Command is the pinnacle of leadership in a military organization. Navy regulations define both the authority and the responsibility of command as "absolute." This 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 are the experiences of those who command 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 Admiral Chester Nimitz described as the "one purpose" for entering the Navy. -- From the back cover.

Includes index.

Taking command /Admiral James Stavridis and Rear Admiral Robert Girrier --|t Your command tour / James A. Winnefeld Sr. -- Journal of a first command / Admiral James Stavridis -- Command at sea - the ultimate specialty / Captain William J. Holland Jr. -- Command primer / Major E.J. Markham Jr. -- The practical application of the principles of high command / Captain Harris Laning -- Assumption of responsibility - essence of command /|r Captain W.P. Mack -- Admiral King and the Naval High Command / Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King and Commander Walter Muir Whitehill -- A Flagship view of command decisions / Captain Gilven M. Slonim -- The functions of command / Commander A.E. True -- A sea story not easily told / Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler -- Get off my back, Sir! / Commander Robert E. Mumford, Jr. -- Command authority and professionalism / Captain James F. Kelly Jr. -- Elements of command : self and family / Edgar F. Puryear Jr.