From our buddy Phil,
Apart from complaining that they hadn't been briefed in advance about the "slush fund" report before its release, members defended Fowler and criticized what they said was an investigation that wrongly imposed a set of standards on academy leaders who hadn't known they applied to them.They don't get it. Find people who do.
"It's so absurd that I've never gotten over it," said board member Nancy Johnson. "Honorable people were demeaned."
Johnson said the IG wronged Fowler and his team because it had retroactively applied stringent standards they had never been asked to meet, and so couldn't know they weren't following official rules. According to the federal standards cited by the IG, academy officials weren't permitted to spend donated money on parties, gifts and other semi-official parts of life on the Yard, but that doesn't make sense for the Naval Academy, Johnson said - it's a college and so needs to host receptions, recruit athletes and so forth.
On that point, she was asked whether she thought the academy should continue doing business in the ways detailed by the IG report, including throwing lavish dinners that cost $259 per person and buying gifts for guests, coaches and midshipmen.
"I think, looking over it, it's perfectly acceptable," Johnson said.
Hat tip Bob.
*headdesk*
ReplyDeletethanks for the link to Ms Johnson, was wondering who she was and what planet she lived on. Not sure what country, government, college or technical university she thinks a $259 dinner is acceptable!!
ReplyDeleteLike foxes guarding the henhouse, for any number of reasons including their own agendas, and likely tickies and rubbing shoulders with the gold braid crowd at the big USNA Football Games with all the trimmings.
ReplyDeleteGo Navy on Saturday afternoon, we have D1!!!! Yay!
How's our deckplates & Enlisted? Huh?
Public embarrassments, they should all be fired.
Ignorance of the rules is not a defense, once you get past about third grade.
ReplyDeleteUnless you are paying for it out of your own pocket, a $259 per plate dinner is not acceptable. LT Rusty hit it on the head. Ignorance is no excuse. Some things have to pass the comon sense test and the matters covered by the IG's report don't. Either way, we have two choices here regarding Mrs. Johnson, 1) she is senile or 2) she is stupid. Adm Fowler had to feel that something wasn't square, but good ol' AD Gladchuck probably told him it was all OK.
ReplyDeleteThat's Former Congressmember Johnson, presumably someone who helped write at least some of the rules in question.
ReplyDeleteMind boggling.
No research required to see that of the 15 members, 11 (73%) are professional politicians. I didn't bother to research the others, but it would be no surprise to find them either in elected or appointed positions at some level of government.
ReplyDeleteThese particular politicians (73%) are legislators. Many I'm sure are trained as lawyers. Some may not be. It's immaterial. Lawyers and legislators are concerned with legality, not ethics. Truly, if ethics were a concern in legislation or the legal profession, neither would be able to exist as we know them.
We have the majority of members of our Naval Academy board of visitors chosen from what may be the only profession in which unethical behavior is the norm and lying is a constitutionally protected part of the job. How's that for diversity.
Why are we surprised and dismayed that the Naval Academy is a den of iniquity and the Navy is broken? Obviously, this is the desired outcome.
How's this for the annual written report to the President. The Board of Visitors is composed of a bunch of sh*tb*rds who have been steering the Naval Academy the wrong way for a very long time. As a result, the Naval Academy is concentrating on things that matter little (sports and diversity) at the expense of things that matter much (character, ethics, academic achivevement), and is a constant source of embarassment to the Navy, especially the fleet. Recommend replacing the entire board with a mix of people from the nation's most respected and ethically rigorous professions, with not more than one person from each profession on the board, and not more than one person on the board who has ever served in appointed or elected office at any one time.
Surprise, surprise, an institution guided by the most ethically challenged people is itself ethically challenged. Fifteen mid-grade fleet officers could probably do a better job.
WTFO?!?!??!
