Compass Points - Accountability
The secret strength of military forces.
Compass Points - Accountability
The secret strength of military forces.
October 9, 2024
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While a powerful military force is made of tangible things like ships, planes, weapons, and ammunition, the real power of a military force is the intangible things like courage, unity, commitment, and accountability. Although there is frequent discussion and debate about weapons and equipment, there is much less attention paid to the intangible traits. Perhaps critical intangible traits need more attention.
For example, the intangible trait of accountability.
Back in the summer of 1863 the battle of Gettysburg was a costly victory for the North and a terrible defeat for the South. Who was to blame for the loss? Who was accountable? The accountability might belong to Longstreet and his cavalry that never arrived. Or on Pickett and his failed charge. Or on many other commanders at Gettysburg.
Who did General Lee believe should be accountable?
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The fault is entirely my own.
-- Gen Robert E. Lee, July 3, 1863, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
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General Lee's willingness -- his insistence -- in being fully accountable for the loss at Gettysburg shows his leadership. Real leaders do not hide from accountability, they do not 'spin' the facts. Leaders step forward and say, "the fault is entirely my own."
On July 12, 2020, the USS Bonhomme Richard, while undergoing maintenance, caught fire. The fire burned for more than four days and resulted in the eventual scrapping and loss of the amphibious assault ship.
The Navy court-martialed one sailor for the fire. Two years after the fire, the court-martialed sailor was acquitted.
The Navy official JAGMAN investigation runs more than 400 pages. Chapter 5 Accountability begins by fragmenting the accountability.
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This report identifies an array of deviations and failures, but not all are causal or directly contributing factors to the fire aboard and loss of USS BONHOMME RICHARD (LHD-6). One conclusion is clear: no single failure resulted in the loss of the ship, and thus accountability is not focused on any one individual, but rather shared across various Commanders, Commanding Officers (CO), and subordinate personnel. In some instances, there are errors of omission while others are marked with acts of commission.
-- Navy Investigation of the USS BONHOMME RICHARD (LHD-6), Chapter 5 Accountability
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The Navy's official investigation reveals that a chain of failures and substandard leadership were the real causes of the loss of the Bonhomme Richard. While some letters of reprimand were handed out to the CO, XO, and several others, where were the leaders stepping forward to say, "the fault is entirely my own."
How important is accountability to an organization? One civilian source advocating for more accountability puts it this way:
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Accountability promotes fairness and justice, as those who have been wronged can seek recourse and those who have acted wrongly can make amends. It encourages continuous improvement and learning from mistakes, leading to more effective and efficient systems and processes.
Without accountability, corruption, injustice, and inefficiency can thrive, hindering progress and creating a sense of mistrust and disillusionment.
. . . The lack of accountability leads to a range of problems across society, government, business, and beyond. When individuals or organizations fail to take responsibility for their actions, it creates a culture of irresponsibility and encourages others to do the same.
Mistakes get repeated, trust erodes, and goals aren’t met.
-- More Accountability, lessbad.org
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In the latest challenge facing US Navy ship maintenance, construction, and repair, more than two dozen ships have been affected by faulty welding. Was it poor performance? Was it sabotage? Who is accountable for the substandard welds?
It is not just the US Navy that struggles with accountability. In New Zealand this month, the ship, HMNZS Manawanui was sailing not far from shore when it struck a reef, caught fire, and sank. All passengers and crew made it to shore safely. The ship was under the command of Commander Yvonne Gray. Instead of being criticized for the loss of the $100mil ship, Cmdr Gray has been praised by New Zealand’s Defence Minister Judith Collins who called the evacuation "something of a triumph, frankly." Perhaps the incident was a triumph, -- except for the part where the ship sailed into a reef, caught fire, and sank. Has Cmdr Yvonne Gray stepped forward to shoulder responsibility for the disaster? No.
What is the level of accountability today in the US Marine Corps? At one time, the Marine Corps was famous for being a no excuses, always accountable fighting force. Is that still true? Do Marines of every rank and MOS still expect to be held to high standards of performance and accountability?
