Table Of ContentDEAD RECKONING: ALIGNING NAVY LIEUTENANT JUNIOR GRADE AND
LIEUTENANT CHAPLAINS WITH THE CHIEF OF CHAPLAINS’ PRIORITIES
A THESIS-PROJECT
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF
GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY
BY
JAMES CARLTON RAGAIN, III
MAY 2017
Copyright © 2017 by James Carlton Ragain, III. All Rights Reserved.
To my wife Michelle and my daughters, Ashley, Beth, and Kate.
I love you.
And to all Navy Chaplains and Religious Program Specialists:
I am honored to serve alongside you.
Vocati ad servitium.
CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS x
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xii
GLOSSARY xiv
ABSTRACT xv
CHAPTERS
1. THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING 1
The Problem 1
Why Dead Reckoning? 3
The Setting 4
Department of the Navy Strategic Plan
for Religious Ministry 4
Chief of Chaplains’ Annual Guidance 6
Methods of Communicating the Strategic Plan
to Chaplains and RPs 6
Barriers to Communication 7
Too Much Information 7
Lack of Trust 8
Fear 9
Direction From Senior Chaplains 9
The Goal of Dead Reckoning 10
iv
2. BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS 11
Introduction 11
Biblical Foundations for Subordinate Leadership 12
Peer Influence Gone Awry-1 Kings 12:6-15 13
Courageously Leading Up-2 Samuel 12:1-14 15
Fearless Advisement-1 Kings 22 17
Composed Leadership-Acts 27:1-44 21
Biblical Foundations for the Importance of Alignment 24
Barriers Preventing Alignment 24
Fostering Alignment 44
Conclusion 49
3. LITERATURE REVIEW 51
Introduction 51
Strategic Guidance 51
A Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority 52
Department of the Navy Strategic Plan
for Religious Ministry 2014-2019 54
FY16 and FY17 Chief of Chaplains Annual Guidance 55
Secretary of the Navy Instructions for Religious Ministry 57
SECNAVINST 1730.7D-Religious Ministry in the Navy 57
SECNAVINST 5351.1-Professional Naval Chaplaincy 59
Book Reviews 61
What It is Like to Go to War by Karl Marlentes 61
The Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey 65
v
Why Should the Boss Listen to You?
The Seven Disciplines of the Trusted Strategic Advisor
by James Lukaszewski 69
Leading Up by Michael Useem 71
Talk INC by Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind 73
A Deadly Wandering by Matt Richtel 75
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die 78
by Chris Heath
Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger 80
Youtility by Jay Baer 82
The Hidden Brain by Shankar Vedantam 84
Navy Chaplain Corps Information Tools 87
MilBook 87
The Playbook 90
Chief of Chaplains’ Facebook Page 91
Chief of Chaplains’ Blog 92
Conclusion 93
4. PROJECT DESIGN 95
Introduction 95
Junior Chaplain Survey 95
Strategic Communications Survey 96
Benefits and Drawbacks of Using the ICE Survey System 99
Survey Results and Conclusions 100
Dead Reckoning Resources 113
“Dead Reckoning” Newsletter 113
vi
MilBook Junior Chaplain Forum 115
Junior Chaplain Meetings 116
Navy Chaplain Corps App 117
Conclusion 118
5. OUTCOMES AND CONCLUSION 119
Introduction 119
Strategic Communication Recommendations 119
Supplement Use of Email with other Communication
Methods to Pass Important Information 119
Enhance the Use of milBook and Facebook 120
Eliminate the Use of the Chaplain Corps Blog 122
Continue to Use PDTW as a “Family Business” Day 122
Devote a Future PDTC to Professional Naval
Chaplaincy Topics 123
Dead Reckoning Outcomes 124
“Dead Reckoning” Newsletter 124
MilBook Junior Chaplain Forum 128
Ministry Engagement 130
Topics for Future Studies 131
Use of Social Media Manager Software 132
Use of Apps to Promote Strategic Communications 132
Chaplain Corps Generational Dynamics and Electronic Media 133
Conclusion 133
vii
APPENDICES 136
A. STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION SURVEY RESULTS 136
Demographics 136
Junior Chaplain The Playbook Use 138
Junior Chaplain milBook Use 141
Primary Source of Information from the
Chief of Chaplains Office 144
Secondary Source of Information from the
Chief of Chaplains Office 147
Most effective means of communication from the
Chief of Chaplains Office 150
Least effective means of communication from the
Chief of Chaplains Office 153
Survey Comments 156
B. DEAD RECKONING NEWSLETTERS 162
Volume 1 Issue 1, January-April 2016 162
Volume 1 Issue 2, May-August 2016 166
Volume 1 Issue 3, September-December 2016 171
Volume 2 Issue 1, January-April 2017 177
C. PROMOTION PROCESS INFORMATIONAL PAPER 183
BIBLIOGRAPHY 188
VITA 193
viii
FIGURES
Figure 1: Chief of Chaplains’ milBook Homepage 88
Figure 2: Chief of Chaplains’ Facebook Homepage 91
Figure 3: Chief of Chaplains’ Blog Homepage 93
Figure 4: Service Branches Represented 101
Figure 5: Type of Assignment 102
Figure 6: Number of Active Duty Tours 103
Figure 7: Number of Years on Active Duty 103
Figure 8: Junior Chaplain Playbook Use 107
Figure 9: Junior Chaplain milBook Use 108
Figure 10: Primary Source of Information
from the Chief of Chaplains Office 110
Figure 11: Secondary Source of Information
from the Chief of Chaplains Office 110
Figure 12: Most Effective Means of Communication
from the Chief of Chaplains Office 111
Figure 13: Least Effective Means of Communication
from the Chief of Chaplains Office 112
ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I want to thank my wife Michelle and my daughters Ashley,
Beth, and Kate for their love and support and allowing me to spend the necessary time
fulfilling the requirements of the Doctor of Ministry degree. Most importantly I am
thrilled to journey together with them in the ministry of the gospel. I am also thankful for
the encouragement I continually receive from my parents, Jay and Debbie Ragain, my in-
laws, Dick and Liz Slemons, my brothers and their wives, and my sisters-in law and their
families. I love you.
I am extremely grateful to the guidance I received from my D. Min. mentors, Dr.
Alan “Blues” Baker and Dr. Jim Critchlow. Not only did they provide direction and help
me fine-tune, edit, and shape this thesis, but they also created an environment where I
could hone and sharpen my pastoral and leadership skills. I am also thankful for the great
support I received from the Gordon-Conwell Doctor of Ministry office. They are true
professionals in training ministers of the gospel. Thank you.
I am indebted to Rear Admiral Margaret Kibben, the Navy Chief of Chaplains.
Without hesitation she allowed me the opportunity to work on this degree while serving
in the very demanding role as Flag Aide. She fully embraced the idea of “Dead
Reckoning” and was my biggest champion of the tool to be used throughout the Chaplain
Corps. Additionally, I am grateful for the influence Rear Admiral Brent Scott had on me
professionally and personally. Thank you both for your leadership, mentorship, and
support.
Many thanks are also extended to the Chief of Chaplains’ staff. The past two
years serving alongside these men and women have been empowering and enlightening.
x
