Navy Staff Officer's Guide: Leading with Impact from Squadron to OPNAV

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Career Compass

Chief Petty Officer’s Guide

The Citizen’s Guide to the Navy

Command at Sea

Developing the Naval Mind

Dictionary of Modern Strategy and Tactics

Dictionary of Naval Abbreviations

Dictionary of Naval Terms

Division Officer’s Guide

Dutton’s Nautical Navigation

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Fighting the Fleet

Fleet Tactics and Naval Operations

General Naval Tactics

International Law for Seagoing Officers

Naval Ceremonies, Customs, and Traditions

The Naval Institute Guide to Naval Writing

The Naval Officer’s Guide

Naval Officer’s Guide to the Pentagon

Naval Shiphandler’s Guide

NavCivGuide Navy Staff Officer’s Guide

Newly Commissioned Naval Officer’s Guide

Operations Officer’s Guide

Petty Officer’s Guide

Principles of Naval Engineering

Principles of Naval Weapon Systems

The Professional Naval Officer: A Course to Steer By

Reef Points

A Sailor’s History of the U.S. Navy

Saltwater Leadership

Shiphandling Fundamentals for Littoral Combat Ships and the New Frigates

Surface Warfare Officer’s Department Head Guide

Watch Officer’s Guide

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Blue & Gold Professional Library

For more than 100 years, U.S. Navy professionals have counted on specialized books published by the Naval Institute Press to prepare them for their responsibilities as they advance in their careers and to serve as ready references and refreshers when needed. From the days of coal-fired battleships to the era of unmanned aerial vehicles and laser weaponry, such perennials as The Bluejacket’s Manual and Watch Officer’s Guide have guided generations of Sailors through the complex challenges of naval service. As these books are updated and new ones are added to the list, they will carry the distinctive mark of the Blue & Gold Professional Library series to remind and reassure their users that they have been prepared by naval professionals and meet the exacting standards that Sailors have long expected from the U.S. Naval Institute.

PRAISE FOR NAVY STAFF OFFICER’S GUIDE

A beautifully written, well-organized, and up-to-date gold mine of vital data and wise advice. Particularly focused on the new naval era of fleet-centered operations. Will improve the quality of Navy staff work and decisions by Navy commanders, and empower officers new to a Navy staff to hit the ground running.

—CAPT Peter M. Swartz, USN (Ret.), senior CNA strategy analyst and former Cold War U.S. Navy strategist

An excellent read that would be very valuable for anyone reporting to a staff! Very readable with historical context that enlightens today’s staff constructs. Dale succinctly and accurately captures the essence of a Navy staff and provides experienced insights on how to succeed in your inevitable staff assignment.

—VADM Phil Sawyer, USN (Ret.)

Rielage’s book reminds me of working with him optimizing a large staff to take on the even larger challenge presented by PRC actions in the Indo-Asia-Pacific. Reading his masterfully constructed book will serve you well working on and with staffs, inside as well as outside the Navy.

—ADM Scott H. Swift, USN (Ret.), former Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and founder of The Swift Group LLC, national security consultancy

A one-of-a-kind work capturing the essence and purpose of staffs supporting commanders across the gamut—from squadron, fleet, and combatant commands to the enterprise level and echelon one. Rielage deftly outlines the skill and art of effectively supporting ‘commander’s intent’ in an increasingly connected world.

—RADM Robert P. Girrier, USN (Ret.), Senior Fellow, CNA; president emeritus, Pacific Forum International; co-author, Fleet Tactics and Naval Operations, Third Edition

NAVY STAFF

OFFICER’S

GUIDE

LEADING WITH

IMPACT

FROM

SQUADRON

TO OPNAV

CAPT DALE C. RIELAGE, USN (RET.)

Naval Institute Press

Annapolis, Maryland

Naval Institute Press

291 Wood Road

Annapolis, MD 21402

© 2022 by the U.S. Naval Institute

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Rielage, Dale C., author.

Title: Navy staff officer’s guide : leading with impact from squadron to OPNAV / Capt. Dale C. Rielage, USN, (Ret.).

Description: Annapolis, Maryland : Naval Institute Press, [2022] | Series: Blue & gold professional library | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2022019730 (print) | LCCN 2022019731 (ebook) | ISBN 9781682478264 (hardback) | ISBN 9781682478684 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: United States. Navy —Officer’s handbooks. | BISAC: REFERENCE / Personal & Practical Guides | POLITICAL SCIENCE / Reference

Classification: LCC V133 .R54 2022 (print) | LCC V133 (ebook) | DDC 359.00973 —dc23/eng/20220831

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022019730

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022019731

Print editions meet the requirements of ANSI/NISO z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).

Printed in the United States of America

30  29  28  27  26  25  24  23  22         9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1

First printing

Dedicated to the eight naval intelligence professionals on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations who perished while on watch in the Pentagon, September 11, 2001.

