Navy defies Congress and promotes Brian L. Losey
Rear Admiral Brian L. Losey was promoted to that rank after he retired November 1, 2016 by the Navy in defiance of members of Congress that had opposed the promotion because of Losey’s search for the person who had ratted him out for a minor abuse of travel regulations. This is from a Washington Post article dated October 2015;
Rear Adm. Brian L. Losey was investigated five times by the Defense Department’s inspector general after subordinates complained that he had wrongly fired, demoted or punished them during a vengeful but fruitless hunt for the person who had anonymously reported him for a minor travel-policy infraction, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.
The Navy was bound and determined to promote the SEAL commander, though. According to a newer Washington Post article, Ray Mabus, the Navy Secretary approved Losey’s promotion in his final days in office;
The documents obtained by The Post, however, show that Mabus later reopened the case. On Jan. 12, during his last week in office as an Obama political appointee, Mabus signed a memo boosting Losey’s rank from a one-star to a two-star admiral.
Losey, 56, will stay retired, but the documents show that his promotion will benefit him financially for the rest of his life.
His higher rank entitles him to a bigger annual military pension. It will swell to about $142,000 this year, an increase of $16,700, according to Defense Department figures.
He will also receive a one-time check for about $70,000 in back pay because the Navy dated his promotion retroactively to the date when he first became eligible for a second star.
He gets a pay raise which is equal to many enlisted retirees’ pensions. I’m not making a judgement as to whether the Admiral deserves the promotion or not, but it’s typical that the taxpayers are getting screwed with no real benefit to their extra 16 grand a year.
Thanks to Chief Tango for the tip.
Category: Navy
BHWHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!!!
That’s a lot of money
Raymie’s last ‘screw you’ to us, perhaps?
Under federal laws which govern prootions I don’t even see how this is possible
For starters you have minimum time in grade requirements for senior officers (with few exceptions) in order to retire at grade. To prevent just what has occured.
I think the retro date of rank takes care of that. I wonder about senate confirmation.
I also see it was adjudicated by the Board of Corrections of Military records which would explain the backpay also. Which was my second question.
This sounds like the USAF general’s case in the 90’s. My guess is we haven’t heard the end of this.
Fvcker. It’s rat bastards like him that give my Navy a bad name. All about him, all the time, and screw anybody who gets in his way.
I’ll bet that Sestak and him get along just fine.
I thought Congress had to approve all officer promotions? Usually perfunctory for O6 and below but GO’s can get more attention. Obviously, I must be wrong.
No. They approve the nominations. Basically blessing off.
Which was already done in his case several years ago.
His actual pinning was delayed because of the investigation. Per federal law.
That would be, “Close, but no cigar,” amigo.
The individual service is the entity that selects and recommends to the POTUS that he nominate officers for potential promotion; the POTUS approves those recommendations. However, Federal law mandates that above a certain grade those promotions cannot take effect until they have been approved (confirmed) by the Senate. In those cases, the POTUS then nominates officers to be promoted to the Senate, who then approves or disapproves of those promotions (“advice and consent”).
In the Active Component, the breakpoint is O4. For O2 and O3, Federal law allows lawful promotion any time after the POTUS approves the applicable promotion list that was sent to him by one of the armed services. For O4 and above, Senate Confirmation is required prior to lawful promotion. See 10 USC 624(c) at
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/624
I’m pretty sure that the grade at which Reserve Officers require Senate Confirmation was raised in the late 1990s or early 2000s to O6 and above, but I could be wrong about that. I’m also pretty sure that requirement is in a different part of Title 10, and I’m not going to take the time to research those details now.
I knew you’d come to my rescue and clarify. I thought I was confirmed by the Senate (along with a zillion other O4’s/5’s.
Addendum: I’m guessing this guy’s promotion was held up due to 10 USC 624(d)(1)(B)’s requirement to do so. It’s unclear whether or not that occurred before or after the Senate confirmed him. From the context, I’d guess after; otherwise, the Navy would have no authority to promote the individual.
