The Navy's Two top two commanding officers were awarded the Navy's premiere leadership award Tuesday, joining the ranks of some of the service's most accomplished officers of the past 30 years.
Cmdrs. Anthony Grayson and Matthew Duffy were presented with the Vice Adm. James Bond Stockdale Leadership Award, presented to the top COs from the Pacific and Atlantic fleets each year.
Grayson received the award for his tour as commanding officer of the Groton, Connecticut-based attack submarine Providence, and Duffy for his tour leading Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 112, based in Point Mugu, California.
The award is given annually to at annual ceremony where the Navy honors two skippers, O-5 or below, who bestembody the spirit of the late Vice Adm. James Stockdale, who received the Medal of Honor for leading the resistance to his Vietnamese captors. These officers must be nominated by eligible peers before being vettingvetted by fleet leaders.
"To be nominated by those who are also in the hunt for the award is a special honor," Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson said. Richardson, who is a 2001 Stockdale awardee for his tour leading the attack submarine Honolulu, highlighted the life-long contributions of Sybil Stockdale, a fearless advocate who founded the National League of POW/MIA Families.
Past Stockdale winners include Vice Adm. Ted Carter, the Naval Academy superintendent, who attended the ceremony; Adm. Cecil Haney, the head of U.S. Strategic Command; and retired Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jon Greenert and retired Adm. Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The Navy's top officer, who was the 2001 recipient of the award for his time as commanding officer of the attack submarine Honolulu, presented the award. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson noted that the award was important because the officers are nominated by their fellow commanding officers.
Grayson credited the hard work his submarine's crew put in for his success and said as a leader he sought to prove to sailors that their chain of command cared about their needs. show his crew that their chain of command cared about their needs.
"There was a lot of trust going up and down the chain of command and it came from them to know that we had their best interests at heart," Grayson said in an October interview with Navy Times. "They have to know that you are always working for them. It sounds simple, but it's very complex because everybody has their own needs."
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson presents Cmdr. Tony Grayson with the 2015 Vice Admiral James Stockdale Leadership Award in the Pentagon Hall of Heroes.
Photo Credit: MC1 Nathan Laird/Navy
for the position,
"I tried very hard to make sure that all the things I suffered through, all the mistakes I made and the things I did right, I tried to pass out to my fellow COs so that all their tours could be a success," Grayson said. "It's your peers that nominate you and so … I think winning this award kind of shows me that they were successful."
Grayson said the key to keeping sailors motivated is to keep uplines of communication flowing and letting sailors know what is expected of them each day so they can balance work and family life.
"When the guys get there every day, they need to know exactly what to do to be able to cut out," he said. "We're able to do that by good planning."
Duffy, an E-2C Hawkeye pilot, emphasized that organizations take on the character of their leader and that setting the example was paramount.
"Never underestimate the impact you can make on others by just offering a bit of assistance, a minor course correction, or in encouraging conversation," Duffy said in a September interview after the award was announced. "It can have a profound impact. Strive every single day to look for opportunities to serve others and you will make a difference, and you will have a very rewarding experience."
Duffy said after the ceremony that he was excited to receive the award on behalf of his fellow E-2C officers.
"I'm thrilled for my squadron and my community to be represented," he said. "I'm just a happy bystander and recipient of their work. I also think that for the E-2C community it's a reflection of decades of important service to the Navy and this is one small piece of recognition [of that.]"
Staff writer Lance M. Bacon contributed to this report.
David B. Larter was the naval warfare reporter for Defense News.
