Dinner with a real Mother-_____ tonight

To be clear, I'm not just being profane...one of my officers has the surname Jones.  Stevie "Wonder" Jones. After the recent movie, "Horrible Bosses" Mr. Jones received a new nickname in the Wardroom (group of officers on the ship). If you've seen the movie, you get it. If not, sorry. Nobody ever said we were known for our tame mouths in the Navy. With the promise of no more profanity, please keep reading. And yes, Stevie has graciously allowed me to tell on him and share his nickname with the world.

Ensign Stevie Jones stars as Mr. M.F. Jones in "Horrible Bosses"

One of my DIVOs (division officers) is up here in Newport, RI, finishing up several weeks of what we now call "Baby SWOS." We call it "Baby SWOS"  because it's only 3-4 weeks as opposed to the 6 month version me and most of my peers enjoyed after graduation and commissioning. I've run into this officer a few times during our overlapping visits. He drops by the engineering classroom like a good divo to check on his old boss. We've had a beer or two at the O'Club. And prior to his graduation on Friday, we planned to have a nice dinner.

I really enjoyed this dinner because it reminded me of one of the things I enjoy most about being a leader, an officer in charge of others. I like the mentorship part, the interaction with people. I always have. Whether it was as a salty (sarcasm) 2nd tour division officer training brand new 1st tour division officers during my divo days, or certainly as a Dept Head with 68 people working for me, I've enjoyed this aspect of the job immensely.

Stevie "Wonder" and I had a nice dinner. We discussed different career options, jobs, billets, different ship platforms, which I liked, why, and there was even time to tell a few sea stories about back when I was a silly reckless Ensign, too. There might even have been a mention of the Pacific Island Club and...climbing, my ANTIETAM shipmates. To the point, it reminded me how much I cherish the opportunity to have Officers that I call my own. Officers in whom I have a stake in how their careers shape up and turn out, and more importantly, their lives. I take great pride in whatever small role I can play in shaping their lives. I cherish the opportunity to serve them. The E6 standing watch next to me as Tactical Action Officer in the wee hours of the night out at sea, the young fireman with a new baby at home, the Sailor going through a divorce, the talks with my Engineers on duty days, the young officer trying to figure out his career and if this Navy thing is for him---I love the people part of the job. It has made some of the toughest days not just bearable but fun.

It's an honor and it's always refreshing.