He punished people who were his subordinates because he thought they ratted him out?
This guy isn’t a SEAL. He’s a coward.
Flaming red-assed, cocksucking coward…
Uhhhh…
Nothing but love and respect for you, Ex-PH2, but those are some strong words.
No comment on this 1 – minor – incident.
He was #2 at Dev, among other assignments. He’s been in the thick of it, more than once.
ADM McRaven went to bat for him, hard. That says a lot in and of itself.
Also, I don’t know how many, but I know he’s rocking more than 1 CAR.
Respectfully,
Amen.
Thanks guys:
Mr. Sharkman and Tallywhagger. That was my main point.
Wikipedia says he has 3, shark. It’s Wikipedia, so that may or may not be the exact number.
As I’ve said elsewhere: I seriously doubt the man is a “coward”. But possessing courage – or even being decorated for same – is no guarantee someone won’t step on themselves later while wearing golf shoes.
For an example, see former Congressman Duke Cunningham. Cunningham was awarded the Navy Cross and two Silver Stars in Vietnam – and many years later ended up in prison for bribery (to the tune of $2.4M).
Far too often, some number of high officials forget that the laws apply to them too.
I accept your rebuttal, Sharkman, but for a very senior officer to pursue a personal vengeance as he is described to have done in that report is NOT the act of a senior officer or a leader. A ‘get even’ attitude indicates extremely poor judgement at best by him.
If his infraction was so minor that it did not have a real impact on his career, he had NO business – ZERO – going after anyone in a vindictive way. PERIOD.
We all make mistakes, but the majority of us don’t do anything that is destructive of the careers or lives of decent people. What he did is at the very least act in a despicable manner, abused his authority to squash people, and got away with it.
Ex PH2, I do not know about the exact details of his case. However, I am not going to judge the man based upon what one reporter wrote. There is more to this story, and I bet it is poorly reported. Journalists no longer research or qualify their statements.
I’m pretty sure she’s referring to the DoD IG ROI concerning Losey’s substantiated retribution against one whistleblower. See comments by O-4E for a link that leads to the ROI if you’re interested in reading a redacted version of the official IG report on the matter.
This comment is below your standards EX-PH2. This gentleman served his country at the pointy end of the spear for a long time. Furthermore, he served in numerous command positions. I’d love to see a side by side of your record to his.
If your screen name is accurate, you are a former photographer’s mate (E-5), which is the same rank as a Mr. Daniel Bernath, another oxygen thief.
dead on.
“If your screen name is accurate, you are a former photographer’s mate (E-5), which is the same rank as a Mr. Daniel Bernath, another oxygen thief.” Evilone03: If your screen name is accurate, I understand why you wrote that. Ex- is not an oxygen thief, just for starters. If you think that she is, you have mistaken years of her thoughtful commentary here with one hasty conclusion that she may or may not stand by after more consideration. As for likening her to Bernath, based on their shared MOS, do I need to detail for you how utterly foolish your effort is or that Bernath apparently served honorably and only afterwards developed his unholy and unenviable reputation? By the way, I know of another fellow who had that photographer’s job. His name was Perkins. Didn’t even make E5. You will find his name listed among posthumous Medal of Honor recipients.
2/17 Air Cav. I have visited this site often, but I refrain from making many comments. Claiming the man is not a SEAL and calling him a coward was too much for me. My comment about rate/MOS was on point. Where does Ex-PH2 get the credibility to knock a highly decorated O-7? As an E-5, she has never been in the responsibility positions that man has. Furthermore, while Mr. Bernath has the audacity to claim outrageous things such an being an honorary CPO, Ex-PH2 provided the extreme opposite, claiming a SEAL is not a SEAL and a coward. The difference is building up one’s reputation at the cost of his dignity versus tearing down someone’s exceptional service based upon yellow journalism.
As for my name Evilone03, it comes from my callsign Evil (two of us in training had the same last name), and the year I entered service ’03.
