Comments brought to mind the concept that “laws easily obeyed are laws simply worded”. At a loss for attribution, but it goes back to the Founders I believe. In our time, it’s SOP for opinions of Justice Thomas.
Beginning with “up or out” promotion policy, a culture of fear in the military is too true. It’s also alive and killing careers of otherwise good folks on civvy street. Saltiness aside, nothing wrong with being in-grade for a hitch or two.
Remember. . .it’s not a ‘one mistake’ Air Force, but it sure isn’t a ‘two mistake” Air Force.
That attitude causes more angst and promotion: I’ll-be-safe-and-not-make-a-decision-at-all-cost approach to leadership that is the root cause of many of the problems.
Back in my day, we finished RTU and arrived on the base. The wing commander wanted to meet everyone before they flew his jets.
We (all five of us) were ushered in to his office and he sat there, hands clasped and on his desk, not a hair out of place, not a wrinkle in his flight suite. Stoic face.
Emotionless he went around the room with the disinterested questions “where you from, have you a family, what are your career plans.”
Hardly would listen any of the answers.
Then when done with that, he looked at each of us, eye to eye, observed we all have Senior Pilot wings and he said, “I see by your wings you are experienced, so, I won’t bother with the ‘crime vs mistake speech,’ but let me tell you this, you go out there and drop one of my jets and I think you are wrong, I don’t give a damn what the mishap and accident boards say, I will f*ck you.”
Well. . .”welcome to the F-15E, be prepared to die saving a jet to save MY career, otherwise your career is over.”
Happy Hal: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2006/05/air_force_chief/. . .what goes arounf comes around. .