LOS ANGELES, March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- At a time when such military policies as prohibiting women from serving on navy submarines and "don't ask, don't tell" are under review, one retired naval officer and leadership expert is advocating that another long-held belief be revisited – the excluding of Marine officers from serving as the superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

"Tradition is an important cornerstone in our military institutions, but it can sometimes serve as a roadblock to progress and fairness if applied too strictly," says Ritch K. Eich, Ph.D., former Naval Academy Blue and Gold Officer and Naval Reserve Captain (Ret.). "In this new era of jointness where the military branches are working more closely together and reducing some of the unnecessary historical rivalry, it is time to expand the talent pool and actively consider Marine officers for this important position."

Although the Marine Corps is an integral part of the Department of the Navy and many prominent Naval Academy Midshipmen have been selected as Marine second lieutenants upon graduation, no Marine senior officer has ever been chosen for the Academy's top position of superintendent. While there is no federal law prohibiting it, tradition has dictated that the superintendent be a naval officer.

An author of several essays on leadership and a teacher of leadership at three different universities, Eich believes that the skills senior Marine officers demonstrate in the field makes them eminently qualified to serve as superintendent at Annapolis. "Marines are called upon to display a special kind of leadership - one that requires decisiveness, cost-consciousness, expediency and efficiency. It's no wonder that every other service branch has tried to emulate Marine leadership development."

Additionally, Eich points out that some of the nation's most prestigious MBA-producing universities send students to the Marine base at Quantico, Virginia, to learn advanced leadership skills. "It is clear that leadership development at the Academy would thrive under the guidance of a Marine officer," he says.

The United States Naval Academy has educated students and trained them for action as officers in the Navy and Marines since before the Civil War. During that time the Academy has undergone a series of changes, such as enrolling women, actively recruiting minority students and faculty, expanding curriculum to keep it robust, and establishing a leadership department. "These and other major advances have made the school richer," says Eich, who has been on training duty at the academy and served as a recruiter for them for many years. "Now it's time to acknowledge that because Marines share duties with all the service branches, and the oversight of the Academy by a Marine officer would greatly increase the perspective and comprehensive focus of education and training at Annapolis."

Currently president of his own leadership consulting firm in Southern California, Eich has served on the Naval Academy Congressional Selection Committees for U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Dan Coats as well as Representatives Dan Burton and Marvin Esch. He also assisted U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein's committee.

SOURCE Ritch K. Eich, Ph.D.

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