JJ Cummings In The News

THE SITUATION During my time as Captain of the USS GERALD R. FORD (CVN 78), I faced an unforgettable leadership challenge. One of our departments,

THE SITUATION ON USS ANCHORAGE (LPD 23) One night, while on deployment off the coast of Djibouti in the Gulf of Aden, as I left

THE SITUATION Twenty-six years ago, on a clear Spring afternoon, an F-14 Tomcat took off from a USMC air base in North Carolina. Within seconds

THE SITUATION Last Friday I attended a Change of Command Ceremony on Naval Station Norfolk for two naval aviator friends of mine. This centuries-old naval

During a benign interaction between an aircraft carrier and a fishing vessel off the Georgia coast, I committed a leadership communication foul by asking a

On a dark night in the busiest commercial traffic sea lanes in the world, our warship faced a 100,000 ton obstacle. We got around it

Dropping a 500-pound laser guided bomb was our solution for making a two-way conversation more productive. THE SITUATION November 2001 in the skies over Afghanistan.

When in doubt, there is no doubt: Just show up. SITUATION After speaking at UNC Charlotte last week, I had lunch with two firefighter attendees

I’m passing along some “Gouge” so you can benefit from lessons learned and mistakes made during my 36 years of Naval Service. Let me know

I just retired from the United States Navy after 32 years of flying fighters, driving big ships, and leading thousands of Sailors in high risk