The Naval Academy is in the business of producing junior officers for the Navy and the Marine Corps. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff symbolized the demanding interservice world the Naval Academy’s Class of 1996 was entering upon graduation and commissioning.
Just about this time last year, the United States Naval Academy celebrated its 150th anniversary as an institution dedicated to the preparation of junior officers for the Navy and Marine Corps. In these very pages (October 1995 Proceedings), I explained the value that the Naval Academy and all the service academies offer to our nation. Since then, and with my second tour as superintendent now half complete, I would like to review what we have accomplished over the past year and explain where the Naval Academy is headed at the beginning of our next 150 years.
Our proudest accomplishment, as it is every year, was the more than 900 young officers we sent to the fleet in late May. These young men and women have begun their careers as junior officers and can demonstrate the personal integrity and leadership skills nurtured and honed here at the Naval Academy. The new ensigns and second lieutenants are the real measure of our success. Their performance—as leaders, as persons of integrity, as officers who care for their people—is the only true reflection of how well we’ve done our jobs on the banks of the Severn. 1 have complete confidence that the young Navy and Marine Corps officers from the Class of 1996 will demonstrate to their superiors, peers, and subordinates the “value added” that we provide at the Naval Academy.
Yet another of the most significant events of the past academic year, at least from the Academy’s perspective, barely found its way into the local newspapers. In early 1996, at the culmination of a process that included more than two years of intensive preparations, the Naval Academy received renewal of its accreditation by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association.
Some might ask, “Why should accreditation as an undergraduate degree-granting institution be so important to a service academy?” There are two very good reasons.
First, as I mentioned above, the accreditation process, which happens every ten years, afforded the Naval Academy an opportunity to conduct a comprehensive self-examination. Our most recent self-study took two years and involved more than 100 members of our faculty and staff who served on ten study groups, each with a specific topic, and dozens more who offered comments and constructive criticisms to various drafts of the study groups’ reports. I felt it was important that the self-study be as thorough and searching as possible to identify problems and then permit the creation of solutions within the Naval Academy. In many instances during the process, problems were identified that permitted senior leadership to take immediate action and make decisions for corrective action, rather than wait for any future review or the evaluation team’s visit. By engaging the talents and energies of so many of the faculty and staff in identifying problems and creating solutions, significant progress was achieved as the self-study proceeded.
Second, an evaluation team of distinguished administrators and scholars, chaired by Dr. Richard C. Richardson, Professor of Educational Leadership at Arizona State University, visited the Academy for several days last November. Armed with copies of our self-study, committee members visited classrooms, laboratories and King and Bancroft Halls, and they talked with dozens of faculty members and midshipmen, as well as members of our Board of Visitors. But their interests were not limited to our academic program; they were looking at how well the Naval Academy fulfilled its specific mission: "To develop midshipmen morally, mentally and physically. . . .” They also examined the elements of the Naval Academy experience that distinguish us from civilian colleges and universities.
These teams, when they issue their reports, are really not supposed to say nice things. They are supposed to identify problems and concerns and make recommendations for improvements. And the report of Dr. Richardson’s committee contained a few of those. I considered their recommendations very constructive. We are currently in the process of addressing each one in detail. They will clearly have a positive impact on the Academy and will further strengthen us. But the following excerpts from the team’s report—which I am very proud of—reflect the members’ impressions of the Academy:
The U.S. Naval Academy is a national resource of distinctive character and remarkable excellence. As characteristic of evaluation reports, the team spent considerable time identifying areas of concern and advancing collegial recommendations. These characteristics of the report should not, however, conceal the team’s admiration for the quality of the Academy or its unanimous conclusion that none of the concerns identified were sufficient to raise any doubts about the degree to which the U.S. Naval Academy fully exhibits the characteristics of excellence in higher education. . . .
From the report’s conclusion, the evaluation team wrote this:
Under competent and trusted leadership, the Naval Academy has embarked upon an ambitious agenda to overcome the financial and ethical issues of the early ’90’s…
Two sets of initiatives, in particular, have served to focus the effort to renew and revitalize an already fine institution. The first, character development, addresses the core values that the Academy has long embraced. A second, improving and stabilizing available resources, has received the strong support of the Chief of Naval Operations and the Secretary of the Navy. Given continuing support, these initiatives and others under consideration hold the promise of a Naval Academy of the 21st century that will continue to earn and deserve the support and admiration of all Americans.
Clearly the U.S. Naval Academy has an appropriate mission, has the necessary resources, both physical and human, for carrying out that mission with a high degree of excellence and can demonstrate through outcomes that the mission is currently being achieved at a very high level.
