CG CO relieved

[BigRed389]

Captains From Hell are nothing new. I wonder if this is due to a specific incident, going above and beyond just 'being an asshole boss', or if the SWO Navy is really trying to clean up their act when it comes to abusive Captains. I hope it's the last. The "petty tyrant" captains poison whole ships.

The Navy Inquirer seemed to be insinuating that she would be moving on to the Pentagon as scheduled, as if nothing had happened. I have a feeling she was just executing orders she already had in hand... no one bounces back from an Admiral's Mast or being relieved for cause.

Then again, she could always run for Congress.

Well according to the SWO rumor mill: Don't try to choke subordinates.

And agree with the "petty tyrant" comment...my previous CO was pretty damn close to an IG investigation himself when he chucked a radio at the SWO. Also attempted to restrict the entire engineering department to the ship for failing an engineering cert. Restriction and taking away liberty was pretty much his solution to everything.

 

[Rocketman]

Interesting thread http://militarytimes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1584379. More interesting on page two

......." The truest measure of her success on the ship (the Churchill) was not the Bronze star awarded as her end of tour award, but the cheers from the crew standing at attention during the change of command ceromony the second CDR Leavitt stated "I relieve you."

 

[scoolbubba]

Wow. Who writes FITREPs that can get someone with such obvious flaws into a major command...I need them writing mine

 

[Uncle Fester]

Who was writing her fitreps? Easy...no one on her ship, that's who.

I served under a Captain not too unlike CAPT Graf. Public temper tantrums, belittiling subordinates in front of their sailors, keeping everyone aboard to field-day the ship when we returned from deployment (families waiting on the piers and all), the list goes on. DESRON doesn't know about this stuff unless someone tells them. The Officers don't want to do it, mostly from fear of retribution - our favorite quote among the Divvos when discussing the Captain's craziness was from The Usual Suspects, "How do you shoot the Devil in the back? What if you miss?" The E's don't want to do it, either because they don't realize they can or because most of the Captain's wrath tends to fall on the Officers anyway. In our case, the E's did want to do it and knew how...they reported him to DESRON CMEO as a racist. He wasn't, and no one really thought he was, but that brought the whole DESRON staff aboard spiffy-quick, asking lots of questions about command climate. "He's not a racist, Commodore, but since you asked..."

After that, the Commodore didn't fire him, but only because we were within days of leaving on deployment and there was no one handy to relieve him.

 

[scoolbubba]

One more reason I wake up everyday and thank my lucky stars I don't wear water wings.

 

[Clux4]

With all the talking around, she might be forced to retire.

 

[Scoob]

One more reason I wake up everyday and thank my lucky stars I don't wear water wings.

...or will ever have to deploy on a boat full of people that do. Maybe P-3s wouldn't have been so bad, after all.

 

[phrogpilot73]

One more reason I wake up everyday and thank my lucky stars I don't wear water wings.

Shitty leadership is not the exclusive domain of SWOs. My first CO was loved among his officers, SNCO's, and enlisted. He made sure that we were trained the way we were supposed to be trained, gave us time off when he could (he used to say "If you don't have anything to do, don't do it here."), was approachable by any one in the squadron, and was the type of leader that inspired every Marine in the squadron to follow him to hell and back. He was relieved. Mainly because he and the MEU CO disagreed about a number of issues.

His replacement? My god. One of the worst COs I've ever seen. An anonymous report was made to the IG about fraud, waste, and abuse. Nothing happened. Why? "Because he's so close to change of command, otherwise he'd be relieved." That is a no-shit quote.

The military is full of pussies these days. Pussies who don't have the fucking balls to look at someone and say "Thanks for your service, but you suck. Goodbye." Until that changes, shitty leaders will exist across the spectrum of the military.

 

[exhelodrvr]

The military is full of pussies these days. Pussies who don't have the fucking balls to look at someone and say "Thanks for your service, but you suck. Goodbye." Until that changes, shitty leaders will exist across the spectrum of the military.

I agree - Major Hasan and Ft Hood show the results of that attitude. (Which also includes those who transfer someone with known issues rather than addressing the issue themselves.)

 

[BigRed389]

Shitty leadership is not the exclusive domain of SWOs. My first CO was loved among his officers, SNCO's, and enlisted. He made sure that we were trained the way we were supposed to be trained, gave us time off when he could (he used to say "If you don't have anything to do, don't do it here."), was approachable by any one in the squadron, and was the type of leader that inspired every Marine in the squadron to follow him to hell and back. He was relieved. Mainly because he and the MEU CO disagreed about a number of issues.

His replacement? My god. One of the worst COs I've ever seen. An anonymous report was made to the IG about fraud, waste, and abuse. Nothing happened. Why? "Because he's so close to change of command, otherwise he'd be relieved." That is a no-shit quote.

The military is full of pussies these days. Pussies who don't have the fucking balls to look at someone and say "Thanks for your service, but you suck. Goodbye." Until that changes, shitty leaders will exist across the spectrum of the military.

I think that's also one of the reasons reports often don't get made without a really outrageous incident to tip things over the edge...18mo tour max makes it easier to just wait it out.

