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Characteristics of Steel Fear, Part 5

This seven-part series compares the military thriller "Steel Fear" (Steel Fear) co-authored by John David Mann and SOFREP founder Brandon Webb. The characters conduct behind-the-scenes observations and explore the process of conceiving these characters and turning them into reality on the page. You can find the first part of this series here.

In the red circle, Brandon and I wrote about his two six-month trips to the Western Pacific in the 1990s as a helicopter sonar operator and rescue swimmer. The first is on the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is a modern nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Popular. It promises to be very exciting. It's too awful. It was six months of low morale, messy environment and people getting sick. When a helicopter he was driving almost crashed, Brandon was about to die. Pilot error. On that WestPac, all possible things went wrong. 

The second tour a year later was booked on the U.S. Navy’s oldest aircraft carrier, the USS Kitty Hawk. The front core, an oil burner, is a bit torn apart. The sailors called it "Shitty Kitty". Brandon believes that if life on the Lincoln is not good, the situation will be worse. no. This is incredible—inspiring six months. 

Two experiences, such as night and day. why? What makes the difference? Just one thing. captain. On Shitty Kitty, the captain will board 1MC every morning to talk to the crew. Let everyone know where and why they are going next. Deal with complaints and problems. Inspired everyone on board, all more than 5,000 people. We borrowed reality in the novel and described it like this in "Steel Fear":

Captain Tom’s leadership caused a ripple of pride and quality on the ship. He created a team spirit to express himself on the flight deck, in the chaos, in the polishing and glitter of each channel. This even makes routine and arduous things worth looking forward to when their daily FOD goes downhill.

On the Lincoln, the captain never showed up. They had never heard his voice before, not once, the whole place collapsed. This is a complete failure of leadership. 

This contrast between great leadership and bad leadership inspired the story of steel fear, just like the idea of ​​a serial killer. We can add a subtitle to it, the story of the two leaders.

As our central character Finn observed in the opening chapters of this book:

Finn has encountered two types of leaders in the army. Some people grow up to fill the high positions they have been awarded. Who becomes a larger version of themselves and uses their high position to protect the weak. Some people use this position to do whatever they want for themselves. Who became a smaller version of himself. The villain on the heights.

In "Steel Fear", both types are embodied in the two top leaders of the ship, its captain Igberg and its commander Robbie Jackson. In the first part of this book, you will see how these two people deal with the same crisis. Just as they obtained the long-awaited permission to leave the Persian Gulf and begin their return journey, an officer disappeared and left a suicide note. 

We met CMC Jackson in his office for the first time. He was drinking nasty black coffee while thinking about the interview he had just conducted with a pilot who was closely related to the missing person. 

He took a sip. The taste of the brew is like scorched chicory cut with puree. Perfect, in his way of thinking. He put down the cup, and there was almost no sound when the ceramic base touched the steel surface of the table, thinking of the person who had just left the office. 

Read the next post: Steel Fear co-author John Davidman creates the role of killer

This is not an easy interview. Lieutenant Bennett had an improper relationship with another officer and is now missing and presumed dead. All this means that this guy is torn apart emotionally, which is understandable, and he is also afraid that his career will soon slip into the garbage incinerator on board. It is understandable. Jackson gently tentatively asked some short, open-ended questions that would lead to long answers. He was listening most of the time. 

Pause for a moment and think about how to put a thick ceramic cup on the surface of the steel-top table-it won't make a sound. And its description to the person making the placement. This is a person who likes his coffee. Not only is it black, but it is totally burnt and bitter. He is the highest rank on the ship, second only to the captain in power and authority. 

However, he put the cup down to silence it. 

For me, this means: this is a powerful force under powerful control. A person who is keenly aware of the impact of his actions, and very carefully consider every word he says, every action he takes. 

In contrast, I gave you the captain of the ship, he was just informed of the missing officer. 

Captain William James Eagleberg does not like to make hasty decisions and does not respect those who make hasty decisions. He is cautious by nature, trained to be more cautious, and he did not reach the place in life on an impulse. However, at this moment, he was exhausted, and his patience was as thin as a damn onion skin stationery.

