What is in the HEAD and the HEART.
 

Sometimes you just never know what path fate may follow.

Another example of why 'Zero Tolerance' might not be the best approach :)

What Might Have Been for a Famous Navy Ace - National Naval Aviation Museum

What strength might lie in the background until events call it forth.

RIP, Alex.

Interestingly, Boyington was also considered a poor flight cadet. He would have been forced out of the USMC had he not joined the AVG. And had not WW2 erupted, he would never have got back in the USMC due to his antics.

I've always been of the opinion that I'd rather have a guy who has failed and successfully recovered on my team. A guy who's never had to dig himself out of a tough spot is going to be short on character and mental toughness IMO. Sometimes failure is one of life's very best teachers. That goes for flying, education, sports, business and a host of other activities in life.

The linked article seems incomplete. I can't find "the rest of the story".

Agreed. But in a modern world characterized by an overwhelming labor surplus, you don't get the luxury of making that point. Goes for airline hiring too if you think about it. Them's the breaks...

I won't shortchange guys who have never had big setbacks...they'll probably do fine in the crunch since their own motivation to succeed has likely played a role in their lack of setbacks.

But with the guy who's overcome a setback, you know for sure where he's coming from.

Interestingly enough, a relative of mine crashed a Jenny in training. He went on to fly F4-Us in the Pacific, F-9's in Korea, and retired from UAL as a VP.

Today's zero defect culture doesn't foster such leaders.

X1000 right here. I whole heartedly agree.

There are many instances of 'that was then, this is now', in all walks of life. They are just examples of changes one deals with.

Lots of peripheral infractions can derail almost any career today that would hardly be noticed years ago.

No doubt and I didn't mean to say that I'd disregard these guys. Only that sometimes things happen that are out of your control. Like the gear collapse I had on a C-310 back in the early days. A mechanical failure that was not fault of mine, however I see applications that specifically disallow ANY accidents or incidents. REALLY? That is just plain ignorant.