SparKen

The Navy tradition has been that as the Commanding Officer you can delegate your authority down to your subordinates but the responsibility for the actions of your ship/crew ultimately lies with the CO.

Little know fact, a long while back a young junior naval surface officer ran his ship aground. His nav charts were old and incomplete. The junior officer admitted his mistake and was ready to accept any and all repercussions even though he wasn't at the helm at the time. The convening board wisely gave the officer a second chance. The junior officer took the reprieve and ran with it all the way to the rank of Admiral of the Fleet. His name was Chester Nimitz and the Navy has changed a lot since then.

block30

I don't think the change in attitudes lies with just the Navy. It seems one strike and you're out these days-- military or civilian. I hear a lot of complaining that we have managers not leaders now, especially in the military. I think part of the reason is everyone must 'play it safe' lest they jeopordize their career.

Too bad for the CO. I don't think the outcome needed to be a resignation in this case.

nfnsquared

If memory serves me correctly, that accident was traced to mechanical causes (a bolt installed backwards) that locked the elevator (T-38).

From his own words, sounds like it was more than just one day:

"This maneuver, combined with other instances of not meeting the airborne standard that makes the Blue Angels the exceptional organization that it is, led to my decision to step down."

rickair7777

You read me wrong, or I wasn't clear...I'm fed up with the system, nothing against this guy at all. Public apology if it came off that way.

I am assuming (with no way to know for sure) that this guy made an honest momentary mistake and was given the opportunity to resign rather than be fired. Or maybe the violation would have resulted in one of his pilots getting canned if they had done it, and he felt the need to step down to preserve the integrity of the system by which those guys have to live...that would be refreshing.

CO's are caught between top leadership which will serve them up on a spit at the slightest political whim, and a selection process which is so fault-intolerant that the only way to squeeze through is with a big helping of luck or by being so intently focused on every minute detail of your career progression that you sacrifice your family and yourself on the altar of EP/one-of-XXX. You have to wonder how people can do that for twenty+ years and stay balanced...I think that's part of the problem in some of these cases where gross misconduct is the issue. Some of these people have lost their perspective...

chuckyt1

This...

True leaders make the "Hard" decisions.

I too, thank him for his service.

Fishfreighter

Zoot,

When the Enterprise came out of extended SRV in the early '80s they went on a LONG WESTPAC cruise. The entire time they were out, the ship and crew peformed 4.0 (that means awesome in Navy lingo). They didn't lose a sailor or an aircraft. They had no major issues with either the air wing or the ship itself.

As they returned to San Francisco, the harbor pilot came out and took over the navigation of the ship back to its homeport in Alameda. Somehow, he managed to run the ship aground about a half mile from the pier.

Guess who got the blame and got booted out of the Navy...the ship's Captain.

The Navy is very unforgiving when it comes to something of this nature.

mmaviator

Blue Angels commander steps down after subpar performance - CNN.com


CNN -- The commander of the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels stepped down Friday in the wake of a subpar performance at a Virginia air show this week. "I performed a maneuver that had an unacceptably low minimum altitude. This maneuver, combined with other instances of not meeting the airborne standard that makes the Blue Angels the exceptional organization that it is, led to my decision to step down," Cmdr. Dave Koss said in a statement, referring to the Lynchburg, Virginia, Regional Airshow.
He will be replaced by Capt. Greg McWherter, who was the flight demonstration team's previous commander.
Air shows have been in the spotlight recently because of concerns over safety.
Blue Angels commander steps down
RELATED TOPICS

• U.S. Naval Flight Demonstration Squadron

A pilot performing stunts in an east Florida air show in March died in a fiery crash when the Russian military plane he was flying in broke formation and fell to the ground.
Also in March, engine trouble at an air show in Texas caused a plane to plummet, leaving a white trail behind as it dove toward a wooded area. The two stunt pilots onboard survived.
The Blue Angels have canceled performances at the Rockford, Illinois, Airfest June 4-5 and the Evansville, Indiana, Freedom Festival Air Show June 11-12 because of the shakeup in leadership.

DCAJRMAN

Truly honorable in the day of CEOs who line their pockets and prepare their golden parachutes before they even begin to lead.
When was the last time a CEO stepped down of their own accord when a company falters?
I'll take him over any high priced MBA to run my company!

sledy

It's not just the Navy, big blue has killed the careers of many great pilots/officers/enlisted for one mistake, a mistake that they owned up to and admitted vs. dodging and trying to pawn off on someone else.

Sledy

BDGERJMN

Rickair,

The selection process for the BOSS is not the same as squadron command or even bonus command for that matter. It's NOT a BUPERS process. The BOSS selection is vetted with the team during the rush process and by a panel of former Blue Angel CO's and ultimately CNATRA.

In this case I would caution the crowd to judge Mongo for anything other than being a solid Officer who made a very difficult, but right decision. For any one of us to comment further on this particular situation without ever having worn a blue suit or flown a blue jet is just not right.

BDGERJMN