James Treadway
Captain Maylon T. Scott issued the following challenge to all Hard Chargers in his commissioning address:
It is customary, fitting, and fundamental in the beginning of a new ship’s life for the first Captain to establish a broad basic policy. One which will be instrumental in providing the crew with a solid foundation and positive direction throughout the ship’s lifetime. Minutes ago Biddle was merely an inanimate object without life. Now she has LIFE, SPIRIT, PERSONALITY! Our SPIRIT, our PERSONALITY! We are BIDDLE. While we are in the Navy, regardless of the length of time – a year or thirty years – the Navy is our profession. We must strive to meet the high standards set by our profession. Thus, we who are BIDDLEMEN today, and those who will be in the future, I charge you—us—to the task of meeting the standards of our Navy, the task of being PROFESSIONAL Seamen.
Twenty seven years later, in Captain Larry Gionet’s decommissioning memorandum to Biddle officers, Chief Petty Officers, and crew, he stated: “One common thread has endured throughout Biddle’s years of service – she has always met all challenges in her typical hard-charging style and, more significantly her shipmates have striven for and attained through superior performance the excellence she is known for.”
Captain Scott’s challenge to all Biddlemen to meet “the standards of our Navy, the task of being PROFESSIONAL Seamen,” was met in large measure because he did, in fact, establish a policy that provided “a solid foundation and positive direction throughout Biddle’s lifetime.” Succeeding commanding officers continued to build on that foundation. Thousands of officers and men who served in Biddle, whether they were aware of Captain Scott’s challenge or not, responded to their own commanding officer’s challenge, or to their own personal challenge, to excel. I can confirm that two years of technical training followed by four years of exposure to “meeting the standards of our Navy” while aboard Biddle contributed substantially to the person that I am today. Many of my fellow plankowners echo the same sentiments.
Most would agree that command of a ship at sea is a demanding task. But is it a difficult task? Later in this chapter, Biddle’s ninth commanding officer, Captain Hollis Robertson, agrees with Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz who claimed that command at sea is the easiest task in the world.
So, what are the qualities that compel some to seek command at sea – where, according to U.S. Navy Regulations, “the responsibility of the commanding officer for his or her command is absolute, “and that “the authority of the commanding officer is commensurate with his or her responsibility?”
The Chief of Naval Education Command Leadership School provides some clues. The school suggests that “To achieve success in command, the captain must work through those whom he or she leads; little can be accomplished alone, no matter how brilliant one’s individual talents.” Captains of industry would do well to follow the same advice. The school also recommends that commanding officers “must learn to become as one with his or her wardroom and crew; yet, at the same time, he or she must remain above and apart. This unique relationship has been the subject of study and story for centuries. It changes, yet is timeless.” The tradition, responsibility, authority, and accountability of command at sea have no equal in the civilian world, and only a few in the U.S. Navy rise to meet the challenge. Those who accept the challenge then enjoy the prestige, privilege, and the awesome burden of command at sea. It would be difficult to improve upon Joseph Conrad’s comments on the subject, unabashedly repeated here.
The Prestige, Privilege and the Burden of Command
Only a seaman realizes to what extent an entire ship reflects the personality and ability of one individual, her Commanding Officer. To a landsman this is not understandable, and sometimes it is even difficult for us to comprehend, but it is so.
A ship at sea is a distant world in herself and in consideration of the protracted and distant operations of the fleet units the Navy must place great power, responsibility and trust in the hands of those leaders chosen for command.
In each ship there is one man who, in the hour of emergency or peril at sea, can turn to no other man. There is one who alone is ultimately responsible for the safe navigation, engineering performance, accurate gun firing and morale of his ship. He is the Commanding Officer. He is the ship.
This is the most difficult and demanding assignment in the Navy. There is not an instant during his tour of duty as Commanding Officer that he can escape the grasp of command responsibility. His privileges in view of his obligations are most ludicrously small; nevertheless command is the spur which has given the Navy its great leaders.
It is a duty which most richly deserves the highest, time-honored title of the seafaring world – “CAPTAIN.”