ReplyDeleteAgain, if the NCAA found out at any other school under their jurisdiction was having an alumni group, booster group, or some other support organization was "buying" off student athletes. All sorts of hell would be paid. See the latest example of one USC and Reggie Bush, now that is about two years late mind you. I feel bad for the runner up who will get the Heisman since they have stripped Bush of it, but really a booster club and a recruiter all were involved with getting special favors for the Bush and family. Everyone in the sports media world were all a twitter about it at the end of 2008 and into 2009. Now that the verdict came down, most of the media has executed a big ol'"Meh!" about it. Even Steve Caroll when interviewed by a Seattle media sports reporter did the kabuki dance of " I suspected, but didn't know nothing! Nothing I tell you !"
This also sounds like someone who was named in the IG report when and complained to their politico parents on the BoV that the IG was being mean to them and that their careers were being killed by this report. Whatever happened to upholding those three buzzwords the ring knockers have us uneducated enlisted recite about honor courage commitment? Just cause everyone else is doing it doesn't mean you need to buy into the moral relativism of what was happening. Yet, that is what it seems is the modern world now a days. Moral relativism with regards to everything. "I said I was that baby's father to protect my candidate for public office", "Well X is just as bad as Y cause of what they did ABC yrs ago.", "Everyone else is downloading/cheating for school so..."
"facepalm"
ReplyDeleteHow about "bitchslap"...
ReplyDeleteGood lord who were they contracting with for $259 a head? Not even Glenn Defense gouges us that badly.
ReplyDeleteAny dinner that she is involved with, apparently.
ReplyDeleteAs GIMP noted in an earlier post, politicians bar is doing what is legal, not what is ethical.
Mark Twain was correct in stating that "...Politicians are our only Native Criminal Class."
This calls for double facepalm.
ReplyDeleteUnreal! It explains all and why Fowler was able to carry on for the last three years destroying USNA. And now they are defending him?!? Looks like we NOW know who was pulling the real strings all along over the last few years.
ReplyDeleteThe first bullet was used (correctly) on Fowler. There should be 5 more if it is a revolver, 8 if it is a clip! More house cleaning should be done!
Money being made. Money being paid.
ReplyDelete"Everybody gets to..."
"I didn't know I wasn't supposed to..."
"It's not fair..."
"You're just a big spoilsport," "Meanie!".
Pathetic.
Dump the D-1. Play Army, Air Force, Citadel, VMI, USCG, King's Point, Norwich. Cut no slack for athletes.
Clear out the dead wood.
<p><span><span>Lawyers, politicians, slush funds, impropriety, unscrupulous behavior, money spent wrongly, and the list goes on. There really should be no surprises that this bunch of dishonorable malfeasants have no problem with waste, fraud, and abuse. Predictable and expected given the consistently low standards with some lawyers and political hacks. It is a shame that a once proud institution has been associated with and degraded by this disrespectful and dishonorable conduct by the so called “adult supervision.” Time to discharge the pink slips and find some honest, ethical, and scrupulous adult supervision and leadership. <span> </span></span></span>
ReplyDelete</p><p><span>Mac</span>
</p>
OUT WITH THE LOT!
ReplyDeleteFolks we need to start a campaign to get rid of some of these folks. We should first start with Bob Parsons and demand his resignation or fire him. What he did was inexcuseable as CFO. And the whine to our idiot politicians only solidifies our disgust. Grads and fans, please join me know to make our voices heard.
ReplyDeleteGET RID OF PARSONS NOW!!!!
Double Standard Alert:
ReplyDelete(Navy Times photo caption)"...Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has ordered two midshipmen set to be booted for honor violations to be invited back to the school, according to the Navy’s senior spokesman."
2008 Mr Mabus ordered the separation of HM3 B for failing to uphold the core values despite the fact that since his conviction, the service member had been promoted to E-4, received a good conduct medal, and was scheduled to take the E-5 advancement test.
I learned this from my parents long ago.
ReplyDeleteMac,
ReplyDeleteThere are only five real professions; Teaching, Medicine, Law, Arms and the Lord. As we lose the meaning of professionalism, the real professions have become degraded. To be a professional, you have to give up money to follow your vocation. Naval Officers could make money in business, but they don't, they turn their back on money to do what they love. Doctors once passed up money to practice their profession and all the other ratings in the medical field still do. Plenty of lawyers could make far more money in trade than they do toiling at the the law, but they do it because they have a vocation. For every slippery ambulance chaser there is a prosecutor, three small town family lawyers, an honest judge and a middle class worker at an american corporation.
