Leadership philosophies in Crimson Tide: tradition versus innovation

Crimson Tide: Leadership

If there is anything that makes Crimson Tide watchable, it's the intense conflict of philosophies regarding leadership between the two lead characters, Captain Frank Ramsey (Gene Hackman) and Lieutenant Commander Ron Hunter (Denzel Washington). It is essentially about how people with two completely different mindsets and viewpoints responded to crisis and eventually began respecting each other's wisdom and logic. Ron Hunter represents the new breed of leaders, daring, smart, fearless and honest who can stand up to people and views they find theoretically wrong. Ramsey on the other hand represents the old brigade that had tossed away of the rule-book a long time back and instead use their past experience as the most reliable guide for future actions.

For Hunter, it is incomprehensible why Ramsey would ignore the rules and instead go by his own beliefs and conviction. He is a Harvard graduate and rules mean everything to him. Since Hunter is obviously less experienced, he believes that as long as we understand the philosophy of war and enemies, we can stay in the lead and overpower the opponents. Ramsey is less romantic in his leadership style. He prefers action to theory and thus the two clash often. One thing must be made absolutely clear here. What makes the conflict intense and realistic is the fact that there are no villains in this case. You cannot side with either character because both appear sound in their judgment and reasoning. Hunter and Ramsey never clash for the sake of creating conflict. They genuinely believe that the other person is at fault and is incorrectly judging the situation. They are both highly dedicated and sincere to their respective philosophies.

The action takes place aboard a U.S. naval sub, USS Alabama, which is a missile submarine faced with a possible WWIII. It focuses on our fears of a possible nuclear war and the possibility looks highly imminent aboard USS Alabama where Hunter and Ramsey are faced with a dilemma: whether to launch an attack on Russia and start possible WWIII or wait for further instruction. Some rebels groups in Russia have taken control of Russian missile base and are threatening to launch attacks against Japan and the United States. USS Alabama is well equipped with missiles itself and can easily launch a pre-emptive attack. However before they could do so, they need to receive orders from higher-ups. As both wait anxiously, the ship is partially attacked, leaving the radio communication system in tatters. Since the communication device isn't working properly, a partial message received by the ship becomes a bone of contention between the two officers. The message simply says something about launching a missile attack. Hunter believes they should wait for further orders before proceeding, as the partial message could be a termination order. Ramsey on the other hand believes 'orders are orders' and wants Hunter to prepare for possible battle.