Posted on 01/04/2012 7:40:30 AM PST by Oldpuppymax
Most of those are just “stuff.” The airborne, air assualt, and Drill Sergeant are pretty meaningful. Not enough to justify the CSM position, though.
Dunno for sure. If you read his book he does indicate that he had some uphill battles to be accepted for what he was/is. Did anyone promote him based on AA? Who knows?
He is a very smart guy, who has had some bone-head moments of late, like many others who you’d think would know better.
from the story “She is has been divorced”,... So I assume she was married to a man and is not a lesbian.
But of course.
OK – first off (I detest talking / writing about myself, but I have some important part of my past that are pertinent to this stuff) I am a retired (21 years) Airborne Infantry combat veteran with a 20% disability rating (non-combat related – crushed disc). I was DA selected to attend DEOMI (the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute) at Patrick AFB, Florida, after which, I served a tour as a Brigade Equal Opportunity Advisor in Korea. I was the polar opposite of many of my classmates at DEOMI – I am White, Protestant, a Grunt, and have a rural farming background in civilian life. And, I was driving a ’74 Thunderbird with Haggard, Jones and Cash in the stereo case. *Gasp* - anyway – The DEOMI staff did their very, very best to piss me off bad enough to get me to quit, but that would have been a career-ender – they knew it and so did I. So, I stuck with it(much to the dismay of the DEOMI instructors). Much of the curriculum was utter, preposterous BS, but I stuck with it. I went on to do the job well in Korea, punched the overseas tour ticket, reaped the benefit of serving in a “special assignment” and consequently was promoted to E8 by the board that convened while I was in Korea. Kinda beat the system at its own PC game. Anyway, after saying all of that – King, (from what I’ve read), is the archetypical, stereotypical affirmative action product. It appears as though she also has the all too often chip on her shoulder that female affirmative action queens have gotten away with it for far too long. I fault HER less that I fault the PC bozos that helped her to ascend as far as she did. A career POSTAL CLERK. Now – I firmly believe that every soldier should have great pride in their chosen field. But – there have been plenty of opportunities since the first Gulf War to deploy to a shooting zone – King obviously – and quite successfully – DODGED every one of them. One of the NCOs I had the honor of serving with as his rifle company First Sergeant had multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan – and he had a wonderful wife and beautiful children. But John is an Infantryman – he didn’t complain and didn’t try to get out of any of the tours. John is a hero. He has since honorably retired – God bless him and his family. King, from all indications became convinced of her untouchability (like Willie “BJ” Clinton and Al “5 month shortened combat tour in Vietnam with my Daddy’s help” Gore). Reports of a serious alcohol problem and inappropriate relationships with subordinates would have gotten a non-minority male in King’s position sacked long, long ago. BUT – the “Card” had been played multiple times here. Maybe this time, King has run out of aces. Oh, yeah – I did a 2 year hitch as a Drill Sergeant – at Fort Benning – so I know a little about that environment, too. King was assigned as commandant of a Drill Sergeant School – HARDLY a tough, taxing job. Actually, it’s a kind of “twilight cruise” assignment in which the soon to retire senior NCO can kick back a little. King, obviously, was drunk with power (as well as whatever else she was drinking). She was also accustomed to the sense of entitlement affirmative action products always have. Looks like she might have stepped too far. Now – if justice is to be served, let the powers that be treat her like they’d treat any male Caucasian soldier that had done what she did – IMO, reduction in rank and forced to retire immediately.
There is no “jump master tab” There is a Senior Parachutist Badge and a Master Parachutist Badge - one needs to be jumpmaster qualified for either and have served in the capacity of Jumpmaster a certain number of times and served on jump status for certain amounts of time (greater in both cases for the latter - the Master Parachutist Badge). King is wearing the Parachutist Badge. Hornorable - absolutely. But do not mistakenly perceive she has any advaced parachutist rating - the foreign parachutist badges are NOT that. Often slots for foreign jump qualification are hotly competed for - as an affirmative action poster child, King probably got the slots much harder working and deserving soldiers should have gotten. Again, she is NOT wearing an advanced parachutist badge and there is no indication she is a Jumpmaster.
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