Navy's 2013 Stockdale Leadership Awards Decided

Cmdr. Richard N. Massie and Cmdr. Leif E. Mollo are the 2013 recipients of the Vice Adm. James Bond Stockdale Leadership Award which is presented annually to two commissioned officers on active duty in the grade of commander or below who are serving in command of a single unit and who serve as examples of excellence in leadership & conspicuous contribution to the improvement of leadership in the Navy.

Massie, commanding officer of the USS Maine (SSBN 741 - Gold) is the Pacific Fleet winner and Mollo, commanding officer of SEAL Team FOUR is the Fleet Forces Command winner. The two men were nominated by their peers and were chosen from among nine finalists to receive the award.


Massie was nominated by six of his fellow SSBN commanders for his commitment to excellence and highly successful integration of women into the submarine force.



Mollo was nominated by fellow SEAL, Cmdr. J. Lasky, commanding officer of SEAL Team TEN, for the leadership he provided through a time of change and adversity at two SEAL teams. 


Massie and Mollo are scheduled to receive their awards from Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert at a ceremony later this Fall.

Vice Adm. James Bond Stockdale, for whom the Stockdale Award is named, was a Naval Academy graduate and pilot who ejected from his A-4E Skyhawk over North Vietnam in September 1965 and was held prisoner and frequently tortured until February 1973. He received the Medal of Honor in 1976 and served as president of the Naval War College from October 1977 until August 1979.