CDR Dan Shanower, USN

LCDR Vince Tolbert, USN

LT Jonas Panik, USN

LT Darin Pontell, USN

Angela Houtz

Brady Howell

Gerard P. Moran

IT1 (SW) Julian Cooper, USNR

CONTENTS

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

Introduction

Chapter 1. What Is a Navy Staff?

Chapter 2. The Commander

Chapter 3. The Staff Command Triad: Deputies, Chiefs of Staff, Executive Directors, and Senior Enlisted

Chapter 4. The Personal Staff

Chapter 5. Special Staff

Chapter 6. Getting Started as a Staff Officer

Chapter 7. Communicating as a Staff Officer

Chapter 8. The Business of Running a Staff: Personnel, Resources, and Congress

Chapter 9. Civilian Personnel

Chapter 10. Working with International Partners

Chapter 11. Managing Your Career within a Staff

Chapter 12. Intelligence

Chapter 13. Operations

Chapter 14. Maintenance, Logistics, and Readiness

Chapter 15. Plans

Chapter 16. Communications

Chapter 17. Training, Exercises, and War Games

Chapter 18. Afloat Staffs

Chapter 19. Fleet Commands and the Maritime Operations Centers

Chapter 20. Office of the Chief of Naval Operations

Chapter 21. The Secretary of the Navy Staff

Chapter 22. Type Commanders, Systems Commands, and Program Executive Offices

Conclusion. Arleigh Burke, Bad Staff Officer

Notes

Further Reading

Index

ILLUSTRATIONS

Photos

Navy staff confronts the challenges of World War I

All-hands call on aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln

ADM Scott H. Swift speaks with Warfare Tactics Instructors

CAPT Dave Welch is interviewed by international media

Briefing is an essential staff officer skill

Senior civilians of the Navy Bureau of Supplies and Accounts

CAPT Lex Walker during a community engagement in Vietnam

CDR Hank Adams receives a gift from his Korean hosts

Collection is the first step of the intelligence cycle

Ambulances await survivors from the USS Indianapolis

Capital ship of the New Steel Navy takes on coal

USS Benfold takes stores from USNS Charles Drew

Navy staffs run on coffee and communications

A war game at the Philadelphia Navy Yard

USS Los Angeles moored to USS Patoka off Panama

Senior Third Fleet staff gather in the wardroom of USS New Jersey

Sailors from the Seventh Fleet staff and the USS Blue Ridge load stores

ADM George Dewey leads the Navy staff on a formal call on President Theodore Roosevelt

USS Stout prepares to drydock for a maintenance availability

The good hard fighting little shriveled up pleasant man and his chief of staff

Figure

Figure 19-1. Notional Battle Rhythm for a MOC acting as JFMCC

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Like a Navy career, a book is built on the support of shipmates. This one owes its existence first and foremost to the many senior officers who taught me by example what command should look like and how a staff could enable their leadership.

Across my eleven staff assignments, I have had the pleasure of working with and learning from some of the finest professionals in the Department of Defense. They modeled excellence in staff work, patiently teaching me how quality staff work ultimately makes victory possible. Some of the many to whom I owe thanks include VADM Tom Copeman, USN (Ret.); VADM Stuart B. Munsch, USN; VADM Phillip Sawyer, USN (Ret.); DISL David B. Dorman, PhD; SES Robert Giesler; DISL Zev Goldrich; DISES Cathy Johnston; SES Letitia A. Long; SES Margaret Palmieri; SES Bob Stephenson; RADM Jay Bynum, USN (Ret.); RADM Christopher C. French, JAGC, USN; RADM Vic Mercado, USN (Ret.); RADM Patrick Piercey, USN (Ret.); RADM Richard B. Porterfield, USN (Ret.); RADM Mike Studeman, USN; RDML Charles Brown, USN; RDML Thomas M. Henderschedt, USN; RDML Dave Welch, USN (Ret.); CAPT Albert A. Alarcon, USN; CAPT Jim Degree, USN (Ret.); CAPT Tom Dove, USN (Ret.); CAPT Jennifer Eaves, USN (Ret.); CAPT Bill Farawell, USN (Ret.); CAPT Maureen Mo Fox, USN (Ret.); CAPT Tom Halvorson, USN (Ret.); CAPT Greg Husmann, USN (Ret.); CAPT Vince Kapral, USN (Ret.); CAPT Rich LeBron, USN; CAPT Paul J. Lyons, USN (Ret.); CAPT Timothy McCandless, USN (Ret.); CAPT Kevin Kmac McHale, USN; CAPT Kevin E. Nelson, USN (Ret.); CAPT Santiago R. Neville, USN (Ret.); CAPT Fred Pfirrmann, USN (Ret.); CAPT Peter M. Swartz, USN (Ret.); CAPT Peter F. Smith, USN (Ret.); CAPT Harold H. E. Williams, USN (Ret.); CAPT Andre Wilson, USN; CAPT Earle S. Yerger, USN (Ret.); CAPT Dave Yoshihara, USN (Ret.); Special Agent Matthew Clement; CDR Leah Bray, USN (Ret.); CDR Peter A. Dutton, PhD, JAGC, USN (Ret.); CDR Kathleen G. Farris, USNR (Ret.); CDR David A. Radi, USN (Ret.); CDR Guy Bus Snodgrass, USN (Ret.); LCDR Purvis A. Broughton, USN (Ret.); LCDR Mike General Reed, USN (Ret.); and LCDR Jim Stobie, USN (Ret.). While I have lost contact with some of you over the years, your lessons remain fresh.