Igberg stayed up all night to get the latest news about the situation in Iran. Then this morning, when he returned to his sea cabin hoping to sleep secretly for an hour, they woke him up and told him that some of his smiling faces were missing...the pressure of his life and status (and lifestyle, no doubt) Apparently the man had been found, and he came to a stupid conclusion that he could solve his problem by jumping over the railing and swallowing a few quarts of bay water. He neither respected nor considered delaying the decision until they passed through the throat of Hormuz and entered the high seas. No, he just needs to perform his play on the spot, because they are all sitting beside the mouth of the bay, playing with their damn thumbs. There is no impulse control. An officer. 

Eagleberg thinks entirely in a self-referential way. He only cared about how it affected him, not his crew or the poor missing person. 

The contrast between these two leadership methods creates an inevitable conflict that is brewing throughout the story. 

When Jackson began to suspect that this series of "suicides" were more than apparent, he brought his worries to the captain-the captain resisted, deflected, and denied. He pretends to be open-minded, but in fact, he is by no means open.

"Robby," the captain said, "I feel hesitant. Let's put the ranking aside for now. Please express yourself freely." He opened his palm.

Gosh, he is such an arrogant guy. 

Jackson wanted to investigate. Eagleberg wanted to avoid trouble with his watch. As Finn observed:

The warchief wants to protect his people. The captain wanted to protect his record, which made him very dangerous. The little man on the heights.

The captain refused to take the possible criminal frenzy seriously, forcing Jackson to make a Sophie choice: to obey the captain and ignore his intuition, or ignore the captain and investigate quietly by himself, which may spell the end of his career. 

Scott hesitated, then looked at Jackson and said, "Robby, are you sure we are chasing like crazy?"

Jackson sighed. Of course, he is not sure. That's far away. And by carrying out this unauthorized small operation, he risked four good careers. If he is wrong and they take action, then all of them may be tried by military courts. What if he is right and they are not? It is very likely that more people will die. 

The murderer's behavior plunged the two into a crisis of conscience and character. The way each of them responds tells who they are—and what will happen as a result.

Steel Fear is an agent, so naturally, the core question is, who is making the killing? Who is responsible for this reign of maritime terror? But for me, there is a deeper question, and in a sense, it is a more important question: what allows this to happen?

For me, the answer lies in the leadership.

You have seen this yourself, not only in the army, but everywhere. What causes the low morale of a company, and everyone is full of enthusiasm and vitality for similar companies? What caused a community, a congregation, a classroom, a non-profit organization to flourish and spread enthusiasm to everything and everyone it touched, while another similar organization fell into unpleasant chaos?

The leader sets the tone. Captain Tom’s inspiration, CMC Jackson’s conscience and careful attention, Captain Eagleberg’s indifference and self-restraint... the leader is so, so is the ship. 

In Steel Fear, the existence of serial killers flourished because a terrible captain produced terrible ship culture. Think of it as a weakened immune system. On Captain Tom’s ship Shitty Kitty, the immune system is very strong. On Lincoln, it became compromised. People will get sick. The AC system continues to flash. The lights stopped working properly and people started to die in terrible ways. Yes, every bit of pain and breakdown has a specific cause-but I think they all have a bigger cause. This is the collapse of leadership. 

There are really two villains here. The real murderer came as the narrow-minded and fragile captain, whose failed leadership created an environment for evil to take root. The murderer is a twisted, vicious creature, the embodiment of evil. This is not the case with the captain. Eagleberg is not evil; he is not sadistic, cruel, or inhuman. He is just weak. This is a failure of leadership, not tyranny, but abdication. 

But the result is really evil, as bad as possible. This is what happens without good leadership.

Buy STEEL FEAR as a gift. If you buy it before December 15th, you are eligible for John or Brandon to send a short personalized cameo style video to your gift recipient. Just send us a screenshot of your purchase on the SOFREP contact page here, including the name of the gift recipient and an email so we can send your customized video. 

John David Mann is the award-winning co-author of more than 30 books, including 4 New York Times bestsellers and 5 national bestsellers. His best-selling classic The Go-Giver (in collaboration with Bob Burg) won the Living Now Book Award for his "contribution to positive global change." His seven books were co-authored with SOFREP founder Brandon Webb, including their first thriller "Iron Fear", which Lee Child, author of Jack Reacher, described as "an instant classic, perhaps an instant legend" . You can order Steel Fear and find links to interviews with Brandon and John on SteelFear.com.

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