Comments for Inside the Headquarters

Comment on Here’s To You, Holly Graf by James Duncan

James Duncan — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:29:29 +0000

From SEP 1992-APR 1994 I served on a west coast destroyer commanded by Captain Steven Busch.

Besides being a egomaniac, Cdr. Busch was hardcore alcoholic in late stage decline. he we go on benders and not make it in to the ship for several days at a time – the XO and crew often had no idea where he was or how to contact him. Frequently he was engaged in adulterous relationships.

In addition, Cdr. Busch was severely abusive to the Junior Officers. And while he was rarely in a condition to train them he would berate them severely, threaten them physically and he course ended the careers of many fine officers with bad fitness reports.

Things became so bad that the command HMC (the command master chief, MC was a coward and frequently partied with the CO as did the XO, Dale Benson) reported the issue of Busch’s alcoholism to Commodore Gary Bier (CO of DESRON 23).

Commander Busch was relieved of command then sent to rehab.

But, Captain Bier, with no concern for the crew, decided to prevent any record of the incident from going in Cdr Busch’s service record.

Commander Busch returned to command the same vessel, USS Merrill DD-976 a few weeks later. He continued to drink.

Here is the best part – Cdr. Busch Bush was promoted to Captain and was placed in command of CG-47 class cruiser like COWPENS.

These things happen. Not one Junior Officer stayed in the surface navy. To this day, it was the worst period of my entire life. i would not advise any one I cared about to serve in the surface Navy.

Comment on Ditch the Antidepressants and Pass me a Beer! by Dutchman79

Dutchman79 — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:47:01 +0000

I’ll tell ya, a brew would have been more than welcome during Desert Shield/Storm or down in Panama during Just Cause. Come back from a patrol, check personnel, check equipment, get debriefed and then crack a beer. Would have been welcome and a morale builder in my opinion.

Comment on The Pacific – Watch it! by Jager27

Jager27 — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:25:06 +0000

Couldn’t agree with you more on the recommendation for all to watch this series. Spielberg and Hanks are a great team and will represent the contributions of these “boys” in a manner befitting their heroic actions. The Marines depicted in this series might not see themselves as heroes, but they are. Also, Full steam ahead to GEN Conway in his endeavors to get back to the fast acting, hard hitting, hit the beach Marines of the past.

Comment on Corps White letter – Leadership (Dis)Engagement? by Gina M. DiNicolo

Gina M. DiNicolo — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:01:11 +0000

He may not release this letter. After going through the 3-star food chain and others, they may move in a different direction. While options must be considered, this one is interesting. While hopelessness come from within, I do think this service’s culture makes it difficult for those struggling in silence to move off Plan B.

Comment on Here’s To You, Holly Graf by Dutchman79

Dutchman79 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:20:52 +0000

I too have worked under this type of “Leader.” However, I’ve never used that as an excuse to fail. It seems that leadership was lacking throughout the chain of command and that officers aboard the Cowpens were weak. When faced by a Holly Graf, subordinate leaders need to step up to the plate and provide an environment in which the crew can perform their mission. There may have been a couple of officers who did this, but there weren’t enough of them. The captain of a ship or a battalion commander doesn’t have the time to personally train every officer in the unit. Sure, it is ultimately his responsibility to ensure that his soldiers/sailors are trained, but he can’t do it himself. The XO and department heads better step up and get their people trained or they too are failing to do their jobs. It’s bigger than just Holly Graf. It’s a failure of the whole chain of command above her too. they aren’t blameless. To be honest, I haven’t been too impressed with many of the navy officers I’ve met. They seem to be a self-serving elitest bunch who look down on subordinates and are more interested in their own careers than in selfless service.

Comment on Corps White letter – Leadership (Dis)Engagement? by Dutchman79

Dutchman79 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:04:38 +0000

I think you hit on something when you asked, “Could it be Conway who is disengaged?” It’s easy to become disconnected from the real world (read military organizational levels below Corps) when you are fighting the political battles in Washington. If you’re going to poke your junior leaders in the eye, you’d better start poking at higher levels first. If your junior officers aren’t providing the leadership that you think they need to, then it’s up to you and leaders above the junior level to train/mentor their subordinates.

Comment on Experimental Operating Base Swamp Romp by Jock

Jock — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:10:00 +0000

exFOB looks like a lot of fun .. except I’m 52 and well past it.

Any thoughts on the MOJO that Critical Solutions are demonstrating?

Comment on LCS 1: Navy Wants to Deploy Now by The USA’s New Littoral Combat Ships (LCS)

The USA’s New Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:32:33 +0000

[...] Military Officers’ Association of America’s “Inside the Headquarters” blog says that the US Navy is thinking of deploying the LCS [...]

Comment on Here’s To You, Holly Graf by Dennis

Dennis — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:34:27 +0000

Back in 1987 I was on a west coast ship with male carbon copy of this CO. A couple of failed assasination attempts (not kidding) and the hightest UA rate in the Navy at that time (one month before deployment 60% of CIC was UA) the XO finally had to go to SURFPAC to get this guy removed. It does really happen out there. He got a pentagon job.

Comment on Here’s To You, Holly Graf by Anathema

Anathema — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:19:58 +0000

Read the IG investigation before you characterize the charges. Whoever wrote it up did a superb job on analysis and recommendations. There’s nothing reasonable in this case, despite what you wrote.

Likewise, Evan Hanson at http://admiraltymaritimelaw.blogspot.com/ has done a superb job in dissecting the report.