2d Radio Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel P Doherty, Commanding Officer

2D RADIO BATTALION COMMAND PHILOSOPHY

2d Radio Battalion is considered by many to be the top SIGINT/EW Battalion within the Department of Defense (DoD). This reputation has been earned through the blood, sweat, and tears of the current and past Marines and Sailors who have served in its ranks. While it is easy to reflect on the accomplishments of the past we must now look to the future. The adversaries we will face on the next battlefield are not the same as those we have faced in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, or Libya. Groups like the Taliban, Al Qaida, or ISIS have at times demonstrated the ability to harm us, yet they rarely challenged or threatened us from a SIGINT/EW perspective. We must now refocus. Our future adversaries have studied us over the last 17 years. They have seen our successes and have evolved to exploit our weaknesses. They have developed capabilities similar, or even equal, to that of our own. We must take the many lessons learned from our past successes and turn them into solutions to defeat the future threat. As your Commanding Officer, I hope to provide you with the leadership, guidance, and support to accomplish this challenging task. The backbone or foundation to accomplish this is built on three simple principles.

Do Your Job. You need to be the experts in your craft. Whether you are managing our weapons in the armory, conducting analysis in support of deployed forces, or maintaining our equipment, YOU need to be the expert. Identify what your job is, evaluate yourself, determine what you don’t know and learn. Once you have done this, figure out how to take your expertise to the next level. Don’t accept the standard, but rise above it. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Look for ways to do your job better, faster, and more economically. Included in doing your job is being successful as a Marine, Sailor, NCO, SNCO, or Officer. With these roles comes responsibilities to you and expectations from those around you. Own your role and become the expert while preparing for the next rank.

Take Care of Yourself. For you to be successful on the battlefield, I need you to be morally, physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy. If you are coming to the fight distracted or crippled in some way, then you cannot do your job to the best of your abilities. I do not expect anyone to be perfect. I do however expect each of you to strive towards doing and being your best. This means taking an honest look in the mirror, identifying where you are falling short, and then taking the steps to correct your deficiencies. Included in taking care of yourself is taking care of your families. Our families should be a key motivation behind our efforts. They should be what we fight for or who we hope to make proud. Yet in order for them to support us, we must do our jobs as wives, husbands, sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers. We must put as much effort into our families as we do our jobs. If you are leaving behind a dirty house, you will be distracted and ineffective when you reach the battlefield.

Take Care of Your Marines/Sailors. None of us can accomplish our Battalion’s mission alone. We rely on every Marine and Sailor to be healthy, competent, and do their job. The success of those around us enables our own success. Sadly, we continue to face issues like hazing, sexual harassment, discrimination, bullying, substance abuse, depression, and suicide. When one of us is no longer combat effective it degrades the entire Battalion. We must be truly selfless and take care of those Marines and Sailors around us. With more than 600 brothers and sisters in the Battalion, no one should ever be alone. No one should be without a battle buddy. Look out for each other regardless of rank. If someone needs help, then help them. If you see someone doing something wrong, have the courage to correct them. If you are hurting, be selfless and seek help so you can be an effective member of 2d Radio Battalion and uphold the proud legacy passed onto us all.