tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post7375645592274414910..comments2024-01-03T05:18:54.650-05:00Comments on CDR Salamander: One of these things .....CDR Salamanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981221786954902349noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-89826556049520474672010-10-13T14:21:14.044-04:002010-10-13T14:21:14.044-04:00You are mistaken. I can defend the position.You are mistaken. I can defend the position.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-50327748873652620632010-08-13T01:41:13.576-04:002010-08-13T01:41:13.576-04:00It agree, rather useful ideaIt agree, rather useful ideaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-35071686144493174742010-04-08T20:43:05.000-04:002010-04-08T20:43:05.000-04:00I guess I miss the point.
The good old boy syste...I guess I miss the point. <br /><br />The good old boy system for years put friends & family ahead of the well qualified before. You guys are sounding a little sexist. <br /><br />Over my 30 year career in Corps, I saw several examples of the well qualified being passed over for someone's favorite child or butt kisser. I seem to remember in the Navy the Ring Knockers had the Flag ranks marketed for years with no complaints. Or least none that were heard.<br /><br />For those who had the WTF moment, is it really that a big of a surprise? You do your best, hope for the best but at some point, who you know, who is on the board will override or validate your life's work. No one said this was fair.<br /><br />Just saying.Redeye80noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-51494453929068781632010-04-08T13:03:58.000-04:002010-04-08T13:03:58.000-04:00Perm,
Your comments are well thought out, but I no...Perm,<br />Your comments are well thought out, but I noticed one glaring omission. Carrier STRIKE Groups used to be called Carrier BATTLE Groups. They conduct war at sea using surface ships, submarines, and TACAIR/Helos onboard the CVN and escort ships.cdrsalamandernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-44701620650646430922010-04-08T12:13:56.000-04:002010-04-08T12:13:56.000-04:00CDR,
Your position IS clear. Mine was not (my ap...CDR,<br /><br />Your position IS clear. Mine was not (my apologies). Let me adjust fire. <br /><br />I understand (and agree) with the idea that if one is merely marginally qualified, but promoted via "diversity" considerations over one far more qualified, this is a solid "other". In this aspect you are right to be concerned with second and third order effects.<br /><br />I continue to maintain, though, that it is worth spending some time on what constitutes "qualified", especially at this level. If it's better to separate these issues, so be it, but I don't want to look at her career assignments and simply decided she doesn't have the right checks in the blocks. The second and third order effects in the current system are also problematic--extreme inward/community focus, micro-management (because he's done this before and knows best) and "anointing by billet". Her bio suggests to me that she has experience and competence leading large organizations, navigating complex alliance relationships, preparing and deploying fighting forces and understanding how the Navy works. Permduinsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-70433631415673627322010-04-08T11:09:01.000-04:002010-04-08T11:09:01.000-04:00Oh, and here is a"Queer Bird" tale wor...Oh, and here is a"Queer Bird" tale <a href="http://www.vo-67.org/vo67_opening.html" rel="nofollow">worthy of an FbF</a>....sidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-21479393903579286342010-04-08T11:00:47.000-04:002010-04-08T11:00:47.000-04:00<span>I didn't get to my first fleet sq...<i><span>I didn't get to my first fleet squadron until 1978 and deployed in 1979. By that time they were designated EA-3's.</span></i><br /><br />Originally <a href="http://www.navycthistory.com/AL_MEHLHAFF_dirsup_1.html" rel="nofollow">they were A3D-2Q's</a>...<br /><br />But the term predated them (and me) by a number of years, as it apparently came into use when the first "Q" aircraft made their way into the fleet around the end of WWII,<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/TBM-3Q_on_USS_Shangri-La_1947.jpg" rel="nofollow"> like this TBM-3Q</a>.<br /><br />And, as can be seen by the vintage pics, the "Queer Birds" were very much a part of TACAIR until the demise of the ES-3....