and a heart to bring it all to life. Our source of naval power comes from the strength we gain from all our combat-minded Sailors - the true heart of our weapons system.* If I personally sought you out and asked if you were combatminded, I would be willing to bet you some tasty Kentucky brown water that I would get a resolute “yes” from most if not all of those who stumbled upon the article. And I would believe you because I have seen you in action and because we come from a long line of historic combat-minded Sailors …
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