What I'm saying is, all the professions have slipped yours and mine.
Another thing that has slipped is the role of sport. There are lessons kids learn from sports. When we take sport away from the players and turn it over to the spectators they ruin it. Spectators don't care about the game; they are just in it for the sensation. There is no better example of this than college football.
If one wanted to grow leaders, sport would be part of the lesson plan. A military school should have every single student on a sports team.
How about Texas A and M? :)
ReplyDeleteI went to the football game this weekend. The Supe's escort to and from the football game consisted of at least 2 motocycle cops and 2 otther cop cars. All to get the Supe to the stadium. WTF? How about walk like the rest of us, or maybe just have one cop car to escort. Waste fraud and abuse...
ReplyDeleteWith all due respect, I could have made a lot more money at something else than becoming a first class shipfitter. Instead, I found a calling when I watched the first ship I help build go down the ways and into the water. It's impressive the change a ship makes from a hulk of steel, pipe and wires on the land to something else indeed when it gets into it's natural environment.
ReplyDeleteYou also neglected people like law enforcement, fire fighters and nurses. They're surely not in it for the money either. The same goes for a multitude of people that work hard to be good at what they do.
<span>Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?</span>
ReplyDeleteThat just about says it all...
Good grief. I didn't realize USNA Superintendent was such a high-risk position. At least in terms of bodily harm to the person, anyway.
ReplyDeleteHe's worried about the WOLFPACK conducting an L-Shape ambush
ReplyDeleteNew Ensign reported to our unit. The LT looks at her hand and says, "Is that an academy ring?"
ReplyDelete"No sir, I went to Texas A&M, a real man's school."
The fun began. P-XO and he are both academy grads. PT was filled w/ a LOT of good natured jawing. The young Ensign has marked her territory, let's see if she can hold it. :)
Johnson says it all: USNA is a college. A college that costs the taxpayers incredibly. Shut it down. Now. If you want to turn it into a Sandhurst, fine. But a four year establishment no longer serves any purpose. More quality officers come out of NROTC and OCS.
ReplyDeleteHell, I bet Sal, Byron and I could slap together some real fine southern cooking w/ mud bugs, corn bread, etc for that price. I bet we could even have Sal throw in the RC Cola and moon pies for free!
ReplyDeleteI feel shame. Gold is skyrocketing...I wonder what I can get for my ring?
ReplyDeleteR Squared used to ride his golf cart back and forth, cheering on the brigade as the marched over. Even saw him walking with them one time.
ReplyDeleteFowler started the "motorcade" concept.
I do NOT agree with the last. Every institute has their 5%. USNA just happens to send theirs to the fleet with the rest. Many great officers out there, both from USNA and NROTC.
ReplyDeleteMy money's on the A and M ensign ;)
ReplyDeleteFor that kind of cash, I could even feed them gumbo and red boudin :)
ReplyDeleteThe LT is a P3 guy. Not much fight there. ;)
ReplyDeleteI vote for stupid. Even in senility, many people still have sense.
ReplyDeleteWhy do so many civilians (retired mil, or otherwise) get to have so much clout over the USNA?
ReplyDeleteI used to work at a country club, in its kitchen and dining room, before I enlisted.... The USNA reminds me a lot of the same mentality.
Gator, my first thought when reading that was "Silly me, I thought the Academy was a training ground for Naval officers, not a college."
ReplyDeleteMaybe the proportions of quality officers from other sources derives from that confusion. I think Grandpa Bluewater below had the right idea.
For those shaking their heads at Johnson (ironic last name), note that she was born & raised in Chicago. 'Nuff said.
That a former member of Congress (and a Republican at that) considers $259 a plate for dinner "...perfectly acceptable..." explains a lot more things than just what's going on at USNA.
ReplyDeleteThe Wolf Pack doesn't do "L shaped ambush" for the likes of this, it's right in your face.
ReplyDeleteDamn, B, I felt that one!
ReplyDeleteAppointing politicians to the Naval Academy board of visitors makes about as much sense as hiring Bernie Madoff to manage your investments.
