21st Century Navy Vision: Motivating Sailors to Achieve Maximum Warfighting Readiness

摘要

This paper contends that motivating sailors will be the key to the 21st Century Navy's success in a demanding fiscal and global environment. Motivated sailors provide the best national security for the dollar. They want to stay with the organization, and they attract quality replacements upon their departure. In short, readiness and retention improve while recruiting difficulties diminish. The future challenge is to develop a cohesive human resource vision and align the organization to provide a flexible mix of enhanced motivators to the 21st Century warriors. This manuscript begins with a review of motivational theory before launching into an assessment of today's Navy. An examination of future human resource challenges and specific areas of sailor motivation will set the stage for a five step recommendation for change. Ultimately, the 21st Century Navy will need to transition from a mindset of manning the fleet with expendable sailors to the strategic goal of harnessing the intellectual capital of sailors, thereby achieving maximum warfighting readiness. Properly motivated, the 21st Century Navy will be an innovative organization of professional lethal warriors engaged in the Navy's mission and dedicated towards a common vision.