I think we, as a nation, are becoming a nation of “sissy boys.” Listening to Fox News this morning, they reported that a kid has been suspended from pre-school for pointing his finger at another kid, like a gun. Oh give me a break! It seems that if a kid plays ‘Cowboys and Indians’ he runs the risk of being hammered; however if he walks around holding hands with another boy, well – that’s ‘cute.’ Wonder how long I would have been suspended for playing ‘Cowboys and Ragheads?’
I saw this ‘sissy boy mindset’ begin to creep into our squadron in the mid-80’s. On a formation check ride I was administering, I was briefed by the student, that all of our turns for turning rejoins would be to the left. WTF, over? When I asked why, I was told so that it would be easier for the student in pilot training – to know what was coming. Oh… When I suggested that one turning rejoin to the right might not be a bad idea, I was told, “I am the IP here, and right turning rejoins are what we are going to do on this sortie.!” Oh…
I then asked where he came up with this idea and he told me his IP at PIT gave him the technique. Oh…
When we gave check rides at PIT we were the “student mode” after the initial briefing. If we had to come out of the student mode for anything other than an emergency, the student was more or less, Unsat. Those were the rules. However, on this day I decided to cut the kid some slack.
They say to ‘praise in public and critique in private.’ So in front of the other 3 guys in the formation I called a “Time Out.” I was a Lt. Col. and the formation commander at the time – do you think the kid, or anyone else, was going to argue? So, I told him, “Look Kid, the ‘soft sell’ doesn’t seem to be working here. If you don’t amend your briefing to include right turning rejoins, we are not going to fly this ride. Questions?” There were none. The briefing was amended, and we flew without further issue…
On the way out to the jet, I stopped by “E” Flight and quizzed the IP in question here – why he would teach such a technique? “Well Sir,” he began to explain, “my IP, a former F-4 pilot (as if this made any difference to me) told me this was the best way to build confidence in a student.”
I then told him that in Check Section we needed to see a complete picture of the training the students were receiving. He then ‘dug his heels in’ and told me that he thought it was a good technique, and he would continue to use it. The “soft sell” wasn’t working with this bozo either! So, I told him, “Let me be very clear here: if another one of your students comes down and briefs only right or left turning rejoins on a check ride, we will smoke him in the briefing. Any questions, captain?”
I have no clue what ever happened to the student here, but the IP went on to become the 560th Squadron Commander a few years later. Swell…