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

The Smoking Gun ^ | U.S. Navy

[MindBender26]

John Kerry has just released his "Officer's Fitness Report" from his service in Vietnam. Kerry officials, with no knowledge of military operations, think the report is laudatory. In reality, it is disasterous.

Back in the Vietnam days, officers’ ratings were vastly inflated. To even be considered for promotion or a better assignment, an officer needed top grades in all categories. For example, in his book Colin Powell described how a dispute between his wife and his division commander’s wife led to one mark in one category out of 14 being less than perfect, and how, until it was corrected by a general further up the chain of command, it would have stopped Powell at one star.

Back then, the verbal descriptions of an officer’s service were always laudatory, and virtually meaningless. Many raters used standard paragraphs to describe every subordinate from a future member of the Joint Chiefs to “Beatle Bailey with gold bars” in glowing terms.

The actual rating was effectively “coded” into the comparative section. There a Navy officer was rated in 16 categories such as “Loyalty,” Judgment,” “Courage,” Personal Behavior,” etc. Each officer would receive one of nine rankings, ranging from “Exceptional” to “One of the Top Few,” “Above the Majority,” down to “Unsatisfactory” in each of those 16 categories. Anything less than perfect in any of the 16 categories was a clear indication of an undesirable officer.

Remember, these rankings were highly inflated, with at least 60% of the officers having perfect rankings in all 16 categories. Most of the others would receive one ranking less than perfect in one category…. and their careers were effectively over.

Lt. Kerry received only 6 of 16 rankings in the highest category. The remaining marks for “Judgment” was one step down and 9 of the 16 other marks were two steps down. When ranking these Efficiency Reports arithmetically, when one “down point” could end a career, Kerry had 19 “down points.”

Is there any wonder why the Navy had no objection to his early return from Vietnam and his subsequent early removal from the service. They wanted him away from the guns, where he couldn’t hurt Americans.

The Kerry Clowns tell us their man is fit to run the military and protect us. They are proven wrong for at least three reasons:

1. Kerry’s prior anti-US statements shown to be lies.

2. Kerry’s poor military performance, as shown in this report released today.

3. The lack of the senior staff’s knowledge as to what this report really means, and how it further diminishes his campaign…. and his stature, such as it is.

[HRoarke]

I just left active duty a year ago...still a reservist. I certainly can't comment definitively on late 60's, early 70's Navy fitreps. Perhaps I lived under a system that was altered because of the inflationary nonsense that wen on before.

The way officers were ranked in my squadrons was that the new guy almost invariably got used as fodder on the first fitrep and was then walked up as far as he deserved. Many posts have pointed out that the really important numbers are the peer rankings and the reporting senior's average.

I must also plead ignorance as to how many officers were in his unit and how many LTjg's. If there were only a handful, then the lower marks mean a lot more.

The real issue of course is that even if Kerry slipped up and did one good thing in his life 30 years ago, he's certainly F'd up the rest of it...

[MACVSOG68]

EM rankings were always more realistic, but OER's were a joke. One O-1 Arty FO dropped 155mm rounds among the friendlies on two occasions in RVN (no one hurt), was sent back to Ft. Sill and shot out of safety zone sinking an unoccupied civilian boas on local lake, was drunk most of time and still got a 96% on his "Little Men at the bottom of the form" ranking from his rater. I refused to write a concurring review. Finally got it knocked down to a 92.

Brings back memories. Actually a 96 would have been a promotional kiss of death. A 92 should have ended his career!

[MindBender26]

It did. He is now a psychologist in Seattle!

[MSSC6644]

I'm usually not so negative, but don't forget that BILL CLINTON, draft dodger, won the election twice, once against the incumbent George Bush.

[Blue_Ridge_Mtn_Geek]

Ketchup Boy may be a joke waiting for the punch line, but so is the military rating system - - - which is clearly drenched in illusion and dishonesty.

Have they gotten around to making officer ratings more realistic, or is it still being done in this stupid and dishonest manner?

[Dog]

fyi..

[CatoRenasci]

My own experience with OERs is Army from the '70s.

I'm not sure I'd characterize this as quite a "career-buster" but it sure doesn't have the "this officer walks on water and hold people up on both sides as he does so" quality of most of the one's I've seen.

I noticed in particular he was dinged (i.e. less that perfect) for his shiphandling (which could be considered his primary job as CO of a Boston whaler) on page 1 and for professional knowledge, loyalty, fore, industry, judgement , analytical ability, personal behavior, military bearing and both oral and written self-expression.

If you want to show an officer's improvement, those are not areas you mess with.

Another observation is that the narrative is very flat. The key phrases I don't see are the ones that separate the mediocre from good officers, such as: "I would fight to have X assigned as a battery commander if I were taking the battalion into combat" or "LT X served as a battery commander for the past 6 months with notable valor and efficiency after Capt Y was KIA. He is probably the best battery commander I have seen in 20 years on active duty. Every effort must be made to promote LT X below the zone and to retain him in the Regular Army."

[capitan_refugio]

"Hannity for sure, will use this info up until November. Hannity will shout it from the mountain tops!"

Well then, ping him. He checks in from time to time.

Hannity ping

[TexKat]

Coming up on Linda Vester's show Fox News: some retired Viet Nam officer that she states will explain what all this Kerry stuff means.

[HRoarke]

The former head of NOW LA said much the same thing today on Fox. I was surprised to hear her say it but essentially she said that although she thoroughly disagrees with President Bush on abortion, gay marriage, etc. she "wants to be around for the next four years" to be able to debate him and that Bush is the best security candidate. She said that as a Democrat, she was tired of voting for Republicans but that until Kerry came up with something other than fuzzy promises and "anyone but Bush" rhetoric he was going to continue to slip in the polls.

[El Gato]

After three passes at promotion because of that one missed mark on a single quarterly fitness report, you were sent packing with an honorable & a pension.

They got a pension? I thought with less than 20 years, you got nothing, unless you transferred to the reserves or served out your 20 as an enlisted member.

A friend of mine, and a former CO, had just such an OER, from a CO whose cranial-rectal inversion shortly got him a bad OER and retirement at 20. It meant he, my ex CO, was selected for a '70s RIF. However he transfered to the Reserve, where he eventually made 0-6, in a field where there were only 1 or 2 reserve general officers. (One of the current Generals also served under this CO at the same time I did). My own last active duty OER was pretty weak, mainly in the large amount of "white space" in the narrative sections. Since it stated that I had alreadly elected to leave active duty, reserve promotion boards likely didn't pay it much mind. At least I was promoted at the first oportunity after joining the reserve forces.

[BunnySlippers]

I'm still trying to figure out where the Smoking Gun made these charges. Usually they are on the money. But the Smoking Gun link has nothing of this sort. Who wrote the text?

[Hemingway's Ghost]

As a lowly Midshipman 3/C on summer cruise (i.e., only a few weeks after being a plebe), I wrote fitreps for the guys in the division I was assigned to on the USS (not going to say which ship JIC). The officer, who didn't feel like writing them himself, gave me a little guide other officers used on how to write fitreps---chock-filled with certain catchphrases, etc. He told me it was SOP to lift the catchphrases right from the guide.

[Howlin]

Great catch, kabar!

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[Maceman]

Hannity for sure, will use this info up until November. Hannity will shout it from the mountain tops. But Hannity, and to some extent Brit Hume, only preaches to the choir. I don't believe that any mainstream media outlet will do anything with this.

[Hurtgen]

My question is on Kerry's 23 Mar 68 to 20 July 68 fitness report there is a listing under "reference here and append any commendable or adverse reports" of a Honorable John F. Henning who I believe was Under Secretary of Labor under President John F. Kennedy in 1962. He served in that position until 1967, when he was appointed Ambassador to New Zealand by President Lyndon Johnson.

The question is, where is the commendatory letter? All of the other attachments are there. Could it be a string puller?

[MEG33]

Thanks..I'll try to listen.

[nightdriver]

"Anything less than perfect in any of the 16 categories was a clear indication of an undesirable officer."

This report is very true. This was drilled into us from the first ROTC class until we graduated.

The fear of any officer who has a reserve commission is to get RIF'd (Reduction In Forces) so the over-inflated evaluation is a big issue and any mark other than perfect meant the end of the line for you.

If you still had time left on your obligation, you were reduced to the enlisted ranks to serve out the rest of your time as a corporal or sergeant.

[PeoplesRepublicOfWashington]

Let's see a side-by-side comparison and evaluation of sKerry's and Bush's military fitness reports.