Admiral Nominee Once Deliberately Shot Down Friendly Aircraft Twenty-four years ago, Timothy Dorsey, a novice Navy jet pilot, was flying an F-14 Tomcat during a training exercise when he shot down an Air Force jet over the Mediterranean Sea, injuring the two aviators aboard. A military investigation faulted him for a "basic error in judgment" and "an illogical act." Dorsey, who was based at Oceana Naval Air Station at the time, never flew again. But his military career didn't end. Earlier this month, Dorsey, now a Norfolk-based captain in the Navy Reserve, was nominated by the Obama administration to be a rear admiral. His appointment is awaiting Senate consideration.
Yet if a Captain runs his ship onto an uncharted sandbar, his career is quite likely to be over. Weird.
So the guy has been promoted in the military for 24 years prior to this. Is that what I can gather from this story? Promoted for 24 years. 24 years. Think about it.
What is the process leading up to this senate approval (aside from 24 years of service in the military which was obviously good enough as a whole to make it this far)? I mean, does the Navy approve him first? Is this how it normally works, Captain to Admiral? Is he a Reserve Admiral? :shrugs: Also, i love how it's presented as Obama naval nominee. Awesome work. I'm sure if Obama hadn't been a part of it, the 'outrage' would be exactly the same, based on facts... and... stuff. Also, what the heck, Groogleplex?
Also from the original article: The incident occurred Sept. 22, 1987, during a war games exercise when Ross' RF-4C Phantom, flying from a base in Italy, was acting as an intruder trying to locate the aircraft carrier Saratoga. A year later, Knight-Ridder News Service produced a detailed account of the incident -- based on the Air Force investigation report -- that described how Ross' plane was undergoing a midair refueling by a KC-135 tanker when the two aircraft were spotted by the Saratoga's radar operators. Two F-14s, including Dorsey's jet, had taken off from the ship minutes earlier carrying live Sidewinder missiles -- in violation of an agreement with the Air Force that the weapons would not be used, according to the news service. Dorsey, then 25 with 245 hours of flying time in the F-14, was chasing Ross' twin-engine jet when he called the Saratoga for advice. The carrier told him, "Red and free on your contact." He later told investigators that shocked him because the phrase meant to him it was "clearance to fire" on the Phantom. "The combination of factors that I was seeing outside the airplane and hearing made me shoot," Dorsey said at the time. "It was very fast -- I did not have time for a big three-party discussion." "Seeing the Phantom close in on the carrier, I armed up and squeezed the trigger." After his first missile malfunctioned, Dorsey fired a second Sidewinder, striking the Phantom. I don't know who arms jets with live or fake missiles, but I assume it's not the rookie pilot. And I'm not sure why the carrier told the jet to fire. His more recent history: After Dorsey was grounded, he changed focus. In September 1991, he left active duty for the Navy Reserve, where he became an intelligence officer. Working primarily in Norfolk, he went on to serve as commanding officer of three units. He was mobilized to active duty in the Middle East during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as a counterintelligence and intelligence officer. In 2003, he led the Navy's Mobile Interrogation Team that questioned Iraqi prisoners of war. And the Navy's position: Rear Adm. Dennis Moynihan, the Navy's top spokesman, said military promotion boards are required to take a close look at a candidate's entire record. When considering promotions, he said, board members "should not automatically discount any officer who, with the exception of a single incident, would otherwise be considered to be the best qualified." The instructions for the promotion board considering rear admiral candidates order members to review any "adverse information," with a caveat. "While the Navy is, and will remain, a service of higher standards and strictest accountability, we do not embrace blind adherence to a zero-defect mentality," the instructions state. "All of us have made mistakes in the past; the test is of the character and resilience of the individual and his or her ability to learn and grow from that experience."
FYI, I was at the Hard Rock Cafe that day celebrating my 11th bday. This bit of trivia is much more interesting than another gwayneco thread.