Yes, I understand that emotions more than intellect were at play in some of the exchanges and comments. I can’t agree that a shared MOS means anything. If it does, then we are all in trouble, aren’t we?
For “eviloneO3”: trying to bait me by saying I’m the same as Bernath is a pathetic, weak attempt to pick a fight.
I’ve stood up to bigger bullies than you and Losey my whole life, and I won.
And that includes Bernath and his inept, fumbling attempts to stalk me and his ridiculous attempts at litigation.
You are a sad excuse for a human being when you stoop this low.
Enjoy playing your video games in Raccoon City, Toots.
I’ll post my official military record next to yours any day.
If you can pick apart my analogy of comparing you to Bernath in manner less than an ad hominem, state your case.
I happen to know him and know all about the investigation. He was the one ratting people out:
Defense contractors who were ripping off the SEALs.
The contractors retaliated against him by bringing up false claims against him. He was trying to set the record straight. 5 years of investigations and they got NOTHING on him. He is an honorable man and oversaw Naval Special Warfare longer than any other Commander. Those who served with him stuck by him and supported him in every way. I might note that he GOT his command of the SEALs while these witch hunts were going on. Even Navy brass knew he was being set up (Trump isn’t the only one who has had people make something out of nothing.
Get your facts straight before you call someone who served his country with honor a coward. That really pisses me off when others jump to conclusions and make accusations like that. Even Wiki got it mostly right with their write-up of his career and investigation. And by-the-way, it was McCain who held up his star after lambasting him from the Senate floor.
Really? Going on what the WaPo article says, he was on a hunt for people himself. What other facts were there that are public knowledge?
Telling someone ‘get your facts straight’ when YOU are the only one who seems to know more than anyone else is the essence of picking a fight. You are going to have to prove your statements, sport. Shit or get OFF the pot.
Really? Well, since you need me to s**t then here it is…you mentioned the WaPo? So here is something else they wrote:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/04/25/commander-of-bin-laden-raid-blasts-senate-for-disrespecting-military-leaders/?utm_term=.60effa9f7a29
And then there is this from another paper:
http://www.tbo.com/list/news-opinion-commentary/william-mcraven-a-warriors-career-sacrificed-for-politics-20160424/
And this:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/05/13/inside-the-takedown-of-the-top-navy-seal.html
Of course there is this as well:
http://breakingdefense.com/2016/07/whats-eating-bill-mcraven-is-congress-too-ignorant-of-military/
Here is another one:
https://blog.usni.org/2016/04/27/ig-up-and-down-the-barbs-go-both-ways
And another one:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/15/brian-losey-gets-ryan-zinkes-help-with-navy-whistl/
Picking a fight? Whatever. YOU are the one who jumped to conclusions reading a single article, from the WaPo, no less, and called an honorable man a coward.
I’ll be more than happy to s**t some more, if you require it. I think I have MORE than proved my point without having to call in my “I know him personally and spoke to him this morning card”. You owe the man an apology.
Well, I supplied 6 or 7 links backing up my statement. The post has not shown up after going to be “moderated”.
Never mind. It just did.
And there is what O-4e posted, below YOUR post.
Considering the number of people who knew and were involved with the investigation, who said it was a political hit-job, and who fully disputed the findings, that’s hardly a fitting defense for the comment you made about him. It would certainly appear that words are careless things for you to throw around. They are not for me. And they certainly are not careless things (to me) when they involve a person I know and consider an honorable man. I have followed this site for many years. Over those years I have probably posted a grand total of two or three times. I prefer to read and learn from the various opinions shared here in articles and comments, whether I agree with them or not. But in this situation, I will certainly not stand idly by when someone pops off a degrading and unjustified comment like yours about someone I happen to know and respect. Oddly enough, I watch people on this site criticize military investigations, reprimands, court marshals, etc. on a fairly regular basis, all for one reason or another. But it appears because Brian Losey is an accused Admiral (even with numerous people defending him and stating why the IG was going after him), Mr. Losey MUST still be wrong and deserves your denigrating comment. The report MUST be correct. It is NOT a political hit-job (because we all know that NEVER happened in the military). Of course no one has mentioned that the IG office carried out this investigation for 5 years, instead of the 180 days it is supposed to take; no one mentions the fact that the charges and investigation were repeatedly changed when the supporting evidence could not be found; and they don’t talk about the harassment that his family received during this entire time in an effort to force him to retire and bury the entire investigation before it could be made public and come under scrutiny. Of course not, you read the Washington Post article. You’re now an expert on the subject to the point that you can declare, “This guy isn’t a… Read more »
Such as it matters, I believe that Admiral Losey is, in fact, a SEAL and, as such, any idea that he may be a coward is a non-sequitir.
