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Destroyer Captain: Lessons of a First Command
This memoir of James Stavridis' two years in command of the destroyer USS Barry reveals the human side of what it is like to be in charge of a warship--for the first time and in the midst of international crisis. From Haiti to the Balkans to the Arabian Gulf
224 pages, Hardcover
First published March 3, 2008
38 people are currently reading
210 people want to read
About the author
James G. Stavridis
27 books382 followersA Florida native, Jim Stavridis attended the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, and spent 37 years in the Navy, rising to the rank of 4-star Admiral. Among his many commands were four years as the 16th Supreme Allied Commander at NATO, where he oversaw operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, the Balkans, and counter piracy off the coast of Africa. He also commanded US Southern Command in Miami, charged with military operations through Latin America for nearly three years. He was the longest serving Combatant Commander in recent US history. Following his military career, he served for five years as the 12th Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
In the course of his career in the Navy, he served as senior military assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of Defense. He led the Navy’s premier operational think tank for innovation, Deep Blue, immediately after the 9/11 attacks. Admiral Stavridis was promoted directly from 1-star rank to 3-star rank in 2004.
He won the Battenberg Cup for commanding the top ship in the Atlantic Fleet and the Navy League John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational leadership, along with more than 50 US and international medals and decorations, including 28 from foreign nations. He also commanded a Destroyer Squadron and a Carrier Strike Group, both in combat.
In 2016, he was vetted for Vice President by Secretary Hillary Clinton, and subsequently invited to Trump Tower to discuss a cabinet position with President Donald Trump.
He earned a PhD from The Fletcher School at Tufts, winning the Gullion prize as outstanding student in his class in 1983, as well as academic honors from the National and Naval War Colleges as a distinguished student. He speaks Spanish and French.
Admiral Stavridis has published ten books on leadership, the oceans, maritime affairs, and Latin America, as well as hundreds of articles in leading journals. An active user of social networks, he has tens of thousands of connections on the social networks. His TED talk on 21st century security in 2012 has close to one million views. He tweeted the end of combat operations in the Libyan NATO intervention. His two most recent books are “Sailing True North: Ten Admirals and the Voyage of Character” in 2019 and the novel “2034: A Novel of the Next World War” in 2021.
Admiral Stavridis is a monthly columnist for TIME Magazine and Chief International Security and Diplomacy Analyst for NBC News.
He is happily married to Laura, and they have two daughters – one working at Google and the other a Registered Nurse and former naval officer, both married to physicians.
Recent commentary: https://admiralstav.com/news/
In the course of his career in the Navy, he served as senior military assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of Defense. He led the Navy’s premier operational think tank for innovation, Deep Blue, immediately after the 9/11 attacks. Admiral Stavridis was promoted directly from 1-star rank to 3-star rank in 2004.
He won the Battenberg Cup for commanding the top ship in the Atlantic Fleet and the Navy League John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational leadership, along with more than 50 US and international medals and decorations, including 28 from foreign nations. He also commanded a Destroyer Squadron and a Carrier Strike Group, both in combat.
In 2016, he was vetted for Vice President by Secretary Hillary Clinton, and subsequently invited to Trump Tower to discuss a cabinet position with President Donald Trump.
He earned a PhD from The Fletcher School at Tufts, winning the Gullion prize as outstanding student in his class in 1983, as well as academic honors from the National and Naval War Colleges as a distinguished student. He speaks Spanish and French.
Admiral Stavridis has published ten books on leadership, the oceans, maritime affairs, and Latin America, as well as hundreds of articles in leading journals. An active user of social networks, he has tens of thousands of connections on the social networks. His TED talk on 21st century security in 2012 has close to one million views. He tweeted the end of combat operations in the Libyan NATO intervention. His two most recent books are “Sailing True North: Ten Admirals and the Voyage of Character” in 2019 and the novel “2034: A Novel of the Next World War” in 2021.
Admiral Stavridis is a monthly columnist for TIME Magazine and Chief International Security and Diplomacy Analyst for NBC News.
He is happily married to Laura, and they have two daughters – one working at Google and the other a Registered Nurse and former naval officer, both married to physicians.
