Just for the sake of "balance" from one who served during the Lehman days...there was much, much GOOD in that time...and a recipe for the disaster that happened in 1991. I never served under a more dynamic or personable SECNAV...and I think every Sailor could have come up with his name if asked at inspection: "Who's the Secretary of the Navy?" I really doubt that's been true since. He was obviously a HUGE proponent (and a member of...) Naval Aviation who genuinely thought that the morale of Naval Aviators was a vital weapon to be forged, honed, and kept well-oiled. That was the good part...it was fun...it was a dynamic time of a fleet build-up and new airplanes...MiG kills near Libya, "TOP GUN" (the movie), the creation of NSAWC, and rocking Officers' Clubs that were a "safe haven" for all of the "informal and unabridged learning" that he speaks of in his print article. The "downside" of being perhaps too permissive in some of that was the creation of a culture of "We're special...and we're bulletproof" that did not serve us well after DESERT STORM. There were definite warning signs that were ignored by all save a few of Naval Aviation leadership, starting in about 1985. Yes, I think the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction since then, but it was probably a pendulum that needed to swing some distance. To all of you who serve TODAY...all I can say is that your continued and sustained professional excellence during the past decade is really the result that was intended. Secretary Lehman, I'm sure, is very proud of all of you, as am I. I truly regard today's Naval Aviators as more professional and better prepared, in many ways, to go in harm's way than were those of my generation. I don't know how to quantify the "JO morale and fun" aspects of today's fleet..I hope you're getting and creating your own "fair share" in a manner that's less likely to make the front page than in my day. If so...we're a better Navy, despite all there is to grouse about. God Speed.