1) Adventure and excitement
2) Making decisions, having power to decide courses of
action
3) Using cutting edge or pioneering technologies or
techniques
4) Integrity and truth
5) Mental challenge/mentally demanding/problem-solving
First off, numbers 1 and 5 are very similar from where I
stand. A job that is exciting and
adventurous would tend to be challenging to some degree. The Navy can be very exciting in that I get
to work with some of the most technologically advanced pieces of machinery ever
devised, and I get to drive and operate these things into foreign ports to show
the flag. In only 5 years as an officer,
I have been to almost every state along the east coast (I haven’t been to Maine
or New Hampshire), I’ve been to a little island called Diego Garcia in the
middle of the Indian Ocean, I’ve been to Souda Bay, Crete, and I’ve been all
over Iraq – if that is not adventure, I am not sure what is. With the adventure aside, submarining is incredibly
challenging from a mental standpoint. As
an officer who has the deck and the conn, I am in control of the ship, i.e. I
am responsible for several billion dollars in US government property, not to
mention the 150 some odd lives that are inside her. Driving a ship while maintaining distance
from contacts and keeping in communication is always a fun and challenging
puzzle that never gets boring. This is a
good thing as I tend to get bored really easy – if I am challenged by something
I tend to take an exponentially longer time in getting bored. None of this really relates to the core
values of the Navy and adventure and excitement is almost the nemesis of
nuclear power where order and discipline rule, however I think that the Navy
specifically and the armed forces in general cater to adventure people who want
a challenging career, so it suits me just fine.
Second off, I really do enjoy the challenge of making
decisions and being in a leadership role.
It is not like I have to be in charge – I fully respect the chain of
command and my subordinates – but I think that leadership is an art form, and
it is an art that I am actually rather good at.
When compared to the Navy core values, I think having the desire to make
decisions is really embodied in all 3.
You must have honor to be able to make ethical and correct decisions,
the courage to want to make the tough ones, and the commitment to follow
through with them.
As I alluded to before, our Navy has some technological
marvels under its umbrella. We have a
technology – nuclear power – that few countries have, and not only do we have
it, but we have plants that can go underwater. I mean come on… does it get any
cooler than that? I have always been a
nerd when it comes to technology, even though I never really applied myself in
high school and received average grades through my first attempt at college (I
went to school on a swim scholarship right out of high school but did not
finish my degree). Working with cutting
edge technology is somewhat wrapped into the excitement value and the mental
challenge as most technological stuff is both exciting and challenging. Again, when compared to the core values, I
would say that courage is part of it – courage to play with some technology
that is both powerful and dangerous at the same time.
Finally, there is integrity. As I have mentioned in several topics before,
integrity is something that I demand from myself as well as my colleagues, both
up and down the chain of command. The
nuclear navy would not be where it is today without having people that have
impeccable integrity, and as part of that community, I strive to ensure that tradition
continues. The core values really come
into play here as all 3 play a part in integrity. In my opinion, integrity is a semi-synonym of
honor. You must have courage to have
integrity – there will be times when it is so much easier to just take the low
road and shove something under the carpet, but that mentality is infectious and
can ruin both your reputation and your career.
You must have the courage to standup to take the high road when it is
required. Finally, integrity is not
something that you dabble in – you either have it or you don’t – you must be
committed to it.
In conclusion, even though my values don’t line up
exactly with the Navy’s core values, I would say that both my values and the Navy’s
values are intertwined in a manner that is compatible. The Navy allows me to fulfill every one of my
5 values without any doubt. It is
exciting, adventurous, challenging, uses cutting edge technology, and demand
integrity. It is also hard work, which I
would say is why not so many people decide to choose the path I am walking,
which in the end is better for me – I want to be the one having the fun!
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