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February 2005
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Cartoon by Jeff
Bacon.
Recently while dining at the venerable Occidental Grill in Washington,
I noticed a worn picture of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz adorning
the wall. You've probably seen the same photo -- a head shot of
the Admiral, and the cover art for E.B. Potter's eponymous Nimitz
biography. I immediately felt the pride that comes from a personal
association to something worthwhile -- a bit like eyeing the picture
of a distant, but famous, family relative. Although I have never
met Admiral Nimitz (we're of slightly different year groups), I
felt somehow connected to him -- purely by virtue of shared service
in the United States Navy. It crystallized for me something I'd
been tangentially considering for the last few years: our lifelong
connection to the fraternity of Naval Service might very well be
the most prized gift from of our time in uniform.
As professionals, we often articulate the rewards of military service
in terms of pay, benefits, and, perhaps, mission -- often undervaluing
or ignoring (until much later in life) the less tangible attributes
like camaraderie, pride in uniform, and place in history. There
is a lesson to be learned by our colleagues in the Marine Corps:
celebrating our traditions, patriotic duty, and heritage while on
active-duty is good business…and it directly enhances recruiting,
retention, and reinforces our core values.
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One of the most enduring themes of military service is the sense
that through our service we are part of something greater than ourselves.
That we are part of a continuum of service -- somehow tied directly
to one another and to those who have come before us. In some way,
we are part of the legacy of the Sea Services that goes back to
October 13th, 1775 and the founding of our Navy -- perhaps even
as far back as the 2500BC to the seafaring Phoenicians. It's easy
eschew these notional concepts as sentimental or contrived, but
I don't believe they are -- in fact, they take on incremental meaning
as one gets older. To see this phenomenon firsthand, you might consider
spending an afternoon at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Navy Veterans come from throughout the country to enroll in the
ship's log -- adding their picture and personal history to the hundreds
of thousands of shipmates who have come before them. Veterans of
every conflict, these Sailors want to send a simple message, "I
served, too." For many of them, their time in the Navy was the highlight
of their lives -- and they would give anything to go back. You'll
likely come to the same conclusion as me -- how lucky we were to
have served!
It's important that we take time to celebrate and communicate these
traditions to our Sailors. Many of these young professionals want
to have the importance of their service reinforced -- to understand
their place in history. DoD studies regularly indicate that one of
the more important drivers of military enlistment and retention is
the appeal of "being part of something greater than yourself." The
Navy can't compete with the civilian sector on traditional civilian
career metrics of lifestyle and financial reward... However, we are
the hands-down winner in term of mission, duty, pride, and camaraderie.
For many people, these intangible qualities are the most some of the
most enduring rewards in life. It's clear that leaders who can adeptly
communicate and foster these attributes in their commands reap the
rewards of enhanced morale and high retention -- and, perhaps in hindsight,
the feeling they contributed to building a great team.
 The
Sea Services should also do more to capture, preserve and communicate
our Naval heritage. Oral history and ship preservation programs are
woefully underfunded and understaffed. Today, many of our decommissioned
museum ships, like the USS Hornet in Oakland, rely on the donations
and sweat-equity of World War II veterans to support them…who will
be the next generation of caretakers? In addition, we do very little
at the command level to preserve and celebrate unit histories. The
Air Force, on the other hand, actually funds historian billets at
many of their major commands. During this era of perpetual budget
constraints, it's understandable that we'd be predisposed to deprioritize
these "nice-to-have" but not essential programs. It may be, however,
that a more robust historical preservation and education program would
increase retention and the appeal of military service -- easily funding
the small incremental cost of these programs.
Recently, the Navy made the wise decision to provide every new Sailor
a copy of the Thomas Cutller's Sailor's History of the U.S.Navy. A
fantastic book that tells the story of the Navy through the enormous
contributions of the enlisted community -- providing new recruits
context, community and connection to their new heritage….an important
first step in weaving each of them into the fabric of our Navy's history.
The next time you see Admiral Nimitz's picture, take stock of how
it makes you feel. We're truly standing on the shoulders of giants
-- and we owe it to the profession to honor and celebrate our heritage.
© 2005 Christopher Michel. All opinions expressed in this article
are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of Military.com.
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Chris Michel is Founder and
President of Military Advantage, the nation's largest
military membership organization. Through Military.com,
the company connects over 4 million members to the
lifelong benefits of military service and provides
public and private sector clients efficient access
to the military market. Members trust Military.com
for career, education and financial services. Founded
in 1999, Military Advantage has raised over $30
million from leading investors and strategic partners,
including A&E Television Networks. In 2004, Military
Advantage was acquired by Monster Worldwide (Nasdaq:
MNST).
Prior to founding Military Advantage, Chris was
a strategy consultant assisting companies in the
airline, entertainment, and financial services industries.
Chris also served as a Naval Flight Officer in the
United States Navy. While on active duty, Chris
flew as a P-3 Navigator, Tactical Coordinator and
Mission Commander in support of maritime interdiction
operations in the Red Sea, NATO enforcement operations
in the Adriatic, and counter-narcotics missions
in Central America. Following his operational tour,
Chris worked in the Pentagon as Aide to the Chief
of the Naval Reserve.
An advocate for servicemembers and veterans, Chris
is a frequent speaker and has appeared in the Wall
Street Journal, New York Times, Business Week, Financial
Times, and others. He is also a regular guest on
CNN and other national radio and TV programs. In
addition, he writes the monthly "Charting your Course"
column for U.S. Naval Institute's Proceedings magazine
and is working on his first book to be published
by Simon & Schuster in 2005. He also serves as a
Director of the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation and
a Trustee of the U.S. Naval Institute Foundation.
Chris earned an undergraduate degree from the University
of Illinois and an MBA from the Harvard Business
School.
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