VADM Robert J. Papp Jr. nominated for 24th Commandant

[BuoyJumper]

iCommandant

Web Journal of Admiral Thad Allen
Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Nomination of Next Commandant


  VADM Robert J. Papp Jr.
 
Guardians,

We released the following ALL HANDS email earlier today. The text is provided below:

To the men and women of the United States Coast Guard,

I am pleased to announce that the President of the United States, upon recommendation from the Secretary of Homeland Security, has nominated VADM Robert J. Papp Jr. for appointment as the 24th Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate. I have already extended my heartfelt congratulations to VADM Papp and I look forward to close personal and staff coordination over the next five months as we prepare for the Commandant Change of Command on May 25th, 2010.

We need to be capable of continually adapting to our environment and managing new circumstances. This is a principle tenet of our Modernization efforts. Leadership transition is one such change and we must each take ownership in making change possible.

Times of transition offer new prospects. I have known and worked with VADM Papp for many years and have every confidence in his leadership and ability. Your future and the future of the Coast Guard will be in excellent hands.

Semper Paratus!

Admiral Thad W. Allen
Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard

iCommandant

[BuoyJumper]

I don't think anybody is surprised by this choice.  This could be a good thing for the crews in the Atlantic Area and take some pressure off of RFC's which Papp seems to be so generous in handing out.  Kind of like promoting someone to get them out of the way like the CG did my first C.O.  He handed out so many masts and courts martials in the ninth they promoted him to 8th district legal officer.

Although I have not seen anything official rumor has it that the Vice Commandant will be Sally Brice-O'Hara.  

[GreenET1]

  I will miss Admiral Thad W. Allen.  He has done an excellent job leading the Coast Guard. 
  Whoever is the next Commandant will have a huge challenge to live up to the standards of leadership set by Admiral Allen.    

[Salba]

I'd like to think if we survived Adm Yost... well you know the rest

I will miss Adm Allen.

Best Wishes

[JekelKat]

Holy crap. I'll be honest. That choice scares me!

I liked ADM Loy as well... he was a good guy that cared about the LITTLE people!

[EX-CG-GM]

Maybe he got extra credit for all the RFC's he administered!   

[rustybayonet]

Nothing against VADM Papp, because I don't know him and never served with him.  I can only say, I wish VADM Pearson the former Chief of Staff hadn't retired this year, in my opinion he would have been an excellent choice for Commandant.  He was tough and decisive, but extremely fair.



VADM C. Pearson, ret.

[JekelKat]

I know a couple of people affected by his decision making.

Curiously I wonder the amount of "E" adversly affected by him vice the amount of "O"s...

[EX-CG-GM]

I'm real big on first impressions and I don't like the way this guy looks.  Doesn't look like a smile is natural to him.   

[BuoyJumper]

I hear what you're saying Stan.  I just looked through every photo the CG has of him in the visual information gallery.  When you look at Admiral Allen most of the time he seems very happy, usually a smile on his face, he seems warm and friendly.  A man who for the most part is happy with his life.  

Then in contrast when I look at the photos and videos of Papp and I admit this probably isn't a fair assessment but he looks absolutely miserable.  Even when he smiles it does not seem natural but forced.  He almost always looks stern, intimidating and angry like he's about to chew somebody's ass off.  I sincerely hope others (especially foreign heads of state doing business with the CG) don't see him that way.  But that's the way I see him at least in the photos and videos in CG files.

[1110]

Surface Force supports this candidate. 

http://surfaceforce.blogspot.com/2009/12/congrats-to-vadm-papp-in-his-nomination.html

[BuoyJumper]

Maybe this isn't fair but do you see the contrast here.  Both men are presenting awards.  One looks like he's about to burst he's so happy for the BM2 receiving the letter of commendation.  The other looks like he's about to give this Coastie a bad conduct discharge instead of a good conduct medal.  Maybe Papp just had an off day or he didn't get any the night before.



Just curious .... am I the only one who sees Papp this way?

[BuoyJumper]

Surface Force supports this candidate. 

http://surfaceforce.blogspot.com/2009/12/congrats-to-vadm-papp-in-his-nomination.html

I am truly glad to hear that SF ...... 

[Salba]

Surface Force:

You must have your reasons, maybe some first hand interaction or knowledge.  I on the other hand, neither support nor actively non-support this "nomination" (candidate sounds like he's running for office and subject to a popular vote - and that isn't true nor appropriate IMHO).

I've not worked with, for, or around VADM Papp.  My knowledge of him is slim.  But like EX said - first impressions do have an impact.

So here goes...
With a number of reliefs seen recently - a common thread has been, more often than not - a particular name.  Is that good or bad?  I don't know.  May be a hard charger who has high expectations and holds his folks accountable; or may be something else.  But the impression - from the publicity on the actions - and the few first hand accounts I have been privy too of folks who served with, for, and around VADM Papp is not that of a hard charger with high expectations holding his folks accountable.  The old rule applies - perception becomes my reality.

The comments IRT appearance - again; body language conveys a lot of the message more so than tone or the actual words.  VADM Papp's body language is not reassuring to me.  Smirk versus smile. Aloof versus warm.  And so forth.

Regardless... I've served through a number of Commandants... some more personable than others - few of which I knew.  Most of them coming into nomination were either neutral or positive in perception - the one exception being Yost; and only after serving a while would I be able to confirm or adjust my original perceptions.  Some like the previously mentioned Adm Loy confirmed my perceptions in the positive, some like Yost did so in the opposite direction. Some were a mixed bag - like Adm Bender.  But all were my Commandant irregardless of what I thought about them coming in.

VADM Papp, although predicted by you, would not have been my choice.

That's an opinion... and I don't need a quarter to buy you a cup of coffee! 

Best Wishes

[1110]

Dave:

Fair enough.

To be honest, yes, there has been some first-hand interaction between the VADM and SF. The latest being when SF asked him some pointed, direct questions on major cutter support issues that he thought the CG had botched itself on with no accountability for those concerned, plus the fact that the CG's construct at the time did not hold to the key operational principle of Unity of Command. I.e., the "support" types in the CG: MLCs, ESUs, ISCs, NESUs, etc. were not under the direct control of the operational (District) commanders as their Immediate Superior in Command (ISIC). Furthermore, while the new "modernization" initiatives of the current CCG do much to shift some support functions around, but in the end, Unity of Command will still blatently missing. In the interest of non-disclosure, SF will not quote VADM Papp in this medium, but his answer was just as pointed and direct of the sort one would expect of a naval leader and not the vaciliating, non-controversial type of comments we unfortunately all too typically see today. With VADM Papp as the CCG coupled with the current budget outlook and the current administration, I suspect that we will all see a bit of a paradigm shift from being "all that and more" (ALL HAZARDS, ALL THREATS, ALWAYS READY) to reducing organizational overhead and tying any further reductions in cutter assets (like the replacement of 12 WHECs by 8 WMSLs for instance) or to operational performance metrics.

Respectfully,
Surface Force