<br /><br />But hey, LtB says it best. War fighting acumen isn't what mattewrs in this Navy. Thats old fashioned. Either you gotta be one of the <a href="http://www.thebannekerinstitute.org/events/gala-2007/photogallery/Banneker--2007_062a.jpg/image_preview" rel="nofollow">"protected castes"</a>, abd.or sport the correct genetalia... or be good at football -even while stoned- to be a rising star these days...sidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-66632450028984447542010-04-08T07:59:31.000-04:002010-04-08T07:59:31.000-04:00Old NFO, nothing against the carrier VQ guys from ...Old NFO, nothing against the carrier VQ guys from the past. The current Air Force VQ couldnt carry a helmet bag for a VC squadron LTJG....MR T's Haircutnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-90178323250073659232010-04-08T01:51:55.000-04:002010-04-08T01:51:55.000-04:00I didn't get to my first fleet squadron until ...I didn't get to my first fleet squadron until 1978 and deployed in 1979. By that time they were designated EA-3's. Also there were none of the attack A-3's in carrier service by then.<br />http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/systems/ea-3.htm<br /><br />I've heard the A-3D designation but was told it stood for "All 3 Dead" in the case the crew had to egress the aircraft since seats fired downward. :-D Typical aviation gallows humor. <br /><br />Those of us in the S-3 squadron were told the 'Queer" appellation for the EA-6B was due to the "Q" in the designation and as shorthand to distinguish them from the A-6E, or "straight" A-6. The word was never applied to the Whale that I heard. Is there an official reason for the designation change or the use of the word "Queer?" I have no idea. I know only what I was told by the guys who flew them. Old NFOnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-81325953401518372902010-04-08T00:30:56.000-04:002010-04-08T00:30:56.000-04:00Oh..and forgot to add, some of the very first desi...Oh..and forgot to add, some of the very first designated NFOs were there in Sanford.<br /><br />This <a href="http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/h/h096.htm" rel="nofollow">gent was one of them</a>....sidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-25831655688476292882010-04-08T00:06:57.000-04:002010-04-08T00:06:57.000-04:00Old NFO..gotta call you on this one.
I remember t...Old NFO..gotta call you on this one.<br /><br />I remember the term <a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2023/2621114320_45717510c1_b.jpg" rel="nofollow">from as early as 1960</a>...Those were not A-3B's in the background in Sanford...but were designated as A3D-2's<br /><br />(the bombers never were called "Whales" at least on the east coast BTW)<br /><br />The change over to the <a href="http://www.designation-systems.net/usmilav/aircraft.html" rel="nofollow">joint aircraft nomenclature</a> ordered by McNamara was still two years away.<br /><br />Back then "ECM" (EW wasn't in the lexicon until more than a decade later) were -Q.<br /><br />And given the highly classified nature of ECM in those days, the term "queer" stuck for their secretive oddness.sidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-19197346186468542192010-04-07T23:38:49.000-04:002010-04-07T23:38:49.000-04:00Actually the Queer birds were the EA-6Bs that were...Actually the Queer birds were the EA-6Bs that were in VAQ squadrons, jammers rather the electronic intel gatherers. VQ flew EA-3's and E-P3's. That was in the 70's, 80's and 90's and "Queer" very much had it's current meaningOld NFOnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-59268822646822513342010-04-07T23:34:45.000-04:002010-04-07T23:34:45.000-04:00A military 707 as a non-pilot backseater? Not man...A military 707 as a non-pilot backseater? Not many.....cdrsalamandernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-90087070552122944242010-04-07T22:37:43.000-04:002010-04-07T22:37:43.000-04:00Sorry, Skippy. I already mentioned Cowpens. Sorry, Skippy. I already mentioned <i>Cowpens</i>. UltimaRatioRegisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-4014761168501497812010-04-07T22:37:09.000-04:002010-04-07T22:37:09.000-04:00But she has fixed wing jet expereince . . . how ma...But she has fixed wing jet expereince . . . how many other LHD skippers do you know with that?MrSwonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-72822206869754679702010-04-07T22:08:58.000-04:002010-04-07T22:08:58.000-04:00<span>VQ is also the designation for the gu...<i><span>VQ is also the designation for the guys doing the electronic stuff off the ship</span></i><br /><br />I s'pose that the term <a href="http://www.coldwar.org/Histories/documents/images/clip_image026_000.gif" rel="nofollow">"Queer Birds"</a> has long left the lexicon... 