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I met a man by the name of John Stolarik when I first reported to the boat, he was our leading Petty Officer. While stationed on the boat, I was a nuclear mechanic and we were lovingly referred to as M-Division. Basically, John was second in command among enlisted personnel of M-division (about 12-15 people). He was more than just another guy doing his job to get by. During my time on the boat I had three Chiefs rotate in and out and four or five officers lead M-Division. Not one of those guys had the leadership quality of this man. John was special. He lead by example, often the first in and the last out. He handled multiple duties at once and essentially kept us working cohesively. Crap hit the fan often and he always managed to shrug it off and not waiver whatsoever. He was a pillar of strength when we needed it. John spent too much time as an enlisted Petty Officer, he eventually made Chief and moved on to another command.

I spent six years in the Navy, serving 4 years and 3 months on the USS Alexandria (SSN 757). I guess it's all how you define what a military leader is and to what scope you are looking at, whether historical or personal. I prefer to write about people I have actually met not read about in a book. I met many different people in the Navy, from all walks of life and from all parts of the world. To be an exemplary leader you must possess a combination of skills and characteristics. Sadly, it is not the most qualified person nor the best intentioned person assigned to lead you. In today's Navy it is often the person that scores high on advancement test and is not afraid of stepping on the little guy to advance.

Ask anyone that served on a submarine and you will find out that our job was one of the hardest jobs in the Navy. The hours were long, the pay was nowhere near compensating us for the loss of time, and our sea schedule was ludicrous. Our common work week was 90+ hours, which often included 2 full duty days that required us to stay on the boat 24 hours. I estimate that I spent about 80-85% of my life (sleeping, eating, working, etc) on that boat during my enlistment. I did three deployments and countless other operations. To say morale was low is an understatement.

John was an inspiration to myself and countless others. He lead through courage, dedication, and perseverance. He never asked you to do a job he hadn't done before. Submariners have to trust their leaders with their lives, every time we went to see their was danger. John is one man I felt comfortable trusting my life to. I got out of the Navy in August 2000. I received an invitation to John's retirement ceremony about 2-3 years ago. I don't think he'll ever know what an impact he had on my life. I attended the retirement ceremony and reflected upon my days as a submariner. It was a hard life, being a submariner, but in the end it was meeting people like John that made the experience worthwhile.

Learn more about this author, Erik M. Dell.
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