All those associated with the Naval Academy can take great pride in such observations from this group of outside independent experts from other colleges and universities who offered an objective review of the Naval Academy’s comprehensive program for midshipmen.
Our athletic program recently received a similar review by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Similar to what we did for the Middle States, we conducted a separate self-study of our intercollegiate athletic program, followed by a visit from another evaluation team. In late spring the Naval Academy received certification from the NCAA, which means that we operate our athletic program in substantial conformity with the demanding operating principles adopted by Division I member institutions. Once again, a team of independent college and university administrators examined our athletic program and determined that it met the established standards.
In both academics and athletics, this recognition would not be possible without the tremendous talent and dedication of the Academy’s faculty and staff, both military and civilian, but we realize that achieving and maintaining excellence require continuous effort. We are committed to our goal of institutional excellence.
In pursuit of that goal, we have introduced several recent initiatives designed to carry us forward into the next century. For example, over the first two years of my current tour as superintendent, we have renewed our emphasis on the things we do best. We have made several adjustments in our routine and introduced new elements that will enable us to achieve our goals. One of the first things I noticed when I arrived in August 1994 was that the atmosphere. the “culture” if you will, had drifted away from what had always distinguished the Naval Academy from its civilian counterparts in higher education. In fact, we had become too “civilian.” So, in one of my first steps as superintendent, we reduced certain privileges to restore some of the military structure and discipline within the Brigade.
And when I returned to Annapolis for my second tour as superintendent, I began to notice other troubling characteristics. We found that our standards were not always well understood or enforced, and that there was a widespread perception that there were dual standards for the upper and lower classes at the Academy. We also found that too many midshipmen appeared tolerant of others’ wrongdoings, and we found many were reluctant to report incidents or use peer pressure to uphold our standards. This suggested that many midshipmen had not "bought into” our program.
Our goal, as we explained to the midshipmen when the policies reducing certain privileges were implemented, was to return responsibility to the midshipmen, who would lead by their presence in Bancroft Hall and by their example to underclassmen. We wanted to make the chain of command work, with the midshipmen chain of command and the officer chain of command working in close cooperation. We challenged the midshipmen to take charge, to hold themselves, their peers and their subordinates accountable for their actions. For this effort to succeed, all midshipmen must accept “ownership” of these responsibilities.
We are seeing increasing evidence that these efforts are taking root, that midshipmen are willing to accept that responsibility and hold themselves to high standards. Those who are unable to meet those standards or accept those responsibilities have no future in the Naval service; those who engage in serious misconduct have found themselves recommended for separation. Our “product” to the Navy and Marine Corps—and to the nation—is our graduates, the junior officers to whom we entrust the lives of young Sailors and Marines. To maintain the quality of those graduates, we must uphold our high standards of performance, professional competence and personal integrity.
As one measure that such efforts were on the right track, the Brigade leadership, after a brief stand-down of all midshipmen this spring to provide recommendations to reduce cases of misconduct, requested even greater emphasis on good order and discipline. And we have received an enormous amount of feedback from staff, faculty, midshipmen and alumni who say that we are headed in the right direction and that we are making progress.
Let me describe just a few of our initiatives that, taken together, will carry the institution forward into its next 150 years and provide the Naval service with the best junior officers who demonstrate the highest standards of personal integrity and leadership.
We have begun a thorough review of our entire leadership program. We have already restructured our leadership training program to place more emphasis on fundamentals. As part of this effort, we revised Plebe Summer training to emphasize core values and proper priority of loyalties expected of all members of the Naval Service. Commander Patrick Walsh, who recently reported aboard to chair the recently renamed Department of Leadership, Ethics and Law, led a task force this summer to review our entire leadership program. We will review his report and its recommendations and implement whatever changes are necessary for the 1997-98 academic year. In the meantime, we have undertaken several other initiatives to further strengthen our leadership program. These include:
- Leadership Chair/Coordinator. We are planning to establish a new endowed position for a Leadership Coordinator to look at ways to improve the leadership curriculum within the Department of Leadership, Ethics and Law, as well as how leadership is taught and practiced in Bancroft Hall and within all areas of the Academy.
