Influences of Interwar Doctrine and Training on the Successes of U.S. Submarines in the Pacific Theater of Operations During the Second World War

 

ABSTRACT

Current trends in leadership training often overlook historic examples of effective leadership – the developmental processes and the results of the professional background of leaders in an operational environment. The development of the submarine influenced the outcome of both the First and Second World War, but it was the leadership of the American submarine skippers in the latter conflict which provided examples of legendary and effective leadership. This thesis will address the question of how the interwar period influenced the doctrine and formal professional education of submarine skippers. Most importantly, however, will be the discussion of the contributing factors which combined to force a rapid evolution in leadership and employment of these submarines: technology, enemy, and internal bureaucratic resistance, to name a few factors.

Motivation and Ted Talks

I was having a conversation with a friend the other day and we were discussing creative outlets. He’s a poet at heart and was a mariner by trade, and our conversations have ranged a wide variety of topics – from the evolution of leadership during the Second World War, to the source of inspiration, and finally – why we write.

Turkey, Leadership, and the Fire Pit

Originally posted November 27, 2015.

A post-Thanksgiving dinner brought the topic of my paper on Charles A. Lockwood,’s leadership during the Second World War and the feedback of the host was especially appreciated due to his prior service as an officer in the U.S. Navy:

“You wrote that Lockwood had both ‘transactional’ and ‘transformational’ leadership skills. Do you think most leaders have both types of leadership skills? Do you think a good leader must have both?”

Jump

Originally, this was posted January 15, 2016 – a few days before I received my DD-214 marking my official retirement from the Army after 20 years’ service… Since then it has been improved upon a bit…

Hoist training, Oahu, 2009.

“…That’s why I don’t believe you can fail. You only fail if you give up. The second you decide ‘Aw, I’m not gonna do it’… ‘Aw, I’ll just give up’, that’s YOU making that choice. You’re the one choosing to fail. You have to make the decision to fail. Whereas, if you don’t ever make that decision, you say ‘No… I’m just going to keep on going until it friggin’ happens’, well, then you don’t fail. You’re just in the process of making it happen.” Jeb Corliss (@ 8:58)

Happiness Through Progression and Career Stagnation

Originally posted October 15, 2014.
The instructions for the assignment were “Write a narrative in which you tell about an experience that affected you in a positive way. Write your narrative for a general audience that would include your classmates…”

Why?

“Strength is the product of struggle. You must do what others don’t to achieve what others won’t.” Henry Rollins

I recently was invited to show support for one of my best friends as he competed in the 2017 Mid-Atlantic Strongman Challenge in Charlotte, North Carolina. Given that my experiences from a similar event a year earlier in Raleigh were inspiring, I jumped at the opportunity with the intent to write about my perceptions on strength and how such an event is relevant to the average person.

What actually happened was I ended up taking more pictures and posting my observations on Facebook…

Empathy, Charisma, Duty, and Ethics

(Originally posted Saturday, October 17, 2015)

The promotion of one of the most effective First Sergeants I have had the privilege of serving under. Bagram, Afghanistan, November 11, 2004.

The question was simple.

My answer, not so much.

The professor seemed to think that I was “missing” the element of a leader’s sense of duty to the troops, but I was non-specific for the simple fact that leadership is not confined to the military alone.

“What human qualities shape innate leadership in people?”