Captain Maylon T. Scott, USN
“This is the Captain speaking…I’ll keep you informed.” Now four decades later I know each and every Hard Charger that was on board Biddle at any time before my detachment on September 17, 1968, will never forget that message.
This was one of my ways to communicate with the crew – keep them always abreast of what was going on, what was planned, what could be expected and letting them know nothing was being kept from them. I would tell it like it was. This concept is “communications will make or break you.” It is basic for any team, organization, company, and the like. The many periodic “Biddlegrams” to the crew’s families kept them informed too, thus reinforcing the concept. This is one of my many memories. This reflection and other remembered vignettes follow.
One of my primary objectives was to develop Biddle as a professional combat team. At Bath in the building yard, great emphasis was given to cross training for the Pre-commissioning crew. Scheduled daily sessions brought the various diverse ratings together in separate classes. Engineering ratings would join CIC and Sonar type ratings to make each rate knowledgeable of what was required of each and how they affected one another and how they basically interacted – what their capabilities, problems, limitations, requirements were – how each could help ensure smooth efficient functioning of the other areas – in the end the ship itself. The cross training promoted mutual respect and understanding of the other ratings thus resulting in great comradeship and team play which in the end paid handsome dividends in developing the Biddle Hard Charger team.
Perhaps as the first for the US Navy, when general quarters was sounded, no one moved from their present operational position. Those not on watches augmented each area, such that the team on watch did not lose the big picture in a shift of personnel. Instead of mass transitions, off watch personnel quietly and calmly augmented those already on station to increase the overall readiness. Additionally, since the ship was generally in a condition of readiness, a system was devised such that the ship could go to a lesser degree than general quarters such as missile quarters, gun quarters, damage control quarters, or any combination thereof. This involved a great deal of training, but proved effective while in the combat zone.
Generally the OOD (officer of the deck) of a US Navy ship is the controlling officer on the bridge. However, in Biddle, the controlling officer was the combat control officer in CIC.
In 1967 in commissioning Biddle, I believe we established the first in the U.S. Navy in the “ship comes alive” concept. After reading my orders and accepting my command of Biddle, the executive officer was ordered to set the watch. He in turn ordered the officer of the deck to set the watch, who told the boatswain’s mate to “Set the watch, watch one, first section on deck.” At this time the band struck up the lively Washington Post March and all hands, who were out of sight, came forward and manned their stations on the double on the main, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05 and 06 decks. All antennae commenced rotating, two Terrier missiles were loaded on the launcher and elevated, the 3-inch and 5-inch guns rotated, the quarterdeck was set up, and the honor guard and sideboys were manned. At this time the executive officer reported, “Captain, the Watch is set” as the missiles on the launcher simulated a firing. The firing looked very much authentic by emitting smoke, which made the audience gasp at the realistic sight as if the missile actually did launch. At that moment there were contrails in the sky over Logan Airport indicating that an actual missile may have been fired. This added to the intensity of the audience’s reaction.
Another major and memorable event was the Black Ship Festival in Shimoda, Japan. The US Ambassador to Japan, the Honorable U. Alexis Johnson, embarked in Biddle at Yokosuka Naval Station for the short cruise to Shimoda. The Black Ship Festival commemorates Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry’s opening of Japan. The commemoration involves major Japanese ceremonies, parades, dinners, and games. Dressed as Commodore Perry, I reenacted Commodore Perry’s arrival to Japan by being rowed by eight oarsmen to shore in a long boat and was welcomed along with the Naval Station’s band representing the Japanese equivalent. All this was covered by a major Japanese TV network and made the cover of the Japanese nationwide TV Guide. On return to Yokosuka Naval Station, in order to arrive before sunset, Biddle proceeded up Tokyo Bay with all four boilers on line at 37 ½ knots. Needless to say, the bearings changed rapidly but we arrived safely after approaching and crossing shipping. However, when turning into the Naval Station, it was necessary to go forward and back for 40 minutes to cool down the boilers before proceeding to the dock.
