The Gouge is a term derived from the second World War. Many of the World War II Navy crews were inexperienced. The Gouge developed as a culture where sailors shared important knowledge and proactively trained each other in their duties to prepare to emergency situations. The Gouge philosophy guided Vice Admiral Robert Harward through forty years in the Navy and a successful career as an international corporate executive.

Much of Hayward’s career was spent with the Navy SEALs.  During his warfighting experiences in Bosnia, Panama, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen, he never lost a single man under his command. He also served as Deputy Commander of both US Joint Forces Command and United States Central Command.

Harward describes The Gouge as “the contract we all have with humanity –sharing the best of everyone for the collective well-being of all.”

A military child, Harward was raised overseas and one summer his father encouraged him to spend the break hitchhiking across Iran and Afghanistan. He says the region was a much different place back then but emphasizes that the world is still generally a safe place and encourages young people to get out and pursue adventure.

Harward cites several examples of how The Gouge impacted decisions on missions he commanded. One involved the capture of oil facilities during the initial invasion of Iraq. Harward was convinced it was a potential suicide mission so he checked in with the team members and allowed them to make the final decision. He trusted the combined knowledge of his team and the mission was a success.

We also spend some time also discussing how The Gouge can help military members making the transition to civilian life and the scourge of Veteran suicides.

Following his retirement, several of his “shipmates’ convinced him to put his experiences with The Gouge into a book so that others could benefit from his experiences. The result is “The Gouge! How to be Smarter Than the Situation You Are In”

TAKEAWAY: “It is so important for leaders to be proactively involved with their people and supporting them not only when they are in uniform but also out of uniform.”