The Accidental Admiral: A Sailor Takes Command at NATO

It is getting harder and harder to be a Renaissance man or woman in this complex world. At the same time, The American, and perhaps many other country's public, often have little or no real experience with military life and career military people. To be introduced to a high level career officer who transcends both stereotypes and traditional professional paths is both exhilarating and illuminating. Stavridis has held some very rarefied positions. His observations confirm his qualifications. I am proud to have spent 25 years in the Naval Reserve and have great respect and appreciation for the sea service. Through this book, one doesn't learn how Stavridis reached the pinnacle of military and public office, but one does glean that he had the intellect, energy, discipline, political skills and imagination to handle the assignments with panache and diplomacy. Throughout the book, he scarcely has a bad word for anyone, world leaders, fellow officers and subordinates. Seeing the best in others is certainly an attribute of a leader. Erudite, thoughtful and both a strategic and tactical thinker and planner, he comes across as someone who would be both inspiring and enjoyable to work for or with. My personal disappointment is that there were only clues as to how he rose from 1 star to 4 stars so rapidly. The Reserves are or were a separate world, but as a Captain, I saw and worked, mostly at a distance, with a handful of 1 and 2 star Admirals. They were driven and mostly admirable officers. The full story of Stavridis' mettle will or will not be told elsewhere. Here, he does provide an ongoing and intriguing perspective on many of the international stories that have and will continue to impact our national security and our way of life.Lots of name dropping is not grating when you glean some further insight into the character and personality of the subjects. While I appreciate his hopeful and positive approach, his characterization of the Libyan campaign as an overall success appears unrealistic. The military aspects of that campaign may have been highly competent, but the "strategic" and political components were not. His description of the anonymous expense account complaint and lengthy investigation which appear to have cost him the "next" job of CNO are bittersweet. His self-defense seems both fair and obsessive.Still, no one can fault a defense of one's good name. The book changes course, from a description of the parameters of his SACEUR and NATO duties, to a treatise on both a blueprint for leadership and future challenges and opportunities for NATO. The book is worth your time and reflection.

Admiral James Stavridis is the finest naval officer of a generation and almost parenthetically a magnificently gifted writer. This memoir, his second, is an incredibly incisive book packed with meaning, history, and introspection. Published just after his retirement from active duty and taking the helm of The Fletcher School, THE ACCIDENTAL ADMIRAL is required reading for anyone seeking to understand the challenges and struggles of modern statecraft from a distinctly military vantage. Stavridis employs a thematic rather than episodic structure, to highly effective advantage. His finest chapters are about Afghanistan and Libya, and he addresses frontally the US-NATO-Russia equation and enduring issues in the Balkans, Israel, and Syria—where he ventures boldly predictive and prescriptive. While probably not self-consciously intentional, the book’s style reflects Eisenhower’s CRUSADE IN EUROPE—quite fitting for a man who followed Ike by a few generations as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. What’s most interesting here is Stavridis’s voice, clearly bearing diplomatic tonalities. He shares a lot of level-headed detail about President Obama, Defense Secretaries Rumsfeld and Gates, and Generals Stan McChrystal, Dave Petraeus, and John Allen (his Annapolis classmate and 40-year friend). But he refrains from overtly criticizing any of them, drawing instead multi-dimensional character studies with thoughtful, graceful differences. Frank assessments—you have to think about what you’re reading and work for them—are contained within nuanced, measured language, which is also a pretty good summary of the book as a whole. The chapter endings, including the chapters on leadership, communications, and planning, are remarkable in their outlines of strategy, where Stavridis becomes less of an author and more of a participating cultural historian of the post-9/11 age. He takes notable risks by defining himself variously (as I read him) as a pragmatist, unrepentant internationalist, collective action advocate, rational actor, and generally an involved interventionist. That perspective puts him in very good stead as the US military leader of NATO, but makes him something of a voice in the wilderness in the American political midlands of 2014. He certainly didn’t write this book with an eye on a career in partisan politics. His admiral’s stars were anything but accidental. And while he’s correct about being an unusual choice for SHAPE/SACEUR, Stavridis demonstrates once again, with alacrity, extraordinary gifts of command and story. They combine to make THE ACCIDENTAL ADMIRAL essential reading. Michael Pocalyko, author of THE NAVIGATOR (2013) from Macmillan/Forge, CEO of Monticello Capital, former Navy pilot and strategist.