Another interesting speed run was going from Lisbon to Copenhagen up the English Channel at 27 knots in thick fog in order to anchor away from Copenhagen one day ahead of time to allow the crew a one day’s rest. During this period a curious Russian cruiser circled us. Copenhagen and its Tivoli Gardens proved to be the number one liberty port of our Round-the-World Cruise. Unusual shore leave was granted: six section liberty instead of the usual three section; and civilian clothes were authorized ashore, which was not generally authorized for U.S. Navy overseas in 1968.
Part of shake down training included live missile firings. One particular firing included a live warhead. However, for this particular firing there was no telemetry available as was available for non-warhead missiles. Unfortunately, during the firing of the warhead missile, it malfunctioned and landed in a Puerto Rico rain forest, making a large crater in a deserted area, instead of landing in San Juan or some other populated area. Thereafter, telemetry was mandatory for all future warhead firings. Just as a side note, the Biddle’s car in San Juan was the only one with snow tires.
The Commissioning plank owner officers of Biddle’s wardroom were responsible for establishing her as the finest warship in the U.S. Navy. For almost four decades, to this date, they are still a close-knit group with the first 20 years of annual reunions and then every fifth year with the current 38th reunion planned for St. Louis, Missouri. This comradeship, which still exists to this day, personifies Biddle.
Perhaps the Hard Chargers during my tour will remember my following quotes:
“Don’t fiddle with the Biddle!”
“You have the green light – GO!”
“Results count!”
“This is the Captain. I will keep you informed.”
Captain Alfred R. Olsen, Jr., USN
I relieved Captain Maylon Scott a few days after the Biddle returned from her first deployment to WESTPAC. In the following months 60 percent of the crew who established “Hard Charger’s” reputation for excellence were transferred. When we departed Norfolk for the Pacific in May 1969 only 140 were still aboard. But the spirit, standards, and professionalism that made the Biddle a great ship endured. The new Biddlemen bought into the Hard Charger concept.
When we cleared port, I told all hands that I would inform them as to what we were doing and where we going. Midway through our first tour of duty in the Gulf of Tonkin, our subsequent upkeep period scheduled for Taiwan was changed to Subic Bay. No problem, I announced it on the 1MC. Several days later it was changed to Manila. I announced that. The embarked squadron commander then tried to get Taiwan reinstated. I announced that! That was disapproved. I announced that. Next the upkeep period was rescheduled to both Subic and Manila. I told the Exec, Commander Allen Smith, I felt like a yoyo and suggested he announce the next schedule change in the plan of the day. He replied, “Not to worry, Captain. I overheard two mess cooks talking. One said, “The next time the Captain gets on the 1MC he’s going to say that due to the difficulty of scheduling the period 3-13 August, the period 3-13 August has been canceled.” If the crew could laugh about it, I figured I could continue to make the announcements and did.
Our first tour was a success. We connected with the tactical data system before we were on station. Five weeks later, we almost didn’t get relieved when the Long Beach couldn’t get on-line. The Under Secretary of the Navy, John Warner, now the senior senator from Virginia, visited during our second tour in the Gulf and presented the Biddle the Meritorious Unit Commendation earned during her first deployment. He was so impressed that he toured the entire ship and stayed an hour longer than scheduled.
When we left station for upkeep in Yokosuka, Japan, the typhoon season was underway. The stretch of Pacific Ocean between the Gulf and Yoko is called typhoon alley. To ensure our safe passage, we were authorized to make that 2600 mile voyage at 27 knots, the equivalent of crossing the Atlantic in four days! Well done to our engineers!
Another tour in the Gulf and a couple assignments at Yankee Station and we headed for home arriving just before Christmas 1969. In April Biddle was awarded a second Meritorious Unit Commendation, this time for outstanding performance during our second deployment to Vietnam. She became the only surface ship in the Atlantic Fleet and one of a handful of ships in the entire U.S. Navy to have received this award twice. This was an achievement to which every man contributed and in which every man shared.
At the change of command ceremony in June 1970, I chose my words carefully when I said that the officers and men of the Biddle were the finest ship’s company with whom I had ever served. I added, “I have been reassured in this time of turmoil when most of the news about American youth seems to be bad, our society has continued to produce young men who are intelligent, responsible and levelheaded – who receive little publicity – who are intent on building, not tearing down. I know this to be a fact because they have been my shipmates in the USS Biddle.” I stand by those words.
Rear Admiral Edward W. Carter, III, USN
It is so unfortunate that media stories about the Navy have obscured some fundamental facts that ought never to be forgotten. Today’s sailor in the United States Navy is as fine a man as, if indeed not better than his forebears. To insinuate or allege otherwise is a powerful injustice to the thousands upon thousands of Americans who served our nation well and faithfully in its fleets.
A modern man-of-war, of which Biddle is one, is more complex and sophisticated than could have been imagined possible just a few short years ago. Men who sail these ships are still mariners; they still endure long and repeated separations from friends and loved ones; they still know and cope with the unleashed furies of the sea from the equatorial typhoon to the arctic gales; all this and more.
Today’s sailor is also an electronics expert, a computer wizard, a nuclear propulsion genius, a guided missile technician. He is smarter and better trained than his predecessor; he has to be. He asks more questions and expects better answers, for he needs these in order to do his duty to the best of his ability. And this he wants to do. He still has pride in his ship and his role in his ship.
Three times in the past six years I have sailed into combat with him into a war that his press and television tell him is not supported by his countrymen. For two years I have stood beside him under attack and attacking, and have watched him stand to this station as staunchly as has any man in the almost 200 year history of our Navy, and when the attacks were over, have seen him work over his gear to the point of exhaustion to be ready for the attack.
Don’t misunderstand me, today’s sailor is no angel, but then sailors never were. He is a salty philosopher of sorts, but sailors have always been. He is a product of his time in America. He is what we make him; and, in the main, we have made him well. I am proud of him, proud to serve with him and proud to command him. He is the United States Navy.
#########################Action at Red Crown, Surface Warfare Magazine, January 1979
Captain Albert L. Henry, USN
Biddle saw no combat action during my tour as “Hard Charger #7.” Our primary goal during this period of the Cold War in 1976 to 1978 was that of Ambassador, building good will for the United States, while at the same time to be combat ready. During TEAMWORK ’76 we were flagship for Commander Second Fleet for port visits to Copenhagen, Denmark; Hamburg, Germany; and Antwerp, Belgium. Vice Admiral Jack Shanahan, COMSECONDFLT, sent the following message to Biddle at the completion of TEAMWORK ’76: “I want to express my appreciation to the officers and men of USS Biddle, the ‘sometimes’ flagship of COMSECONDFLT during recent NATO operations and port visits. Biddle performed admirably in supporting me and in hosting and entertaining foreign dignitaries while in port. I received many laudatory comments from the guests about the appearance of the ship and crew. From my observations, the Biddle is a first class ship with a proud and professional crew. Keep Charging! Shanahan.”
Several short periods at sea followed our return to Norfolk in November, 1976, always with a flag officer embarked….each of whom complimented the ship and crew for hospitality and outstanding performance at sea. In March 1977, to December 1977, we spent many hours preparing for an inspection by the main board of Inspection and Survey, INSURV for short. Rear Admiral John D. Bulkely, the President of INSURV, spent several days with us at sea and in port giving a most thorough inspection. In a message back to Washington, D.C., he said in part, “Biddle is the final ship in INSURV’s CG-26 class baseline study. Her engineering material condition and performance far exceed that seen by the board for some time, for all classes of ships inspected. It is a pleasure to see a solid engineering plant which is ready for prompt, sustained reliable operations and can so perform.” This was a most rigorous inspection and the entire ship’s company had worked hard preparing for it. This “can do” attitude was ever present during my tour….we never missed a commitment and took several for other CGs who were not able to get underway because of engineering difficulties.
