Detach for Cause: Examining the Organizational and Cultural Influences on the Dismissal of Surface Warfare Commanding Officers A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School Valdosta State University in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION in Public Administration in the Department of Political Science of the College of Arts and Sciences May 2014 Michael John Higgs MA, Naval War College, 1997 MPA, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 1996 MA, Webster University, 1986 BBA, Armstrong State College, 1978 © Copyright 2014 Michael John Higgs All Rights Reserved This dissertation, "Detach for Cause: Examining the Organizational and Cultural Influences on the Dismissal of Surface Warfare Commanding Officers,” by Michael John Higgs, is approved by: Dissertation Committee Gerald A. Merwin, Ph.D. Chair Professor of Public Administration / Committee v— <- —I j —L-A-— Members Carl M. Hand, Ph.D. Professor of Sociology Mary Elfeanor Wickersham, D.P.A. Assistant Professor of Public Affairs College of Coastal Georgia Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Connie L. Richards, Ph.D. Professor of English Interim Dean of the Graduate School JameiJP. LaPlant, Ph.D. Professor of Political Science FAIR USE This dissertation is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94­ 553, revised in 1976). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of the material for financial gain without the author’s expressed written permission is not allowed. DUPLICATION I authorize the Head of Interlibrary Loan or the Head of Archives at the Odum Library at Valdosta State University to arrange for duplication of this dissertation for educational or scholarly purposes when so requested by a library user. The duplication shall be at the user’s expense. Signature I refuse permission for this dissertation to be duplicated in whole or in part. Signature ABSTRACT From 2000 through 2012, the Navy relieved 195 Commanding Officers (COs) for a variety of personal and professional failures under a procedure called “detach for cause.” That seemingly low number is significant due to the associated damage to expensive weapon systems, the injury or deaths of Sailors, and damage to the organization’s image as it competes for recruits from the American people and resources from Congress. These repercussions make the failures far more consequential than raw numbers might indicate. Of 195 dismissals, Surface Warfare Officers (SWOs) accounted for 74 or 38% of them, a larger percentage than the other communities in the Navy. This research was conducted to ascertain what flaws in the surrounding culture or the training and selection process might create SWO COs who are more likely to fail. Documentation was reviewed on the causes and numbers of dismissals, the performance evaluation system, the process for qualifying and selecting COs, and ethics and leadership training. Literature was also reviewed to gain insight into the nature and impact of the SWO organizational culture on developing officers. A survey was used to determine the prevalent type of Ethical Work Climate and the presence of toxic leadership, as contributory factors in the failures of COs. Data were compiled, scored, and tested using chi-square, Cramer’s V, Z-score, and Pearson’s r calculations to determine the strength of association or correlation between factors. This uncovered the widespread occurrence of toxic leadership behaviors including narcissism, unpredictability, and abusive supervision. An elevated occurrence of the instrumental EWC was also revealed. Finally, recommendations were provided to address the findings and potentially reduce the number of failures among SWO COs. i TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................ 1 Problem Statement.......................................................................................................1 Scope of the Research................................................................................................. 2 Structure of this W ork................................................................................................ 3 Background..................................................................................................................4 Detachment for Cause: The Process.....................................................................4 Rationale for the Research.....................................................................................7 Civil-Military Relations.........................................................................................9 Colonial Origins................................................................................................ 9 From Civil War to World War....................................................................... 12 World War II....................................................................................................14 The Cold War - An Uneasy Truce.................................................................15 II. LITERATURE REVIEW..............................................................................................23 Environment..............................................................................................................23 Organizational Construct.....................................................................................23 Physical Environment..........................................................................................25 Training...................................................................................................................... 30 Primary Training.................................................................................................. 30 Surface Warfare Qualification............................................................................ 34 Command Qualification.......................................................................................36 Organizational Culture..............................................................................................41 Organizational Culture Defined..........................................................................41 ii Reconciling Civilian and Military Culture........................................................ 43 Ethical and Moral Aspects.................................................................................. 45 Navy Culture.........................................................................................................53 Surface Warfare Subculture........................................................................... 57 The Practice of Leadership................................................................................. 68 Narcissism........................................................................................................71 Toxic Leadership............................................................................................. 74 Selection Process.......................................................................................................76 Performance Management...................................................................................76 Selection Boards.................................................................................................. 81 Research Questions................................................................................................... 85 Assumptions and Research Questions................................................................86 III. METHODOLOGY.........................................................................................................88 Research Method.......................................................................................................89 Research Environment.........................................................................................89 Research Design................................................................................................... 90 Research Phases................................................................................................... 92 Research Questions and Hypotheses............................................................. 93 Instrumentation..........................................................................................................94 Data Collection.................................................................................................... 98 IV. RESULTS..................................................................................................................... 100 DFCs: Numbers and Causes...................................................................................100 Survey Data............................................................................................................. 108 iii Data Refinement 108 Respondent Demographics................................................................................108 Ethical Work Climate Data................................................................................111 Toxic Leadership Data....................................................................................... 115 Unit Success D ata............................................................................................. 120 Summary of Findings........................................................................................