The U.S. Naval Institute on NAVAL COMMAND - The U.S. Naval Institute Wheel Book Series

Publisher Marketing: In the U. S. Navy, "Wheel Books" were once found in the uniform pockets of every junior and many senior petty officers. Each small notebook was unique to the Sailor carrying it, but all had in common a collection of data and wisdom that the individual deemed useful in the effective execution of his or her duties. Often used as a substitute for experience among neophytes and as a portable library of reference information for more experienced personnel, those weathered pages contained everything from the time of the next tide, to leadership hints from a respected chief petty officer, to the color coding of the phone-and-distance line used in underway replenishments. In that same tradition, the new "Naval Institute Wheel Books" will provide supplemental information, pragmatic advice, and cogent analysis on topics important to all naval professionals. Drawn from the U. S. Naval Institute's vast archives, the series will combine articles from the Institute's flagship publication "Proceedings," selections from the oral history collection and from Naval Institute Press books to create unique guides on a wide array of fundamental professional subjects. Command is the pinnacle of leadership in a military organization. Navy regulations define both the authority and the responsibility of command as "absolute." This "Naval Institute Wheel Book" provides practical guidance and advice that actual and would-be commanders can use to carry out that absolute authority. Included in this carefully selected collection is the experience of those who have commanded as well as the expectations of those who are commanded. Aspirants as well as practitioners will do well to exploit this selected survey of what Fleet Adm. Chester Nimitz described as the "one purpose" for entering the Navy. Contributor Bio:  Cutler, Thomas J Thomas J. Cutler is a retired lieutenant commander and former gunner's mate second class who served in patrol craft, cruisers, destroyers, and aircraft carriers. His varied assignments included an in-country Vietnam tour, small craft command, and nine years at the U. S. Naval Academy, where he served as Executive Assistant to the Chairman of the Seamanship & Navigation Department and Associate Chairman of the History Department. While at the Academy, he was awarded the William P. Clements Award for Excellence in Education (military teacher of the year). He is the founder and former Director of the Walbrook Maritime Academy in Baltimore. Currently he is Fleet Professor of Strategy and Policy with the Naval War College and is the Director of Professional Publishing at the U. S. Naval Institute. Winner of the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Naval Literature, the U. S. Naval Institute Press Author of the Year, and the U. S. Maritime Literature Award, his published works include NavCivGuide: A Handbook for Civilians in the U. S. Navy; A Sailor's History of the U. S. Navy [one of the books in the Chief of Naval Operations Reading Program]; The Battle of Leyte Gulf; Brown Water, Black Berets: Coastal & Riverine Warfare in Vietnam; and the 22nd, 23rd (Centennial), and 24th editions of The Bluejacket's Manual. His other works include revisions of Jack Sweetman's The Illustrated History of the U. S. Naval Academy and Dutton's Nautical Navigation. He and his wife, Deborah W. Cutler, are the co-editors of the Dictionary of Naval Terms and the Dictionary of Naval Abbreviations. His books have been published in various forms, including paperback and audio, and have appeared as main and alternate selections of the History Book Club, Military Book Club, and Book of the Month Club. He has served as a panelist, commentator, and keynote speaker on military and writing topics at many events and for various organizations, including the Naval History and Heritage Command, Smithsonian Institution, the Navy Memorial, U. S. Naval Academy, MacArthur Memorial Foundation, Johns Hopkins University, U. S. Naval Institute, Armed Forces Electronics Communications and Electronics Association, Naval War College, Civitan, and many veterans' organizations. His television appearances include the History Channel's Biography series, A&E's Our Century, Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor, and CBS's 48 Hours.