tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12796551.post112507975929415680..comments2023-11-05T06:59:04.593-05:00Comments on Pen and Sword: Beat the PressJeff Huberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14146644937683409726noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12796551.post-1125247406177834932005-08-28T12:43:00.000-04:002005-08-28T12:43:00.000-04:00Lurch, You bring up many, many provocative points,...Lurch, <BR/><BR/>You bring up many, many provocative points, more than I can address right now. Maybe I'll make a front piece page out of it later. <BR/><BR/>On the "career" officer thing. I think you see two types of careerists. Those who want to do twenty years and see how things are going and those who want to be generals and admirals. Yes, most of the guys who wear stars went to one of the service academies, but there are plenty of exceptions. <BR/><BR/>I'm going to leave the women in the military issue alone for now. I touch on it at some length in my great American military novel--let's just say that the way they were injected into aviation and other positions of responsibility after Tailhook was done poorly, probably creating more resentment than there was already. <BR/><BR/>How did the Duke make it through flight school? Two words: monkey skills. <BR/><BR/>I'll let Jo ramble on more about the Duke. <BR/><BR/>Rummy and the Navy is another big issue I'll have to put off till a later date. I think the real issue there is between Rummy and the Army, and the fact that the line has totally blurred between military, political, economic, and social issues.Jeff Huberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14146644937683409726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12796551.post-1125178476006965012005-08-27T17:34:00.000-04:002005-08-27T17:34:00.000-04:00As an outsider (ex-Viet Nam era soldier) i was mer...As an outsider (ex-Viet Nam era soldier) i was merely an observer at the time of Tailhook. However, i did see officers of several services at their best and their worst, in CONUS, Panama, Nam, and later in Hawaii where i was a patient for six months at Tripler Army Medical Center.<BR/><BR/>Officers enter the service through the enlisted ranks, through direct commission (mainly doctors and lawyers) through ROTC and the service academies. i saw good and bad in each category.<BR/><BR/>Generalizations are always suspect, but i observed that many (most?) service academy graduates often were far more careeer-oriented, whereas mustangs and ROTC grads tended more often to be mission-oriented. ("Let's get the job done and ho home.")<BR/><BR/>Guys Who Fly seem to consider themselves as elite, and maybe they are. In some ways it's a lot harder than pounding dirt, and not nearly as glamorous. It's more technical, and requires specific skills.(How DID a dope like Duke Cunningham get through Aviator training? Jeff? Jo?)<BR/><BR/>Another thing is that generally you fight alone, without a company, platoon, squad or stick to support you. That takes cran, as the French said.<BR/><BR/>So I can understand the testoserone overload of Tailhook. And women who know what it's like have to be silly to go near it more than once. As I remember there was testimony that several of the women who complained and were later interviewed had been through the gantlet before. WTF?<BR/><BR/>I think that's part of the problem about why women are devalued in a military culture, Ariadne. They don't have the testsosterone equipment. Studies show that women can fly as well if not better than men. They have as good if not better spatial awareness, and withstand g-forces one whole heck of a lot better. Flyers may or may not understand this, but they resent women in the "mens only" club.<BR/><BR/>And Jeff, i'm not sure that women aviators would actually deteriorate the effectiveness of the Navy. Admittedly, i'm an outsider. You and Jo could speak to this better. But if you think your service's reputation took a hit with Rummy, how do you think you'll fare with Dobson and his crew calling the shots?<BR/><BR/>LurchAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12796551.post-1125151699181732982005-08-27T10:08:00.000-04:002005-08-27T10:08:00.000-04:00Ariadne, I just don't know the answer to your ques...Ariadne, <BR/><BR/>I just don't know the answer to your question. My guess is that they're still resented, and will be for a long time. <BR/><BR/>I hope I'm wrong. <BR/><BR/>JeffJeff Huberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14146644937683409726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12796551.post-1125092120202547462005-08-26T17:35:00.000-04:002005-08-26T17:35:00.000-04:00Jo, Where were you stationed when all that went o...Jo, <BR/><BR/>Where were you stationed when all that went on?Jeff Huberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14146644937683409726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12796551.post-1125091754321160832005-08-26T17:29:00.000-04:002005-08-26T17:29:00.000-04:00Tailhook. What a nightmare. Knew several guys who ...Tailhook. What a nightmare. Knew several guys who did not survive it professionally, including one RADM. It <I>was</I> insanity at a level I hope to never see again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com