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| Lt. Gen. John Hesterman |
A senior Air Force general officer has been fired from his job and will retire after an investigation found that he had an inappropriate and unprofessional relationship with a lower-ranking female Air Force officer. - LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated PressFull story here. More here. (John Q. Public had a post about this disgrace as well. For some reason my security software claims his website is bad ju-ju. No, I'm not using an Air Force computer... Update: Here is JQP's post about this guy from March. I can't find the most recent one concerning his retirement in grade.)
But this guy makes me happy. (The Nuke's old boss.)
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| Admiral John M. Richardson, Chief of Naval Operations |
CNO to admirals: Rethink integrity, behavior in aftermath of scandals... Stars & Stripes
Full story here.
The Nuke tells me he was a great boss, and she has extraordinarily high standards I can tell you. First the CNO wants to dump one of the worst non-Air Force uniforms ever*, now he's talking seriously about integrity and behavior. (You can read the actual message from the CNO here.)
Gee, is it too late to draft the Admiral for President?
Is it too late to give the Air Force back to the Army. Perhaps the Marines?
Admiral Richardson, d'ya think you could loan some admirals to the Air Force to show them how it's done?
My old service covers themselves in "glory" again. (Yup, that should have set off your sarcasm detector.)
And people ask me why I "let" my kids join the Navy.
Duh...
No doubt somewhere, Buck is shaking his head, saying,
"It's always sumthin'."
* That's behind a pay wall, gomen'nasai, though you can read a limited number of articles, like the one linked. :)
A person simply has to have bedrock principles upon which to build and maintain a solid foundation. Not just admirals and generals, but everyone.
ReplyDeleteThere will always be those who choose to behave in an unprincipled fashion. Today we seem to have a clear majority behaving that way, millions of folks who believe they are so smart and so special that all that grade school stuff is beneath them. Except it's not, there's only sand beneath them, if you take my meaning.
There are a few signs that a lot of folks want to return to the straight and narrow. Maybe it'll happen.
One prays that that is so.
DeleteWe were made to memorize the John Paul Jones quote as Midshipmen. Good then, good now.
DeleteI presume you mean this one -
DeleteIt is by no means enough that an officer of the Navy should be a capable mariner. He must be that, of course, but also a great deal more. He should be as well a gentleman of liberal education, refined manners, punctilious courtesy, and the nicest sense of personal honor.
He should be the soul of tact, patience, justice, firmness, kindness, and charity. No meritorious act of a subordinate should escape his attention or be left to pass without its reward, even if the reward is only a word of approval. Conversely, he should not be blind to a single fault in any subordinate, though at the same time, he should be quick and unfailing to distinguish error from malice, thoughtlessness from incompetency, and well meant shortcomings from heedless or stupid blunder.
In one word, every commander should keep constantly before him the great truth, that to be well obeyed, he must be perfectly esteemed.
Though lately some attribute that quote to Augustus C. Buell and not Captain Jones, I still like it. It also remains an eternal truth in my book.
My favorite remains - I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way.
Well said, Shaun. Time for people to grow up, and become adults.
DeleteSarge, I hope you don't mean an LCS!
DeleteOh Dear Lord no Scott. No Little Crappy Ships need apply!
DeleteMy Squadron CO in SE Asia was a man who perfectly filled the above requirements. He had been a POW in Korea, and went through many hoops to get back into an iron delivery system . A man who knew how to lead, fly and imbibe, he is now with the angels, but not forgotten on an almost daily basis. All to say he saved my skinny A-- a couple of times. Cheers, Colonel Shawe where ever you might be.
DeleteI'm not sure they make guys like that anymore.
DeleteI think that it has passed the tipping point for the USAF. I read nothing of any hope emanating from the Academy. Virtually all I hear and read from USAF GO's is either negative or pablum. Doing it over again I would not join the USAF. Probably Navy. All my goodwill for the USAF is gone. I do feel bad for the large number of good troops though. It is seriously depressing how the GOFO's of all the Branches have toed the line for Barack Hussein Obama (or the have been fired). Marines appear to be the least affected from a morale and leadership perspective. Lord hope we have time to get our house back in shape before it is tested by a peer, or near-peer.
