Originally Posted by
HuggyU2
While this guy should have a thicker skin, blah, blah... , the squadron pilots showed extremely poor SA/judgement on this. Yes, yes, they should be able to work namings as they please.
Take someone not in your community, who rumors point to as gay, and heckle him with potential homo callsigns. Nice. Real smart, boys.
Did they really think this wasn't going to go viral?
Well, I guess they "proved" that they don't have to hold back... at the expense of every naming to follow them.
And I'm sure this will impact USAF units to some degree.
Has anyone heard of units bringing in strippers to the squadron, and having young enlisted girls present? Does anyone think that will float?
Welcome to 2010.
Huggy...your points have some validity but here's the thing. Are we really going to crucify(hopefully not) the squadron and the leadership for allowing a call sign review board to run it's course. It has and should remain a tradition in Naval Aviation. Could it be tempered? Sure..and it most certainly will moving forward. The mere fact that some of those in leadership positions making a decision about what to do in this case were the very same Nuggets and JO's who sat idle in many a' call sign review boards when 'inappropriate' call signs were thrown around in their day. To do nothing would probably not be right, but to end careers over this is a knee jerk reaction and does nothing more than kill morale and make this business less fun.
One more point to offer, and this isn't a USAF/USN thing, but we have different cultures in our services, we see it every day. One isn't any more right than the other. They are just different. Suffice it to say, while this young(old) Ensign wasn't part of the VFA community growing up, he certainly became part of the community when he took orders to the squadron. It is not uncommon to reference our ground officers by a nick name or call sign if it is warranted, it normally brings them into the ready room mix. I dont know this individual nor am I in the squadron, but I would venture to say that we don't know all that went into this thing. If you believe all you read, so be it.
As to your last point...one needs to look no farther than the Wolfpack in Kunsan or the Kadena O'club on a Friday night to see a multitude of "transgressions" amongst Officers and Enlisted. Animal House comes to mind whenever I Hurrevac'd a jet to Kunsan or was there for DACT..it is what it is.