8-) <br /><br />(<b><i>and before the paroxysms burble up...its meaning predated the days before "queer" and "gay" were expropriated into their current connotations</i></b>)sidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-57790147092152472672010-04-07T21:55:22.000-04:002010-04-07T21:55:22.000-04:00Tailhook is probably what MADE her career. Those ...Tailhook is probably what MADE her career. Those with external plumbing took the heat. Not the women. Female 13XX's could do no wrong.Old NFOnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-58706089296260519212010-04-07T21:52:55.000-04:002010-04-07T21:52:55.000-04:00VQ is also the designation for the guys doing the ...VQ is also the designation for the guys doing the electronic stuff off the ship. In my day they flew the A-3 Whale on dets out of Rota and Guam. Old NFOnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-46518339390181672302010-04-07T20:39:21.000-04:002010-04-07T20:39:21.000-04:00Great post, great questions, tough answers, and no...Great post, great questions, tough answers, and nothing against female Sailors. By comparison with her male peers is she as qualified? Nope. Does the Navy care about fair with respect to gender/diversity issues? Double nope. By dumbing down, and not going with the absolute best in the zero sum promotion game, will platforms of the line and Sailors die? Regrettably.<br /><br />And it's not just CSG Commanders Shipmates...DM05noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-70997169647483219312010-04-07T16:18:05.000-04:002010-04-07T16:18:05.000-04:00MrSWO, Agree that LHD command is a decent ticket t...MrSWO, Agree that LHD command is a decent ticket to move up to command an ESG, not a CSG. Her lack of experience as a warfare commander in a CSG could lead to difficulties when deployment rolls around. A male officer with such a background would face similar difficulties as well.C-dore 14noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-20893322097612643112010-04-07T15:58:49.000-04:002010-04-07T15:58:49.000-04:00GBS, Agree that her approach to her command will h...GBS, Agree that her approach to her command will have a lot to do with her success and that her background hasn't really prepared her for the job. However, I don't see this situation as being much different from several male officers that I've seen over the years commanding CSGs. You know, the guys who spent the minimum amount of time in O-5 and O-6 command and didn't deploy in either. They may have had the "tickets" but they lacked warfare expertise necessary to effectively "fight a CSG".<br /><br />As for CSG COS', the ones I've dealt with have ranged from impressive to mediocre. The biggest shortcoming in my time was few, if any, of the aviators assigned to the job had been a warfare commander in their major command. C-dore 14noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-88372942554274345322010-04-07T13:53:15.000-04:002010-04-07T13:53:15.000-04:00There are sometimes dire consequences for such pol...There are sometimes <a href="http://blog.usni.org/2010/01/14/skipper-of-uss-cowpens-relieved-for-cruelty-but-career-still-alive/" rel="nofollow">dire consequences</a> for such politics of preference long before a CVN is sunk....UltimaRatioRegisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-15296836359419150842010-04-07T12:54:01.000-04:002010-04-07T12:54:01.000-04:00At the beginning of WWII the military fired most o...At the beginning of WWII the military fired most of it's flag rank officers and promoted new ones who could actually fight the war. If, God forbid, we ever get in a fair fight again I just hope we have the time to weed out the careerists and politicians and put the warriors in charge. Old NFOnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-74713955735283376392010-04-07T10:26:54.000-04:002010-04-07T10:26:54.000-04:00Damn Sal, you nailed it! Everything happens for a...Damn Sal, you nailed it! Everything happens for a reason, some people just aren't quick enough to know it when it happens.<br /><br />Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining," Col. Fletcher, Quantrill's RaidersJay Mixonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704146.post-38170984557901447472010-04-07T10:14:10.000-04:002010-04-07T10:14:10.000-04:00Heck I was a GREAT officer, but I never had the ba...Heck I was a GREAT officer, but I never had the background of others who held this position, and never would/should/could be considered for the job. Re-read the good CDR's post.jscam87noreply@blogger.com