ReplyDeleteYou and I are on common ground. Again.
DeleteI hate to agree. It grieves me.
DeleteI know...
DeleteWe were made to memorize the John Paul Jones quote as Midshipmen. Good then, good now.
ReplyDeleteSee my comment above.
DeleteBut, to get to that position? One would have to have been in a equal position/track prior to BO. One where their integrity was overlooked. What was overlooked prior? Remember, their personality didn't change once they got to the puzzle palace, they were carrying on what they got away with earlier.
ReplyDeleteAnd that, methinks, is the crux of the matter.
DeleteIf you don't learn integrity and honesty early in your life, odds are you never will. At least that's my experience.
Yep, yep, yep!
DeleteSo right. Saw the beginnings of mass-suckage in the late sixties.
DeleteI guess all we can do is embrace the suck.
DeleteHopefully with a change of administration the warriors will be able to ascend and the lackeys will be forced out.
ReplyDelete'Tis my fervent hope!
Delete"It is by no means enough that an officer of the Navy should be a capable mariner.
ReplyDeleteHe must be that, of course, but also a great deal more. He should be as well a
gentleman of liberal education, refined manners, punctilious courtesy, and the
nicest sense of personal honor.
He should be the soul of tact, patience, justice, firmness, kindness, and charity.
No meritorious act of a subordinate should escape his attention or be left to
pass without its reward, even if the reward is only a word of approval.
Conversely, he should not be blind to a single fault in any subordinate,
though at the same time, he should be quick and unfailing to distinguish
error from malice, thoughtlessness from incompetency, and well
meant shortcomings from heedless or stupid blunder.
In one word, every commander should keep constantly before him the great
truth, that to be well obeyed, he must be perfectly esteemed."
I had never seen this before but I really like it. This should be the goal
of every officer in all the services and with minor revision all of the
senior enlisted also. Another great post Chris!!
Thanks Russ.
DeleteGreat idea BTW!
If you would not take it out and show it to your grandmother, then don't take it out and show it to anyone's wife, junior officers or enlisted.
ReplyDeleteEasy. Simple. Covers all the bases.
Now I know there are some pretty strange guys out there - but those need to be weeded out anyway . . . .
Damn, you Tomcat bubbas cut straight to the heart of the matter dontcha?
DeleteSounds pretty effective.
If only someone had told Halsey's Cheif of Staff, Miles Browning, that.. He didn't like keeping it his trousers. Jacko Clark loathed him.
DeleteScott, I did not know that. Interesting sidelight on history. (I love those!)
DeleteYou should be mad. I hate to see my beloved service focusing so much on political hotbed issues when our ships and aircraft are broken and our proficiency is abysmal. "Warfighting First" was was the previous CNO touted, but instead, we focused on SAPR training and diversity at all costs. I hope Richardson's words ring true and we can slow or stop the mass public and embarrassing firings. As for justice actually being meted out to Flag Officers? I doubt it.
ReplyDeleteAh, but what the previous CNO meant was the war on American values.
DeleteI think Richardson will do well.
NO.
ReplyDeleteThe CNO is an 'administrator'. All the Chiefs are. They dance to the tunes Mabus and his deputies play and the tunes that OSD and staff play. and the tunes that Congress plays. The days of a strong meaningful CNO played an important part vanished with the Admiral's Revolt before any of you were born.
If he said tomorrow that he favored termination of the LCS acquisition or the end of Navy participation in the JSF, nobody would care or even notice. He gets to fool around with little things like what color to paint his office or what kind of uniform board composition to spring on the next iteration of what 'really makes a 'fighting sailor's uniform'.
Please find your own copies of INGSOC English so you too can learn the NEWSPEAK. It's about time.
Hhmm, methinks you don't like the JCS, purveyors of all that is true and good.
DeleteFrom what I understand, ADM Richardson is different than his predecessors. Remains to be seen if he will succumb to the Pentagon's way of doing things.