Changes in Navy Leadership Theory and Practice: Post-Vietnam
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University of San Diego Digital USD Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2001 Changes in Navy Leadership Theory and Practice: Post-Vietnam Nicholas A. Trongale EdD University of San Diego Follow this and additional works at: https://digital.sandiego.edu/dissertations Part of the Leadership Studies Commons Digital USD Citation Trongale, Nicholas A. EdD, "Changes in Navy Leadership Theory and Practice: Post-Vietnam" (2001). Dissertations. 684. https://digital.sandiego.edu/dissertations/684 This Dissertation: Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Digital USD. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital USD. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Changes in Leadership Theory CHANGES IN NAVY LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE: POST-VIETNAM by Nicholas A. Trongale A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education University of San Diego 2001 Dissertation Committee Mary Scherr, Ph.D., Director Fred Galloway, Ed.D. Daniel Miller, Ph.D. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Changes in Leadership Theory ABSTRACT CHANGES IN NAVY LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE: POST-VIETNAM Since the Vietnam War, Navy leadership theory and practice has changed, becoming more like current civilian leadership theory and practice than traditional military leadership of old. Indicators of this alteration have been seen in journal writings, the new Navy performance evaluation structure, current Navy leadership training, and by the birth of a Navy Command Leadership School. This study was designed to explore the evolution and recent history of the Navy’s leadership theory and practice for indications of change. Combining a qualitative and quantitative methodology, this study used a 5-point Likert-type scale survey that included a written comments section. Over 70 % of 561 participants responded to the survey’s open-ended questions, adding explanatory power to the quantitative data. The findings in this study show that Tailhook was viewed as a major event associated with the changes in Navy leadership since the Vietnam War. Of the two participant groups surveyed, Vietnam-era and post-Vietnam Navy officers and senior enlisted veterans, Vietnam-era aviators felt the strongest in this belief. Vietnam-era veterans believed that the change had not been for the good of the Navy, whereas active duty personnel were much more favorable in their assessment about changes in leadership. Women showed significantly greater agreement that change in Navy leadership theory and practice during their time on active duty was for the good of the Navy, and whites iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Changes in Leadership Theory expressed a more favorable attitude to the direction Navy leadership was taking than non whites. Other contributors to change in Navy leadership since Vietnam were the post-CoId War force drawdown and technological advacements of the 1990s. Changes in Navy leadership were perceived differently depending on participants’ race, gender, or rank— usually only varying in degree of agreement or disagreement with certain aspects of Navy leadership. What started as a gradual change in Navy leadership theory and practice accelerated after the 1991 Tailhook Convention scandal. Tailhook was a watershed event that sent shock waves throughout the Navy hierarchy. The event and its aftermath forced the Navy to change how it viewed the role of women in combat. To some, Tailhook represented a quintessential breakdown in Navy leadership. TV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Changes in Leadership Theory © Copyright by NICHOLAS A TRONGALE 2001 V Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Changes in Leadership Theory Dedication To my wife Kate, my children Danny and Megan, and my mother for their love and support, and to the United States Navy for 21 fantastic years filled with opportunity and challenge. vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Changes in Leadership Theory Preface I would like to acknowledge and thank my dissertation director, Dr. Mary Scherr, PhD., and my dissertation committee members, Dr. Fred Galloway, Ed.D., and Dr. Daniel Miller, PhD., for their expert guidance throughout tny pursuit o f this doctoral degree, and for their understanding of the scope of my primary job and constraints 1 was living under in the Pacific Northwest and being out to sea for the majority o f this dissertation process. Without their help and support I still would be trying to complete this dissertation. I would also like to thank Dean Paula Cordeiro, Ed.D., for her help and counsel during my studies at the University of San Diego; Dr. Janet Littrell, EdJD., who was instrumental in starting me off in the right direction in the leadership program by supporting a studies template that did not look achievable to anyone but us; Dr. William Howe, EH, PhD., for his mentoring, and for his ability to meld teaching leadership with practicing it; to Dr. Marie Thomas, PhD., for her immensely valuable analytical assistance in this study; and to Bev Callaway for her ability to merge the myriad of elements necessary to form a dissertation. I would also like to thank Sr. Terri Monroe, RSCJ, for all her support and interest in this study; those members o f the United States Navy, past and present, who participated in the survey, particularly the Vietnam-era veterans who had the courage to tell it like they saw it, and in many cases, signed their name to their comments. Lastly, I would like to vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Changes in Leadership Theory thank the countless other individuals who assisted me during my pursuit of this epic undertaking—individuals that I cannot mention by name and still ensure anonymity. viii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Changes in Leadership Theory TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE CHANGES IN NAVY LEADERSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE: POST-VIETNAM.........................................................................................................I The Problem............................................................................................................... 5 The 1991 Tailhook ScandaL .................................. 5 Post-Cold War Drawdown. ............................................................................... 8 Purpose of the Study .................................................................................................11 Research Questions ...................................................................................................II Significance of the Study .......................................................................................... 11 Methodology .............................................................................................................12 Study Objectives ........................................................................................................ 13 Discussion of Terms Used in the Study .....................................................................13 CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE........................................... 17 Civilian Leadership Theory ....................................................................................... 17 Military Leadership Theory ....................................................................................... 19 Practical Applications of Leadership Theory ............................................................ 24 CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY.......................................................................... 27 Introduction. ............................................................................................................. 27 Research Questions and Design Overview. ............................................................... 27 Survey Instrument Development .............................................................................. 28 Pilot Interviews. ............................................................................................... 29 Survey. ............................................................................................................ 33 Survey Reliability. ............................................................................................ 34 Triangulation Methodology and Survey Participants ....................................... 35 Non-response Bias ............................................................................................41 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................ 42 Ethical Considerations: The Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects.45 Entry, Access, and Document Collection. ........................................................45 Limitations ............................................................................................................... 46 Role of the Researcher.............................................................................................. 47 CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS..........................................................................................48