This is a wonderful and extraordinary book written by a wonderful and extraordinary man. Loved reading about NATO's inner workings. It is the best up close and personal book on the military/international relations I have read in a long long time. The Admiral has great command of the written word. So many of these political tomes are written so badly, and are so deadly dull that I usually fall out my chair in boredom before I'have exited chapter one. Not so with this one! The elegant narration is humane, insightful, intelligent, and invariably compassionate. His cultural interests do not confine themselves to NATO countries. Would a few more of our leaders read the Koran to gain insight into this complex and deeply divided religion! We are so lucky to have had Admiral Stavridis serve our country in so many capacities. Here's hoping Washington will continue to know what it has!

Interesting series of insights. My mother was a civilian working for him when he was SACEUR and had lots of nice things to say about him. I was looking for more insights, more depth, and less "I'm so good" text. Not a bad read but it left me wanting for more depth. The series of chapters skim the surface and did not go as deep as I hoped and expected. I'm not unhappy to have read the book, but I don't feel like I learned very much either. By the way, we must have a very different definition of "friend".

"Accidental Admiral" brings badly needed sunlight into the inner operations of EUCOM and NATO. I have never read a book that is so explicitly relevant to major issues. For example, in chapter 15 Stavrides warns us that "... convergence of illicit activities can rapidly undermine global security norms." Then less than ten days after I read his warning, Liz Sly, of the Washington Post, describes such a convergence on page 1 of the October 22, 2014, issue. She reports that in the Turkish city of Sanliurfa, a Turkish mafia gang abducted Abu Issa, a popular, moderate, Syrian rebel commander. They were to deliver him to the Islamic State and receive $500,000. The deal came very close to succeeding. Admiral Stavrides perceptive leadership, remarkable sensitivity to change, as well as the ability to respond to change, are just a few of the characteristics that assured readers like me that he had the confidence and ability to handle the multitude of critical issues with which he was confronted. The chapter on innovations has terrific implications for today's top officers. I only hope they pour a little water on the seeds he planted. Our nation was indeed fortunate to have someone like Admiral Stavrides that it could assign to such a complex mix of military and political responsibilities at the highest national and international levels. An historic book sure to have a long life, especially as required reading for flag officers and senior state department officials.

This is a great read from an insider. One of the top thinkers and executors.A product of the USA political and Armed Forces establishment. What is missing? After a great read.......with excellent book recomendations. What is missing?........How he saved the taxpayer x million dollars by reducing the amount of uniforms Armed Forces use when out of ""combat". How he saved money to drive the hospitals and schools in USA. How he reduced the budget on Armed Forces by???????????? Data driven......but minimal examples. Anon compliant dealt with with candor.This anon complaint must have really hurt such a professional. What did his team and the teams who worked for him think of him? How often did he get a 360 completed? What did he learn from the feedback.? Maybe he is still too politically correct in his communications and thinking.I get the feeling he had the perfect career and no real picture of the hurdles he faced and overcame. This great leader clearly has many more books and stories for his readership and fans. With the other ROCKSTARS in the USA military around the time he was at his peak powers...............his name has been in the background. This was a great read.

Good, informative, enjoyable, but more of a memoir than I was expecting. His other book Destroyer Captain is more of a direct leadership book. Of course, this is to be expected considering the vastly different point in time and responsibilities he holds in the two books.

Very high marks for this book, as it delivers great insight across a number of dimensions, is well written and a quick read. The Admiral provides clear explanations of some of today's key international security challenges. He also provides a window into some of the rhythms and realities of the different organizations he worked with while in his roles in Europe. He was up high in the rare air, and gives the reader a view of that world. His positive spirit, sense of humor and humanity also come through in the book. Lastly, the Admiral nicely summarizes some fundamental leadership principles that anyone could use in their own lives, whether they find themselves leading a small team or an organization with tens of thousands of people. I just need to know when his next book is coming out.