Tough Love

(Submitted by Rat)

One of our squadron “additional duties “was pulling RSU (Runway Supervisory Unit) duties. To this end we. had to provide a crew of 4: 2 IPs and 2 students. The senior IP in charge was the Controller, the other IP was the Observer. The 2 students were assigned as Gear Checker and Recorder. A typical RSU tour might last 3 – 4 hours. At PIT we shaved off the 2 student duties and just had a Controller and a Monitor, the positions filled with an IP and a trainee. This was because at PIT our trainees were all rated – they had their wings.

JB, an IP in my flight, was an RSU Controller. One day our flight had to cover” Monitor” duties. I think the assigned guy went home sick or something. JB wasn’t doing anything so I asked him if he’d mind  covering  “Monitor”.  He said he was a Controller and “didn’t do Monitor.” I was busy with some stuff and not in a mood to be trifled with. I told him it was our flight’s responsibility to cover it, my expectation was for him to take care of it and if he didn’t somehow reach deep down and find” Monitor” in his repertoire, it would be incumbent on him to “pack his grip”.
 
“What do you mean by that?” JB asked.
 
“I mean you’re fired. Pack your grip, cruise the hall and see if you can find a desk in another flight. ”

JB suddenly achieved enlightenment, caught a ride to ” the little house on the prairie” (RSU) and Monitored for a couple of hours. Sometimes it’s just a matter of motivation…

(Can you imagine handling a situation like this today?)

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