Marines have always been mission oriented. Here is your mission; here is your task and purpose. Go accomplish your mission. It is one of the things Americans have always loved about Marines. If Marines are told to fight their way to the top of Mount Suribachi and plant the flag on top, they will not stop until the flag is planted and flying in the breeze. Americans have always been quick to send in the Marines because they knew they could always count on the Marines.
Stringent accountability can have a downside. Accountability can make an organization brittle and fearful. People become so fearful of making a mistake that they are afraid to risk, to create, and to try. That is not healthy. The Marine Corps must always encourage boldness and initiative along with accountability. "Good initiative Lieutenant. Bad judgment, but good initiative." Sometimes even the best decision simply does not turn out as well as planned. What should be done then? Shift the blame? Spin the result? Or perhaps it is best to have the courage to use the General Lee method: "the fault is entirely my own."
While a powerful military force is made of tangible things like ships, planes, weapons, and ammunition, the real power of a military force is the intangible things like courage, unity, commitment, and accountability. Marines today are lacking sufficient amphibious ships. That is a serious problem. But if the Marine Corps ever loses its commitment to accountability, it will have suffered a much more serious loss.
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USNI News - 09/30/2022
UPDATED: Former Bonhomme Richard Sailor Ryan Sawyer Mays Acquitted of Arson
By Gidget Fuentes
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SecNav
USS BONHOMME RICHARD (LHD-6)
JAGMAN INVESTIGATION
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Military.com - 10/07/2024
Navy Says 26 Ships Affected by Faulty Welds at Newport News Shipyard in Virginia
By Konstantin Toropin
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Forces News - 10/07/2024
Ex-Royal Navy commander praised for saving lives after New Zealand naval ship sinks
Great topic. Accountability is one of those 'everyone talks about it, but it still is in short supply' kind of things. It's also usually a lagging indicator....lack of accountability is revealed after 'the Bonhomme Richard burns'. Accountability is being immune to the 'Someone Else's Problem' Invisibility Field. Accountability is found is those extras that one may not be required to do per se, but future mission success is best supported by doing them even so. Accountability is owning the mission and treating your unit like it's the best damn unit in the DoD and you are a part of that. Accountability is a 3-way street between the leader, the led, and one's Duty. Accountability is only a cliche, except when it isn't. Thanks Compass Post.
Today CDR Salamander posted “2023 INSURV Report” in which he identifies that “our navy suffers from the cancer of a culture of untruth.” Basically it details the very dangerous levels of maintenance or lack thereof predominantly in the surface fleet, but overall across the Navy. It’s worth a look. That said, as to accountability, need we look any further than to our own? To this day, as far as the writer knows General Kenneth McKenzie CentCom commander during the NEO at HKIA in August of 2021, has never truly honestly acknowledged the overall debacle of the effort. Focusing instead on the fact that 120,000 plus human beings were transported by airlift out of Kabul, and never truly taking responsibility for the 13 dead American servicemen and woman, with a further 45 WIA. While it would not change the overall circumstances and outcomes, can we imagine how different our view of his performance would be, if he had simply gone before Congress when called upon and said, while there were extenuating and mitigating circumstances, the ultimate responsibility was mine and said, “The fault is entirely my own.” Rather, we are subjected to his Sunday morning babbling on the various “news” shows, basically pretending he knows what the Hell he is talking about. In a effort to respect the decorum of CP, fair to say, the writer, would not follow General McKenzie to the head out of idle curiosity, let alone give him a stop sign as a crossing guard at a local middle school. In contrast the “surprise Taliban” attack on Camp Bastion in September of 2012, lead to the two commanders tendering their resignations and retiring, taking full responsibility for the outcome. Further, while Commandant Amos didn’t want to “fire” these two generals, he knew to not do so, no matter the extenuating and mitigating circumstances, would send a very bad signal, and that ACCOUNTABILITY was key and required. In further contrast, those very senior leaders of Chowder Society II are treated with contempt and silence by those that currently “lead” the Corps (managers is more apt), and refuse to be accountable to anyone. But, why be surprised when the current Secretary of Defense simply checks into Hospital and doesn’t tell his boss for a week, one can see why the word accountability would get lost in the chaff. It starts at the top and respect is earned and not given, and as we all know, 1000 atta boys are wiped out with one Aw Sh*t. There is a of aw Sh*t going around these days.