Admiral George Dewey and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz - Essay Example

? Admiral George Dewey and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz In the Navy of the United s, the admiral is a four-star flag officer grade. At the top ranks the Admiral, then the sub-admiral and lower is the Fleet Admiral. There is no a founded ranking above the admiral. Admiral is equal to the position of general in the other uniformed services. In 1899, the Congress acknowledged George Dewey's achievements in the Spanish-American War by empowering the President to select him Admiral of the Navy. In 1944, Chester W. Nimitz was endorsed by the Congress as one of the five-star rank of Fleet Admiral. This paper analyzes the achievements of these two admirals, their leadership traits and their strengths and weaknesses. Introduction While Chester W. Nimitz was still schooling at Tivy High School, Kerrville, Texas, he sought for an appointment to West Point since he had interests on an Army profession. When he missed this chance, he sat for a cutthroat test for Annapolis and was chosen and appointed from the Twelfth Congressional District of Texas in 1901. In 1905, he left high school to join the Naval Academy Class of that year. He essentially was conferred his high school diploma several years later, after he was a Fleet Admiral. Nimitz was an outstanding student at the Academy, particularly in mathematics and got a distinction. In addition to this, he was an excellent athlete and stroked the squad in his first year class1. After graduating with a distinction from the United States Naval Academy Class of 1905, Nimitz started his profession as a surface officer on several ships. Later, he achieved success as one of the foremost leaders of submarine development and war after being relocated to the new submarine service. These attempts concluded with several aide ranks to flag officers and later control of ships and flotillas2. On the other hand, young Dewey was posted to the steam frigate Wabash after his graduation from the Naval Academy at Annapolis. He stayed here until 1859 when he went back to Annapolis to get his final examination. George Dewey got his first assignment on April 18 1861. He became lieutenant, and in the period from 1861 to 1863, he operated on the Mississippi, which was a steam sloop of the West Gulf Squadron. He would not have experienced a lot of service if he had been graduated at a different time. However, that time had a lot of promise for the navy and the army3. Admiral Nimitz had a very admirable and strong character that was characterized with a lot of confidence and patience. For instance, he never wavered from his commitment to task and nation, from rivalry with General MacArthur to the political scheming in the Navy Department. Nimitz never lost concentration of his reliability or the bigger picture of what had to be done for the nation and the war struggle. He deemed himself a man of team and was contented with it. He was not a Man of strict orders but concentrated much on working with the team. He declined several rewarding positions after the Second World War and viewed them as not in the best concern of the Navy. Moreover, he did not want to profit on the lives lost during the warfare4. In addition, Nimitz was the pre-renowned carrier strategist of the Pacific. Due to this, Turner (U.S. Naval Academy, 1906) won Nimitz' esteem for leading amphibious associations all through the Pacific in time of the war5. The character of Admiral George is characterized by honesty, refinement, clean and eager, and being a believer in himself6. In the aspects of his command, Dewey knew how to put his foot down with a ton's strength when the situation demanded it. He was fit for leading the United States navy since he created order and discipline, which encompasses the making of a soldier7. It was the routine of Admiral Dewey to abstain from attractive words and used words with accuracy. He definitely did not seek to affirm a case in colors and curves, and yet, through his statements, letters and cables, it is clear that he was a man whose sound was high and his emotions were simply excited to intensity8. However, Dewey achieved the status of being a great social man since he was seen at every high social function in Washington, and in foreign capitals. He usually went to these social functions since it was his notion of duty. It was not his choice to go to anything social, but he went since he was invited. Moreover, he alleged that if any one is caring enough to invite him it is his politeness to reply to that invitation personally. He had the utmost sense of responsibility and carried it into the smallest aspects of his life9. Looking at the achievements of Nimitz, he was promoted to the position of lieutenant commander in August 1917. At this time, he served as an engineering assistance to the Commander of Submarine Force for the Atlantic Fleet. In February 1918, he served as chief of staff to Captain Samuel S. Robison. In June 1942, Nimitz was helpful in overcoming the Japanese convoy at the Battle of Midway. He also aided in bringing together the different managerial components of the Pacific Fleet for the war against Japan. He radiantly coordinated the partial offensive of 1942-1943 in the Solomons and the complicated Central Pacific retaliation of 1943-1945. In December 1944, he was promoted to the position of Fleet Admiral and moved to superior headquarters at Guam in January 194510. The crucial approaches he fashioned for victories in the Battle of Midway, the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Solomon Island Campaigns acquired him the assurance of President Roosevelt and the American people.11. In the case of Admiral Dewey, he is indisputably the excellent historical figure in the operations of the arms of the United States at Manila. He smacked the blow that destroyed the Spanish control at sea with the exemption of the gunboats that were not present in the battle. Moreover, he took good care so that they would never show themselves outside the hiding places selected for them. He also made sure that they did not attack the transports of the American army, which passed mostly over the huge ocean devoid of escort, packed and almost unarmed12. The year of 1863 could not end without another big fight, for Dewey was on one of the gunboats at the appointment at Donaldsonville. There, he once more learned various lessons in fighting tactics. These achievements made Dewey to be trusted and he became the hero of the American Navy of the time13. In March 1946, Nimitz solved the problem of providing naval weapons for the nuclear-powered submarine from a different angle since he understood the significance of submarine growth. In September 1946, he selected a board of knowledgeable submarine officers to research on anti-submarine practices and new submarine plans. In January 1947, the board presented a report urging the steady substitution of existing submarines with the hydrogen-peroxide submarine14. Despite having significant achievements, Dewey became very sick and almost out of the service. Due to this, the younger ones and more energetic aspired to be made commanders and admirals themselves. Consequently, the Navy Department sent Dewey to a secure and far-away location, where his few ships would be out of risk and out of the way of men who wanted to take up leadership from him15. For Nimitz, he was appointed as the Chairman of the nine-man commission on global Security and Industrial Rights in the United Nations. This commission did not materialize since the Congress never passed suitable legislation, as they did not trust him for that post. This is because he did not have a commanding attitude of leadership16. Conclusion Admiral George Dewey and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz presented different and some similar traits in their leadership. They were the most influential navy commanders in the United States. However, Dewey made the most remarkable contribution to the navy that made him become more respected and trusted. He was focused on his duty and never wavered from it. Nimitz on the other hand was rather a team man, and did not use a lot of command. The two leaders will be remembered for their great contributions in the history of American navy. References Denger, Mark. 2007, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz: A Five Star Submariner, http://www.militarymuseum.org/Nimitz.html (accessed January 26 2011). Murat, Halstead, Life and achievements of Admiral Dewey from Montpelier to Manila. Chicago: Our Possessions Publishers, 2001. Naval Historical Center. 2003, Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz, http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq36-4.htm (accessed January 26 2011). Primoli, Dennis. 2006, “Future Leadership: The Five Star General,” http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:SiFqq2rLnQ4J:https://www.afresearch.org/skins/rims/q_mod_be0e99f3-fc56-4ccb-8dfe-670c0822a153/q_act_downloadpaper/q_obj_f8902870-01ac-4198-a588-370dde66b5d2/display.aspx?rs%3Denginespage+comparison+of+Admiral+George+Dewey+and+Admiral+Chester+W.+Nimitz&hl=en&gl=ke (accessed January 26 2011). Stanley, Louis & Davenport, Northrop, Life and heroic deeds of Admiral Dewey: including battles in the Philippines. Philadelphia: Globe Bible Publishers, 2001. Read More