- Master’s Degree Program for Company Officers. We have instituted a program that will enable “fast-track” junior officers who are selected for company officer positions at the Naval Academy to earn a master’s degree during the first year of their three- year tour at the Academy. While they work full-time on their degree, these officers will teach one leadership class before assuming their duties as company officers for the last two years of their tour. This program enables the Academy to reap benefits in the classroom and in Bancroft Hall from some of the most highly talented young officers, while at the same time providing them with an advanced degree that will help to advance their careers in the Navy and Marine Corps. Another benefit of this program is that it will serve as an incentive to attract the highest quality officer to come to the Naval Academy.
- Stronger Summer Training. We have modified our summer training program for midshipmen to maximize Academy assets for third class summer training and focus on underway fleet training for second class (juniors) and first class (seniors) summer training. We have also added an element to the summer program for third class (sophomore) midshipmen to introduce them to the joint arena in a three-week cruise block that spends one week each on Marine, SEAL, and Coast Guard/Joint training.
One of our proudest recent initiatives is, of course, our Character Development Program, now beginning its third full year.
Thomas Jefferson once said that to make well informed decisions, leaders must exercise their “moral muscles.” The Naval Academy’s comprehensive Character Development Program affords midshipmen an opportunity to exercise and strengthen these muscles Jefferson spoke of. This pursuit of moral and ethical “fitness” is essential to our mission and integral to the overall development of our midshipmen.
Just as we exercise the midshipmen’s minds in chemistry, calculus, physics and other academic course work, so must we also exercise their ability to reason morally and make the right decision. Midshipmen must understand that their fully developed intellect must take them far beyond traditional academic pursuits, and that leaders of character must have the knowledge, commitment and courage to do what is right. We must prepare our future officers for the moral and ethical dilemmas they will face both as midshipmen and in the operating forces.
To do so, we now have a comprehensive, four-year, integrated character development program. This program, which permeates all aspects of Naval Academy life, addresses issues of honor, integrity, conduct, human dignity and mutual respect. This program contains several key elements:
- New Ethics Course. One of the newest elements in our Character Development Program is a required course in ethics and moral reasoning, which we piloted with several sections of third class midshipmen this past year. In the fall of 1996 it will be required for all members of the third class. This new three-credit course includes a lecture by a faculty philosopher, with seminars and case studies facilitated by senior officers (O-5 and above) with extensive fleet experience. Student evaluations from the pilot program were very positive, with more than 90 percent of the midshipmen indicating a favorable reaction to the new course.
- Ethics Chair. We have established a new endowed chair in ethics. This chair will be filled by a renowned ethicist beginning in January 1997. We have also added other members to the recently renamed Department of Leadership, Ethics and Law. This spring, we selected Associate Professor George Lucas, a philosopher who comes to us from the National Endowment for the Humanities, to join the department. And our own Professor David Johnson, who has taught philosophy in the history department for 15 years, also moves to Leadership, Ethics and Law. We have assembled a faculty of unquestionable talent to support our character development efforts.
- Integrity Development Seminars. Another key element of our Character Development program is the monthly, small-group Integrity Development Seminars (IDS) for all midshipmen. For 90 minutes during the middle of the day, midshipmen divided by company and class into about 250 groups of 15 peers look within themselves to define and clarify their basic moral values and to see why those values are important and how they relate to our profession.
Monitoring and guiding the often-lively debate are midshipmen and staff facilitators. The midshipmen are upperclassmen who are selected by their company officers; staff facilitators are all volunteers, both military and civilian, who represent all communities from around the Yard, including the academic faculty, the athletic department and even public works.
Our goal is to help midshipmen develop their “moral muscles,” which are crucial to their success as a Naval officer. We are striving to challenge our midshipmen to be persons of integrity because it is the right thing to do. The varied approaches of our comprehensive Character Development Program are designed to do just that.
- Honor Concept Review Group. We have reconstituted the review group made up of faculty, staff, and midshipmen to take a fresh look at the applicability of the Naval Academy’s Honor Concept and to recommend any steps that may be necessary to retain midshipmen “ownership” of the Honor Concept and to assure that it functions with the highest possible degree of confidence throughout the Brigade.
Our Board of Visitors (BOV) met at a special session in May, and they reviewed all that has happened here at the Naval Academy and the efforts we have both made and planned. As retired Rear Admiral Benjamin Montoya, chairman of the BOV, said at the conclusion of the meeting, “Some very sound programs are being structured to continue to move the Naval Academy forward.” I truly believe that we are on the right course, and we are doing the right things.
And, despite the highly publicized misconduct of a handful of midshipmen, most members of the Brigade have responded positively to the Academy’s recent efforts in leadership and character development. This is borne out by the most recent quality-of-life survey done in January. This survey indicates significant overall improvement within the Brigade in all facets of their development. Among the more significant findings are:
- The percent of women who feel fully accepted by their classmates has risen from 59% in 1990 to 95% in 1996. Men reported an acceptance of 96%.