During the Mediterranean cruise from 11 July 1977 to 22 December 1977, we participated in several 6th Fleet operations but the highlight of the cruise for me was the period from 24 September through 8 October when we were privileged to be flagship for Vice Admiral Sir Roderick Macdonald, Royal Navy, COMNAVSOUTH afloat. (A NATO command based in Naples, Italy.) This at sea period was for NATO exercise DISPLAY DETERMINATION in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Seas. Not only was this a fine example of cooperation in the Mediterranean, but also very important for Biddle to have been chosen to be Flagship for the British Admiral in charge of the operation. Biddle was named for Captain Nicholas Biddle who started his career at the Royal Navy where he served in the Artic as a fellow midshipman with Horatio Nelson. There is a truly common heritage between our Navy and the Royal Navy and we are proud that Nicholas Biddle, a hero of our Revolutionary War, and Lord Horatio Nelson who both died in battles were shipmates in their early careers. Vice Admiral Macdonald and his staff were most gracious guests, teaching us many sea chanties, limericks, and customs of the Royal Navy. At the end of DISPLAY DETERMINATION Vice Admiral Macdonald sent the following message to COM SIXTH FLEET: “USS Biddle has given outstanding service as my flagship throughout DISPLAY DETERMINATION. Courtesy, Helpfulness, and efficient service are the hallmarks of this ship. Nothing has been too much trouble. No one could have been more welcome. I have been proud to fly my flag in her. I am most grateful to the United States for this unique privilege given to a NATO flag officer of the Royal Navy with his NATO Staff.”
I have chosen only three episodes of my time in Biddle to show Biddle’s reputation in the fleet….not due to my leadership but due primarily to the leadership of Captain Maylon Scott and the commissioning crew of Biddle in establishing the first reputation of Biddle in the fleet as a “can do” HARD CHARGER. Once that reputation is established, particularly if it is a good reputation, it is easy to follow suit and continue. I also want to express my appreciation for each member of the crew while I was aboard for their teamwork, their hard work, and sacrifices made to keep Biddle’s performance at sea and ashore superb. We received many kudos for the operation of our missile and weapons systems, our engineering reliability, our abilities in communications and NTDS capabilities, and our superior cuisine for the many luncheons for dignitaries while deployed, and our seamanlike, shipshape appearance. All of these are due to teamwork of people; none of these systems function without people manning and operating them. As I look back on the twenty-five years that have elapsed since I left Biddle, my fondest memories are of my shipmates, whose wisdom, sincerity, loyalty, patriotism, and courage, and hard work made her the fine ship that she was. I also remember the humor of several occasions and a ship’s company where morale was always high, no matter what the circumstances.\
Captain Hollis E. Robertson, USN
Command of Biddle was the highlight of my 34-year career in the Navy. It was my third command at sea and in some ways the easiest job I ever had. In other ways it was the most difficult. I couldn’t agree more with Admiral Chester Nimitz’s quote, “Commanding a ship is the simplest task in the world, even if at times it seems complicated. A captain has only to pick good courses of action and stick to them no matter what. If he is good and generally makes good decisions, his crew will cover for him if he fails occasionally. If he is bad, this fact will soon be known, and he must be removed with the speed of light.”
I have always placed great value in the article that follows. Although it was written over fifty years ago it still has the solid ring of truth. Read it and think about it and you will see what I mean.
Hobson’s Choice
One night past some thirty thousand tons of ships went hurtling at each other through the darkness. When they met, two thousand tons of ship and a hundred and seventy-six men lay at the bottom of the sea in a far off place.
Scenario:
On 26 April 1952, the aircraft carrier USS Wasp and the destroyer-minesweeper USS Hobson were engaged in night maneuvers 700 miles off the Azores. The USS Hobson was acting as plane guard for the carrier. Just before midnight, the USS Hobson initiated maneuvers to change her position according to a prearranged plan. The plan’s purpose was to permit the Wasp to head into the wind and thus recover aircraft she had sent aloft. In executing the maneuver, the Hobson ran across the bow of the carrier and was split in two. The 1,630-ton craft sank within four minutes of impact, with the loss of 176 members of her crew of 237 – including the CO.
