Kerry Sandbagged Into Releasing Bad Performance Report From Navy Service In Vietnam.

The Smoking Gun ^ | U.S. Navy

[sox_the_cat]

I think the media interpretation will be the same as the smoking gun:

"The body count reference is included in a glowing 1969 Navy report that noted Kerry, a 25-year-old junior grade lieutenant"

Only a few places like here can you get the reality of the ratings and comments. Others will just read the comments and deem it "glowing".

[T Minus Four]

Only those who SERVED would know this to be a fact. The general public will NOT. The MEDIA/PRESS will NEVER take the TIME necessary to explain this so EXCEPTIONAL catagories and LAUDATORY narratives will be quoted and the nothing negative will come of this.

This is so true. My spouse and I are retired enlisted AF, and it worked the same way with us. If you didn't get almost all perfect scores of 9 (and then later, under the new system, perfect scores of 5), you were a goner.

You could survive one or two 8's if you were very young, but if you got more than a couple 8's, a single score of 7 or below, or the kiss of certain death, THE OVERALL 8, then you better pack your bags.

But to the uninitiated, those reports might look quite decent. Sevens and eights on paper looked good. I'll dig out one from the late 70's and see what the catagories were rated.

[Irish Queen]

For many a school administrator, their prime motto is Don't rock the boat

My first principal was an office principal. As a middle management worker, he always wanted to play it safe. He told me to never give my students any grade lower than S (Satisfactory). It did not matter that the 4th grade student could not read, refused to do his homework, or his deportment was horrible. He told me, Just give the kid all S's. After all it's satisfactory for him.

One time I saw a student's report cards and permanent records from a neighboring school district, before actually meeting him. Every single subject area was carefully marked S. I thought it strange. When I showed the report cards to an older teacher she said, Oh, oh - you must be getting a real doozy. She was right, he was a real doozy. He was so out-of-control he was assigned his own private lunch table, and he was not allowed to use the boys' bathroom (he used the one in the office). By the way, his father was a professor, in the early childhood development department and his mother was a sex therapist.

[kcvl]

Kohn Lehman (no date provided) who was Secretary of the Navy 5 Feb 1981 - 10 Apr 1987.

Would this be the SAME John Lehman, 9-11 Commissioner?

[So Cal Rocket]

Yes... same guy.

[kcvl]

What is the guy's name who showed up at the Kerry campaign?

[kabar]

Yes, the same John Lehman who is on the 9/11 Commission.

[CyberCowboy777]

Bunch of damned inside baseball.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

I myself was stuck with a BM1 as a running mate..."Wake up Middie! It's time to launch some boats!" Sometimes I still hear "Set Condition 1A for welldeck operations" in my sleep.

Did they try to get you with that "BT punch" bravo sierra?

[TexKat]

But to the uninitiated, those reports might look quite decent.

From one of the uninitiated, why would the following remarks be written on Kerry's records if he was not fit for the job? I have to admit I have no understanding of military grading.

From post # 124 copy of official record:

LTJG Kerry was assigned to this divison for only a shor period of time but during that time he exhibited all the traits desired of an officer in a combat environment. He frequently exhibited a high sense of imagination and judgement in planning operations against the enemy in the Makong Delta. Involved in several enemy initiated fire fights, including an ambush during the Christmas truce, he effectively suppresed enemy fire and is unofficially credited with 20 enemy killed in action. Though relative new to the PCF he is thoroughly knowledgable of all aspects of his boat and PCF operations. He was instrumental in planning of highly successful Sea Lords Operation. He was cited for his performance during action against the enemy by Commander Task Force in his message 0808072 Jan 69.

[dead]

The new Captain (Queeg) is appalled, knowing that "outstanding" means an officer is adequate and an "above average" officer is a disaster.

When I worked for UPS, they rated the shipping hubs with the most work accidents “Least Best” in safety.

[goldstategop]

No one... the press is hostile to the military and John F*ckin' was forgiven long ago for a war most Americans felt should never have been fought in the first place, since we never meant to win it. As for bad performance, its much ado about nothing. No one in the partisan media is going to make an issue of Kerry's character. He's getting a pass for stuff that would sink a Republican.

[T Minus Four]

I know that those comments sounded very laudatory, but I bet if you compared them to a firewall report, they'd pale.

I wrote several performance reports for people who worked for me that had mark-downs in the ratings, and nothing that sounded bad in the commentary, but ended up helping them out the door. It's all in the comparison.

Furthermore, I can hardly believe that the one paragraph is the complete narrative. Enlisted reports were longer than that.

[wisconsinconservative]

bump for later

[jsraggmann]

Never meant to win it, for sure! Read "Dereliction of Duty" if you haven't already.

[colorado tanker]

This was a bad OER. With this in his record, Kerry would not have been allowed to continue on active duty when the reductions in force, the infamous RIF's, began late in the war, regardless of his medals.

[kcvl]

Who is the guy he/she was talking about meeting with the Kerry campaign mentioned in that?

[Howlin]

Remember Kerry's boatmate that just appeared out of nowhere at that campaign stop?

Mabye this guy?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1066504/posts

Be sure to read Mo's #42 on that thread!

[kcvl]

Rassmann was so impressed by Kerry in the March 13, 1969, rescue that he nominated Kerry for the Silver Star, and was disappointed when the Navy awarded the Bronze Star with a "V" for valor.

snip

Rassmann called Kerry's headquarters last week from his home on the Oregon Coast after reading an account of the rescue in "Tour of Duty" by Douglas Brinkley. Rassmann had been visiting his mother in Glendale, Calif., when he went to a book store to buy a CD of operatic arias transcribed for violin. At the cash register, he saw a stack of books with Kerry's picture.


"I opened it to the darned page," describing the rescue, said the 56-year-old Rassmann. "I nearly started crying in the store. I showed it to my wife. I couldn't believe it. We both shook our heads."


Based on Kerry's recollections, "Tour of Duty" says Rassmann was on another boat, but Rassmann recalls sitting in the hatchway of Kerry's pilothouse, returning from a patrol with ethnic Chinese mercenaries, when a mine blew up under one of the other boats and the riverbanks erupted in gunfire. The medal citation is not clear.


"It was a long time ago," Rassmann said of the discrepency.

*****

According to Kerry's own website...


Among those campaigning with him were Kennedy, Kerry's two daughters, Vanessa and Alexandra, and crew members from the Navy swift boat he captained during Vietnam. On Saturday, Kerry staged an emotional reunion with Jim Rassmann, a serviceman he rescued during the war 35 years ago, and Rassmann joined Kerry on the trail.

[Endeavor]

Not exactly. LeHane was fired because Kerry was ranking below Kucinich in the early going - or so it seemed.