The King's New Clothes!

31 July 08

The King's New Clothes:

The naval rank of "Admiral" is derived from the Arabic phrase "amir al bahr," which means "Lord of the Sea"

British Admiral George Tryon was at the top of his game in 1893! Commanding Britain's formidable Mediterranean Fleet, consisting of eleven ironclads, bristling with guns and veritably dripping with national pride, George cast a long shadow!

And, George was no hollow figurehead! He had displayed eye-catching naval brilliance on numerous occasions, and was respected up and down the chain of command. His large frame and personal countenance were intimidating, and the fact that he was 'in charge" was never in dispute!

The World was at peace, and George was concerned that the Royal Navy's officer corps had too little experience with emergencies. So, on 22 June 1893, Thursday, while the Fleet was cruising off Tripoli in the prescribed double-column, Tryon abruptly commanded that both columns turn back upon themselves and reverse direction, and he wanted them all to turn to the inside! It was just a training exercise, but virtually every officer, particularly second-in-command Rear Admiral Albert Markham, instantly knew that it was extremely dangerous and would likely lead to a collision, as there would not be enough room between ships for last-minute corrections.

Nervous eyes fell on Markham, as other officers fully expected him to quickly inform Tryon that this order was stupid and needed to be rescinded immediately. Markham dithered! How do you tell the King, who believes himself to be adorned splendorously, that he is actually stark naked?

A frigidity Markham said nothing, nor did any other officer. They all dutifully turned about and obeyed orders they knew to be insane. None were disappointed!

The maneuver commenced, and, predictably, Tryon's flagship, Victoria, was shortly thereafter rammed amidships by Markham's vessel, Camperdown. The Victoria, fatally ruptured, sunk within minutes, killing nearly four-hundred British seamen, including Tryon himself! The incident attained the dubious distinction of Britain's biggest peacetime naval disaster to date!

Markham was subsequently court-martialed, but acquitted. He remained in the Royal Navy and went on to command other, smaller ships. He rarely talked about the "Victoria Incident," dying in 1918 of natural causes. No other officer was disciplined. Tryon, of course, never lived to see any of it!

Lessons: (1) Fighting is for Warriors! When peace breaks out, war becomes just so much conversation. Everyone waxes soft, and promotions become based on political acumen and good looks, instead of bold audacity and demonstrated competence. Who make their way to the top of the food-chain in peacetime, instead of fearless leaders, are often just "little-men-in-cheap-suits."

(2) Smart commanders surround themselves with people even smarter than they are! These competent subordinates will unabashedly tell you what you need to know, not just what you want to hear! Conversely, fools surround themselves with mealy-mouthed, smooth-talking atta-boys who are even dumber than they are, because truly competent subordinates scare them and make them nervous! In such a circumstance, there is rarely substantive uphill communication, and disaster, as we see, is inevitable!

(3) Bearers of bad news should be promoted, but rarely are!

/John