Destroyer Captain

Lessons of a First Command
Erscheinungsjahr 2014
ISBN: 978-1-59114-185-3
Verlag: Naval Institute Press

Buch, Englisch, 224 Seiten, Paperback, Format (B × H): 124 mm x 201 mm, Gewicht: 272 g

This memoir of James Stavridis' two years in command of the destroyer USS Barry reveals the human side of what it is like to be in charge of a warship--for the first time and in the midst of international crisis. From Haiti to the Balkans to the Arabian Gulf, the Barry was involved in operations throughout the world during his 1993-1995 tour. Drawing on daily journals he kept for the entire period, the author reveals the complex nature of those deployments in a ""real time"" context and describes life on board the Barry and liberty ashore for sailors and officers alike. With all the joy, doubt, self-examination, hope, and fear of a first command, he offers an honest examination of his experience from the bridge to help readers grasp the true nature of command at sea. The window he provides into the personal lives of the crew illuminates not only their hard work in a ship that spent more than 70 percent of its time underway, but also the sacrifices of their families ashore. Stavridis credits his able crew for the many awards the Barry won while he was captain, including the Battenberg Cup for top ship in the Atlantic Fleet. Naval aficionados who like seagoing fiction will be attracted to the book, as will those fascinated by life at sea. Officers from all the services, especially surface warfare naval officers aspiring to command, will find these lessons of a first command by one of the Navy's most respected admirals both entertaining and instructive.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Stavridis, James G

Über Autor(innen)

Admiral James Stavridis assumed duties as Commander of European Command and as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe in early summer 2009. Stavridis is a 1976 distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a native of South Florida. A Surface Warfare Officer, he commanded the Destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) from 1993-1995, completing UN/NATO deployments to Haiti and Bosnia, and a combat cruise to the Arabian Gulf. Barry won the Battenberg Cup as the top ship in the Atlantic Fleet under his command. In 1998, he commanded Destroyer Squadron 21 and deployed to the Arabian Gulf, winning the Navy League's John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational Leadership. From 2002-2004, he commanded Enterprise Carrier Strike Group, conducting combat operations in the Arabian Gulf in support of both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. From 2006-2009, he commanded U.S. Southern Command in Miami, focused on Latin America and the Caribbean. Ashore, he has served as a strategic and long range planner on the staffs of the Chief of Naval Operations and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He has also served as the Executive Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and the Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense. Stavridis earned a PhD and MALD from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in International Relations in 1984, where he won the Gullion Prize as outstanding student. He is also a distinguished graduate of both the National and Naval War Colleges. He holds various decorations and awards, including two awards of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal and five awards of the Legion of Merit. He is author or co-author of several books on naval professional topics, including Command at Sea, Destroyer Captain, and Partnership for the Americas about Latin America as well as more than 55 articles, commentaries and book reviews in the Navy's professional journal Proceedings beginning when he was still a midshipman and continuing to this day. He has also written for some of the leading papers and journals in the United States, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Atlantic Magazine, Naval War College Review, and many others.