The document discusses the role and responsibilities of a Naval Academy company officer. It describes how company officers complete a LEAD master's program focused on leadership, ethics, psychology, and education. This prepares them to mentor and train midshipmen by embodying core values and fulfilling five obligations: moralist, philosopher, teacher, steward, and jurist. As a former midshipman prepares to serve as a company officer, he reflects on how his own company officer helped develop him and hopes to similarly support midshipmen.

1. ALUMNI IN ACTION
2 SHIPMATE
The Making of a
Company Officer
On 27 May 2005 I joyfully tossed my
midshipman cover skyward into a
sea of 1,000 nearly identical covers.
During the few seconds it took for that
cover to succumb to gravity,scenes from
the preceding four years raced through
my mind.Time seemed to stand still—
creating a window through which I
viewed the good and the bad of my
Academy experiences with equal
appreciation.Against the blur of more
than 1,000 days—and many more
memories—only one thing remained
sharply in focus:my company officer.
Under his steady leadership,I developed
from a homesick teenager into a
commissioned officer ready to pursue a
career in naval aviation as part of the
greatest Navy in the world.While my
immediate attention turned to successfully
completing flight training,a small part of
me wondered if I would one day have
the chance to return to theAcademy to
help another generation of midshipmen
as my company officer helped me.
Luck,timing and destiny provided
the answer nearly six years later.On
the eve of assuming duty as the 14th
By Lieutenant Jonathan Lushenko ’05, USN
company officer,I find myself reflecting
upon the timeless impact of this position.
Drawing on the wisdom of the Navy’s
great philosopher-warrior,ViceAdmiral
James Bond Stockdale ’47,USN (Ret.),
my assessment of the company officer’s
impact aligns with the five obligations of
a naval officer:moralist,philosopher,
teacher,steward and jurist.
Company officers must embody the
core values of the Navy—honor,courage
and commitment—while concomitantly
personifying the NavalAcademy mission
to train,lead and mentor the midshipmen
within their company.Each incoming
company officer completes a one-year,
45-credit,non-thesis Leadership Education
and Development (LEAD) master’s degree
conducted jointly at the University of
Maryland and the NavalAcademy. This
degree is an interdisciplinary combination
of psychology,student development
theory,student leadership development,
sociology,organizational behavior,
educational theory,history and morality
and ethics instruction.
Taught by the distinguished military
professor for character education and

2. senior fellow of theViceAdmiral Stockdale
Center for Ethical Leadership,Captain JamesA.
Campbell ’73,USN (Ret.),new company
officers receive morality and ethics training in a
course titled,“The Foundations of Moral
Obligation:The Stockdale Course.”Modeled
after a similar course conceived and taught byVice
Admiral Stockdale when he was the NavalWar
College president in 1977,this course engages
prospective company officers in“a reflective and
deliberative study of moral theory,and in so
doing [enhances their] ability to think critically,
reason morally and lead,both effectively and
justly.”1 A thorough exploration of Socrates,Plato,
Aristotle,Kant,Mill,Epictetus and Stockdale
equips prospective company officers with the intellectual tools
to engage midshipmen in critical thinking about the moral and
ethical foundations of military leadership and decision-making,
while drawing upon personal experiences of commandership in
the Fleet and Marine Corps.
The requirement to teach a one or three credit undergraduate
leadership course facilitates growth and credibility as a teacher
and steward.Although previous instructional experience in the
fleet and Marine Corps helps,graduate level education in the
theory and practice of pedagogy is a key element of the LEAD
program.Courses including“The College Student,”“Facilitating
Learning in Higher Education”and“Counseling Skills”imbue
company officers with the knowledge and skills required to
effectively train and mentor midshipmen who are transitioning
from adolescence to early adulthood.Empathy and compassion,
principal leadership tenants of Lieutenant General JohnA.
Lejeune 1888,USMC (Ret.),are key elements of the
psychological instruction company officers receive.
Two classes taught at the NavalAcademy underscore the
company officer’s role as jurist.Instructed by a former Naval
Academy battalion officer,Dr.JosephThomas,who is the
distinguished professor of leadership education and the Naval
Academy Class of ’61 Chair,“The Nature and History of
Command”investigates“the evolving nature,imperatives and
unique demands of military leadership—specifically that which
is exercised by officers—generally referred to as command.”2
Analyzing historical narratives of command through the
Membership and Services, Fall 2012 3
combined works of authors John Keegan,J.F.C.Fuller,Martin
van Creveld andThomas Cutler in The Mask of Command,Grant
and Lee,Command inWar and The Battle of Leyte Gulf,respectively,
provides a lens through which company officers view the
responsibility and challenge of command.Additionally,Captain
SteveTrainor ’83,USN,the leadership development and
education director,instructs a class devoted entirely to the Naval
Academy—“TheAcademy and the Brigade”—that“introduces
the historical,social and cultural dimensions of the U.S.Naval
Academy to students and integrate[s] topical leadership
concerns,adult learning theory,and organizational sociology
associated with service as a Company Officer….”3
As I prepare to take the leadership reigns from the outgoing
14th company officer,I am confident that the LEAD Program
has prepared me for the challenges and demands I will face
during the next two years.The five obligations of a naval
officer—moralist,philosopher,teacher,steward and jurist—
provide the framework that will enable my fellow company
officers and me to fulfill the mission of the NavalAcademy.
My company officer played an essential role in my success at
the NavalAcademy and now I hope that I can do the same for
the young men and women I lead as they learn and grow for
four years together along the Severn.
Lieutenant Jonathan Lushenko ’05,USN,currently serves as the
14th Company Officer at the NavalAcademy. He is an MH-60R
pilot and holds a masters of professional studies in leadership education
and development from the University of Maryland.
The 2011-2012 LEAD Cohort at Sailor’s Creek Battlefield in Virginia with Dr. Joseph Thomas.
Photo courtesy of Master Sergeant Judd Baker, USMC (Ret.)
1 James Campbell,“BSOS 611:Moral Reasoning and the Company Officer (REV 1 August 2011),”(syllabus for the United States Naval Academy 2011-2012 LEAD Cohort,Annapolis,
Maryland,September-December,2011),2.
2 JosephThomas,“The Nature and History of Command,”(syllabus for the United States Naval Academy 2011-2012 LEAD Cohort,Annapolis,Maryland,September-December,2011),1.
3 SteveTrainor,“EDCP869:The Academy and the Brigade Course Policy and Schedule 2012,”(syllabus for the United States Naval Academy 2011-2012 LEAD Cohort,Annapolis,Maryland,
January-May,2012),1.