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The Qualifications of a Naval Officer: WWATMD?

Guest Post: LCDR Benjamin "BJ" Armstrong

This is the first post in a weekly series about the writing and thinking of Captain Alfred

Thayer Mahan, leading up to the release of 21st

Century Mahan: Sound Military

Conclusions for the Modern Era by The Naval Institute Press.

This week is Commissioning Week at The U.S. Naval Academy. Its an exciting time of

ceremonies, balls, parties, and obelisk climbing. At this years ceremony the newEnsigns and Second Lieutenants will hear advice from many, including the CNO,

SECNAV, Governor of Maryland, and the Commander-in-Chief. Ultimately much of itcomes down to the central question: What are the skills, the requirements, the

qualifications, of a good naval officer? Or to put it another way: What does it take toearn that Special Trust and Confidence from the President of the United States?

It is well known that the passage memorized by Plebes at the Academy entitled The

Qualifications of a Naval Officer never actually flowed from the pen of Captain JohnPaul Jones. The story is well documented in an article from Naval History, debunked by

a writing team of a Midshipman and an Academy Professor. However, the ideals listedin the passage are worth considering as a benchmark and sometimes we still see them in

official Navy documents.

Alfred Thayer Mahan, as opposed to Jones, did write about what a naval officer shouldbe capable of accomplishing. ATM served as the head of the Gunnery Department in

Annapolis when he was a Commander (at one point he wrote a report chit on an upstartyoung Firstie for being disorderly, a future officer named William Sims). He wrote about

the training of Midshipmen at the Academy in his essay Naval Education. The essaywas the first thing that ATM, who became quite prolific, ever wrote for publication. It

won third prize in the very first Naval Institute essay contest. The subject of the contestwas, of course, Naval Education and ATM set out to redesign the curriculum at the

Naval Academy, which was the only source of commissioned officers at the time.

The following passage outlines the things that he believed were the required skills andcapabilities of a naval officer:

The organizing and disciplining of the crew, the management under all circumstances of

the great machine which a ship is, call for a very high order of character, whethernatural or acquired; capacity for governing men, for dealing with conflicting tempers

and interests jarring in a most artificial mode of life; self possession and habit ofcommand in danger, in sudden emergencies, in the tumult and probable horrors of a

modern naval action; sound judgment which can take risks calmly, yet risk no more thanis absolutely necessary; sagacity to divine the probable movements of an enemy, to

provide against future wants, to avoid or compel action as may be wished; moralcourage, to be shown in fearlessness of responsibility, in readiness to either act or not

act, regardless of censure whether from above or below; quickness of eye and mind, theintuitive perception of danger or advantage, the ready instinct which seizes the proper

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means in either case: all these are faculties not born in every man, not perfected in anyman save by the long training of habita fact to which the early history of all naval wars

bears witness.

Its a tall order, and a bit more specific than the ideals attributed to Jones. However,

reading through the list each of us in the Service may see the attributes of some of ourfavorite superiors, or the things we determined others were missing.

More than just a strategic thinker who liked battleships and trans-isthmus canals, ATMhas a good deal to offer in the leadership department as well. His suggestion, aimed at

increasing the skills listed, was to reduce the heavy weight given to engineering and hardscience at the Academy (and today in ROTC units) and to increase the required courses

in history and the humanities is as valid today as it was almost a century and a half ago.

LCDR Armstrong is a naval helicopter pilot and an occasional naval historian. Formore of Mahan's writing, including the text of Naval Education, look for his book21st

Century Mahan: Sound Military Conclusions for a Modern Era and follow@NavalInstitute on twitter for quotes and sound military conclusions.

The opinions and views expressed in this post are those of the author alone and are

presented in his personal capacity. They do not necessarily represent the views of USDepartment of Defense, the US Navy, or any other agency.