Moreover, for what’s worth, the story reeks of witch hunts and vendettas.
At most, having Mabus associated with the matter is repugnant.
OTOH, if Losey “worked the system” to eek out some travel benefit(s), he should pony up the bucks, acknowledge the error and the person or persons who brought the matter to his attention. Yet, if they jumped the chain of command, with ulterior motive, they did belong in his command.
If there were a coward in the story, I did not see it.
correction, they did NOT belong in his command.
If the RINO McCain was involved, you know it was BULLSHYT!
From what I gather there was a problem even before Losey took over with both civilian staff and military playing fast and lose with travel pay, per diem and overtime. People ( Losey not being one of them) were lit up over it. When he took over he expected more of a work ethic than some of his subordinates were willing to put out. He put a boot in their ass and was counseled about his command style. I’m sure he got frustrated and was pissed at them and broke them off sumpin’. He probably DID cross the line in the way he handled things. All I know is is I had a subordinate who couldn’t or wouldn’t keep track of where a relatively small number (500) and gave me a ration of shit about removing liquor bottles from there work area I would have lost my shit too.
Whiskey Bravo wrote:
Obviously, you didn’t bother to even look at the linked DoDIG ROI. It’s title page clearly shows a date of 15 July 2013.
It also addressed very different allegations of misconduct than you spoke of originally – e.g., allegations of improper whistleblower retaliation by RDML Losey vice travel irregularities. Those allegations of whistleblower retaliation were largely substantiated by the DoD IG’s investigation documented in the linked ROI. You’d know that as well if you’d bothered to read it.
The precise date the DoD IG investigation documented in that ROI was initiated is unclear. However, given the ROI number of “2012 122712-017”, my guess would be that it was initiated on or about 27 December 2012.
If so, that means the ROI was issued 202 days after the investigation was initiated. That’s quite a bit less than the “5 years” you claim – and not far over the 180 day target for IG investigations.
I have no idea whether Losey got a “raw deal” or not – though the ROI would indicate “not”. But you really should get your facts straight before throwing darts at others for their opinions, Whiskey Bravo.
Oh, I read the report. Quoting it back to me does not address the errors within it. However I also read a number of rebuttals to that report and a very comprehensive overview of the errors and omissions in the report–including the timeline. I stand by what I said.
The report, as I stated previously, WAS the problem. And as for the report, as state by another in the comments here, nothing in that report justifies saying he’s no ZEALot that he’s a coward. THAT was my primary point of contention.
Sorry. On my phone and messed up. It should have said, “not a SEAL or coward.”
I don’t think that Don & Dianne Shipley will be showing up at Admiral Losey’s door and challenging his veracity or courage.
But, if they did… his response would likely sustainable.
I recommend that PH2 and WB take the matter to PH 7.
Keep in mind that Pelosi trashes more than the Admiral’s retirement compensation just to traffic her hideous ass from DCA to SFO and that doesn’t even take her liquor bill into consideration.
When I joined the Army, O-7 base pay maxed out at about $2,188.20. The CNO was paid $3,000 / month. It’s just numbers on paper.
In 1970, the salary of the President of the United States was $200,000 a year. This is equivalent to $1,280,806 in 2017.
Well, if you read the report, WB, then please explain your “the IG took 5 years” claim. That claim is patently absurd.
