Posted on 08/10/2005 12:36:55 AM PDT by leadpenny
" Under Clinton, Byrnes would have kept his job." Clinton might have even offered a spare intern or two to Byrnes...when Byrnes' mistress was busy!
Whore moans? :o)
"These were not isolated cases"
For sure. I was an interested observer/mil.spouse in the 70s and didn't understand a lot of the things that happened. I asked hubby why big bucks would be paid for remodelling a commissary on a base that had a definite date for closure....response was that funds requested & allocated got spent. The RIF in 73 seemed to have no rhyme or reason....but then, those were the years when everyone heard this as an answer:
"Well, there's the right way, the wrong way, and the Army way"
Kevin was commissioned thru OCS at the height of the Vietnam war. After his service in Vietnam he was encouraged to pursue his degree while still serving in the Army. It is not unusual for this to happen during war time. If I remember correctly, you have to have a degree before you can be promoted to Captain.
Kevin was one of my ROTC instructors when I was in college. I am not surprised that this happened but I feel for him and his family. He was 100% pro-Army and I am sure that he is sorry that his private actions have brought shame to the Army. Now he will take his punishment and have to get on with his life. I am glad that the Army cleans up it's messes.
For those of you wondering if he was one of Clinton's perfume generals; he was not. He was a warrior who obviously screwed up and will now pay the piper.
The catch phrase at the time was, "Here, but for the grace of God . . ."
As far as I can tell, Byrnes is, or was, a survivor who never received a 'below the zone' promotion. I'm sure he sweated those RIFs. He wears the Reserve Officer medal, which means that he spent at least 10 years as an AUS Officer. He probably got his RA commission when DOPMA was instituted in the early 80's.
During Vietnam, 1LT and CPT were automatic at one year each, unless you screwed up.
I guess we can be glad it was a woman.
Here's a bit on General Franks that explains the program better than I can: "Franks was commissioned a second lieutenant of artillery in 1967 upon graduating from Officer Candidate School at Fort Sill, Okla. During service in Vietnam, Franks was wounded three times.
He had planned to leave the Army after his service in Vietnam to get a college degree, but stayed when the Army offered to send him to school under the "Bootstrap" Program. "
This guy was a 4-star general. They don't just retire, go home, and grow petunias. They go on to be mayors and city managers, members of the board of fortune 500 companies, etc. How many corporations do you think are going to hire a guy who got quite publicly relieved at the very end of his career? Not many. How many elections do you think the guy can win? All his opponent has to do is keep bringing up the fact that he got relieved for cause.
It's a bit more than a wrist slap.
And yet the MSM will still claim the reason Clinton remains unpopular with the military is because he didn't serve in Viet Nam. Viet Nam's not even the half of it!
Generals are held to high standards, and can get fired for many reasons, and this thread has reminded me of another. My husband had an assignment as an IG, and had to fly to Puerto Rico to investigate what he laughingly calls "the chicken wing affair". (The general's wife was using the officer's club as her private caterer, and the General got into serious trouble.)
Now, if only the general had been having a gay affair, he would never have been fired. . .
(sarc/off)
Under Carter there was General Bernard Rogers. While he was FORSCOM CG a second Army plane was dispatched from Atlanta to follow the General's plane when an aide forgot to load the Generals Golf shoes on the first plane.
And, under Clinton, an Air Force 4 Star flew on a C-141 from Italy to Denver with his favorite female airman aide. Two retired LTCs blew the whistle on that one when they couldn't get a Space-A ride out of Italy.
Each of those survived, I believe. The AF General was to take over NORAD and may have resigned later?
I inlisted in the Army right out of high school in 1958.
I was given an opportunity to go to OCS right after Basic Training. I did not want to stay in, so I didn't take the offer.
OCS was offered to some new recruits based on their entrance exams. Those over a certain score were offered OCS.
Try not to confuse consorting with the enemy and being an embarrassment to the nation in front of the enemy during the time of war with adultery. Both are bad and Byrnes is throwing away his career, but a Weasel Clarke he is not. ;)
Drudge is obviously out of touch with the military.
This story has been out there for at least 24 hours and he has not linked it from anywhere.
Y'all have a nice day.
Agreed. Drudge is missing a lot of news.
Thanks for taking the time to share the OCS/operation bootstrap/entrance exam information. Now, his not having a degree or taking several years to get it doesn't sound unusual at all!
How come adultery is a firing offense for military officers but not for the Commander-in-Chief (WJC).
Because the Commander in Chief is not under the Uniform Code of Military Justice - nor do we want him to be. I am a PROUD veteran, and I don't want my President to be under military jurisdiction. We have damn good reasons for having civilian control of the military.
While it does occasionally lead to issues like the one you noted, the alternative is unimaginably worse.
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