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Resiliency has no Rank
Story by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Bryan N. Blair, USS Ronald Reagan Public Affairs
If there is one thing that has stood out in my Navy career, it is the resiliency of Sailors. Impossible workloads, unending hours and unpredictable schedules are part of every Sailor’s daily life, from E-1 to O-10. There is an unfortunate flipside to this resiliency, however. When it breaks, it can send shockwaves through entire commands.
That shockwave came in the form of a midnight phone call in mid-December, 2018. Phone calls at that hour were not terribly uncommon for me. As the leading petty officer of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command’s public affairs office in Manama, Bahrain, trading pajamas for NWUs and a cup of coffee was relatively routine. The words I expected to hear would have involved a regional adversary or possibly a casualty aboard one of our forward-deployed ships. The words I heard; however, I never could have prepared for.
“There’s no good way to say this, so I’m just going to say it,” said my public affairs officer at the time. “The Vice Admiral was found dead in his home earlier tonight.”
What do you say to that? What CAN you say? I cannot recall the rest of the conversation, but I do remember my wife’s phone ringing while I was still on the phone with my PAO. My wife is a CS1, and at that time was the leading petty officer of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command’s flag mess, interacting with our commander on nearly an hourly basis. She saw me already awake, and answered her phone. I ended my call just as the expression on her face began to change. After she hung up, she cried and we held each other for a long time with no words.
Work that next day was the toughest of my three-year tour there. It wasn’t because the phones were ringing off the hook, it’s because they were silent. It wasn’t because the hallways of our headquarters were bustling with activity, it’s because they were empty. Our deputy commander called for an all-hands meeting later that afternoon. A normally jovial and fun-loving man, our Rear Admiral explained the situation.
“I know this going to be tough for all of us, but just know that we have each other,” he said. “I’ll be up here after if anyone wants to talk or needs a hug.”
He wasn’t joking. Not today. Many in the audience hugged, cried, shared emotions and traded stories. He was right. We had each other. We NEEDED each other.
The month that followed included a dignified transfer (the Vice Admiral being returned stateside via air transport), a shadow-casted holiday party and a hasted assumption of command by a new Vice Admiral. The final thing to occur in that short time was the conclusion of the investigation into the late commander’s cause of death. Though most of us already knew, and few of us wanted to admit it, the cause of death was suicide.
The main takeaway from my experience is this: Resiliency has no rank. As leaders we look out for the well-being of our junior Sailors and are well-versed in the resources available should one of our Sailors need help in any aspect of their personal and professional lives. However, if we are solely-focused on only looking out for our junior Sailors, that means that as we gain rank, we have less people looking out for us.
This cannot be the case. As shipmates, we must look BOTH ways. We must care for our junior Sailors, but we must also care for our leadership. If you have a junior Sailor that needs help, engage them. If you have a leader that seems like they’re having a hard time, engage them. Our greatest strength is not on the sea nor in the air. Our greatest strength eats with you at chow, walks by you in the passageways and sits next to you in your workcenters.
Resilience has no rank, and neither does compassion.
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| Date Taken: | 09.01.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 12.30.2020 06:22 |
| Story ID: | 386051 |
| Location: | PHILIPPINE SEA |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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