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Mullen to grads: Question leadership

Annapolis, Md. — The military’s top officer told members of the Naval Academy’s Class of 2008 that they should not be afraid to question authority and that they should be prepared to leave the service if they feel they cannot carry out orders.

“Few things are more vital to an organization than someone who has the moral courage to question the direction in which the organization is headed and then the strength of character to support whatever decision is made,” Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen told 1,037 graduates Friday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. “That is real loyalty.”

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Naval Academy graduation

Mullen said officers — even ensigns and second lieutenants — have an obligation to speak up when they think things aren’t going well and to ask tough questions of their superiors when those questions are required. Officers then must support whatever decision superiors make — or resign their commissions if they feel they cannot, he said. Officers must “obey the orders we have been given, carrying them out with the professionalism and loyalty they deserve, or vote with our feet.”

He said military officers are also obligated to tell the American people, both directly and through their civilian leadership, what kind of military the nation needs, pointing out that military and civilian leaders are currently debating how the military should prepare itself for current wars and for future ones.

“To me it isn’t a question of either or, it is about balance and depth,” he said. “I believe we need to be able to fight and win the small and big wars both today and tomorrow.”

Mullen, a 1968 academy graduate, said his mediocre showing at the academy and as a junior officer — he said he racked up 115 demerits in one day during his plebe year, graduated 611 out of 836, and hit a buoy with the first ship he commanded, the gasoline taker Noxubee — should be an example of the power of perseverance.

“It is often from our failures that we learn the most,” he said.

“I got a fitness report that by all means should have ended my [career] in the Navy,” he said. “It took me more than 11 years to work off those bad grades, but I learned a lot. I learned about the power of persistence and the amazing influence that good mentors can have.

“You will struggle, and sometimes you will fail,” he said. “What matters is how you deal with it.”

Marine 2nd Lt. Jeff Turner, 21, of Bedford, N.H., said he enjoyed Mullen’s speech. “It had humor and good advice,” he said. “And he gave people hope who might have finished at the bottom of the class.”

Turner said he is looking forward to spending four weeks relaxing before he reports to Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., to begin The Basic School. Turner’s brother James, who was commissioned earlier this month after completing the Marine Platoon Leadership Course at Quantico, will attend TBS at the same time.

Turner, one of 233 midshipmen commissioned as Marine Corps second lieutenants Friday, said he hopes to become an infantry officer and deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan as soon as possible. “I want to get in there and get in the fight,” he said. “It’s the ultimate leadership test.”

“It was surreal,” Ensign Daitra Pierson, 21, of Wytheville, Va., said of listening to Mullen following four long years at the academy.

Pierson and Ensign Jose Ayala, 23, of Gouldsboro, Pa., were among 785 ensigns commissioned Friday.

“We will never do that hat toss again,” Ayala said. “Each day went slowly, but when you look back at it now, it went so quickly.”

Pierson and Ayala both will report to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., later this year. Pierson said she hopes to fly F/A-18 Hornets or SH-60 Seahawks, and Ayala will train as a naval flight officer.