Recent commentary: https://admiralstav.com/news/
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 9, 2025
I just finished Destroyer Captain by Admiral James Stavridis, and once again, I’m reminded why I keep returning to his work. Stavridis is a gifted writer whose storytelling blends insight with accessibility. This memoir focuses on his first command: the USS Barry, an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyer in 1993. Alongside vivid recollections of life aboard ship, he shares thoughtful reflections on leadership and the lessons learned during his tour.
The narrative takes us through deployments in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Atlantic, and transits through the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz. What stood out most was the conversational tone; it felt less like reading a formal account and more like sitting down with a friend over coffee, listening to stories from sea.
I listened to the audiobook version via Audible, which runs just over six hours. Chaz Allen’s narration complements the material well, delivering Stavridis’s words with clarity and warmth.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in naval life, leadership, or simply a well-told memoir from a seasoned commander.
The narrative takes us through deployments in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Atlantic, and transits through the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz. What stood out most was the conversational tone; it felt less like reading a formal account and more like sitting down with a friend over coffee, listening to stories from sea.
I listened to the audiobook version via Audible, which runs just over six hours. Chaz Allen’s narration complements the material well, delivering Stavridis’s words with clarity and warmth.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in naval life, leadership, or simply a well-told memoir from a seasoned commander.
June 2, 2014
Now a flag admiral, the author was the second commanding officer of the U.S.S. Barry (the first to take her on deployment,) an Arleigh Burke class destroyer, the same class as the Vincennes, the ship that shot down the Iranian passenger plane (an Airbus 300 flight 655) with an Aegis missile in 1988 believing it to be an attacking jet.
The book was a big disappointment to me. It’s basically a journal, an almost daily one, but without the serious introspection of those worth reading. It’s quite self-congratulatory and one wonders if those under his command really had the same regard for him that he had for himself.
I had hoped for a better feel of what it’s like to become captain of a modern destroyer. Unfortunately, this journal is too superficial. Here's an all-to-representative sample:
We had lunches and dinners all over this intriguing seaport city, which is actually quite blue collar—at least by Riviera standards. Clearly, it is the best buy on the Riviera, with a good French fixed-price dinner going for under $20 for three courses and frequently with wine thrown in! Pizza in the wood-burning ovens is excellent. My favorite place, in fact, was a pizzeria called Luigis up over a hill behind the beach area of Mourillons. The Cercle Navale (French officers’ club) has excellent buys on lunches. The large Carrefour in the downtown is a French Kmart of sorts, with great buys on wine, pottery, and other typically French items.
Now what lessons of command he learned from that escapes me.
For something much more real, I highly recommend Don Sheppard’s books.
The book was a big disappointment to me. It’s basically a journal, an almost daily one, but without the serious introspection of those worth reading. It’s quite self-congratulatory and one wonders if those under his command really had the same regard for him that he had for himself.
I had hoped for a better feel of what it’s like to become captain of a modern destroyer. Unfortunately, this journal is too superficial. Here's an all-to-representative sample:
We had lunches and dinners all over this intriguing seaport city, which is actually quite blue collar—at least by Riviera standards. Clearly, it is the best buy on the Riviera, with a good French fixed-price dinner going for under $20 for three courses and frequently with wine thrown in! Pizza in the wood-burning ovens is excellent. My favorite place, in fact, was a pizzeria called Luigis up over a hill behind the beach area of Mourillons. The Cercle Navale (French officers’ club) has excellent buys on lunches. The large Carrefour in the downtown is a French Kmart of sorts, with great buys on wine, pottery, and other typically French items.
Now what lessons of command he learned from that escapes me.
For something much more real, I highly recommend Don Sheppard’s books.
October 1, 2017
I served on the Barry under ADM Stavridis so this was a fun read for me to get his perspective on commanding the ship.
September 18, 2018
This book was okay but was more of a diary of Adm Stavridis' time in command than a narrative with lessons for leadership and/or command. I was expecting some good revelations about leadership, self-reflection, and self-discovery but that is not what this book provided.
If you are a prospective Navy ship captain, you may be able to get a few nuggets from the book (I was able to do that) but for those looking for more general leadership lessons, this is not the book for you.
If you are a prospective Navy ship captain, you may be able to get a few nuggets from the book (I was able to do that) but for those looking for more general leadership lessons, this is not the book for you.
