Shoot guns, safety first and check your spaces for gear adrift and focus on safety. Daily.
That's the top surface warfare officer's message in his latest blast to the surface fleet sent Monday, a series of messages he's calling Warfighting Serial.
Written in the spirit of Fleet Adm. Ernest King's famous CINCLANT serial messages from World War II that instructed his commanders on everything from busting mildew to naval leadership, Vice Adm. Tom Rowden's fourth message explains how how released his fourth message April 6 This message summed up the previous three, explaining how shooting guns, regular space inspections and safety fit into what heRowden calls the "warfighting ethos."
"It's important to me that we get the most out of our ships and, as [type commander], it is my responsibility to ensure that the surface force is properly manned, trained and equipped," Rowden wrote in the message, which Navy Times obtained and officials confirmed as authentic. "While some of the message topics may appear mundane, each is in fact focused on a specific area where attention must be paid and resources — whether time, personnel or budgets — need to be directed."
Rowden made waves with his first message, which was essentially an order that all surface ships should shoot guns and stream sonar and torpedo countermeasures every day underway. If a unit couldn't comply, Rowden said, the skipper has to commanding officerhas to have to explain why to the ship's immediate superior why.
If no explanation was forthcoming, Rowden said his office would assume something was wrong with the ships' weapons systems.
The message was supported by many SWOs who said shooting guns every day was a needed shift in focus towards training for war. Others , including naval observer and blogger CDR Salamander, to questioned why it required a TYCOM directive to get SWOs to shoot every day.
Still others worried that an order from TYCOM would drive overachieving SWOs to cut corners in order to comply, jeopardizing safety.
Rowden appeared to address those concerns in his latest message, saying that his office is ready to get ships what they need to maintain readiness.
"I want to emphasize if there are obstacles preventing you from reaching full capability, you need to let me know," he wrote. "This isn't about putting yourself on report; you are telling your TYCOM what you need to be ready."
Rowden appeared to be in a baseball mood, releasing the message on Major League Baseball's opening day, and drawing parallels between Navy training and batting practice.
"The intent of batting practice is to create muscle memory in the ideal swing until hitting becomes nearly automatic," he wrote. "You need to take every underway opportunity to hone your skills and test your systems."
David B. Larter was the naval warfare reporter for Defense News.