 

[SWO Bubba]

Shitty leadership is not the exclusive domain of SWOs.

Excellent message for those junior aviators who falsely think SWOs are the repository for poor leadership. Everyone one of us with a lot time in this business has seen very, very goods and very, very bads. CAPT Graf's leadership style finally caught up with her. Evidently, she is no longer going to the Pentagon and may very well be forced to retire. With the amount of venom pouring out on Sailor Bob, Military Times, here and other blgs, I wouldn't be surprised if mainstream media got ahold of this.

 

[scoolbubba]

My apologies; I didn't mean to imply SWOdom is the sole domain of shit leadership. I haven't experienced enough on this side of the fence to throw stones over it. I'll sit back and shut up now and tuck this away in the "knowledges gained" file.

Deal with a shitbird asshole at the lowest level possible. Noted.

 

[phrogpilot73]

I think that's also one of the reasons reports often don't get made without a really outrageous incident to tip things over the edge...18mo tour max makes it easier to just wait it out.

Excellent message for those junior aviators who falsely think SWOs are the repository for poor leadership. Everyone one of us with a lot time in this business has seen very, very goods and very, very bads. CAPT Graf's leadership style finally caught up with her. Evidently, she is no longer going to the Pentagon and may very well be forced to retire. With the amount of venom pouring out on Sailor Bob, Military Times, here and other blgs, I wouldn't be surprised if mainstream media got ahold of this.

My apologies; I didn't mean to imply SWOdom is the sole domain of shit leadership. I haven't experienced enough on this side of the fence to throw stones over it. I'll sit back and shut up now and tuck this away in the "knowledges gained" file.

Deal with a shitbird asshole at the lowest level possible. Noted.

The SWO world, as I mentioned is not the sole domain of shit leadership. However, shit leadership can survive in some areas better than others. Why? Because a shit leader in the aviation world could also be a shit aviator. Because he's a "leader" (aka higher rank) than the dude he's flying with, he could crash a plane and kill himself (and those with him). I've seen these guys, and got my ass chewed by a shitty CO because I called it a night because the dude I was flying with was unsafe. I never gave a fuck about my career, I cared about bringing my crew home. The whole "Assertiveness" of DAMCLAS/MCSALAD/SADCLAM is one of the most important in my mind. I can't tell you how many times I've had to try and squash the "but they have 4K hours" attitude among the current aviators I serve with. My response is "they're more dangerous than most." But I digress.

You can't fix a shit leader as a junior guy. You can only survive and learn what not to do. Why do people think that the shit leaders exist in the SWO world? This is for you SWO Bubba - it's because of the way the Navy runs things. A ship's CO is a god in his own mind, and supported by Navy tradition. He can make Navy orders more stringent, etc... There's WAY too much flexibility given to him. In the Marine Corps, orders from HQMC are orders from HQMC. The CO can't modify (mostly). That, and the USMC is willing to say "you suck." From what I understand, you're headed to be a CO of a ship. My advice to you (as an outsider looking in) is stop thinking about some young Ensign/JG's career, and start thinking about his sailors. Does he need to go? If so, let him go.

Until the leadership of both the Navy and the Marine Corps is willing to can shitbags early, things will continue the way they are. I'm amazed that a shitty leader was canned for being a shitty leader. Hopefully, this is the sign of things to come.

 

[A4sForever]

My first FLEET squadron C.O. was mentally unstable ... he was an 'average stick' ... he was a 'combat' C.O. ... and (thanks to the people who worked for him) he got the job done. I would NEVER want to serve under him again ...

My last ACDU squadron C.O. was mentally unstable ... he was an 'average stick' ... he was a former POW ... and (thanks to the people who worked for him) he got the job done. I would NEVER want to serve under him again ...

One of our modern day jet 'heroes' of Naval Aviation and I went head-to-head in a couple of birds one fine day ... he's currently severely fucked up (details withheld) ... and I'm still here ... and still a-kickin' ...

The moral: leadership, competence, character, and being a 'role model' are not proprietary to Naval Aviation ... we have our 'good guys', and we have our losers who sometimes manage to 'dodge the bullet'.

 

[2sr2worry]

If you don't feel like registering for Sailor Bob you can get a bushel basket of comments on the Captain Graf firing here:

http://navycaptain-therealnavy.blogspot.com/2010/01/number-two-in-our-countdown-is-captain.html

The CO is the morale officer--period. Sailors and JO's both look at the CO for cues on "how are we doing?" Command is (and should always be) a cherished opportunity to lead using every lesson and scrap of skill developed over a career. When in command I offer one piece of advice to think about at the start of each day. As the CO, you must love your worst Sailor as much as your best Sailor. That doesn't mean you avoid reward or punishment, or that you can't lovingly ensure that some Sailors depart Naval service. It's just a simple way to reinforce the fact that you're responsible for both of them--the best and the worst--and all the others in between. Your competence, professionalism, and leadership must be available to all of your Sailors and Officers at all times. If the best folks in your command see that it's possible to be "cut from the herd" by your behavior, you'll never win their complete trust. And complete trust up and down the chain of command is what enables a great TEAM--often made up of apparently "average" people.