IG ROIs are issued AFTER an investigation is complete, and after the subject of the investigation has had his chance for rebuttal. This ROI is dated mid July, 2013 – and the investigation covered by the ROI was apparently initiated in Dec 2012. That’s hardly 5 years.
Further, the text of the ROI clearly indicates that Losey indeed attempted to rebut the ROI’s findings. It also indicates that DoD IG didn’t find his rebuttal to be persuasive on anything other than minor points – and it also indicates that corrections addressing those minor points were incorporated into the final version of the ROI.
Seems to me that all of that clearly indicates that the IG took about 200 days vice 5 years to do their job. What happened afterwards isn’t attributable to “the IG taking 5 years” – they were finished in July 2013.
Hey, I get it – you like the guy, and you think he got a raw deal. But you should also realize that your liking the guy hardly makes you objective. If anything, your liking the guy may well cloud your judgement by leading you to ignore or downplay damning facts that are apparent to others.
Further: whether the whole situation started over a “minor travel discrepancy” or not is irrelevant. The bottom line is that the guy appears to have engaged in whistleblower retaliation. That in and of itself IMO is enough for denial of promotion to any commissioned officer. It’s a form of abuse of subordinates.
Even GOs and FOs have to follow established laws and rules. It appears here that Losey forgot that – and ended up getting a pass for doing so.
Just my opinion, based on a totally disinterested reading of the facts presented in the DoD IG ROI.
“Just my opinion, based on a totally disinterested reading of the facts presented in the DoD IG ROI.”
Did you see anything in there that said he was not a SEAL or that he was a coward?
When you try to parse out the red herring, WB took exception with a characterization Admiral Losey’s service and diminished his character in a manner that I would not even apply to a lunatic-lawyer from Florida.
As to OIGs? What happened to the IG’s findings in the matter of the IRS vs the Tea Party?
Birdbath Bernasty is a coward who abuses the judicial system to advance his own peculiar perspective of life like Don Quixote.
FWIW, does anyone know what “transgression” of travel regulations was/were committed? Hell, Hillary had the entire travel staff fired in one of her many moments of imaginary relevance.
If there was an act of cowardice on Admiral Losey’s part, who alleged it?
I have made no statement that the man is a coward, nor have I commented on statements made by others to that effect. That’s not my issue with what WB said above.
My issue was with WB calling out another commenter here for being “inaccurate” in the same comment where he himself made a rather gross error of fact. When I called that error to his attention, he doubled down by claiming to have read the ROI and to know what it said. He then side-stepped and failed to answer my question regarding how his assertion of a “5 year IG investigation” was possible if the actual investigation took 202 days.
That’s hypocritical as hell on his part.
As I said earlier: Losey may or may not have gotten a raw deal. The ROI tends to support “not”, but either is at least theoretically possible.
However, it’s not even theoretically possible for an investigation that began in Dec 2012 and ended in July 2013 with the issuance of a formal ROI to have taken 5 years. And WB quite clearly made exactly that claim above.
Given that whopper of a false claim – which he’s doubled down on by claiming to have read the DoD IG ROI – I’m not exactly inclined to take anything else he says at face value without a damn good explanation or documentary proof.
For the record: I doubt that Losey is a “coward”. But it’s entirely possible he forgot that rules and laws apply to GOs/FOs too.
“For the record: I doubt that Losey is a “coward”. But it’s entirely possible he forgot that rules and laws apply to GOs/FOs too.”
Agreed.
