QUESTIONS RAISED RE USINDOPACOM READINESS FOR COMBAT: 1/4: Vectors: Heroes, Villains, and Heartbreak on the Bridge of the U.S. Navy Hardcover – April 4, 2023 by Thomas B. Modly (Author)
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 1 September 2024
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
https://www.amazon.com/Vectors-Heroes-Villains-Heartbreak-Bridge/dp/1642257036
Thomas Modly had an eclectic career in the military, academia, business, and government when he answered the call to service in 2017 and returned to the Navy where his career began. His experience, as chronicled in these pages, tells the story of Secretary Modly’s quest to advance the Department of the Navy’s preparedness for the challenges of this century. As Acting Secretary of the Navy he held fast to the mantra of “acting, not pretending,” and thus advocated aggressively for the Navy and Marine Corps’ future ― a future he believed would be defined by uncertainty and unpredictability. Every Friday he wrote a personal message to the entire Department regardless of rank. Those messages were called SECNAV Vectors. Each Vector was intended to clearly communicate his priorities and to establish a rapport with all levels of the organization. The subject of each Vector was inspired by real events that occurred in real time. As these events unfolded , the Secretary’s unyielding emphasis on being prepared for unpredictable events are proven to be prescient as the Navy found itself, unintentionally, in the center of COVID-19 crisis.
1939 REUBEN JAMES
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is CBS I on the world. Here's John Bachelor. |
| 0:10.0 | It is Thanksgiving time, 1979. The class of 1983 at Annapolis is gathered to cheer on |
| 0:18.8 | Navy over Army. I welcome a member of the Class of 83, remembering that cold November day. |
| 0:27.3 | Thomas Modley, his new book about his time in the Navy, both as midshipman, serving aviator, and later an official at the DoD |
| 0:39.4 | is entitled, vectors, heroes, villains, and heartbreak on the bridge of the U.S. Navy. |
| 0:45.2 | Tom, you were a young man in 1979. Can you remember that game? What was it like to be a |
| 0:51.4 | member of all those wonderful young people? |
| 0:54.0 | Well, thank you, John, for having me on to talk about the book and to talk about my experiences. |
| 0:59.0 | 79 was very memorable for me. |
| 1:02.0 | I had grown up in Cleveland, 79 was very memorable for me. |
| 1:02.9 | I had grown up in Cleveland, Ohio |
| 1:05.5 | and decided to go to the Naval Academy |
| 1:07.7 | at that particular point in our nation's history. |
| 1:10.5 | It wasn't one of the most popular things to be doing we were still in |
| 1:13.5 | someone of a Vietnam hangover to some extent in certain parts of the country and so |
| 1:20.2 | it was was very honored to be selected to go there and always look forward to |
| 1:25.2 | attending that first Army Navy game. When we get there as pleaves that first |
| 1:29.1 | pleads summer, they teach us four important phrases. |
| 1:33.9 | The first one is yes sir, then no sir, |
| 1:36.7 | and then no excuse sir, and then the final one |
| 1:38.6 | is beat army sir. |
| 1:40.2 | And everything that you do is a plea drives towards that important game that comes in November. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from John Batchelor, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of John Batchelor and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.