- The percent of Brigade who viewed the Honor System as a positive element of their moral and ethical development rose from 83% in 1993 to 90% in 1996.
- The number of midshipmen who expressed a negative view of fairness in the administration of conduct and honor systems declined by half (18% to 8% this past year).
- 91% of males and 86% of females stated that their commitment to a naval career had not changed or improved since entering the Brigade.
It should be noted that the Academy is currently working with an experienced, outside research organization to assess midshipmen attitudes, concerns and issues. A survey has been put together and was administered to the Brigade in August. The contractor, who is being funded by an anonymous gift from an alumnus, has analyzed the results and will provide them to the Academy this month. These results will be an outstanding way for us to validate our own survey results and will also allow us to accurately identify problems to ensure that correct solutions are put in place.
Beginning this fall, the first class will have participated in Integrity Development Seminars for at least two years, and beginning this fall, the entire third class will take the new ethics course. I like to describe what we do here as “counter-culture,” because very few college students outside the Yard face ethical issues head on or exercise their “moral muscles” in their classes, in their dormitories, and in their lives. Integrity is the bedrock of our officer corps, and our efforts to help midshipmen do what is right must be the nucleus of all that we do here at the Academy—in the classroom, in Bancroft Hall, on the playing fields, and in daily interactions with each other.
We have also taken steps to ensure that prospective midshipmen fully understand our emphasis on and commitment to personal and professional integrity. As a result, we made some modifications to our application process. For example, candidates are asked to submit a personal statement in which they describe a personal experience they had which they feel has contributed to their character development and integrity. Candidates are also required to have their English and math teachers provide recommendations, which include the teacher's comments on the candidate's character and integrity as compared to that of his or her peers. And Naval Academy Information ("Blue and Gold") Officers have been advised to provide candidates with a more detailed explanation of the Honor Concept and the role it plays in the life of a midshipman. While no screening process can be 100% effective, a police record check and a national agency check will provide additional safeguards to ensure that there is nothing in an appointee's background that would make him or her unsuitable for admission to the Academy.
With the return of the Brigade in August and the beginning of the new academic year, I have talked with everyone—midshipmen, faculty and staff—about guidelines for all of us to live by as we continue our efforts to move forward. These guidelines, which I have promulgated, are:
- Uphold the standards of the Naval Academy. All of us must accept responsibility and accountability for performing our duties in accordance with our high standards.
- Be a person of integrity. Each of us should be an example for others around us. When a person consistently does the right thing, it has a powerful effect on influencing the behavior of others.
- Lead by example (meet the standard to which you are holding others). As with our midshipmen, each of us should hold ourselves to the same or higher standards to which we hold our subordinates.
- Strive for excellence without arrogance. Excellence with a dose of humility conveys our respect for those around us; others will always recognize excellence in action.
- Do your best. This is our minimum requirement. We should never be satisfied with less than the best in everything we do.
- Treat everyone with dignity and respect. The Navy’s and the Naval Academy’s greatest asset is its people. Treat each other well, look out for each other, take care of each other, and we can, together, achieve great things.
- Tolerate honest mistakes from people who are doing their best. None of us has yet achieved perfection, so it is important to accept honest mistakes from those who are applying their talents and energies to the best of their ability.
- Seek the truth. Rumors and unverified anecdotes undermine the bonds of a community; always seek the truth, whenever you can, from those who are in a position to know.
- Speak well of others. Gossip undermines our trust in each other. Gossip or speaking ill of others demonstrates a genuine lack of respect for others in our community.
- Keep a sense of humor and be able to laugh at yourself. I’ve saved the best for last. There is little doubt that the work we do here at the Naval Academy is challenging, because the standards we set for ourselves are so high. Yet it is crucial that we can keep it in perspective and maintain our sense of humor. And being able to laugh at yourself increases the likelihood that when you achieve excellence, it will be without arrogance.
In short, our goal is to make both the officer and midshipman chain of command work by enhancing mutual trust, respect, and good two-way communications. When we do, we will achieve greater success in providing the Naval Service with the finest leaders as we enter the 21st century and begin our next 150 years. This is what Americans expect of us, and we will give them no less.
Admiral Larson is currently in his second tour as Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy. Both a naval aviator and a nuclear submariner, he was the 15th naval officer to hold the position of Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Command, before his return to the helm at Annapolis.