posted on April 01, 2009 00:11
As I write this, the Spring Conference in Fort Worth has concluded, but I have complete confidence that as you read the reports from the conference, much work will have been accomplished and all will have fun. Much closer to home for me will be the Professional Development Seminar at the NOSC Everett, Washington, on 7 June
2009. I am looking forward to that seminar, because it fills a need in the Navy’s Selected Reserve community. A senior Navy Reserve officer once commented to me that there is too much focus on “careerism” on drill weekends, but my experience has been just the opposite. Perhaps that is my perspective because I have been primarily in hardware-equipped units with a huge amount of requirements and little time for sitting around talking about how best to manage one’s career. Yet I was able to set aside time in my tenure as commanding officer of a commissioned hardware-equipped unit to talk with my junior officers about APPLY, FITREPs, and
other career management issues. Only one of the commanding officers for whom I have worked took the time to teach his subordinate officers about career management and other professional development topics. I suppose this is a leadership issue. Senior officers should use NRA/AUSN products and services to supplement rather than to take the place of guidance and mentoring. On another topic related to professional development, the Navy is moving in the right direction with a continuum of continuing education for officers. Yet Navy Reserve officers are still being selected for command who have not completed basic continuing education (JPME I). Joint, interagency, and combined operations and exercises are the norm and have been for some time, and so JPME I should have been a hard requirement for all commanding officers at least a decade ago. I believe this will also help ensure that the best and the brightest will be given those coveted positions of responsibility of which there are so few. I will point out that these are my opinions alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of the NRA/AUSN or anyone else. Please join me in continuing to spread the good news about the value of the NRA/AUSN!