Father of the Nuclear Navy: Admiral Hyman G. Rickover

Quick answer: Why is Hyman Rickover called the Father of the Nuclear Navy?

Admiral Hyman G. Rickover directed the development of naval nuclear propulsion and ran the Naval Reactors program for three decades, delivering USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine, in 1954. With 63 years of active service, he is the longest-serving officer in U.S. military history.

Admiral Hyman G. Rickover is known as the Father of the Nuclear Navy, and John visits his grave at Arlington National Cemetery often as an example of character-based leadership. Rickover served in flag rank from 1953 to 1982, despite open discrimination against him because of his Jewish faith. He directed naval nuclear propulsion for three decades as head of Naval Reactors and oversaw the Shippingport Atomic Power Station, the first full-scale nuclear power plant in the United States built to generate electricity. His drive and unorthodox methods, and the devotion he drew from his specialists, were key to the early delivery of Nautilus, the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine. Her keel was laid in June 1952, she was launched on January 21, 1954, and on August 3, 1958, she became the first submarine to pass under the North Pole. His 63 years of active duty make him the longest-serving member of the U.S. armed forces in history. John draws three lessons from Rickover, many of them through Dave Oliver's book on him. First, culture is hard to change. "Once a culture is established, it's really hard to change that culture, whoever you are," Oliver notes, and Rickover did it by hiring and training people for a new standard. Second, he set safety margins far beyond what was required, cutting allowable radiation exposure for sailors to a small fraction of the accepted limit. Third, he hired for talent wherever he found it, including women engineers when few were in technical roles, because, as Oliver writes, the program needed brains and women possessed half of the available resource. He had the power to change established practice when a better process existed and encouraged his staff to do what worked.

Why it matters for leaders: Changing an organization's culture takes standards held relentlessly over years, and the people you choose to carry them.

Q: How long did Rickover serve?

A: 63 years of active duty, the longest of any member of the U.S. armed forces.

Q: What was USS Nautilus?

A: The world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine, launched January 21, 1954, and the first to transit under the North Pole in 1958.

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By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation