Link Me Up, Scotty - Horrified Edition

Friday, January 18, 2019

The story of Sonia Vallabh and Eric Minike, who changed their entire lives in order to seek a cure for a genetic disorder called Familial Fatal Insomnia. Sonia carries the gene for the disease, which has a 100% mortality rate, and I admire their passion and dedication. 

Note: This is the same disease that runs in Sistah Stacey's family, so I have more than a passing interest.
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7 Things I've learned from the loss of my child. As true now as when it was written, these are the things you should know about bereaved parents. 
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The smarty-pants over at CERN have a vision for their next-gen particle collider. #ScienceRules 

Now waiting for the whack-a-doos to come out of the woodwork in 5...4...3...
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There's a recent report in the Navy Times about the fatal collision of the USS FITZGERALD. As a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer who was also a qualified Combat Information Center Watch Officer (CICWO), I cannot emphasize enough how incredibly distressing I found this report. The conditions described in this article constitute a complete and utter failure in leadership all the way from the Commanding Officer to the lowest Petty Officer. The failure was so utterly complete, at every level, I cannot tell you how appalled I am. 

Because they are my cohort, I'm especially disturbed by the failure of the Chief's Mess to take what action was necessary to maintain good order and discipline among the enlisted ranks. As a group, young sailors are going to try and get over if they can - especially if their operational tempo is such that they're tired and stressed all the time. But it's the role of the Chief to lead these sailors in such a way that they continue to try to do their best, and comply with the ship's standing orders at all times. To allow a systemic breakdown in discipline such as is described by the Fort report indicates something about that Mess that bears close and deep examination and remediation. 

Please also note that the Navy Times, as a journalistic effort, has always primarily the mouthpiece of the brass. It's really nothing less than a propaganda rag, and for them to actually publish an investigative article that leaves the Navy with such a huge black eye tells me that the situation described in the Fort report is probably even worse than described. 

HORRIFIED, Y'ALL.

1 comments:

Unknown said...


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