<p>Some words from the CNO to take to heart. Though it's to the Class of '06, the same will ring true when we graduate.</p>
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<p>The Measure Of Leaders</p>
<p>Fleets New Officers Should Aim To Harness Loyalty, Integrity and Imagination</p>
<p>By Adm. Mike Mullen</p>
<p>As we prepare to welcome the 2,500 or so officers soon to be commissioned as ensigns in our Navy, it reminds us all that learning to lead in a time of war and great change is a task of the first order.</p>
<p>Therefore, I offer here to the Class of 2006 three personal qualities I believe all naval leaders must possess at any level.</p>
<p>The first is loyalty. Loyalty is one of the most noble of human qualities, the purest form of dedication to an ideal or a nation or to another person. It makes possible the sacrifices required by military service and provides purpose to our lives and our work.</p>
<p>Just by taking the commissioning oath, these new officers already demonstrate an admirable loyalty to the country.</p>
<p>It reminds me of Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (FMF) Juan M. Rubio, who was just awarded the Silver Star for heroism in Iraq.</p>
<p>Insurgents ambushed Rubios platoon on the banks of the Euphrates River on New Years Day 2005. Chasing the insurgents inland, the 32-year-old from San Angelo, Texas, and three of his Marines fell victim to an improvised explosive device cleverly planted along their route.</p>
<p>Rocket-propelled grenades whisked in at them, while machine-gun and small-arms fire sliced the air. Though bleeding profusely from his injuries, Rubio rescued the wounded Marines and then had the gumption to direct covering fire as he evacuated them back to their boats.</p>
<p>On the day the Silver Star was pinned to his chest, Rubio flatly denied being a hero. It was the oath I took, he said simply. A good leader, like Petty Officer Rubio, remembers that oath the promise to put service and shipmate before self always. He or she remembers that loyalty must be demonstrated to seniors, peers and subordinates alike and that it must never be blind. Few things are more important to an organization than people who have the moral courage to question, when appropriate, the direction in which the organization is headed and then the strength of character to support whatever final decisions are made.</p>
<p>That leads to the second essential quality: integrity.</p>
<p>Leaders may, at times, prove better than their word, but they can never prove better than their actions, the high standards by which they measure their own personal behavior and that of others, say more about them and their leadership potential than any statements made or guidance given.</p>
<p>How for instance, does a leader treat those who can do nothing for him? How scrupulously and energetically does he follow orders and regulations? How does she wear her uniform? How does she handle adversity when superiors arent looking on? These are just a few of the questions that, though perhaps not asked overtly, will certainly be asked inwardly by the men and women who study the every move of their superiors.</p>
<p>The third essential quality of a leader is imagination. At first blush, this may seem out of place for a modern military professional. But when you think about it, imagination has been the key to our success for 230 years. It was magination that drove us from sail to steam, from wooden decks to steel hulls and from round shot to rifled barrels. Imagination set us free to explore the wild idea of launching aircraft from ships and propelling submarines through water with the power locked inside an atom.</p>
<p>Imagination helped us to discover the efficacy of the convoy system in World War I, the circular screen in World War II and the Fleet Response Plan today.</p>
<p>Its frightening to think where we would be were it not for great thinkers like John Dahlgren, William S. Sims, Alfred Thayer Mahan, Grace Hopper, Wayne Meyer and Hyman Rickover.</p>
<p>A leader today must likewise think creatively. She should be able to place herself outside the problems immediately before her and look at them from a fresh perspective.</p>
<p>While great decisions can be made in the heat of battle, great ideas are usually born in the ease of quiet. We must find the quiet to let our imaginations soar.</p>
<p>My last bit of advice to the Class of 2006 is simply to remember that graduation and commissioning represent only the end of the beginning of your education. The fleet is now your classroom. Sailors are now your teachers.</p>
<p>They and their families are the best theyve ever been: talented, eager and proud of what they are doing. Take full advantage of their knowledge and expertise.</p>
<p>Show them your loyalty, and they will show you theirs. Demonstrate integrity in everything you do, and they will respect you. Tap into your and their imagination, and there will be no limit to what you can accomplish.</p>
<p>Keep counsel by what Theodore Roosevelt once so keenly observed, that the best way to tell the worth of a naval commander as yet untried by war is to get at the estimate in which he is held by the fighting men who would have to serve under him.</p>
<p>In todays Navy, you lead both fighting men and women. But Roosevelts advice rings true. Only by earning the support of those you lead can you ever truly hope to become a leader.</p>
<p>Nobody gets there alone.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you all, and congratulations.</p>
<p>See you in the fleet.</p>