Hyman G. Rickover: excellence, greatness, heroism

Military Review, Jan-Feb, 2005 by Gerald D. Evans

Excellence is being good at something. Greatness is when you are the best at something. And, heroism comes as a result of a struggle that requires courage and personal sacrifice. So, was U.S. Navy Admiral Hyman G. Rickover a hero?

Born in Russian-occupied Poland, Rickover immigrated to the United States at an early age with his mother and older sister, who fled anti-Semitic pogroms of annihilation to join Rickover's father, a tailor and deserter from the Russian army, who had previously immigrated to America. The family fled to Belgium, where they boarded the Finland to cross the Atlantic to the United States. Once in America, the family moved to Chicago, and at age 9 Rickover began working to help support the family. Rickover characterized his childhood as one of "hard work, discipline, and a decided lack of good times." (1)

During the 1916 Republican National Convention, Rickover skipped school, where he was not doing well academically, to deliver messages for politicians, stationing himself next to the speaker's platform to get as many deliveries as possible. One delivery was to a U.S. Congressman who later nominated him to the U.S. Naval Academy.

Rickover barely met the height and weight requirements at the Academy but passed the tough entrance examination. His poor academic background and the prevailing antiSemitism of the time were his major obstacles at the Academy. He overcame the first with determined study, the second by not drawing attention to himself. He made few friends, was considered a loner and a "grind," and graduated 106th out of a class of 539. (2)

Rickover spent the next 6 years at sea. His supervisors described him as forceful, industrious, reliable, and extremely able. He was seen as an effective leader, despite being taciturn and uncongenial. One supervisor even wrote that he had "no outward signs of qualities of leadership." (3)

In May 1929, Rickover graduated from Columbia University (where he also met his future wife, Ruth Masters) with a master's degree with distinction in electrical engineering. He then attended submarine school in New London, Connecticut, where he graduated fourth in his class in June 1930. (4)

Assigned to engineering duty on a submarine, the S-48, Rickover did well and qualified for command. Because no submarines were available, however, his next assignment was in the Office of the Inspector of Naval Material in Philadelphia. He was later assigned to engineering duty on the battleship New Mexico.

In July 1937, Rickover was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander and became the commander of the minesweeper, Finch, an old ship well past its prime. Three months later he became an engineering duty officer (EDO), a technical specialty that barred him from commanding ships or submarines. Rickover's first EDO assignment was to the Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines. In August 1939, the Navy assigned him to its Bureau of Ships (BuShips) in Washington, D.C.

Rickover, who developed a reputation as a talented troubleshooter and effective problem-solver, ensured education and training were priorities and achieved impressive results. Working days, nights, and weekends and expecting his staff to do the same, he refused to compromise when it came to standards and quality. He expected sacrifice from those who worked for him--and from their families. He became commander in January 1942 and captain in June 1943.

When World War II ended, the Navy sent Rickover to the Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Manhattan Engineer District to study the feasibility of using nuclear power to propel submarines. Battery-powered electric motors limited underwater time in submarines because diesel-powered generators charged the batteries, and the diesel engines used up the air in submarines. Nuclear generators greatly extended the time a submarine could stay submerged.

In August 1946, President Harry S. Truman signed the Atomic Energy Act, creating the Atomic Energy Commission to develop nuclear energy for military and peaceful uses. In July 1948, Vice Admiral Earle W. Mills chose Rickover to lead a group of engineers in developing nuclear-propelled submarines.

The group answered to the Navy, the Atomic Energy Commission, and the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, a congressional committee with responsibility for all legislation dealing with atomic energy. Rickover's group, the Nuclear Power Branch, known as "Naval Reactors," made technical decisions, set technical standards, and supervised the program. Rickover was ruthless, "threatening, cajoling, and insulting those who stood in his way." (5)

In 1951 and 1952, Rickover was passed over for promotion to rear admiral. The Navy selection board for EDO admirals was composed of nine officers: six line and three engineer officers. The six line officers usually deferred to the three engineer officers in EDO selections, but the engineers on the board did not like Rickover.

With over 30 years in service, Rickover faced mandatory retirement unless he was promoted to rear admiral. Rickover's workers at Oak Ridge lobbied the Senate on his behalf, and Clair Blair, Jr., a submariner during World War II, wrote articles in Time and Life describing Rickover as an officer who "had declared war on naval indifference." (6) As a result, the Armed Services Committee held up the Navy board's selections for rear admiral and investigated the Navy's promotion system. The Navy convened another promotion board and promoted Rickover to the rank of admiral. Breaking with tradition, the six line officers outvoted the three engineer officers on the board.