Wednesday, July 23, 2014

A SHORT BLURB FROM BUSS

Speaking of the changes he has ordered in the Blue Angels, VADM Buss later declaimed that the selection criteria has been carefully rewritten to ensure no one is excluded.
“We’ve really kind of focused on clearly stating in our selection instruction that demographics and gender will not be considered as factors,” he said. “It’s really based on aviation skill, professional performance and community reputation.”
But in the stunning but typical fashion used by our dear leaders these days, he couldn't leave well enough alone and had to say:
“It’s just having an outside set of eyes look at the selections to be sure you are picking the most talented and diverse team possible,” he said.  
Well, if Admiral Buss is to be believed, I'm almost qualified to fly for the Blue Angels and therefore should be considered for membership in the elite flying team. You know where to reach me Admiral.
We Are Ready Now!

6 comments:

Buck said...

Heh. Just a couple o' things... First, this:

“We’ve really kind of focused on clearly stating...

"Kinda focused" and "clearly stating?" Back to back? Aiiieee!

And then this:

... and McWherter on occasion requested to see naked photos of a junior officer’s girlfriend in the ready room, among other incidents of misbehavior.

I'm reminded of that old joke...

Q: Got any naked pictures of yer wife?
A: NO!
Q2: Want some?

Badda-da-BOOMP.

virgil xenophon said...

At times like these when "diversity" is called for I always revert to the "man in the street" theorem. Just grab the next random "man in the street" passing by and make HIM the "go to" guy. Couldn't get any more "diversified" than THAT, n'cest-ce pas?

HMS Defiant said...

To be honest, the only aviators I ever worked with were: named Death; or prone to land on other people's real estate by accident; or, helicopter pilots. I'm not sure that's a fair sample.

I have seen the JAG tool played loose and discredibly though. When I reach the point of maybe believing the smear, I think of the only senior naval aviator I ever bought dinner and discard the smears. My second CO, back in '85, was, after we parted company, head of COMNAVAIRPAC. You would never find a more gracious gentlemen and officer. He was the soul of courtesy and civil deportment. The problem as I see it, those guys are never allowed out of the cockpit anymore. Only the PC will advance.

History is stuffed with examples of PC's deleterious effect on war.

Men and women used to hold opinions about their places of work and relaxation and then men lost all of their places. Watched this once in an op with a MEU during SILENT ASSURANCE. The Major in command of our support element was on track to a complaint from the only lesbian on active duty in the navy up until he got blown out of the water by an accidental discharge of a SAW by one of his troops. Zoe didn't like that the Marine's left their issues of Sports Illustrated, 1997, in the TOC.

I wondered. It's a sports magazine. We aren't the fucking Saudis. We don't black out all the naughty bits of women's anatomy so as to make the .1% comfortable. The future NASA administrator didn't care about that at all. He was madder than hell that a machine gun was fired, a lot, by accident.

Buss is a contemptible idiot.

HMS Defiant said...

VX,
It's impossible to say or know. I recall all to well a flight demonstration team that flew into the ground....all of them....because they were blind to the air and simply following the lead. Rolling balls of fire as one after the other hit the ground at 500 knots; then the Air Show of ours that was CANX because one of the team flew through a water tower.

There is only one criteria to judge pilots. I'm afraid that in the navy, we decided that race and gender just trumped.

juvat said...

That's ok. The USAF has been leading the way down that path for years, more's the pity.

HMS Defiant said...

I know. But back in the day, before Tailhook, the expressed community had an opportunity to tell the admirals they were full of shit.

It was all the admirals who pissed that away. It wasn't the Squadron Commanders and pilots. They now remind me of "Piece of Cake".

I abide. With 3500 fighters, the air force will probably generate 40 and devote 180% of the airlift to support that bit of treasure going down range.

That used to bother me when I needed airlift. Not so much anymore.