Lost At Sea

Since October four men, none of whom were friends of mine, but each known well by friends of mine, committed suicide. Three were in the Navy, one was a Marine; three on active duty, the fourth retired less than 2 months. One made the news, Vice Admiral “Sterno” Stearney, commander of US Naval forces in the Middle East, the 5th Fleet Commander; F-18 pilot, Top Gun instructor, he had risen to the very pinnacle of operational excellence – command of a fleet. And not just fleet command, command of a fleet in combat.

Each of these men – clearly – was fighting demons. Tragically, they took their own lives.
But the disturbing part is that the system around them, particularly the leadership above them, failed to protect them from those demons. As a priest – who served in the Army – said to me the other day: “We have let these men down.”

Any suicide is a tragedy; the suicide of 20 or more veterans every day is a crisis. Since 9-11 more than 100,000 veterans have committed suicide, more than have been killed in combat since the end of World War II. Are the services really doing all they can to address this crisis? If not, the fault lies in the leadership of the services, particularly those in uniform.

But if that were true, if the leadership was that ineffective or apathetic, wouldn’t there be other indicators of leadership failure? Well… Consider the 12 December GAO report on Navy readiness:

– 70% of scheduled maintenance completed late

– Shipyard workforces shorthanded, many lack experience

– all 8 of the first ship of new classes delivered over the past decade were delivered behind schedule, more than half by more than 2 years

– six ships of different classes (valued at $6.3 billion) were delivered with incomplete work and quality problems

– F-35 aircraft availability 52% – the goal is 65%

– F-35 aircraft fully mission capable 15% – the goal is 60%

– F-35 aircraft unable to fly 22 percent of the time because of parts shortages

– DOD’s capabilities to repair F-35 parts – 6 years behind schedule

And the Zumwalt class destroyer:

– 3 ships, total program cost $22 billion

– Armed with a gun that has no ammunition

– Armed with fewer missiles than destroyers 2/3rds the size and a quarter the cost

The GAO noted that the Navy’s system for tracking personnel doesn’t properly account for individual experience and that current crew manning is often incapable of performing the maintenance crews must provide; this on ships such as Burke DDGs, 9,000 ton ships with crews of about 280. And the Zumwalt DDG? A 15,000 ton ship with a crew of 148. How will that small a crew manage basic ship maintenance, never mind conducting damage control in combat?

Are these problems indicative of leadership incompetence?

As for suicide:

The suicide rate for veterans is 22% higher than the national average. The Navy suicide rate has risen more than 50% since 2015 and is now higher than the DOD average, tied with the Army’s suicide rate.

Is it possible that many of the sailors who take their own lives are struggling with demons that their leadership is unable to understand – personal and professional, just as they seem unable to address the many other problems in the service?

Procurement is a mess.

Maintenance is a mess.

Training is a mess.

Personnel manning is a mess.

Wars in Afghanistan and East Africa drag on with no end in sight.

Add in collisions at sea.

The Navy has throughout its history struggled with these issues. But never in such an extreme concentration. Nor can this be pinned on civilians bosses or Congress; the simple truth is that the Admirals should know enough about their business – and their sailors – to prevent these problems from developing.

Meanwhile, the suicide rate climbs.

The cause of all the above is not solely a failure of leadership; the above is not dispositive.

But the one common thread here – which spans multiple administrations – is leadership – the admirals. The readiness issue alone suggests grave problems at the top of the Navy, the suicides implies even more. Could it be that the real root of the problem is that leadership?

Copyright 2018 Arrias
www.vicsocotra.com