Why I Stayed

One of those moments that caused me to reflect on the value I bring to the people who work with and for me.

Recently, at a conference, in front of hundreds in the audience, a young Sailor (early 20’s) posed a retention question to the CNO; the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and; the Commandant of the Coast Guard - all four-star Flag Officers. One of the four-stars turned the table on him and asked, "how many reenlistments have you had?" He stated that he was about to have his third (I only hope that his Command does reenlistments like we did them on INCHON and CARL VINSON).

The next question from the four-star could have easily caused a pause as it had everyone in the audience stop and look up: "Why did you elect to stay in the Navy?" He rattled off three answers in very short order with a conviction that made me believe, and that made everyone in the room take measure of the young man, and the value of his tribe. He said: (1) I want to make a difference with my life; (2) I love my tribe...my unit....my Shipmates, and: (3) I love the uniform (my interpretation: I love the advertisement that says I am a member of the US Navy).

I thought about this exchange for a few days. It caused me to ask all of my Sailors, many of whom I remain in contact with to this day, who had chosen to reenlist at least once, for however long: "Why did you stay?" One word.....one sentence, no more.  The responses are in bold font.  What follows in each response is follow-on dialogue had that drilled down into each.  I thought it important to dig down further for clarification and validation that I was not getting something recently published on a billboard somewhere. I thought that it was worth writing about, and, perhaps, exploring how some of this might translate into what each leader could extract from their own people.

Why did you stay?

·      The “Oath”.  The glue that tied everything together…..better than any strategic plan.  “I solemnly swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and to bear to faith and allegiance to the same.  I will obey the orders of the President of the United States, and the Officers appointed over me, so help me God”.  One of my Sailors recalled how we connected the oath to the three Navy core values of: “honor”; “courage”, and; “commitment”.  Everything connected – it translated into how we behaved….how we treated each other.  One recalled how we broke down the Constitution’s Preamble into actionable objectives: "We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the ‘blessings of liberty’ to ourselves and our posterity,…….".  These things are worth going to work for.

·      Honor.  What about it?  Honor to serve the country and my Shipmates – one tribe, common cause.  So much pride in their mission.  So much respect for those who selflessly gave to make their tribe better and the Nation safe.  Correlated to the oath, the words: “I will bear true faith and allegiance…..”

·      Commitment.  To what, and why?  Committed to the mission….to each other….to the Constitution.  Correlated to the oath, the words: “I will obey the orders……” loved being totally in on something, giving it their all.  They witnessed respect up and down the chain-of-command, without regard to race, religion or gender.  Their commitment imbued trust and loyalty across all internal organizations and up-and-down the chain-of-command. The result was the highest degree of moral character, technical excellence, quality and competence in what they have been trained to do. Sacrifice to each other and the organization that was much bigger than any one person.

·      Courage.  “I will support and defend……”.The courage to meet the demands of their profession and the mission.  Meeting these challenges while adhering to a higher standard of personal conduct and decency.” Courage” translated to the mental strength to do what is right, even in the face of personal or professional adversity.  They seemed to relish this challenge.

·      The tribe.  Shipmates were like family.  They were family.  They believed in “tribal talk” – where everyone worked to communicate to a common level of understanding as it related to the mission.  We always aimed for “We are all great”.

·      Shipmates.  Someone you trust wholeheartedly; someone you respect; someone with whom you share total loyalty.  Someone who drives you to phenomenal performance.  Someone who always has your back., and vice versa

·      Dedication of my peers and leaders.  They needed me, and I need them. I could not let them down, because they never let me down.  “Shipmates for life.”

·      Sense of purpose.  I understood why my job was important, no matter how trivial it might seem at the moment…how it related to the mission.  Even when I had crappy jobs, the entire leadership team ensured that I understood why it mattered.   

·      My impact on mission accomplishment and on the Sailors with whom I work.  I understood why my job was important.  I valued everyone’s participation as they needed me, and I needed them

·      Being part of something bigger than just me

·      Pride in belonging.  Never had it before.  It was like a shot of adrenaline.  

·      Belief in the mission.  From the Captain on down, the leadership team briefed the mission, why our ship was critical to mission accomplishment.  And he consequences of failure, which made the latter not an option

·      An atmosphere where expectations were something to exceed.  Constant and never-ending improvement.  We were encouraged to take calculated risk, to see what we could accomplish and how capable we were.  

·      Telling me I can achieve great things…. then giving me the tools and freedom to execute.  It was great!  I was provided all of the training, given the right tools, and clarity in what needed to be done. 

·      Mission clarity and the tools and support to get it done.

·      Pride in being part of the 1% that volunteer to serve all citizens (most who we do not know) of our great country.

·      Duty.  To each other, and the millions in our great nation who we did not know.  It was part of our code, and it embraced the highest moral values in defense of our Constitution.

·      Family.  For some, the only family they had.  For others, another family that filled the void when deployed.

·      Love of life.  We always lived on the edge.  We challenged each other every day…and we challenged other organizations to better than us…..which made us work harder.  We enjoyed our tribe.

·      People believing in me.  My job was critical, and required my total attention.  I was trained.  I understood how I aligned to the mission.  I was always provided help, if I needed it.  But, in my field, I was the expert, and they trusted me to perform optimally.

·      Learning the value of being a great follower first, a better leader second.  It was an interesting perspective.  I thought my immediate goal was to learn to be a leader. However, my tribe offered me the perspective of being a good follower first.  It gave me the tools to be a better leader.

·      Loved my job.  It meant something.  I was making a difference.  I understood that failure was not an option, and was supported by my leadership to seek a new operational envelope.

·      Loved the Navy.  It was bigger than me….bigger than any of us, and all of us.  Our mission matters, and thus, I mattered.

·      Daily impact on things that matter.

Higher highs…..and lower lows.  We chose the toughest job because it had to be done.  We ventured into uncharted waters, literally and figuratively.  The highs were “so high” as we accomplished unbelievable things, individually, and as a team.  The lows, like many long family separations were always hard and painful….and emotional, but we used these lows as a motivation to realize why we worked so hard….for them as well as many others.