I called out Ex-PH2 for saying that “This guy (Losey) isn’t a SEAL. He’s a coward.” She told me to back up what I said and I did. Now Hondo starts busting my chops saying I didn’t read the report (because if I did I’d know…) and added some other assumptions on his part about my what I know and don’t know. I took issue with one of the writers here at TAH and I get my chops busted. I see how things work now. As for the investigation and the five years I claimed, this investigation did not begin and end with the IG report. I thought that would have been clear to anyone reading this who has ever been through something like this on the Hill. I’m probably persona non grata now, but whatever. Hondo, you seem all bent out of shape on the 5 year investigation claim I made. You shouldn’t be. You are looking at the IG report and fixated on that and only that. The problem is, that investigation DID NOT end when the report came out. There were additional investigations of the investigation and requests for information and confirmations, etc. that Brian (and his family) had to go through. Anyone who has been on the Hill and seen these things go on should know that. It wasn’t open and shut with the IG report. I thought that you would know something like that. Anyway, it is a fact that they didn’t make the 180 days as they were supposed to and it did take longer than the 202 you mentioned. And it took about 5 years for the entire investigation to play out. They did change the charges–and did a lot more to “make a case” than is addressed in the report. Every single thing I said was straight-up and true. So here is what Senator Grassley says about it: https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-case-whistleblower-retaliation-pentagon This is NOT a flattering speech from the Senate Floor about Brian, but it does give a glimpse into how this investigation continued to play out and how this didn’t “just end” with… Read more »
My mistake in the timeline above. I posted in the above comment that it was 3.1 years in Grassley’s quote and then the matter was dropped in November. It wasn’t actually “dropped” until December according to my notes. That’s about 4 years.
My file notes say “about 5” and I’ll have to go back and check, but I think this was because there was a question as to the timeline referred to by Grassley in that speech. I’m not sure. It may also be a quote from one of the people interviewed.
However, I think I have made my point pertaining my claim about the length of time Losey was under investigation. Any way you cut it, it documents a time FAR exceeding the time of the IG report you referenced. You did ask for documentation.
Found it. It was stated that it actually exceeded 5 years in accordance to the fact that the investigation was considered opened on the day the complaint was received. It was a little over four and three-quarter years otherwise.
And the multiple reports from the IG office took more than 3 years in and of themselves. And if I am reading my notes correctly and counting it up right this late at night, it was more than 4 years of investigative work and reporting on the IG’s part. Grassley also covers these reports in his speech–as I previously noted.
And as a retraction/correction. I did type that the IG took 5 years. I meant that the investigation of Losey took 5 years. However, I was right in typing it that way anyhow. After going through my notes, I see that it was about 4 2/3 years or so for the IG to close this matter out. And again, Grassley makes mention of this in his speech from the Senate floor. That’s the only thing I could quickly find on the internet and reference from my files that I could direct you to, Hondo.
Sorry about the mix-up on saying I did not say “IG took 5 years”, but I was right anyway. So I meant something else (investigation overall), but was right about what I said anyhow.It’s been a while since I looked at all this and it can get turned around easily. But your claim that the 2013 IG report makes my 5 year claim of the investigation bogus…Completely wrong. Like I told all of you, there was a LOT more of this than just what you read on the internet and Google. I’m done for the night.
I’m pretty sure I’ve proved my point to any reasonable person who is looking for for supporting material for what I said about this investigation and not merely trying to support their own agenda.
