Take Care of Your Men and They Will Fly for You

It’s generally accepted that in most democracies that “civilian control” of the military is a given. In the US, for example, the highest ranking general or admiral always reports to a “civilian secretary,” and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, who is the highest-ranking soldier is merely an advisor to the civilian president. It is accepted that this state of affairs has allowed militaries to be kept professional and democratic societies safe from military take overs.

While most people accept that the military is always subordinate to civilian interest (including by those in the military), its sometimes hard for civilians to understand the bonds that the military feel amongst themselves. Early this month, the then Acting Secretary of Navy fired the Captain of the Theodore Roosevelt, after he wrote a letter asking for more help in evacuating his crew who had come down with Covid-19. The act made him Captain Brett Crozier an instant hero with his crew and when the civilian authority chose to fire him, his stature among him men increased. A video clip of his send off can be seen at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abjx57T0lUc

To compound matters, the Acting Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Thomas Modly proceeded to go to the ship and ranted to the sailors about their beloved captain. Unfortunately for Mr. Modly, this controversy reached such a level that he ended up having to resign. The news of Mr. Modly’s resignation can be found at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqJX37J0mRM

I bring up this story because it underlines one of the key points about leadership, which is the fact that leadership is as much about looking after the people under you as it is about telling them what to do. Leaders that are perceived as only being in it for themselves lose respect quickly and leaders who are perceived to have the interest of their men at heart are revered.

You often see this most in the military where people are placed an exceedingly stressful situation and those that succeed in leading people are those who have been seen to take care of their people. While the military environment is where this is most obvious, this leadership principle applies to other aspects of life.

I remember my course commander telling us when we graduated from our artillery specialist course to, “Take care of your men and they will fly for you.” Never quite understood what he meant until the end of my national service career.

This was in the aftermath of the tragedy in New Zealand and the then Chief of Artillery organized a live firing demo as a confidence building exercise. This demo was staffed by the senior specialist of the formation and somehow, I ended up volunteering for this. The funny part was the senior specialist (Master Sargant and above, all with at least 20-years of service) were then sent to clear blinds. The administration of this exercise was such that lunch was only indented for the evaluators, who were all commissioned officers.

The commander of the demo team (First Warrant Officer) ended up quarrelling with the Chief of Evaluator (Head of Intelligence at HQ SA, a lieutenant colonel) and ended up taking the lunch for the demo team. The only provision was that I would not have lunch, as I would be returned to my unit. Upon seeing that I was without lunch, my course commander sacrificed his lunch for me. When I protested his sacrifice, his counter was, “You are my trainee and I will always care for my trainee.”

This is something I have always remembered. I was, in his words a “f** up trainee.” Operating the 155 was not exactly my strong point. However, he still regarded me as his trainee and someone he had a responsibility to care for.

Reading about the incident on the USS Theodore Roosevelt brought me back to this incident. I remember my course commander fondly because, despite yelling at me and calling me affectionate names like maggot and idiot for nearly two months of my life, he took care of me and showed me he looked after my welfare.

Now, if you apply my very personal lessons onto a national scale, it becomes clear about why some leaders are revered and some are despised. It becomes especially true in a crisis situation. When a leader shows he or she is clear headed and in it to care for the rest of us, we are more willing to take whatever crap might come our way. Think of Jacinda Arden in New Zealand and how she’s handled two crises in as many years (Christchurch Shooting and Covid-19). New Zealanders have followed her gladly because she’s shown that she’s on their side. It’s something that any aspiring leader should remember.