...as stated by Barrett Tillman in the epilogue to his book "World War II U.S. Navy Air Combat>"
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Today's aviators...are different than the WW II generation: somewhat older; better educated; probably more professional and vastly safer. The modern navy is also less motivated and decidedly less well led than "the fleet that came to stay." The result is perpetually lower morale.
These problems stem from a variety of sources.
Beginning in 1989, the Soviet Union underwent a rapid disintegration...and the world's geopolitical map was unalterably changed. In response to the diminished global threat the U.S. Navy began a drastic reduction. In an eerie replay of the post-World War II roles and missions feud, the Navy and Air Force renewed their bomber versus carrier dispute.
In 1991, Bush's navy secretary, H. Lawrence Garrett, fired two admirals running the A-12 procurment program. This large flying wing design would have taken carrier aviation well into the 21st century. While the program was poorly managed and over budget, the Navy was forced to fall back on the F/A-18 Hornet...which lacked the range, stealthiness, and growth potential of the A-12.
In September, 1991 the Tailhook Scandal erupted. Secretary Garrett and CNO Admiral Frank Kelso, a submariner, were both in attendance at this annual Naval Aviation Symposium.
As a result of charges of over sexual harassment by male aviators were made by military and civilian women, Garrett severed the Navy's three-decade relationship with the Tailhook Association (which was found innocent of wrongdoing by both the Navy and Department of Defense), then began a severely-flawed investigation.
"Tailhook" became a cause celebre for feminists. This resulted in the acceleration of combat status for women; the immediate result was capitulation by the entire civilian and uniformed chain of command in Washington, Some 12,000 Navy and Marine promotions were held up for review, due process was trampled, and a "guilty until proven innocent? mind-set became institutionalized. The Navy's own investigation was deemed so flawed that a separate DoD probe was considered necessary.
A judicial process that many officers and attorneys insist should have been handled in 60 days took more than four years. Cynical junior officers stated that, as an oxymoron, "naval intelligence" had been replaced by "naval leadership."
Throughout the Navy, a blatant double standard evolved. Thou some female officers were known to have misbehaved in "Tailhook" none were held to the male standard of behavior. Previously the military academies already had invoked "gender norming" to rate women's performance alongside mens; now the discrepancy widened. Some female aviators' flight records showed that instructors were being doubly and triply lenient...one of the Navy's first two women F-14 pilots was killed trying to land aboard Abraham Lincoln in 1994. Though 31 male Tomcat pilots had died in previous years, the Navy was unable to admit the facts: a dedicated young aviator died in the service of her country, owing to pilot error.
Despite admirals' assertions to the contrary, Navy men saaid that morale remained so low as to constitute a hazard to navigation for submarines. In fact, three consecutive CNOs came from the submarine service, and hard-core aviators opined that 15 years of "the periscope view" led to the leadership failure. Submarines live by diving deep and hiding; at the time of Desert Storm, no American sub skipper had shot for blood in 45 years. That same mind-set was evident when the Tailhook War kicked off in 1991.
Naval air leadership did little better. With perhaps one or two exceptions, no aviator flag officer stood up to defend his innocent subordinates...a startling contrast to the principled stance which marked the 1949 "revolt of the admirals" when officers willingly sacrificed their careers in the polticla arena. Four decades later, that kind of integrity largely had been bred out of the system.
The U.S. Navy now is the most throughly politicized of all the armed forces. If further proof is needed, consider the 1994 case of the frigate which honored a civilian imposter posing as a fighter ace and retired admiral. Advised of the sham, the ship's subsequent CO responded that no disrespect was intended "toward our Navy fighting men and women of the United States Navy who served in World War II."
Fifty years ago, America could not afford trendy political correctness in its armed forces. Too much was at stake, including possibly the future of the Republic itself.
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These are some pretty strong statements by Tillman about the modern Navy.
Any comments?
Regards, Shuckins