I don’t much care if you anything I say at face value, WB. Facts speak for themselves. The DoD IG ROI linked above – along with your comments to this article – clearly demonstrate for all to see that you at best misspoke above, and at worst deliberately dissembled and/or obfuscated. I’ll let you enlighten us which it was – or not. Your call. (sigh) Against my better judgement, I’ll make one final attempt to get through to you here. You just don’t seem to “get it”, but perhaps you will if I explain it yet again, step-by-step and in some detail. 1. My original comment addressed to you was intended to do one thing only: point out to you that you were being hypocritical. Apparently you missed that – along with my clear explanation of that fact in another comment not directed to you. 2. I’ve made it quite plain that my comments here refer to one specific DoD IG ROI. Anyone with reasonable reading comprehension skills can see that. 3. That specific ROI concerns allegations of whistleblower retaliation. The investigation leading to that ROI investigated nothing else. The ROI mentioned other, previously-investigated allegations as background only. 4. In comments here, you stated that “the IG office carried out this investigation for 5 years, instead of the 180 days it is supposed to take” (emphasis added). That is a direct quote from a previous comment of yours, made in direct response to a comment which mentioned that specific ROI. Therefore, without further clarification it’s reasonable to infer that your comment refers to the investigation leading to that specific ROI. 5. The investigation documented by that specific ROI did not take 5 years. The ROI in question, linked in comments by O-4E, clearly shows that specific investigation and the preparation of the final ROI associated with same took just over 6 months. My original question to you was intended to point out your error of fact – as well as the hypocrisy of you taking another to task for not knowing what they were talking about while simultaneously making a… Read more »
Here’s the DODIG report in case anyone is interested:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.dodig.mil/FOIA/err/Whistleblower%2520Reprisal%2520Investigation%2520Case%25202012122712-017%2520(Redacted).pdf&ved=0ahUKEwjFg_n9zYPTAhUG0iYKHZkHDgAQFggaMAA&usg=AFQjCNFmDqKxpKXHmp5YkgWnaYfIMWV7gw&sig2=JxtX3B-i2qVw7SSsfy6rXg
Top link:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Brian+L.+Losey+dodig&oq=Brian+L.+Losey&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j69i59j69i60j0j69i60l2.2855j0j4&client=ms-android-sprint-us&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8
Where there is smoke there is fire. Looks like he had a great career, someone crossed him and he used shit judgement in how he went about addressing it.
Apparently his service outweighed his screw-up where the Navy felt his promotion was warranted.
Don’t know the admiral, of course, so cannot defend him or add anything of substance to his condemnation. But, since the WaPo very seldom gets anything right and seldom jumps to a correct conclusion the odds are very great that this published story is at least slanted if not completely inaccurate.
Therefore I must echo Jonn’s statement, “I’m not making a judgement as to whether the Admiral deserves the promotion or not, but it’s typical that the taxpayers are getting screwed with no real benefit to their extra 16 grand a year.” Innocent or guilty of the charges against the man, he apparently spent a great deal of his last five years of service defending himself instead of just doing his job.
Forget the five years thing I said in the above comment. Thought I’d read it somewhere other than here in the comments but cannot now find it, so it didn’t officially happen.
Whatever the time frame, it was too much distraction from the job if the charges were frivolous. If the charges were legitimate, fine, whatever the timeframe.
Even if the OIG’s report was relevant on a “preponderance” of “evidence” assertion, neither the OIG nor the plaintiffs indicted his character as cowardly.
Relegating school teachers to certain schools or teaching certain classes could be characterized on a similar scale as the complainants against Losey.
If the aggrieved had a claim, their complaint did not allege cowardice.
My default position is that anyone in the SF community is anything but a coward. Actually, until proven otherwise, I view folks in uniform generally that way, knowing full well that some are and have just not yet discovered/proven it. It serves no useful purpose for me to do otherwise. But that’s just me. It’s easy enough to change the label when it is deserved. Like too may showcased on the pages of TAH.
I have never lived in the world where swapping rumors over drinks with Admirals was a regular thing.
I am not on a first-name basis with RADM Losey.
What I recall hearing/’feeling’ (for lack of a better word) about the whole scandal was RADM Losey being of the mindset ‘We’re fighting a war, really?’ when the ‘allegations’ surfaced.
I know that it was NEVER a case of RADM Losey conducting ‘witch hunts’ among the Teamguys he commanded (someone mentioned contractors – that’s what I vaguely recall as well).
Some SEAL Os have an ‘ok’ rep among ‘their’ Teamguys, some have a very good reputation, some have a very poor reputation.
#2 at Dev is a prestigious, high profile (within the community), insanely high pressure assignment. Especially when the op tempo at the time he was there is taken into account.
It is a ‘make-or-break’ deal. You don’t wind up on track to make admiral if you didn’t kick ass – in the eyes of the Teamguys he commanded. ‘Doing okay’ is not good enough.
Maybe there’s more to it than I’m aware of (shocking, I know). But his rep is solid-to-good among the Teamguys doing the actual work.
