Legend - Captain James Fanell - Mentor, Truthsayer, Martyr
"You are a good friend, but a better captain there is none." - King Leonidas, 300 (2006)
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28 September 2024 (Saturday)
Legend - Captain James Fanell - Mentor, Truthsayer, Martyr
You are a good friend, but a better captain there is none - King Leonidas, 300 (2006)
By Wendell Minnick (Whiskey Mike) 顏文德
TAIPEI - Before I roll out the podcast interview with retired U.S. Navy Captain James Fanell, I was fortunate to peruse a powerpoint on his thoughts on leadership and his own journey through the ranks in a career.
His career ended suddenly after a series of public speeches warning of the rise of China as a military hegemony and existential threat to the Pacific region.
The myth is that Fanell was fired directly by U.S. President Obama, but what Fanell actually did was challenge the cognitive framework in Washington about China.
That is, China can be coaxed into accepting the established rules-based international system founded on relationships between nations and through international institutions and frameworks, with shared rules and agreements on behavior.
China will never join. And just because policy wonks in America believe in it and/or profit from it will not make a difference.
There was debate whether Fanell, as a non-flag officer, overstepped his authority by calling out the China threat without directives by senior officials.
No matter the debate whether Fanell was forced to retire, was fired, and who did what, do not concern me.
The man has become a legend whose warnings have now come to fruition.
This is a direct quote from Fanell introducing me to the 2011 presentation:
This is what I presented to my staff in the summer of 2011 after 25 years in the USN. Being the CINCPACFLT [Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet] N2 [Navy Intelligence] was the only job I dreamed of...and I was honored to get it.
The first CPF N2 was Captain Eddie Layton in WWII when he worked for Chester Nimitz.
Not one officer in all those years ever retired from that job. In October 2014 I put my papers in to retire as I had no desire to go anywhere else (since I had been passed over for Flag). But little did I know that I would not get to go into the night quietly...