I’ve spent some time contemplating what it means to be an O-5 in the military.

As a junior officer, I frequently sparred with those in this rank who were described colloquially as “The Frozen Middle.” This term refers to those mid-to early-senior grade officers who are perceived to place risk aversion over change adoption. Oftentimes, The Frozen Middle prioritizes career progression or comfort in ways that can feel at odds with a commander’s stated goals of innovation and change.

I have tried to engage in self-reflection over the years, understanding that there may be a lot that I don’t know or see that produces The Frozen Middle. But as I pin these silver oak leaves on, I want to make sure I’m not falling into the trap. I’ve settled on three things I must do every day to stay thawed and ready:

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞. As we advance, we must be intentional about communicating vision and desired outcomes, both up and down the chain of command. This isn’t just about sharing information; it’s about building a shared understanding of why a mission matters and what success looks like. As a former E-2 NFO, I know that communication isn’t “fire and forget” – we must do it often/daily and ensure we’re getting a positive two-way response.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞. It’s easy to identify bottlenecks or gatekeepers; it’s harder to understand why they exist to begin with. This is often because we assume everyone in the military understands what’s going on everywhere else in the military; this just isn’t true. We must continuously work to contextualize information, helping our teams understand how their specific roles contribute to the larger mission. Simultaneously, we must provide senior leadership with a grounded, realistic view from the deckplates and systems under their purview. This starts with fully documenting and understanding all of the workflows and processes we are responsible for, where they intersect with others’, and establishing relationships and open communication with those other workflow/process owners to enable change.

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧. The nature of warfare isn’t changing, but the information required to engage in it is – rapidly. The days of it being enough to just be an expert in one weapon system are over. Leaders must be continuous learners, understanding the evolving technology, policy, and process landscape and how their weapon systems are impacted by or can influence that. As a Humanities major, I’m here to tell you that we have to be constantly curious and knowledgeable about software, unmanned systems, and other emerging science and tech applications.

Ten years ago, I wrote about why I’ve stayed in uniform despite frequent run-ins with The Frozen Middle:

“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓.”

I look forward to continuing to make positive change in the DoD and to work with others to thaw The Frozen Middle. This time, I’m doing it from the inside.