My paper on Admiral Zumwalt

ETCS(SW)DETJE
BLUE 05

Admiral Elmo Zumwalt

Imagine if you will a Navy without Ombudsman, equal rights for men and women, racial equality, or simple things like leave and earning statements. These things and many more like them were nonexistent in the Navy in the 1960s. In this paper, we will discuss some of the advances in the quality of life Admiral Zumwalt set in motion. His contributions still have an impact on sailors today.
President Nixon selected Zumwalt to be the youngest Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) at Age 49 and his appointment confirmed by Congress 01 July 1970. His goal as CNO was to improve the quality of life for all sailors, both officer and enlisted and he saw the need to modernize the fleet. He started with a series of “ZGrams” that totaled 121 during his time as CNO. ADM Zumwalt established the Ombudsman program, Z Gram 24, in recognition of the difficulties confronting Navy families. Admiral Zumwalt outlined a program, the first of its kind in the military, which provides communication between Navy families and Navy commands. The Ombudsman is the official representative of the Commanding Officer and serves as liaison between families and the command.
In August 1972, he issued Z Gram 116 Titled "Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women in the Navy," the document expressed the ultimate goal of assigning women to ships. It laid the groundwork allowing men and women to be trained together to compete for the same assignments ashore and afloat, and to follow career paths that lead to a promotion to admiral. This vision of giving women "equal opportunity to contribute their talents and background" to accomplishing the Navy's mission would come to fruition 20 years later, with the routine assignment of women to combat ships.
In my opinion, his most significant Z Gram was number 66. In it, he stated, "There is no black Navy, no white Navy--just one Navy, the United States Navy.” Admiral Zumwalt wanted to break the racial divide that still existed in the Navy. He reaffirmed the Navy’s stance on equality, placing the responsibility on commands to “create an environment that makes equal opportunity a reality and discrimination, for any reason, an unacceptable practice.”
These are just three of the 121 programs that Admiral Zumwalt set in motion during his time a CNO, but what is most impressive, is that 87 of these programs are still in use today. Admiral Zumwalt, to me, was a pioneer in deck plate leadership and taking care of our sailors. He saw the need for improvement to the quality of life for them and made sweeping changes to the Navy. Many of his programs were not popular with the senior leadership in the Navy but he did it anyway. What I found most interesting is that even as the CNO he still took time for his sailors. So many times, we as leaders get caught up in training cycles, material inspections and military exercises we sometimes forget the most important piece of the whole process, our people. The Guiding Principles have one common theme, lead and take care of our sailors. Sailors are the most precious commodity we have and without them, we will not be leaving the pier. It is our duty to ensure the future success of the Navy by preparing today.
As you have seen, Admiral Zumwalt can be remembered for his commitment to positive change to improve the lives and safety of the members of our sailors. His courage and dedication to protect the health of sailors never stopped from his first day as CNO to the last. We too must continue to look for ways to improve our sailor’s lives every day. Most of us will never be CNO and maybe one of us may become the MCPON someday, but that does not excuse of for looking each day for ways to improve the quality of life for our sailors.