May 11, 2020
The journal of a Captain of a destroyer
I read this book because I served on a destroyer. My time of service was 1957 to 1962. Much has changed in the navy. I was enlisted. The life of the officers was vastly different. The ships are run by the Chiefs, the author notes this in passing. It was interesting to read about the extravagant officer dinners in port, I never was invited. We share a love of the see. The writing was stiff and cryptic.
I read this book because I served on a destroyer. My time of service was 1957 to 1962. Much has changed in the navy. I was enlisted. The life of the officers was vastly different. The ships are run by the Chiefs, the author notes this in passing. It was interesting to read about the extravagant officer dinners in port, I never was invited. We share a love of the see. The writing was stiff and cryptic.
January 5, 2020
Great insight into the passion, dedication, and doubts that commanders experience - often at once. A gifted writer, this is recommended reading for anyone, particularly officers, who wears our Nation's cloth.
March 7, 2024
Destroyer Captain: Lessons of a First Command by James Stavridis
A fine award-winning writer, explaining what it's like to be in charge at sea. Many adventures, wonderful ports and frightening seas from time to time.
A fine award-winning writer, explaining what it's like to be in charge at sea. Many adventures, wonderful ports and frightening seas from time to time.
December 27, 2024
Not his best
Reads too much like a travelogue with only brief periods of interesting comments about the state of the Navy and our position in the world.
Reads too much like a travelogue with only brief periods of interesting comments about the state of the Navy and our position in the world.
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April 22, 2020Loved it. I was probably prejudiced knowing of Stavridis' great success in his subsequent commands after this, his first.
August 6, 2011
Poorly edited, and a bit clumsy at times, but in a way, that is the point. This is the personal journal of a guy taking command for the first time, and as such, it's a window into the trials, fears, doubts concerns and occasional triumphs that are constantly roiling beneath the stern mask of command.
As it happens, this guy was tremendously successful, but this book doesn't tell you how to replicate that success, or even really how he did it. What it does do is show you that even successful captains of ships, though they must be careful not to show it, still miss their wives and children, still get tired and cranky, still wonder what they want to do when they grow up, and sometimes still just want to go home at the end of cruise.
Take that for what it's worth.
As it happens, this guy was tremendously successful, but this book doesn't tell you how to replicate that success, or even really how he did it. What it does do is show you that even successful captains of ships, though they must be careful not to show it, still miss their wives and children, still get tired and cranky, still wonder what they want to do when they grow up, and sometimes still just want to go home at the end of cruise.
Take that for what it's worth.
July 28, 2013
The experience of being a Destroyer Captain is a better choice than a me-myself-and-I autobiography. This is life on a navy ship with the virtue of snapshot brevity in capturing the essence of ports of call. A quick, easy, uncluttered read.
On the down side, the author must have missed Drama class. Nothing but glowing superlatives for all his fellow officers. (I suppose that an active admiral has to keep it all positive and show that he handles all his assignments with ease.) A totally sunny story--one without a particular narrative, villains, rivals, or any sense of menace--is only as exciting as a Boy Scout memoir can be.
On the down side, the author must have missed Drama class. Nothing but glowing superlatives for all his fellow officers. (I suppose that an active admiral has to keep it all positive and show that he handles all his assignments with ease.) A totally sunny story--one without a particular narrative, villains, rivals, or any sense of menace--is only as exciting as a Boy Scout memoir can be.
August 5, 2011
A pleasant read - nice, engaging, but not what I had hoped for. It is a personal narrative of the author's time as Commanding Officer of a warship. There is much reflection, asides, observations that make for an interesting and revealing look into the mind and life of a CO and his successful leadership practices. On the other hand, I had hoped for more information about the realities, technical aspects, tactical and shiphandling issues and factors... more about the ship and how it is operated and fought. Still - an enjoyable book nicely written.
January 24, 2016
I think I've read this one in January for the last 2 or three years, and it is just as good every time. It hypes me up to get after my goals for the year, and to dream about what my career as a USN Surface Warfare Officer could have been. Also this introduced me to the now retired Adm Stavridis, a great thinker and writer. Breaking news comes up around the world I look to his writing and research to form my own opinions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 9, 2012
This was a bit disappointing. I was hoping for more insight into the difficulties of leadership encountered in a a ship command tour, and less everyday journal type material. It's a quick read but I wouldn't make it a priority.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews