On Leadership

"On Leadership” is a feature column where Rotary Wing Flag Officers are able to submit articles on leadership topics of their choosing. RDML Alvin “Bull” Holsey proposed the idea and provided the lead article on “Mentoring - What Matters Most?” in the Fall 2019 Issue. The batting line up has included VADM Richard Snyder (Winter 2020), RADM Daniel Fillion (Spring 2020), RDML John Gumbleton (Summer 2020), RADM Jeff Hughes for Fall 2020. 2021 begins with VADM Dean Peters.

An Unexpected Lesson from the Aviation Command Safety Course By VADM Dean Peters, USN

From left to right: LT Gerald J. Voorhies, ENS Dean Peters and AW2 Charles R. Priestley. Photo courtesy of Approach Magazine.

Like most epiphanies, this one was completely unexpected. The year was 2004, the place – Naval Aviation’s School of Aviation Safety at Naval Postgraduate School. Here I was, preparing for squadron command with 40 or so O-5s from across Naval Aviation’s many tribes – all soon to become XOs or COs leading squadrons in the hazardous, unforgiving business of flight operations, ashore and at sea.

As a midshipman, I received a steady dose of leadership training, mostly in the form of examples from Navy and Marine Corps heroes of the past. What is leadership? A partial list might include: setting the example; leading from the front; taking care of your people; and being decisive, a good communicator, a true professional, and master of your trade. Despite reading like a checklist, you’ll probably agree that all these traits are necessary – but are they sufficient? What’s missing? What makes a leader truly great?

Before I attempt to answer this last question, allow me to confess … I am a work-in-progress and learn (or fail to learn) something new about leadership almost every day. But thinking back on my career, the 2004 Aviation Command Safety Course was my seminal learning experience. It made me reflect on previous actions and inactions, and provided a compass for future situations that would demand effective leadership action and intervention.

The six-day Aviation Command Safety Course was straightforward. The class was divided into like-community groups: VF, VFA, VS, VAW/VRC, VP, VT, and Helos. For the most part, the Helo Group was characteristically low key. There were some big personalities in that room, and they were not the “Helo Guys.”

As to the class format, all groups were given the same daily assignment, and provided an outbrief to the class at the end of each day. Subjects ranged from Operational Risk Management to Human Factors Boards to mishaps, close calls, and HAZREPs. Daily briefs were presented using an overhead projector (yes, it wasn’t that long ago that these were common), with each group’s key takeaways handwritten on a transparency and briefed by a representative from their group. A common technique was to cover parts of the outline with a piece of paper as you progressed through the presentation. This format gave the different communities an opportunity to compare perspectives on the various subjects. The VF view of bird strikes is decidedly different from the VP view. The Helo view of icing is different from the VS view. We were learning from each other. All good.

Yes, all good until the last briefer on day one removed the paper from the bottom of the transparency to expose a derogatory sexual comment about one of the officers in the class. It was meant to be funny (I think). An initial awkward silence was quickly broken by snickers and catcalls. After some admin remarks, the O-6 instructor dismissed us and everyone departed amidst a few more laughs. The next day brought new assignments to the groups and new representatives to brief the findings. Things were going fine until the third briefer removed his paper, revealing yet another derogatory comment about the same officer. This time, there were more laughs and knee slapping. It was clear these “jokes” were rude and inappropriate; but no one seemed to mind … and they were getting laughs. Not surprisingly, a later group ended their briefing with another inappropriate comment.

Old School A/V

On the third day, the first group to brief ended their comments in a similar fashion and that was it. A member of my group (the Helo Group) stood up, and with calm confidence laid down the law, explaining that this behavior was ridiculous and inappropriate. We were the next generation of leaders in Naval Aviation, and how could we be trusted to set the proper command climate when we couldn’t even regulate ourselves among a group of peers. It wasn’t about what you did in front of your enlisted Sailors, it was about what you did all the time, and it was high-time for some self-reflection, but absent that, there was not going to be any further inappropriate remarks in this class. Silence. Some were visibly annoyed, but if there was disagreement, it wasn’t voiced – and the behavior stopped.

As I mentioned, this was a seminal moment for me. It instantly brought back memories of times that I knew something was wrong and should have spoken up, but didn’t. It gave a new meaning to the word courage. We think of courage as being fearless in combat, but it’s really much deeper. From the leadership lens, what’s important is having the moral courage to do what’s right, whether at sea, at home, in training, or in combat. That is how we set the example, take care of our people and lead from the front. It’s worth noting that this type of courage involves a great deal of personal risk and may put you on the outside of traditional networks. That’s why it is so hard, and also so vitally important – those traditional networks can be the source of the problem.

My work-in-progress continues, but when in doubt, I think back to 2004 and what I learned about courage. The “Helo Guy” who taught me this foundational aspect of leadership continues to represent our community well. Thank you RADM Shoshana Chatfield!

The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense or the U.S. Navy.

VADM Dean Peters, USN with LCDR Huber and the ASTC Team at Pax River during a aviation physiology and water survival requalification session.