Petraeus scandal puts four-star general lifestyle under scrutiny

The Washington Post ^ | November 17, 2012 | Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Greg Jaffe

[2ndDivisionVet]

Then-defense secretary Robert M. Gates stopped bagging his leaves when he moved into a small Washington military enclave in 2007. His next-door neighbor was Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, who had a chef, a personal valet and — not lost on Gates — troops to tend his property.

Gates may have been the civilian leader of the world’s largest military, but his position did not come with household staff. So, he often joked, he disposed of his leaves by blowing them onto the chairman’s lawn.

“I was often jealous because he had four enlisted people helping him all the time,” Gates said in response to a question after a speech Thursday. He wryly complained to his wife that “Mullen’s got guys over there who are fixing meals for him, and I’m shoving something into the microwave. And I’m his boss.”

Of the many facts that have come to light in the scandal involving former CIA director David H. Petraeus, among the most curious was that during his days as a four-star general, he was once escorted by 28 police motorcycles as he traveled from his Central Command headquarters in Tampa to socialite Jill Kelley’s mansion. Although most of his trips did not involve a presidential-size convoy, the scandal has prompted new scrutiny of the imperial trappings that come with a senior general’s lifestyle...

[sarasmom]

First, let me remind you Petraeus is/was Army.

Next, if you can, please consider the structural differences between the branches.

Army: The entire officer class works to send the larger enlisted class into true danger, actual ground combat operations.
Top down. No matter the function of the officer, they are viewed as superiors.

Air Force-The entire enlisted class exists solely to facilitate sending a tiny group of elite officers into true danger.
All other officers are generally viewed more as supervisors, rather than “superiors”.

There is not the same pervasive “us against them”, officer versus enlisted, class based rivalry mentallity in the USAF, as there is in the US Army, the US Marines, and even the US Navy.

I'm not sure what “drift” I am supposed to “catch” from your “work” experience with an Air National Guard unit.

I have no direct connections to any National Guards, Air or Army.

For many years, it was not possible for any USAF officer to achieve the rank of General, unless they were also Pilots. I understand that has changed.
I don't consider that a good thing.

And yes, I do know the USAF originated from the US Army.
Both my parents were enlisted members in the US Army Air Corp.

[2ndDivisionVet]

The Army and Marine Corps officers go into combat with their enlisted subordinates up to a certain level, whereas, as you say, the Air Force “fighting force” is mostly made up of officers, save for para-rescue, security and forward observers. That will probably soon change drastically with the advent of unmanned aerial vehicles and enlisted personnel piloting them.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Thank you and your parents for their service.