ReplyDeleteHow about an extra speed loader and/or magazine?
ReplyDeleteByron: Nice thread hijack. Problem is that Aggies don't play football, they wage it. Trying to get away from that and back to teaching Victory at Sea.
ReplyDeleteFootball should be a game. One game a year. ARMY-NAVY. The rest is just pre or post season games or practice.
Victory at Sea, now...That's what is important, serious business...and there is no substitute for Victory.
What we really need is a cylindrical trophy twice the size of the Stanley Cup, for the school which produced the most Rhodes Scholars. Keep it in a pagoda that the Mids march by before every meal. Let the Army do the same, then keep it the empty tomb of Army triumph. The Air Force can call theirs the Missing Can, and call the muster before breakfast, lunch or dinner the "missing Can formation."
Somebodie's sister in law (that way it's a minority small business).
ReplyDeleteActually, "Guest", I wasn't the one that hijacked it. Does not A and M traditionally send ROTC officers to the armed services? Is it not on a par with the other schools, save that it is not a strictly military institution? Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong...
ReplyDeleteAhhh. Moral relativism. "Everybody does it".
ReplyDeleteLike equating grumbling under one's breath about the OpsO being equivalent to making a YouTube video in which you denigrate your school, your service, and your seniors.
Something like that.
Best ship driver and the one that taught me the most was an A&M grad. He always wanted to be a SWO. That may speak to shady judgement, but the dude could handle the ship, shared his enthusiasm and was a positive force on watch.
ReplyDeleteCan one imagine any Navy or Marine leader worthy of respect like, say, Chesty Puller, not walking with the Midshipmen? Didn't someone just say there were too many Admiral's billets out there....
ReplyDeleteIn short-hand, WWCPD?
ReplyDeleteVince Young was the runner up and he would not have accepted it. He's said Bush won it, regardless.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to spend $259 a plate on food and beverages that are appropriate for a football game. Now, if you let me buy French wine, $259 isn't going to be enough, but who drinks Bordeaux to celebrate a touchdown?
ReplyDeleteShipfitting. Good, honest, hard work.
ReplyDeleteThe kind of labor that made America great!
Not a profession.
You all do understand that this was not taxpayer funded, but solely by donations... sooo I'm not sure taxpayers have any say as to where it ends up.
ReplyDeleteC-dore, to be more accurate, she was a RINO and from Connecticut at that. Does the real GOP even exists east of the Hudson?
ReplyDeleteActually, Texas A & M includes a state Maritime Academy, it's in Galveston, not College Station. Pretty good school, on par with King's Point, if their extension courses for Merchant Mariner subjects like Fast Rescue Boat ops are any standard. The football effort is not housed in the Training Ship and necessarily not a big item for those going for a Deck, Engineering, or Dual license.
ReplyDeleteYou deserve nothing for it since you value it so little.
ReplyDelete"More quality officers come out of NROTC and OCS..."
ReplyDelete...based on what kind of statistics?
The idea that the other schools are better than USNA is way off base.
ReplyDeleteDo you really think Florida or FSU don't have boosters funneling $$ where it should not go.
College kids should have the opportunity to play sports, in fact, I think college kids should be made to play sports. However, the current system of running a farm system for the NFL stinks.
<span>There are kids with amazing physical gifts, who do not have the brainpower to match their amazing bodies. We make millions off them, and push them through classes they don't understand. Then when they play out their 5 years and have two blown knees, toss them out. "Sorry 'bout your luck, bro." </span>
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You ought to be prepared to block within the last 100 feet previously to to an intersection.
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Just questioning if eBay makes it possible for you to sell [url=http://www.ticketchoice.com.au]concert tickets[/url] on the internet? Do you know if you'll find any restrictions based on what country you're in?
ReplyDeleteMy parents have just referred to as me and asked if i could "get rid" of their two tickets to some concert as they wont have the ability to make it due to another family event.
Apart from asking friends etc, i thought ebay would be a great place to market them.
But whats ebay's policy on offering tickets? Ive heard alot about it on the news but ive forgotten what happened.
and if it matters, the concert is inside this coming month
Thanks in advance for the advice.