The court of inquiry identified as the “sole cause” of the accident the maneuvering of the Hobson and the order by the Hobson’s CO to execute “left rudder,” putting his ship on a collision course with the fast-moving carrier. Some testimony brought out in the inquiry suggested that the CO had devised his turning plan under the stimulus of a recent order to the naval force that had encouraged “expeditious” handling of ships, even at the risk of mistakes.
A seaman gave an account of the last words uttered by the CO after his ship collided with the carrier. “I said, ’What happened, Captain?’ He turned to me and said, ’Somebody didn’t change course.’”
The court found that the Hobson’s CO had committed a “grave error of judgment” in handling his ship and absolved all other officers in the incident.
Now comes the cruel business of accountability. Those who were there, those who are left from who were there, must answer how it happened and whose was the error that made it happen.
It is a cruel business because it was no wish of destruction that killed this ship and its hundred and seventy-six men; the accountability lies with good men who erred in judgment under stress so great that it is almost its own excuse. Cruel because no matter how deep the probe, it cannot change the dead, because it cannot probe deeper than remorse.
And it seems more cruel still, because all around us in other places we see the plea accepted that what is done is done beyond discussion, and that for good men in their human errors there should be afterward no accountability.
We are told it is all to no avail to revise so late the courses that led to the crash of Pearl Harbor; to debate the courses set at Yalta and Potsdam; to inquire how it is that one war won leaves us only with wreckage, and with two worlds still hurtling at each other through the darkness. To inquire into these things now, we are reminded, will not change the dead in Scholfield Barracks or on Heartbreak Ridge, nor will it change the dying that will come from the wrong courses.
We are told too how slanderous it is to probe into the doings of a captain now dead who cannot answer for himself, to hold him responsible for what he did when he was old and tired and when he did what he did under terrible stresses and from the best of intentions. How useless to debate the wrong courses of his successor, caught in a storm not of his own devising. How futile to talk of what is past when the pressing question is how to keep from sinking.
Everywhere else we are told how inhuman it is to submit men to the ordeal of answering for themselves. To haul them before committees and badger them with questions as to where they were and what they were doing while the ship or state careered from one course to another.
This probing into the sea seems more merciless because almost everywhere else we have abandoned accountability. What is done is done and why torture men with asking them afterwards, why?
Whom do we hold answerable for the sufferance of dishonesty in government, for the reckless waste of public monies, for the incompetence that wrecks the currency, for the blunders that killed and still kill many times a hundred and seventy-six men in Korea? We can bring to bar the dishonest men, yes. But we are told men should no longer be held accountable for what they do as well as for what they intend. To err is not only human; it absolves responsibility.
Everywhere, that is, except on the sea. On the sea there is a tradition older even than the traditions of the country itself and wiser in its age than this new custom. It is the tradition that with responsibility goes authority and with them both goes accountability.
This accountability is not for the intentions but for the deed. The Captain of a ship, like the captain of a state, is given honor and privileges and trust beyond other men. But let him set the wrong course, let him touch ground, let him bring disaster to his ship or to his men, and he must answer for what he has done. No matter what, he cannot escape.
No one knows yet what happened on the sea after that crash in the night. But nine men left the bridge of the sinking ship and went into the darkness. Eight men came back to tell what happened there. The ninth, whatever happened, will not answer now because he has already answered for his accountability.
It is cruel, this accountability of good and well-intentioned men. But the choice is that or an end to responsibility and finally, as the cruel sea has taught, an end to the confidence and trust in the men who lead, for men will not long trust leaders who feel themselves beyond accountability for what they do.
And when men lose confidence and trust in those who lead, order disintegrates into chaos and purposeful ships into uncontrollable derelicts.
The enormous burden of this responsibility and accountability for the lives and careers of other men and often, the outcome of great issues, is the genesis of the liberty, which distinguishes the orders to officers commanding ships of the United States Navy. ( The Wall Street Journal © 1952)
Hard Charger! 