A number of friends and mentors generously reviewed this work, including ADM Scott H. Swift, USN (Ret.); DISES B. Lynn Wright; SES Todd L. Schafer; RADM Robert P. Girrier, USN (Ret.); CAPT Henry C. Adams, USN (Ret.); CAPT Jim Bock, USN (Ret.); CAPT Steve Deal, USN (Ret.); CAPT David P. Fields, USN; CAPT Patrick A. Molenda, USN (Ret.); CDR David Kohnen, PhD, USN (Ret.); and CDR Christopher Nelson, USN. They dissected my words like the experienced staff officers they are; their commentary was thoughtful and incisive. The errors that remain are mine, as are the views expressed in this publication, which do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.

I owe thanks to the Scotch and Strategy group, who kept me going through the COVID pandemic and offered thoughtful encouragement along the way. Due to the nature of your work, I will acknowledge most of you silently. You know who you are and you know my esteem for you.

Readers will note that this volume benefits immensely from quotes and documents from ADM Arleigh Burke. These are entirely due to the generosity of CAPT David A. Rosenberg, PhD, USNR (Ret.), a dear friend, scholar, and practitioner who is the institutional memory of some of our Navy’s most heroic episodes. Likewise, CDR B. J. Armstrong, PhD, USN, generously pointed me to RADM Alfred T. Mahan’s writings on Navy staffs.

Most importantly, this work was built on the loving support of my bride, Lisa (USNA 1991), and the energy and motivation of my sons, two of whom are embarked on their own Navy adventures.

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

NOTE: Even by U.S. military standards, the U.S. Navy is remarkably ill disciplined with its acronyms and abbreviations. It is common for a command to be known by two or more abbreviations. For example, the commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command is formally abbreviated as COMUSFLTFORCOM but is referred to in official sources as USFLTFORCOM, USFFC, and FFC. Generally, COM or C is added to abbreviations to distinguish between the commander and the command they lead (though a leading C can also mean combined in joint context). Which abbreviation is used in a communication often has informal connotations about the formality of the message. Below is an effort to identify the formal abbreviations and some variations. How to use each is, unfortunately, often a matter of experience.

Introduction

So you have orders to a staff. Congratulations!

If you are like most U.S. Navy officers, you have an ambivalent view of staff duty. The culture of the U.S. Navy focuses on our operational forces. Sea duty is the touchstone of our professional identity. Our founding narrative centers on the six frigates commissioned in the 1790s. Led by captains such as Decatur, Bainbridge, and Preble, they sailed over the horizon, orders in hand, to represent and defend the new nation. Having defeated Barbary pirates and bested individual ships of the British Royal Navy—then the most powerful navy in the world—their names have been preserved and honored for more than two centuries. It is hard for us to imagine any of them answering to a staff.

Good Navy officers want to be at sea, and in as independent and responsible a role as possible.

Nonetheless, the way the U.S. Navy fights—the way it must fight to defend our nation—is impossible without the command and control provided by the naval staff structure. Military staffs are a relatively new invention, born of necessity in the face of the complexities of modern warfare. Our counterparts in the ground and air forces came to this realization generations ago and embraced both the need for and the requirements of staff work as an essential part of victory. Our Navy has had a more complicated relationship with its staffs. Even while advocating for more effective naval administration, RADM Alfred Thayer Mahan warned that the habit of the arm-chair easily prevails over that of the quarter-deck; it is more comfortable.¹ The Navy has often dismissed the impact of its staffs even when they have gotten their challenging work nearly perfect.

In that light, this book has two purposes.

The first is simply to convince you that what Navy staffs do matters—often profoundly—to our service and to our success at sea. The law that creates the U.S. Navy states that it exists primarily for prompt and sustained combat … at sea.² Staffs do not fight, but they set the stage for the fight. The Navy that sails forth tomorrow will be the product of decades-old staff work; it will be trained to a standard established by a staff to execute tactics designed by a host of other specialized staffs, all to execute a plan conceived and written by yet another staff. Staffs might not win the fight, but bad staff work can lose it before the first shot is fired. To understand