“Don’t Care. You’re It.”
Today is Veterans Day — and as I scrolled through old photos of my time in uniform, one picture stopped me in my tracks. It was taken at the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Fair, where I stood in my dress whites holding a trophy for the Low Hanging Fruit category. That image pulled me right back into one of the proudest and most defining moments of my Navy career — a leadership lesson that still shapes how I show up today.
The Beginning
When I got to my first command in 2012, I was fresh out of boot camp — newly promoted, eager, and still learning what it meant to serve. I picked up E-4 (HM3) quickly, but I was still green. Not long after, I was reassigned from chair-side dental assisting to a new administrative role in the Fleet Department. I stepped into leadership very early on.
The system I inherited was a complete mess — our readiness numbers were down, records were inaccurate, and no one could explain what happened. My predecessor had already separated, and there I was: new, young, and suddenly responsible for a department that was burning down.
The Moment
The day leadership called me into the conference room, I’ll never forget it. A table full of officers and senior enlisted sat across from me, outlining the severity of our low readiness numbers. I tried to explain that I was new — that I didn’t cause this problem.
Their response was four words that changed everything:
“Don’t care. You’re it.”
Those four words hit hard, but they taught me what accountability really means. It didn’t matter that I didn’t create the issue — I was now the one in the seat, and that meant it was mine to fix.
Taking Ownership
So I went to work. I learned the system from scratch, combed through records line by line, and rebuilt our readiness data manually. I identified the units that were dragging down our numbers — primarily the SEAL teams, who were deploying so often that dental readiness wasn’t getting updated nor was it a priority.
If they couldn’t come to us, I decided we would go to them.
The Initiative: Mobile Dental Units
I partnered with another base to use their Mobile Dental Units (MDUs). I handled logistics, arranged transportation, coordinated with SEAL team corpsmen, pre-filled paperwork, and scheduled hundreds of exams.
I hand-selected a small, reliable team and recruited a provider who shared my sense of urgency — Lieutenant Divine. We parked the mobile dental van right in front of the SEAL compound so every sailor saw it coming and going.
After weeks of planning and coordination, our readiness percentage climbed from 83% to 96%, exceeding the Navy’s 95% standard.
Recognition and Reward
Lieutenant Divine believed the initiative deserved to be recognized and submitted it to the CQI Fair — something I never would’ve done on my own. Our project won first place in the Low Hanging Fruit category.
But it proved to be the gift that kept giving…
That same initiative earned me an award worth two points toward my promotion exam — and those two points made the difference. I was promoted to HM2.
That promotion came with higher pay, more freedom, housing allowance, respect, and a sense of accomplishment that I can still feel today.
The Leadership Lesson
“Don’t care. You’re it.” became one of the greatest leadership lessons of my life.
It means:
Own the problem, even if you didn’t cause it.
Focus on solutions, not blame.
Lead from where you are, not where you wish you were.
Leadership isn’t about comfort — it’s about responsibility. Sometimes, you’re the one standing in the fire, and you don’t get to walk away. You lead anyway.
Closing Reflection
I didn’t set out to make history that day. I just wanted to fix what was broken. But in the process, I learned that the greatest growth often starts with four words that sound like a dismissal — yet become your defining moment:
“Don’t care. You’re it.”
