“confused macho overbearing bluff-mongering with effectiveness”
I was a WSO in F-4s, F-111s and an EWO in the EF-111. While not all “confused macho overbearing bluff-mongering” types make good fighter pilots, good fighter pilots DO need to be pretty macho, come across as overbearing, and are almost always dominant type A personalities.
I was an exceptionally talented WSO & EWO, but I was not the right personality to be a good fighter pilot. That may be part of why I was a very good WSO - I didn’t WANT to be a fighter pilot, but meshed well with good, aggressive fighter pilots.
I doubt the modern military would LIKE good fighter pilots. By the time I retired, the “kinder, gentler USAF” was taking over. I would not fit into today’s USAF. Not at all.
Me thinks Schurmann spent his career in a silo or behind a desk or something. There are types who volunteer for tougher and dangerous units. That’s why you can take a quick look at Joe Biden or Bill Clinton and know they’ve probably never served a day and certainly not with a combat unit. For those of you unfamiliar with Mikey Weinstein, here is a little bit of what that piece of swill has been up to: http://www.militarycorruption.com/stevelewis.htm
“...good fighter pilots DO need to be pretty macho, come across as overbearing ...
I doubt the modern military would LIKE good fighter pilots. ...”
Congratulations to Mr Rogers for surviving so long in the fighter world.
I did not meet every fighter pilot personally, so I cannot state with certainty that all were unworthy.
I can, however, say that I never met one I would trust.
They are macho and overbearing, but not bold, not gutsy, not truly tough in ways that might be inspiring, useful or worthy: closer to being a pack of whiny, backstabbing mamas’ boys. Competition junkies who live up to the character attribute of “integrity” only as long as it doesn’t get in their way. They will betray their own fellow service members just as quickly as they will chop the head off an enemy. And when there’s no one left to play with, they will undercut and one-up each other. They succeed only to the extent others watch over them, support them, look out for them, and otherwise commit to their care. People better than they are.
There is another explanation for Mr R’s good relations: he got lucky. None of the fighter pilots he encountered found it expedient to stick a knife in his back.