Great simplifications

This summer I have savored a delicious taste, my first since I've been in the Coast Guard, of autonomy. It's been nice. While on paper I reported to three bosses, in practice, I ran my own little sideshow.

Power...when a man believes he knows what orders should be given, is a blessing....It is always a misfortune when number two or three has to initiate a dominant plan or policy. He has to consider not only the merits of the policy, but the mind of his chief; not only what to advise, but what it is proper in his station to advise; not only what to do, but how to get it agreed, and how to get it done.

Mercifully, I have eluded this burdensome yoke for the past few months.

Together with my rag-tag band of hardworking folks who didn't exist (people on medical hold, like me; people awaiting discharge; people sent back from the ships because they couldn't get underway; people awaiting assignment), we quadrupled the size of our "official" division, rescued our million-dollar security guard contract from the jaws of high-level defeat, negotiated an expensive and extensive equipment upgrade package gratis from HQ, re-wrote two landmark manuals for our unit, laid plans to remodel our offices, implemented solid disaster-preparedness steps, handled port services for two out-of-the-ordinary ships mooring in downtown SF, implemented a solid tracking procedure for over 200 people's security clearances, and - in addition to our "ordinary" workload of evaluations, awards, instructions, training, weapons qualification, key control, bomb threat response, traffic court, port services, and daily security - handled the outsized and highly visible security needs of a week's worth of high-level ceremonies, during which we hosted 2/3 of the Coast Guard's flag corps, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and around 2000 guests to celebrate the commissioning of the Coast Guard's newest class of cutter.

Whew.

So now, on the back end of this frantic slew of events and demands, while our haggard division is relievedly taking as much leave as duty allows, after we've written up the "lessons learned" and "hotwashed" and battened down to knock out our remaining responsibilities...ah yes, now arrives my new boss. Or replacement, call it what you will.

I'm not angry or bitter - after all, his job exists and mine doesn't. And it provides perfect exit music as I head out for underway time on our local ships or other TAD opportunities this year. I'm confident I've squared away the division for a presentable handover, unlike the scattershot I inherited. And my new boss is a great guy (ironically, a watchstander I supervised in my first Coast Guard assignment). Still...the added imposition of bureaucracy, well, complicates matters. I've gotten used to handling thorny situations myself, dealing directly with key people, whether our own command cadre, at other units, or at HQ. Having to play politics and then sit impotent feels like a regression. It leaves me doing little more than - shudder - writing manuals all day. And it makes me utterly redundant (see above: a good thing) - my chiefs report to me, and I turn around and play Telephone with my boss. The ultimate in middle management.

At the top there are great simplifications. An accepted leader has only to be sure of what it is best to do, or at least to have made up his mind about it.