Those who counsel the development of writing skills with the goal of publishing articles for the good of the naval profession certainly are correct. Another reason, perhaps more personal and practical, is that it simply helps to separate you from your peers and, hence, to break you “out of the pack” during promotion board deliberations. I have absolutely no doubt that my “collateral duty writing” played a part in my own success as a naval officer.
My writing journey began with counseling from my father-in-law, who when I was a junior officer was a senior submariner. He suggested that I set a goal of writing at least one professional article during every tour of duty. This launched a 20-year journey based on the following guidelines:
• Write at least one professional article during each job.
• Write it during the final six months of the assignment.
• Pick a subject worth writing about.
• Don’t just complain; offer a solution.
• Strive to be published in more than one type of venue.
• Coauthor with someone from another community.
• Have a mentor be your proofreader.
Most officers relax in the final six months of an assignment, and for good reason. If you’ve been giving 110 percent every day, it’s only natural to slow down, enjoy the job, and perhaps begin mentally preparing yourself for the next assignment. That is exactly the time to write your article. Look back on your successes and failures in your current assignment while both are fresh in your mind, and then put pen to paper, or thoughts to keyboard.
Because we learn more from mistakes than from successes, write about the one thing of which you’re either vehemently upset or exceptionally proud. If you’ve done your job well, some feathers should have been ruffled along the way. I found it easier and more productive to write about something that I thought needed improvement. As a lieutenant, I wrote on the topic of my Naval Postgraduate School thesis. Not many organizations will pay for a two-year, full-time, postgraduate education and pay you to write about it. Then as a lieutenant commander, I was miffed by the fact that the Navy was conducting a long-overdue antisubmarine warfare (ASW) continuum review but had failed to include the oceanography community. As one might imagine, that was an easy subject to write about.
As a commander on shore duty, I applied the theme of the book Megatrends to my view of the projected lack of proficiency in shallow-water ASW skills. While serving as a commander on sea duty, I wrote a classified report on a promising new non-acoustic approach to ASW.
Later, as a captain assigned to the Bureau of Personnel (BuPers) during the Total Quality Leadership era, I applied Dr. Deming’s philosophies to the standard permanent change of station (PCS) budgeting process. This subject was particularly easy to address because Dr. Deming’s number-one rule was to base decisions on data, not emotion. I had access to seven years’ worth of BuPers data that clearly showed my community could manage its annual PCS requirements within a predicted budget of about $200,000. Finally, since becoming a flag officer and later retiring, this article represents my first—and long-overdue—contribution.
In most of the academic world, “publish or perish” remains the norm, but authors often are not otherwise compensated. We are fortunate indeed to have a professional forum where authors are paid for publication. My favorite section in Proceedings always has been the “Nobody Asked Me, But” column, because it offers a venue for writing about anything. The question to ask is: How could anyone with an itch to improve the Navy and/or Marine Corps not want to submit an article and get paid for doing so?
Everyone—officer, enlisted, civilian—should write professional articles, because it does improve the organization. It also allows you to vent in a constructive manner and helps break you out of the pack. Even a stack of rejected submissions reflects above-and-beyond effort, and my guess is that promotion board precepts still have that concept included somewhere in the text.
Rear Admiral Donaldson served in multiple ships and submarines in various oceanography, meteorology, and hydrography positions supporting worldwide naval operations. Promoted to flag rank in 2000, he led the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command. After retiring in 2004, he served in several executive positions, including overseeing NASA’s Space Shuttle Main Engine testing at Stennis Space Center, Mississippi.