If it wasn’t, I’d simply say nothing. Dirty laundry stays in-house in most cases.
Well said, Sharkman.
From the IG report its pretty clear the complaintant is senior (O-4 to O-6) Air Force staff officer. Reading between the redacted lines. Makes no mention of contractors in the DODOIG report. Not to say that wasn’t the case.
Another commenter on another site claiming to also have inside knowledge claims the travel discrepancy involved one of Losey’s dependents.
Good to have friends in high places…
Reminds me of one of Garth Brooks better songs.
There higher pay grade retirements are bit ridiculous.
I am not aware of this happening to enlisted folks.
Seems like a privilege of the officer class at the expense of the taxpayers and for no real purpose.
Zampolit,
You said “the officer class”
We do not have “class” here in the USA. Just about anyone who wants to do so, can scrimp, save, scoloarship hunt, and/or work there way into college, join ROTC, and obtain a Comission.
Sure, some folks start off with an easier ride. No guarantee one keeps it, and nothing stops one from making oneself wealthy enough to give ones own spawn a leg up.
Hard work and shrewd thinking take one much, much farther than handouts from Daddy and a pre-paid diploma in Critical Basket Weaving Theory from a goofball circus college with pretentions of ancient relevance.
We have the second lowest social mobility of all democracies.
So your post is more bullshit propaganda than reality.
Particularly in an era where college tuition increases have exceeded inflation by 3000-9000%.
Thus Spake Der Poodlemann, yet again without source:
(sigh) Based on past experience, asking for a reliable and accurate citation for the source that claim is almost certainly a “non-starter” – so I won’t bother.
Remember, Hondo – he has “empirical data” to back him up…
Hmm. I never realized that “empirical” meant “undocumented hearsay presented as fact without verification”. Thanks for setting me straight.
(smile)
And yet, I know many, many, many upwardly mobile types, most of them who came here with essentially nothing.
I know quite a few who blow everything. A handful are climbing back up, having un-learned stupidity.
People who wave “class” around are covering their own deficiencies.
Proggy/Marxist types preach “class” to explain why otherwise upwardly mobile people would need some sort of self-selected savior class to make their life suck a littl less, while the self-selected savior Nomenklatura of course skim the choose bits.
Only idiots buy that “no upward mobility” crap.
I could fill large rooms with the people I know -personally- who are moving way up from start point.
That ability is why this nation of ours is wealthy beyond the dreams of most of the rest.
And idiots and scheming liars have to pretend otherwise, to get folks to swallow the bald-faced lie of Marxism/Progressivism/Idiocy.
So, are you saying you couldn’t get anywhere because “wrong class”, or saying you are superior because “right class”?
Spare us the BS answer. You have no class.
Oh, and by the way, when I was first commissioned I had a couple officers take me out for a beer. They wanted to “intervene” because I was too casual in my conversations with NCOs.
I will never forget one quote from that dinner; “You are part of the upper class, you need to distance yourself from the peasant class”.
Mrs. Ciccariello-Mayer hath spoken.
Based on your comments here, you apparently took that advice to heart – and applied it to everyone you met afterwards throughout your lifetime.
Lars, you received very bad advice from a couple of arrogant SOBs. You were naive enough to believe them. It has colored everything you say and every comment you post on TAH. I won’t say you should have known better, because you obviously did not, but the BEST officers I ever worked for were mustangs, people who started as enlisted and worked their way into Warrant and Commissioned positions.
There IS no officer class. There is only rank. You received very bad advice. If you come down off your high horse, people will like you a lot better.
This is really a disheartening thread. I am a latecomer to it and would not have stopped by were it not for my interest in Hondo’s posts. They have been too rare over the past couple of months for me not to read them. Anyway, I see that there are two camps on this matter and, truth be told, neither will prevail on the other. It is what it is, whatever it is, and I say that because, evidently, the same two camps evident here are to be found in the development of this entire matter. Out.
Here’s ‘another take’ on the whole sordid affair.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/05/13/inside-the-takedown-of-the-top-navy-seal.html