Dead reckoning : aligning Navy Lieutenant Junior Grade and Lieutenant chaplains with the Chief of Chaplains' priorities

2017·25.7 MB·English

by  Ragain, James Carlton

DEAD RECKONING: ALIGNING NAVY LIEUTENANT JUNIOR GRADE AND
LIEUTENANT CHAPLAINS WITH THE CHIEF OF CHAPLAINS’ PRIORITIES

A THESIS-PROJECT
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF
GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY

BY
JAMES CARLTON RAGAIN, III
MAY 2017
Copyright © 2017 by James Carlton Ragain, III. All Rights Reserved.
To my wife Michelle and my daughters, Ashley, Beth, and Kate.
I love you.
And to all Navy Chaplains and Religious Program Specialists:
I am honored to serve alongside you.
Vocati ad servitium.
CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES ix

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS x

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xii

GLOSSARY xiv

ABSTRACT xv

CHAPTERS

1. THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING 1

The Problem 1

Why Dead Reckoning? 3

The Setting 4

Department of the Navy Strategic Plan
for Religious Ministry 4

Chief of Chaplains’ Annual Guidance 6

Methods of Communicating the Strategic Plan
to Chaplains and RPs 6

Barriers to Communication 7

Too Much Information 7

Lack of Trust 8

Fear 9

Direction From Senior Chaplains 9

The Goal of Dead Reckoning 10

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2. BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS 11

Introduction 11

Biblical Foundations for Subordinate Leadership 12

Peer Influence Gone Awry-1 Kings 12:6-15 13
Courageously Leading Up-2 Samuel 12:1-14 15

Fearless Advisement-1 Kings 22 17
Composed Leadership-Acts 27:1-44 21
Biblical Foundations for the Importance of Alignment 24
Barriers Preventing Alignment 24
Fostering Alignment 44
Conclusion 49

3. LITERATURE REVIEW 51

Introduction 51
Strategic Guidance 51
A Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority 52
Department of the Navy Strategic Plan
for Religious Ministry 2014-2019 54
FY16 and FY17 Chief of Chaplains Annual Guidance 55
Secretary of the Navy Instructions for Religious Ministry 57

SECNAVINST 1730.7D-Religious Ministry in the Navy 57

SECNAVINST 5351.1-Professional Naval Chaplaincy 59
Book Reviews 61
What It is Like to Go to War by Karl Marlentes 61
The Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey 65
v
Why Should the Boss Listen to You?
The Seven Disciplines of the Trusted Strategic Advisor
by James Lukaszewski 69

Leading Up by Michael Useem 71
Talk INC by Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind 73
A Deadly Wandering by Matt Richtel 75
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die 78
by Chris Heath

Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger 80

Youtility by Jay Baer 82
The Hidden Brain by Shankar Vedantam 84
Navy Chaplain Corps Information Tools 87
MilBook 87
The Playbook 90
Chief of Chaplains’ Facebook Page 91
Chief of Chaplains’ Blog 92
Conclusion 93
4. PROJECT DESIGN 95

Introduction 95

Junior Chaplain Survey 95

Strategic Communications Survey 96

Benefits and Drawbacks of Using the ICE Survey System 99

Survey Results and Conclusions 100

Dead Reckoning Resources 113

“Dead Reckoning” Newsletter 113
vi
MilBook Junior Chaplain Forum 115

Junior Chaplain Meetings 116

Navy Chaplain Corps App 117

Conclusion 118

5. OUTCOMES AND CONCLUSION 119

Introduction 119

Strategic Communication Recommendations 119

Supplement Use of Email with other Communication
Methods to Pass Important Information 119

Enhance the Use of milBook and Facebook 120

Eliminate the Use of the Chaplain Corps Blog 122

Continue to Use PDTW as a “Family Business” Day 122

Devote a Future PDTC to Professional Naval
Chaplaincy Topics 123

Dead Reckoning Outcomes 124

“Dead Reckoning” Newsletter 124

MilBook Junior Chaplain Forum 128

Ministry Engagement 130

Topics for Future Studies 131

Use of Social Media Manager Software 132

Use of Apps to Promote Strategic Communications 132

Chaplain Corps Generational Dynamics and Electronic Media 133

Conclusion 133

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APPENDICES 136

A. STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION SURVEY RESULTS 136

Demographics 136

Junior Chaplain The Playbook Use 138

Junior Chaplain milBook Use 141

Primary Source of Information from the
Chief of Chaplains Office 144

Secondary Source of Information from the
Chief of Chaplains Office 147

Most effective means of communication from the
Chief of Chaplains Office 150

Least effective means of communication from the
Chief of Chaplains Office 153

Survey Comments 156

B. DEAD RECKONING NEWSLETTERS 162

Volume 1 Issue 1, January-April 2016 162

Volume 1 Issue 2, May-August 2016 166

Volume 1 Issue 3, September-December 2016 171

Volume 2 Issue 1, January-April 2017 177

C. PROMOTION PROCESS INFORMATIONAL PAPER 183

BIBLIOGRAPHY 188

VITA 193

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FIGURES

Figure 1: Chief of Chaplains’ milBook Homepage 88
Figure 2: Chief of Chaplains’ Facebook Homepage 91
Figure 3: Chief of Chaplains’ Blog Homepage 93
Figure 4: Service Branches Represented 101
Figure 5: Type of Assignment 102
Figure 6: Number of Active Duty Tours 103
Figure 7: Number of Years on Active Duty 103
Figure 8: Junior Chaplain Playbook Use 107
Figure 9: Junior Chaplain milBook Use 108
Figure 10: Primary Source of Information
from the Chief of Chaplains Office 110

Figure 11: Secondary Source of Information
from the Chief of Chaplains Office 110

Figure 12: Most Effective Means of Communication
from the Chief of Chaplains Office 111

Figure 13: Least Effective Means of Communication
from the Chief of Chaplains Office 112

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I want to thank my wife Michelle and my daughters Ashley,
Beth, and Kate for their love and support and allowing me to spend the necessary time
fulfilling the requirements of the Doctor of Ministry degree. Most importantly I am
thrilled to journey together with them in the ministry of the gospel. I am also thankful for
the encouragement I continually receive from my parents, Jay and Debbie Ragain, my in-
laws, Dick and Liz Slemons, my brothers and their wives, and my sisters-in law and their
families. I love you.
I am extremely grateful to the guidance I received from my D. Min. mentors, Dr.
Alan “Blues” Baker and Dr. Jim Critchlow. Not only did they provide direction and help
me fine-tune, edit, and shape this thesis, but they also created an environment where I
could hone and sharpen my pastoral and leadership skills. I am also thankful for the great
support I received from the Gordon-Conwell Doctor of Ministry office. They are true
professionals in training ministers of the gospel. Thank you.
I am indebted to Rear Admiral Margaret Kibben, the Navy Chief of Chaplains.
Without hesitation she allowed me the opportunity to work on this degree while serving
in the very demanding role as Flag Aide. She fully embraced the idea of “Dead
Reckoning” and was my biggest champion of the tool to be used throughout the Chaplain
Corps. Additionally, I am grateful for the influence Rear Admiral Brent Scott had on me
professionally and personally. Thank you both for your leadership, mentorship, and
support.
Many thanks are also extended to the Chief of Chaplains’ staff. The past two
years serving alongside these men and women have been empowering and enlightening.
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