The USS San Antonio: Commander Brad Lee takes charge: the 40-year-old chemist commands the battle-capable ship that is one of the Navy's most technologically advanced vessels

AT first glance, the sheer enormity of the USS San Antonio--at 694 feet long, 105 feet wide and 25,000 tons--is breathtaking. Docked gallantly against its Atlantic backdrop in Norfolk, Va., it is a testament to military strength, a state-of-the-art-force-in-motion, if you will, that is revolutionizing the United States Navy. But despite the undeniable magnitude of this "community at sea," it is the master of this, vessel, Commander Brad Lee, his philosophy and his leadership, that is charting a new course--and making history in the process.

At only 40 years old and with 18 stellar years in the Navy--resulting in a Surface Warfare Pin, a Meritorious Service Award, four Navy Commendation Medals, six Navy Achievement Medals and other awards--Commander Lee, who assumed his command in January, has taken charge of the most technologically advanced amphibious assault ship ever built. Poised at the helm of the massive vessel, he is responsible for up to 400 sailors, 800 Marines, aircraft, fighting vehicles, vessels and tactical support for a Marine AirGround Task Force. It is a responsibility, privilege and an honor that does not afford the commander of the USS San Antonio the luxury of comfort. "Being in command of a ship this big, you're never comfortable because of the magnitude of peoples' lives that you hold in your hand. But you certainly feel confident that you can do the job that you were trained to do, and as you get to know your crew, you feel confident that they can do the job they were trained to do."

Watching Commander Lee, as he ascends the stairs of the 13-story vessel complete with a dry cleaners, laundromat, post office, dental ward, two operating rooms, a 24-bed intensive care unit, pharmacy and three gyms--it is clear that he is in his natural element. As he directs attention to various points of the ship, crew members are quick to share their experience of working for, and beside, this inspiring leader. "The best part of what I do is working for a guy like that," says Anthony Ray Cade, Sr., a 22-year veteran of the Navy and Senior Chief of Information Technology, who is responsible for the shipwide area network.

The testimonies by Senior Chief Cade and others are, in part, why Commander Lee joined the Navy. "It was during my first tour at sea that I first realized that this was a viable career," says Lee, who admits that, initially, he didn't envision himself in the Navy. "But I saw the effect I could have on young sailors, the example I could provide to them of what it takes to get to the next level. And I've always said that 'you can effect more change from the inside than you can from the outside.' So, if this is what I was going to do, I figured I needed to be a commanding officer. That way, I could help set policy and have it come from a standpoint of someone like myself" says Lee, who believes that seeing examples of who you want to be and where you want to go is critical to any long-term measure of success.

For Lee, that vision came during his senior year in high school when he came across an article in EBONY magazine that featured Admiral Anthony Watson, an African-American Naval officer who had grown up in one of Chicago's most notorious housing developments. "I'd never seen an African-American Naval officer before, and when I saw him, I said to myself, 'Wow, I think that is pretty neat; maybe I could do that." In that same article was a recruitment card for the Navy that Lee completed, eventually earning himself a full four-year scholarship from the Navy.

Still, he was not fully convinced that Navy life would be the course his life should take. "I planned on completing my four years in conjunction with my commitment to the Navy and then moving on," he says. "But when I got in, I realized that I had a real opportunity, and more importantly, the ability, to make a difference in the lives of sailors."

It is this opportunity that defines his leadership style, his commitment to being an example and sharing the lessons he has learned. "You have to have a sense that there are rules in life. The sooner you get onboard with that truth and figure out how to maximize what you do within these rules, then the easier life will be," he says. "So, I tell anyone who is trying to get somewhere, 'Don't complain about meeting the mark. Don't complain about the mark changing. Just meet the mark and overwhelm people with your achievement.'"

From his humble beginnings in Eastern North Carolina, reared by his mother and stepfather, Commander Lee learned the value of hard work perseverance and accountability--the benchmarks of his career as a Naval officer. "I had a curfew in high school. I had to work in a tobacco field one summer. I had to turn in my college grades to my parents each semester. I didn't want to do any of those things," Lee recalls. "But what I didn't realize is that those measures had a reason and a purpose. In life, especially when we are young, those things that we don't want to do, in the end, are what makes the difference between what we become--and what we don't."