"Jim must also learn to speak NATO"

The New York Times has an article on Admiral Stavridis. My favorite line:

“Jim must also learn to speak NATO,” Mr. Gates said.

This might sound like a silly point, but I want to point something out. There are two Admirals with broad appeal and have recognizable names among the regular folk today. One is Admiral Mike Mullen, and the other is Admiral Stavridis. If you don't understand why Admiral Stavridis has such a broad appeal, let me give three examples.

1) He is a different Admiral than every other Admiral, yet he still gets along with everyone including those who served under him. In the Navy leaders tend to have friends lists and enemies lists. His friends list is bigger than other Admirals, and his enemies list is smaller.

2) He is accessible. Unlike everyone else in the Navy, his blog is used to build a network that gives people a peek inside. There are no bumper stickers or slogans, and it is always an opinion instead of a press release. I quote his Change of Command speech, which I found on his Facebook page.

WHAT I’LL REMEMBER AND WHAT I’VE LEARNED

Good morning everyone, and thank you Secretary Gates for your kind comments. You are a terrific boss and I am so glad you’ve continued your service into this new Administration - and I confidently speak for three million members of your Department, Mr. Secretary.
Two other fine Secretaries of the Navy are with us today, our current leader, Governor and now Secretary Ray Maybus. Sir, congratulations on your new post - as we would have said in the 19th century Navy, “I give you joy of your new command.
To former Secretary Richard Danzig, for whom I worked for over two years, I simply say you honor me with your presence. Thank you.
Admiral Tim Keating … General Norty Schwartz … two of the “beloved directors” of the Joint Staff and two perfect friends and mentors - I cannot thank you enough for being here today.
There are many other friends and colleagues and leaders and mentors - too many to name - I thank you as well.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome, bienvenue, bem vindo, bienvenidos, and thank you all - colleagues and comrades, distinguished guests and visitors, partner nation representatives and our gracious hosts and friends in the cities of Miami and Doral - for being here today and for joining me in welcoming the second most important person in the world … MY RELIEF.
The MOST important person in my life, of course, is my lovely wife Laura!
It is indeed a pleasure to welcome General Fraser and his wife Rena this morning as Laura and I bid farewell to all of you throughout the Southern Command enterprise and the region.
And I say “¡hasta la próxima!” - see you soon - not goodbye - because a part of me will always remain here with you … just as so much of you will always remain here (point to heart) with me - WHEREVER I go.
What I’ll remember:
- Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, and Tom Howes - the look on their face as they came off the aircraft into freedom … after five and a half years in captivity
- Being in an eye clinic in Panama on Hospital Ship Comfort, and watching a five year old boy put on his first pair of glasses, and finally being able to see and saying to his mother, “Mami veo el mundo” … Mom I see the world
- Watching our partners take down a semi-submersible submarine, part of stopping 700-plus tons of cocaine from coming to the USA
- Seeing a two star Read Admiral, Joe Kernan, the first commander of the Fourth Fleet, carrying bags of rice ashore from KEARSARGE after hurricanes ripped up the coast of Haiti last summer.
- Walking through the ruins of Machu Picchu and thinking about all the history and culture of this region, and the importance of the indigious societies
- Eating feijoada in Rio with my Brazilian friends like Admiral Moura Neto.
- Riding in a fast boat to a seafood restaurant in Cartagena with General Padilla and Admiral Barrera, talking with them about how to help our Colombian friends
- Working with the Coast Guard - Thad Allen and Dave Kunkle and Rob Parker - learning what interagency cooperation is really about.
- Briefing Secretary Gates on our plan to reorganize the command on an interagency path and winning his approval
- Watching the new HQ rise up in the field across the way
- Pinning a third star on Glenn Spears as a Deputy and welcoming Ambassador Paul Trivelli as our first civilian Deputy
- Smoking cigars with Domincans and discussing the finer points of Dominican, Honduran and Nicaraguan cigars
- Learning Spanish and Portuguese, and reading for the first time Gabriel García Márquez in his native tongue
- Watching the helicopters of Joint Task Force Bravo bringing victims of landslides out of danger
- Sitting in Secretary Gates’s office as he told me my next assignment and realizing suddenly that all of this would come to an end for me … the sadness of that coupled with the excitement of a new challenge
What Have I Learned
Several simple things.
That in this part of the world, security is so seldom delivered by the barrel of a gun
That here - thankfully -- we are not launching Tomahawk missiles - we are launching ideas
That everything we do must be
- International
- Interagency
- Private-Public - Project HOPE, Operation Walk, Business Executives for National Security, Defense Business Board
All undergirded by strategic communications
Above all, I’ve learned to innovate
Just take a quick look at that little boat to your left, for example…
When we first put it up, there were those who said, “Is that Admiral Stavridis’s first command?”
No, that’s not my first command.
It is a first generation self-propelled semi-submersible craft similar to the ones used by drug traffickers to transport cocaine into U.S. waters.
What I learned watching them is that our opponents are SMART. They innovate. They wake up each morning seeking to come up with a new idea.
We need to match that.
At the beginning of the last century, Admiral Sir Jackie Fisher said, “now that the money is running out, we must think.” Good advice.
20th century security is brain-on-brain warfare. We cannot spend our way to success. We must out-think our opponents.
We must move faster, always faster.
The only thing we cannot accelerate is the speed of trust.
As with any relationship, trust must be built over time … one step … one interaction … one exercise at a time.
As is said in Spanish - Paso a Paso.
It is this trust … I firmly believe … along with transparency, friendship, and perpetual cooperation, that will in due course deliver on the promise of security, stability, and prosperity we all desire.
So we must take great care in building it up and do what must be done to avoid tearing it down.
Ladies and gentlemen, today I am a witness, not a judge.
Only history will judge whether or not our deeds and actions … as well as our partnerships will bear good fruit in this region.
Our approach has been simple:
International
Interagency
Private-Public
Strategic Communication
As I step down from this witness stand, I will also attest to the competence and energy of your new leader, General Fraser.
I leave here with a great measure of comfort knowing that Southern Command is in incredibly capable hands.
General Fraser, Rena, all of you - buena suerte - Best of luck.
A last thought - this is a part of the world that is in my heart, now and always.
En Español, Mi Corazón Estará Siempre en Las Américas.
My heart will always be here.
I will miss you all, and return often.
Nunca sabemos los caminos de Dios - one never knows the way of God.
Godspeed and open water …

3) Obviously he understands communication, and I am not talking about his writing and advocacy for other Navy Officers to write. If you don't know anything about Facebook, I think signing up over a weekend and making Admiral Stavridis your friend is probably the best way to get started. Did anyone else notice his first hello from Europe? I quote:

"My first beer in Belgium this time over -- my favorite is Lefe Blonde. I've visited many, many times over the years and truly enjoy this beautiful city"

You can find the quote right under a picture of him holding a Belgium beer. He may be Greek, but that is very American... at least in my corner of the New York. Throw in a PH.d, a fierce study of languages, and cast of hundreds of officers who are fierce about their loyalty to him and you have one of the most popular, well respected, and intelligent military officers of this generation.

It is going to be very interesting to see what happens in Europe under Admiral Stavridis. SOUTHCOM had almost no money, but EUCOM does have some money not to mention he comes in as NATO's top military position. NATO is fighting two fronts right now, the big one on land in Afghanistan, but it should be noted that NATO has essentially adopted the Somali pirate issue at sea as well, with Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 entering the waters off Somalia today.