title: The Accidental Admiral: A Sailor Takes Command at NATO
author:  James Stavridis 
description: "His chapters on leadership, strategic communications, and innovation are also useful words for all military leaders."<b><i>--Parameters</i></b><br /><br />"Coalition warfare, whether based on established alliances such as NATO, or so-called coalitions of the willing like that against the Islamic State (ISIS) group, continue to be the order of the day and appear to be Canada's preferred method for sending forces off to what we rightly or wrongly call 'war' these days. This highly engaging account of one man's approach to this type of generalship (or more accurately the art of the admiral) is both timely and a very worthwhile read."<b><i>--Canadian Naval Review</i></b><br /><br />"Stavridis says he wants to show the reader not what happened during his four years, but rather why it happened. He proceeds to take the reader on a tour of challenges: from the toppling of Qadhafi to the civil war in Syria, Israeli security, a resurgent Russia, the Balkans, and finally, of course, Afghanistan. Thus the first few chapters are a whirlwind of individuals, meetings, and events. Among all this, he often pauses within chapters to highlight some of the more important senior military and political officials that make up the NATO alliance. His new memoir is a refreshing dose of honesty, intelligence, and reflection--much needed in today's Navy and tomorrow's leaders."--<i><b>Naval War College Review</b></i><br /><br />"First, Stavridis provides valuable historical perspective of the major conflicts that occurred or were ongoing during his time at the helm of NATO/EUCOM. Second, he shares his views on strategic leadership to include the advantages and pitfalls that come with Twitter, Facebook, and the other tools of a more interconnected world. Fans of Admiral Stavridis's previous works are surely going to enjoy <i>The Accidental Admiral.</i> For new readers, it can serve as a valuable introduction that will then pull them toward his other works."<b>--Naval Historical Foundation</b><br /><br />"Stavridis' perspective on how he arrived as the first admiral to ever hold the senior position at NATO proves interesting. After taking command in 2009, he recounts in six chapters his most pressing challenges. He does this primarily through a geographical lens with chapters focused on Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, the Balkans, Israel, and Russia. In each chapter he paints a candid picture from a strategic leader's viewpoint on how he approached the problems he encountered in each region. After the historical tour of challenges, he shifts to a discussion of leadership in a broader sense. There are five chapters on various aspects of leadership. Most of these leadership tents are valid, not just at the four-star military level, but to all leaders."<b><i>--Military Review</i></b><br /><br />"Adm. Stavridis has been variously called a 'renaissance admiral,' 'a military intellectual,' 'the best of the new breed of military officers.' All appropriately laudatory, but I suspect he'd settle for something simpler--the son of a man who set a high standard by serving as a (naval) officer for more than 30 years, perhaps; a devoted husband and a proud father, who was chosen to speak to his daughter's NROTC graduating class; an accidental admiral, a sailor and a patriot, whose success and service to his country was no accident at all."<b><i>--The Washington Times</i></b><br /><br />"Stavridis writes with a career's worth of confidence in never being too concerned with rocking the boat. He continues to consider himself a 'disruptive innovator,' based on a career advanced with 'house money' and never expecting advancement. In <i>The Accidental Admiral,</i> he appeals to modern militaries to consign their traditional introspective and repetitive practices and instead develop akin to the modern technological world, which embraces risk and innovates rapidly."--<b><i>Australian Defence Force Journal</i></b>
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  [Contents](067131985X_toc.htm)
  
  # CHAPTER ELEVEN
  
  Chaplain Pannella placed his hands behind his back and sniffed.
  
  "Lord Arturo isn't going to be happy," he observed.
  
  Captain Imai Delaney, skipper of the Caravazan Empire parasite cruiser
  _Greenbelt_ , refrained from snarling at the ship's chaplain. It wasn't the
  easiest restraint he'd ever exercised, and it got even harder as he looked
  around and recognized his bridge officers' stunned disbelief. He drew a deep
  breath and wiped his face. They'd obviously gotten sloppy, and "not happy" was
  a very pale description of what Lord Arturo would be when he heard about this
  one.
  
  At the same time, he understood exactly how it had happened. There had been no
  problems at all since the two parasites had been put on station, and they were
  mainly there to make sure that no one noticed the Saint presence in the
  system. They'd let a few transportsthe ones with registered schedulesthrough
  and