Warning notice! This is a Navy focused post.
An event this week has me waxing nostalgic that I was lucky enough to have served during the supposedly barbaric era of the 70’s and 80’s when the Navy was predominately male, a lot of fun to serve in, and focused on things like actual warfighting at sea.
Instead of being a “global force for good enough”.
The thing that set me off was this announcement.
Rear Adm. Nora Tyson has been assigned as the next commander of the Norfolk, Va.,-based Carrier Strike Group 2, which includes the carrier George H.W. Bush, according to an announcement from the Pentagon. Lt. Justin Cole, a Navy spokesman, said Tyson would be the first woman to command a carrier strike group in Navy history.
Tyson will move from her current assignment as commander of the Western Pacific Logistics Group when her orders are issued in the early summer, Cole said.
Now before one goes all high order and throws out the “M” word against me for the umpteenth time-I would strongly encourage you to take a hard look at Admiral Tyson’s biography. I defy you to find the word “carrier aviator” anywhere in it.
Because you won’t. She grew up in the TACAMO community-who, to date, have produced no male flags, but have produced two women admirals in less than three years.
Now I was in WESTPAC at the same time Admiral Tyson was COMLOGWESTPAC and by all accounts she did a credible job. But to give her a strike group?
Hell, even Tony Winns didn’t get one of those-and he has at least as many diversity points to play, if not more. But then, he’s male-and a P-3 guy.
Now its clear that some would see this criticism as trying to attack her on the basis of being female-but that’s just not it.
It is to me- a clear cut announcement by the Navy-that the wickets that were once de rigeur are no longer required. Because the Navy is in a hurry. A hurry to prove what, I’m not quite sure. In hurry to have a woman command a Carrier Strike Group perhaps? It is not like there are not women carrier aviators who are coming up through the ranks who will not one day be ready to accomplish that same objective-with at least some traps under their belt.
And before someone points it out-yes there are surface officers who have commanded strike groups, but they at least commanded a cruiser or a DESRON in the strike group. Its very rare-in fact almost unheard of-to see an officer jump from an amphibious ship major command to CSG command. Without at least being a carrier aviator to start with.
Because in the end its not about her talent-but the credibility she will bring to her position.
Zero point Zero.
Which leads to my sea story. A long time ago and in a galaxy far away, a certain multi-engine carrier based aircraft community was in a hurry to show that it could have a female squadron CO. And so, when the selection board time came around-the combat exclusion law having been overturned by a petulant Congress-a female was selected.
(The issue is at Tailhook was not that we took a few liberties with our female party guests. We did. Wink 😉 ).
There was only one problem with this woman’s selection-and every male in a certain carrier aviation community knew what it was:
She had never done a department head tour.
She had, however, been a flag aide-to a future CNO. So certainly, she’s qualified to command a squadron right?
Well-not quite. Completion of a department head tour with a number 1 ranking is essential-even in those days. To not have even done one at all was more than an oversight-it was a sign of blatant discrimination.
And every male in the year groups before and after her year group knew it and were screaming bloody murder about it. So much so that, the powers that be sensed a potential black eye in the making for the Navy and this carrier aviation community.
So it was decided that this person must complete a department head tour-in the very same squadron she was slated to command some day. Not without leaving the squadron and coming back to it at a later time to be determined-but within a year and a half of arriving at said squadron and staying in it the whole time.
This is-well how shall I put it-more than a little odd. Plus-since she was still a LCDR, but already screened for command, it guaranteed that no one else could have that coveted number one fitness report till she actually promoted to Commander.
Yea, there’s a real incentive to work with her.
Nonetheless off she went, did a year as maintenance officer, a year as XO then fleeted up to CO. Her assumption of command was hailed with much pomp and circumstance, pictures and headlines all over the place. At the time I was serving as the wing chief of staff-working for the guy who wrote her fitness reports.
And hearing the phrase, “get that bitch on the phone“-more than a couple of dozen times from my boss. ( Who in my opinion was a great leader, who had gotten his position the old fashioned way-he earned it.).
You see, this particular female had learned an important lesson on the way up. Getting along with your contemporaries was for suckers. Placating important and highly placed sponsors was how you advanced. And so she ignored her boss who was merely just another male Captain.
Her reward for a job passably done-selection to a fleet staff air operations officer position. Now as most folks who have been around the block in the Navy will tell you-this particular job requires an in depth knowledge of strike warfare. And its not something you can pick up in just a couple of weeks no matter how hard you work or study.
And, as the poor staff officers, who were condemned to work for her in this period can attest to-since they had to do all the work to make up for what she did not know.
All because the Navy was in a hurry.
The moral of the story here is that sometimes it is not so good to be in a hurry. The Navy has bright, female pilots who are earning their qualifications as carrier aviation pilots and one or two of whom will make flag one day. They will have gotten their promotions the same way their male counterparts did-the old fashioned away.
The same way-the exact same way-their male predecessors did.
And they will have earned the same respect their male counterparts did.
Isn’t that worth waiting for? And isn’t it what the whole idea was when the feminists started us down this crazy path? “To just be treated the same as the men“.
Except when its not fast enough to gather good headlines I guess.
And that-boys and girls- is to the Navy’s loss.