JoeNavy: Tell us about Apollo Rises and how it came about:
Mike Ellis: Apollo Rises tells a Cold War adventure story of a young sailor who joins the navy for self serving reasons. However, after embarking on a dangerous assignment, he learns the meaning of service and patriotism. The story will appeal to those who served during the Cold War, but it also has an inspiring message for today's sailors. Since I was a teenager, I wanted to write novels. My twenty years in the navy was interesting and an adventure, and I wanted to convey navy adventures to others. I started writing Apollo Rises thirty years ago. However most of it was written 2003 - 2005. There have been several editions since it was first published in 2005.

JoeNavy: Who were some of your mentors and how did they affect you?
Mike Ellis: As a young boy and then as I teenager, no one stepped up to guide me. There have been many friends who have provided valuable advice, but no older and wiser person ever took an interest to mold me. I learned at an early age that if you wait for others to show you the way, you will never be shown. I found the same to be true during my eighteen-year corporate career that followed the navy. I was my own mentor. I studied successful people and learned how the did it. I found most of my inspirations in self motivation and self improvement books. During my navy Career, I was inspired by respected Warrant Officers and Limited Duty Officers, and I would attempt to copy their actions. Civilian career and wealth wise, my bibles have been: How to Get Your Bosses Job and Smart Money. For interaction with others, I follow the concepts described in Pulling Your Own Strings and Your Erroneous Zones. As far as my writing goes, I find inspiration in the styles of James Michener, Harold Robins, and Nelson DeMille.

JoeNavy: Name a challenge that you turned into a success?
Mike Ellis: I was a RM2 when I reenlisted the first time. I set a goal to make chief before I had ten years in the navy. My first two years in the navy were reckless, aimless, and carefree. Took me three years to make RM2, which was one year later than my peers. So if I were to make chief before ten years, I had to make RM1 the first time up. I knew that when I competed the first time for RM1, my time-in-service and time-in-rate would be minimal. So, I had to concentrate on maximizing my score on the RM1 exam. I just about memorized every manual and publication regarding navy communications. I became so obsessed with obtaining information, I even read the labels on catsup bottles just in case it might be on the test. Well, all the studying paid off. Only fifteen RM2s in the entire navy were advanced to RM1 that cycle, and I was one of them. I made chief the second time up and put on the hat when I had just over ten years service.

JoeNavy: What habits, guiding principles, help make you successful?
Mike Ellis: Become a master in your field and be the most skillful in those essential skills not normally held by others. Never rest on your laurels. Never start any task that you are not willing to give 100%. Failure occurs only to those who do, and success happens only to those who do. Always accept responsibility for your failures, and let others trumpet your successes. If money motivates you, remember you will never become wealthy earning a wage. If performing noble deeds motivates you, remember good deeds never go unpunished.

JoeNavy: What sea story would you use to motivate Sailors?
Mike Ellis: Back in the 1970s, I knew a RM2 who worked in the fleet center. He was an average performer who had three months remaining on his first enlistment. He considered navy life boring and his job as a radioman uninteresting. He was just marking time to the end of his enlistment. One night, he was operating Primary Ship-to-shore (crypto covered radio teletype) when a nuclear submarine broke in with an Immediate Precedence message. Navy Policy gave submarines priority attention when the came up on Primary Ship-to-shore (PSS), because submarines did not have the equipment to transmit and receive at the same time. And, if a submarine came up on PSS, it was because their normal modes of communications were non-operational. This submarine had experience a flooding casualty while in proximity of a Russian submarine. Our submarine was on the surface with equipment casualties that would not allow her to submerge. The submarine advised that she would stay in constant contact on PSS. The RM2 immediately notified his supervisor. Our submarine advised that she would be on the surface for two days while they transited to Puerto Rico. Our nuclear submarine advised that a Russian submarine was trailing her. For the next two days, the RM2 stood double watches so he could do his part with assisting the submarine. The RM2 was so excited about being part of something important, he decided to re-enlist. He told me that he was fortunate enough to have experienced a situation that emphasized the importance of his work. He said that had the submarine situation not occured, he would have left the navy never knowing or understanding the importance or value of his service. The RM2 went on to become a star performer.

The moral of this story is that your military service is valuable to your country. You may never experience a situation where your value is emphasized, but never be in doubt that your service is valuable and is appreciated by your fellow citizens.