315 Over a Beer: Leadership Conversations with an Old Salt for Junior Officers

Leadership is more of an art than a science. 315 Over a Beer: Leadership Conversations with an Old Salt for Junior Officers is a short weekend read but a reference tool for the rest of a young service member’s career. Focusing on CAPT Erik Nilsson, USN (Ret.)’s time as a Division Officer in the U.S. Navy, readers learn about life at Virginia Military Institute (VMI), a senior military college in Southwest Virginia, vital leadership lessons, and how to avoid some of the mistakes young officers can make. Most junior officers across all branches of the armed forces are busy trying to qualify in their warfare area or attend schools that demand most of their attention. Always gnawing in the backs of their minds, however, is the anxiety about first command expectations, first experiences at first commands, and the ever-present fear of making mistakes. It is okay to make mistakes. They are expected from junior officers, but you must learn from them in order to grow and be successful. In warfare where good leadership and decision-making are critical, lessons not heeded in peacetime or training are often deadly in combat. Erik Nilsson’s conversations are genuine, blunt, and important for those whose futures are set in the corps and as officers in the military. Readers will appreciate Nilsson’s life experiences and how his mistakes as a young officer can help any service member be the best they can be.