(Editor's note: "Smoking With Ernie"
was originally published in "The CAP Officer," an online Civil Air Patrol
professional journal that ceased publication in 1999. It is reprinted here with the kind
permission of Maj Curt Lafond, the CAP Officer's former editor. )
Twelve
O'Clock High Offers Leadership Insight
Motoring through the English countryside in the early days of
World War II, a general's staff car unexpectedly stops, pulls over to the side of the
road, and within yards of the main gate of an air base, the general climbs out of the car.
Brigadier General Frank Savage, played by Gregory Peck, lights up a cigarette and takes a
good look at what literally and figuratively lies right down the road before him.
The film Twelve O'Clock High is filled with scenes crammed
with lessons in the art of leadership. The smoking scene, mundane at first glance, is the
most important in the film and offers the only advice any leader ever really needs to
know: leadership is lonely, and a good leader assumes it deliberately.
The general is about to assume command of the 918th Bomb Group. It
is a "hard luck" group with a poor record. Savage has been tasked with making
the group healthy again, although he has already held a group command and has seen his
fair share of action. With that much background, one can empathize with Savage. What will
he do to revive a sagging unit? What will it take to build leadership and confidence? What
exactly is a "maximum effort" and how long will Savage remain committed to that
goal? Those questions remain open for the viewer's personal consideration throughout the
film. Anyone remotely interested in the art of leadership should love this film and can
learn from it.
The main gate, just down the road and barely visible, confronts
Savage (and after twenty viewings, I think it taunts him more each time). He takes a few
puffs of his cigarette, some deep breaths of fresh air, and readies himself for command.
One can get the feeling that Savage is using these few moments as his last bit of freedom.
In fact, they are the only moments the general will have to simply be "Frank"
for a long while. Frank leans over to the driver, "Smoke, Ernie?" He takes a few
more drags himself, then abruptly extinguishes the cigarette and orders, "All right,
sergeant."
The smoking lamp is out. General Savage has assumed command.
Studying the Art
How can the art and philosophy of leadership be studied and
learned? As a cadet, I often watched movies like Twelve O'Clock High, and tried to
figure out what leadership is all about under the tutelage of professors John Wayne,
George C Scott, Clark Gable, and of course Gregory Peck. Twelve O'Clock High is a
wonderful vehicle to study leadership in action, with the advantage of second-guessing the
players' solutions to perceived conflicts. Squadron Officer School at Maxwell AFB has
incorporated a study of the film into their curricula. As a special attachment to this
article, a similar lesson outline which I developed as a cadet is included.
If the scene where Frank enjoys a smoke with Ernie foreshadows the
central theme of the film, that leadership is a personal and lonely effort, what follows
next should not be surprising. BGen Savage begins by chewing out everyone in sight for not
saluting, being out of uniform, and a host of other infractions. Proceeding right along,
he fires his staff and even places one under arrest for "running out on his
duty." The base pub is closed, more training missions are announced, and quickly the
918th realizes they are under a pretty "iron tailed" general.
Certainly Twelve O'Clock High proves to be an entertaining
movie, but why is it relevant to CAP officers? After all, CAP is not in a combat
environment, and a commander who gives harsh reprimands and humiliates his staff will be
unsuccessful in CAP. Although the particulars of Savage's situation differ from what is
found in the ordinary CAP squadron, the CAP commander should aspire to imitate Savage's
commitment and integrity.
Savage freely chose to be iron-tailed. A war was raging, and there
were not many other options. What I admire most about Frank is his intrinsic
purposefulness. He is service above self personified. Frank agreed to do a job, and then
proceeded to do it without counting the cost to himself. As the film progresses, BGen
Savage becomes extremely unpopular and his men attempt to transfer out of the 918th en
masse. His men did not think of BGen Savage as flesh and blood, but neither does the film
portray him as a stereotypical wrathful commander. Savage is alive and real, and the film
is loosely based on the life of a real commander, Col Frank Armstrong. He tries to hide
the fact he loathes being despised by his men. He desperately wants to be able to play
cards with the boys after retreat. Later, he is visibly shaken when a coup fails and he
retains command. Frank does not enjoy the prospect of lighting up another cigarette on
Calvary. Here, Maj Stovill, a chorus-like adjutant instructs the staff that the only
difference between BGen Savage and his predecessor, a mothering, best friend to all type
of officer, is that "Savage is about [an inch] taller. "
No, the lesson for CAP officers is not how to be iron tailed like
that S.O.B. Frank Savage. Instead the lesson is to show the same commitment to doing one's
duty as Frank did. As officers, we should ask ourselves if it is more common to wail and
grind teeth when faced with a difficult assignment, or if we should take up smoking with
Ernie, and enjoy a quiet moment before casting ourselves into our given job whatever it is
- and then proceed to fulfill those responsibilities without complaint.
Unexpected Help
Frank was not alone in his fight to make the 918th a healthy unit.
Quickly, the group adjutant, Maj Harvey Stovill, came to the general's assistance. With
talk of a mass transfer, Harvey agreed to sit on the paperwork to help buy time for the
general.
I like Harvey. He represents the average, ordinary officer among
us who might not have the talent of a slugger like Frank Savage, but was still willing to
step up to the plate and make a base hit. For every CAP leader who hesitates to act and
truly lead, who can say there are not a hundred Harvey Stovills unexpectedly waiting to
step forward and follow some one else's lead? Isn't the mere prospect of a Harvey enough
to motivate a commander to begin to lead?
Savage relied on Stovill to buttress his efforts, but the two have
violently different personalities. Savage is flesh and blood as I have already said, but
because he is at work as the commander seven days a week, he was easily perceived as a
flat, dictatorial officer by his men. Stovill in contrast is warm and friendly: offering
coffee to Savage and going out of his way to screen the personal effects of boys who
"got it" before shipping them home (maybe a lot like Frank if he didn't have to
wear a star).
There must have been a reason for Savage to choose Stovill as his
co-conspirator, and it probably involved Stovill's diligence and small initiatives. The
other officers Savage surrounded himself with were equally professional, but since he had
already fired the previous staff, they were not the "A" team. Nevertheless, each
accepted Savage's challenge and rose to meet his high standards. CAP leaders might
consider there could be a wealth of untapped talent among our quieter members whose only
fault is not being part of the clique.
Smoking with Kierkegaard
The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard argued that religion requires a "leap of
faith." Perhaps leadership is no different. Some one daring must deliberately assume
Command, despite the fear of failure, unpopularity, and all that which accompanies one who
marches in the front rank before people like Harvey begin to follow. That is how the 918th
was made. It is quite simple really, as Savage himself said, "It's the commander,
after all it's his job isn't it?" I see no difference for CAP.
Click here for this article
in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format |
|
Major Curt Lafond, Spaatzen #1030, is the Director of Cadet Programs for New
Hampshire Wing, CAP. He frequently writes on leadership topics as they apply to the CAP
Cadet Program. A long-time CAP member, he was responsible for "The CAP
Officer", a trendsetting e-zine. Touted as the 'Professional Journal for CAP
Leaders', it was a first for the organization and an important milestone. His "Twelve
O'Clock High" leadership lesson first appeared there and is a frequent speaker topic
in wings throughout the Northeast Region. Curt can be reached at curt@spaatz.org.