Naval Hierarchy and the Art of Changing Opinions

‘Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion, without the discomfort of thought’ said John F Kennedy many years ago. At a more earthy level, someone else had said opinions are something (this being a family blog, I am constrained to be abstruse) that rhyme with grasspoles; everyone has one. 

So do Naval officers. Now facts have this annoying habit of remaining, facts. Opinions, fortunately, are governed by slightly more flexible rules. They change. Let us take my good friend, whom (or is it who?), for reasons of discretion, we will merely call ABC. ABC, despite early warning signs, rose to the highest ranks. 

I recall one of those meetings on force structuring chaired by a Vice Admiral with a whole lot of other ‘brass’ in attendance. The Navy likes, with a view to exposing junior officers to higher decision making, inviting a sprinkling of junior officers to attend such meetings off and on. It is also a generally accepted norm that junior officers sit in the last row and maintain, as Wodehouse would say, the reserve of a stuffed frog at such meetings.

I, along with Lieutenant ABC, happened to be two such amphibians. At some point in time, the VAdm, wanting to seem broad minded, decided to seek the opinion of the ‘back benchers’. I immediately started looking down at my notepad studiously, avoiding eye contact being  my sole imperative. However, ABC raised his hand. The VAdm chuckled condescendingly – ‘Yes young man, let us have your views’.

ABC – ‘Sir, what is the cost of a Corvette?’

The VADM replied with a figure which, if made public, would cause our stingy Finance guys to sit up.  

ABC – ‘Sir, would our naval preparedness be severely impacted if instead of say, ten Corvettes, we procure only nine?’

The VAdm, not sure where this was headed, but now peering more closely, replied ‘I guess not.’

ABC – ‘How much would a residential building with say 60 flats cost?’

Everyone else started perking up.

The VAdm (now ‘chuckleless’) was not sure, but he proffered a figure of a few tens of crores as his estimate.

ABC – ‘Sir, in that case, going in for one Corvette less would allow us to wipe out the housing deficiencies. This one simple act would improve morale in the Navy dramatically while maintaining naval preparedness at roughly the same levels.’ He ended with a clincher quoting Napolean – “An army’s effectiveness depends on its size, training, experience, and morale. And morale is worth more than any of the other factors combined.”

A hush descended over the room. 

• The frogs looked at ABC with awe. 
• The mid-level officers looked on empathetically at a promising career heading for a septic tank. 
• The seniors looked like those who had a lot to say but nothing came to mind. 
• The VAdm looked at ABC as he would look at a tadpole in his Campari and Soda. 

But, if anything, the Navy trains it’s VADMs well. Marshalling his reserves, he regained composure and stated succinctly – ‘Get out.’

(Though only obliquely related, if one was to read some of my other pieces on housing in the Navy, such as here and here, one would gain an appreciation of ABC’s thought process.)

Officers are trained right from the start that intangibles like naval values and ethos, leadership traits, principles and integrity are inviolable. Opinions, of course, evolve. 

Having seen ABC too evolve into a senior officer, I would like to take him as a case study.

The Junior Years

ABC during his junior years, suffered from what can be termed a dangerous affliction in the Navy – that of believing that honesty is the best policy. He took such statements as ‘speak frankly’ or ‘the spirit of dissent is important’ uttered by Admirals in indiscreet moments, to heart. I have been present on some occasions where he followed his beliefs and am therefore well placed to leave you some samples of his utterances:-

• ‘Sir, at the risk of offending you, I must state that the proposal has lots of optimism, but close to zero logic.’
• ‘I apologise for sounding disrespectful Sir (and then go to do just that), but the best place for these plans is the dustbin.’
• And the standard, ‘Why can’t we just……’

Senior officers on the other hand, learnt after some trying meetings, that it is best to refrain from ‘leaving the house open for discussions’, if ABC was a member of the audience.

And yet, to the credit of the Navy, and to the credit of the very same seniors, ABC’s inherent brilliance and competence was recognized and ABC progressed from Sub Lieutenant to Commander, (the middle rungs), in due course. 

The Middle Years (Commander to Captain)

He began to recognize that there IS a ‘system’ and the ‘system’, while occasionally pedantic and bureaucratic, cannot always be blamed. Consequently, the same ABC who was fire and vim in his younger days, had tempered down; became a bit diplomatic even. He started spouting sentences that started strong, but ended in an apologetic whimper – such as:-

• ‘I am all for decisive action, but we need to recognize that there are certain constraints that call for more deliberations.’
• ‘Having considered all angles, I cannot say that I disagree with the principle, but……’
• ‘Gentlemen, we need to move with all speed on this issue, but after a careful analysis  through a Board of Officers.’ (We all know what happens here.)

Essentially, ABC had by the rank of Captain, started accepting that there is some merit in the ‘system’. Towards the Captain to Commodore zone in fact, he had started finding that there are occasions in life when ambiguity (and its friend, delightfully vague jargon), had merit. More importantly, always sharp at Math, he realized that frankness is inversely proportional to one’s chances of future promotions. 

The Senior Years

In due course, his new found tempered attitude to life found ABC transiting to the rank of Commodore/Rear Admiral, or in other words, the senior ranks. He realized to his chagrin, that he was now ‘the system’. Hence, he began to feel that the more  “urgent”the  matter the more it needed to be deliberated in great detail ‘on file.’ This prudence found him morphing his tone thus:-

‘This system, despite a few aberrations, has withstood the test of time.’

He started using words/phrases like ‘holistic appraisal’, ‘nuanced view’, ‘practical considerations’, ‘will not stand the scrutiny of penetrating analysis’, (especially when HE did not want something to stand the scrutiny of penetrating analysis).

Most gallingly, he found ways of becoming one with the much reviled auditors and financial advisers, the very creatures he had damned vociferously in his junior days.

In a strange reversal of the circle of life, he started becoming averse to searching questions of young officers – particularly those related to the cost benefit analysis of preparedness versus morale – like say, corvettes versus housing. ‘These youngsters’ he felt, ‘did not know their a. from their e.’ He became allergic to their ‘simple solutions’ because annoyingly, they tended to work well.

The Very Senior Years

And then ABC became a Vice Admiral. His demeanour, bearing and presence underwent further change. He started speaking now of ‘in our times’, versus today’s Navy which has ‘gone to the dogs’.  Especially on the dog theory, he could be eloquence personified, and for upto 45 minutes at a time; quoting his own quotes with smug satisfaction.

He became a strong votary of sweeping reforms, as long as junior formations did not seek the all-important aspects of funds or manpower. To that he had a simple counter – ‘this has been examined repeatedly in the past.’ Or, even more exquisitely  ‘we must learn to do much more with much less’.

He started speaking in personal anecdotes from three decades ago, which confusingly, could often be totally unrelated to the topic under discussion. That no one could dare question, or verify them, was an added bonus.

Thus, by the time ABC reached the highest echelons, one could summarise his career by stating that…

He had cracked the Navy’s survival code – how to spout opinions without the inconvenience of having them questioned, and…

Being able to keep far, far away from the exuberance of youth.

But before he reached that seniority, he also found that there are occasions when the reserve of a stuffed frog is helpful.

PS – The above was of course exaggerated jest (largely). To my mind, leaders need three traits:-

Leading by example.

Learning to delegate and having delegated, trust.

Thinking big – having a vision – leaving day to day affairs to subordinates. 

And ABC, like all other senior naval officers, had these three traits in abundance.