The skippers who earned the Navy’s top leadership prize expressed humility at the honor, and said their crews have equal claim for earning the to their prestigious Vice Adm. James Stockdale Award.
Cmdr. Matthew Duffy, an E-2 Hawkeye pilot who led Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 112 from July 2014 to August 2015, was buried in boxes in preparation for a move when he received a call this summer from the carrier John C. Stennis. His former squadron XO, who took command upon Duffy's departure, and the Golden Hawks’ command master chief had some good news: Duffy was picked as the Pacific Fleet's Stockdale recipient. broke the news. is the Pacific Fleet recipient. Cmdr. Anthony Grayson, who has commanded the attack sub Providence for two years, is the Fleet Forces Command recipient. Both are 1996 Naval Academy graduates and were selected from a pool of eight finalists.
Duffy was buried in boxes in preparation for a change of station when he received a call from the carrier John C. Stennis, which was at sea in preparation for an upcoming deployment.
"It was a very humbling surprise, but it was perfect to be notified of this from my dear friends," Duffy said in a Sept. 2 phone interview with Navy Times. Duffy, along with the Fleet Forces Command recipient, was selected from a pool of eight finalists, who included women commanding officers for the first time. On Sept. 18, he will become the deputy executive assistant to the next chief of naval operations.
Duffy described his command tour as "pretty unique" and "not what I was anticipating." The squadron was in trouble when he reported as XO. He and the skipper had to deal with problems so bad that a previous commander ended up in Admiral's Mast. When a July 2014 fleet-up put Duffy in command, he not only had to fix the broken squadron, he had to prepare it for the John C. Stennis' deployment. Amid these challenges, Duffy’s message was consistent and clear: Put forth a perfect effort, and let your professionalism, actions, and achievements speak for themselves. The results were telling. The squadron reached new heights under his guidance, and received more than half a dozen of personal and professional awards for their efforts.
"This recognition is squarely the result of the men and women [of] the VAW-112," Duffy said. "As far as I'm concerned, this is a direct reflection on their achievements during some pretty challenging times. … I had very high standards and the men and women of the Golden Hawks exceeded them."
Cmdr. Anthony Grayson, the FFC Stockdale awardee who led the crew of attack submarine Providence through the pressure of an expedited deployment, was just as quick to credit his crew.
"I look at this award is recognition of Team Providence’s hard work over the last year," Grayson said via email; as his boat is forward deployed. He described "a tough shipyard period" followed by a "very short" deployment workup. The crew had to squeeze in opportunities to train amid long hours spent repairing and maintaining the boat. The hard work paid off and they outscored all other subs in deployment workups.
"My crew developed my command's guiding principles, the first of which is to 'believe in Team Providence,' and they have done that every step of the way," Grayson said. "I am proud of the part I played in this as their commanding officer, but I believe that this award belongs primarily to them."
Nevertheless, crewmembers were excited to congratulate their skipper on his award. When word came by record message traffic during a late nmight mission, sailors soon lined the passage-way to give a Bravo Zulu to Grayson, who had not yet read the message.
"My first feeling was of disbelief and then of inadequacy," he said. "I have known a lot of great leaders during my time in the Navy. While I do my best to follow their example, take care of my crew, and accomplish the mission, I never felt like I had the caliber of leadership they displayed so easily."
'Communication and trust'
Both commanders, who are fellow classmates from the Naval Academy's 1996 class, credited mentors and family for their success, and offered words of wisdom for aspiring leaders.
Because a command takes on the personality of its leader, that individual must lead from the front, communicate with professionalism, and set the highest standard for others to emulate and strive, Duffy said.
"Never underestimate the impact you can make on others by just offering a bit of assistance, a minor course correction, or in encouraging conversation," he said. "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."
Grayson encouraged a relational approach in which the leaders to works with sailors to help them develop and improve. Leaders are made, not born, in his view. Confidence is gained from experience, and mistakes are simply part of the learning process. Every failure offers an opportunity to learn and improve; to do so is what separates the best leaders from the rest.
"Good leadership also comes from communication and trust," he said. "Listen to your people. Get to know them. Every organization and every individual has different concerns and motivations that you need to understand to effectively communicate your goals and standards. You must get your sailors to understand — not just follow — what you say. They must believe. This requires trust up and down the chain of command and a sound program of verification. You do this by keeping your sailors best interests at heart, and by holding them accountable to the standard you set. While the equation is simple, the execution is often complex — have faith that you will get it right, and never stop moving forward."
The annual award is presented to two commissioned officers O-5 and below who lead serve in unrestricted line commands and are "examples of excellence in leadership and conspicuous contribution to the improvement of leadership in the Navy," according to award criteria. Nominations were submitted by fellow commanding officers who were also eligible for the award. A board of senior officers then measured nominees against the leadership ethos of the late-Vice Adm. James Stockdale, a Vietnam POW who earned a Medal of Honor for leading a resistance campaign against his North Vietnamese captors.
Past winners include Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jon Greenert; Adm. John Richardson, the incoming CNO; retired Adm. Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Adm. Cecil Haney, the head of a former Pacific Fleet commander who now leads U.S. Strategic Command.
The Navy announced the winners on Aug. 21. The awards will be presented at a ceremony later this year.
