First female Viper demo team chief…
…relieved of command after two weeks
Air Force Capt. Zoe “SiS” Kotnik, F-16 Viper Demonstration Team commander and pilot, smiles after a certification flight at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., on Jan. 29, 2019. Kotnik was relieved of command on Monday, Feb. 11, just two weeks after taking the team’s reins, officials said Tuesday.
KATHRYN R.C. REAVES/U.S. AIR FORCE
Ref: 2019 Media Kit
The Air Combat Command F-16 Viper Demonstration Team at Shaw AFB, S.C., performs precision aerial maneuvers to demonstrate the unique capabilities by one of the Air Force’s premier multi-role fighters, the F-16 Fighting Falcon. The team also flies in Air Force Heritage Flight formations, exhibiting the professional qualities the Air Force develops in the people who fly, maintain and support these aircraft.
By COREY DICKSTEIN | STARS AND STRIPES
WASHINGTON – Air Force Capt. Zoe Kotnik, the first female F-16 pilot to lead the service’s Viper demonstration team, was relieved of command Monday, just two weeks after taking the team’s reins, officials said Tuesday.Col. Derek O’Malley, the commander of the 20th Fighter Wing, removed Kotnik from her position after losing confidence in her ability to lead and command the demonstration team, which showcases the newest model of F-16V fighter jets at airshows throughout the country, according to an Air Combat Command statement.
O’Malley attempted to explain his decision in a social media post on the Shaw Air Force Base’s Facebook page.
“We have thousands of airmen across our Air Force serving our country, and not one of them is perfect,” he wrote. “As good people, like Capt. Kotnik make mistakes, I want them to have the opportunity to learn from them without being under public scrutiny, and to continue to be a part of this great service. They’ll be better for the experience, and in turn, we’ll be better as an Air Force.”
O’Malley acknowledged Kotnik’s removal would be tough on her, but he said she was “surrounded by wingmen [who] will help her every step of the way.”
Capt. Alannah Staver, a spokeswoman for the 20th Fighter Wing, which is based at Shaw in South Carolina, declined to provide additional information about Kotnik’s removal.
“Lost confidence in ability to command,” the death knell of many a career, at least at the 0-5 and above levels. Hope she’s junior enough to weather the storm, and has taken on board the lessons learned. The rest of the article may be viewed here: Stars and Stripes
Tip of the old chapeau to the Master Chief for the link. Thanks!
Your assessment of Captain Kotnik is quite correct.
Category: Air Force, Blue Skies
Nah. She’s toast.
Don’t know why, don’t really care. But if it came a whole two weeks into the new job, it must have been something truly fucking spectacular.
How does an O-3 get command of a squadron, particularly one so high vis?
This is just a wag, but I can’t shake the idea that she almost caused a Class A mishap. That’s about the only thing that I can think of that would cause her to go down the drain that damn quick.
Even if she was guilty of the usual shit like fraternization or some such, that takes some time to investigate
Its not a squadron. Its a flight, and I’d guess no more than about 30-35 folks including maintainers.
Not sure how she stepped on it.
Let us compare their assignments.
Maj. “Rain” Waters:
Capt. “SiS” Kotnik:
Maj. Waters is back in command of the Demo Team.
Oops … missed a [/b] after Assignments.
Admin Assist, s’il vous plait.
Doing a little quick research I think the use of the term commander is a bit loose. I don’t believe the person occupying that position is on G-series orders, and as the position is a staff office in the Wing it might be a dozen folks tops.
Long ago in a galaxy far far away my flight had 75 people assigned and another dozen attached though my job title said Flight Commander I wasn’t on G-series orders.
That what you had in mind?
Thanks for the assist! As Ex-PH2’s cat would say, “Purrrrrrrrrrfect.”
rgr1480:
Ex-PH2 has a talking cat?
Sufferin’ Succotash!
😎
Thank you, rgr1480. The friendly Admins here at TAH strive to provide quality content to our customers, and are always willing to go that extra mile.
Unless you piss us off- then STFB.
She was commander by default because of her status as the only pilot on the single aircraft demo team. I won’t speculate as to what she did to get fired. It could be anything from screwing the wrong person to dangerous airmanship
Looking at her record I have to wonder if this was not one of those putting a female into the position because she was a female. No management or leadership experience which may have been a factor. One never knows does one?
My SWAG is it was a safety issue, but time will tell. Please stay on this.
I read elsewhere that she was a ZOOMIE. This is probably the first “NO” so far in her career.
An attractive female who flies a combat aircraft. Who would have thought. No problem, she’ll take her discharge, get a great job flying commercial then run for Congress.
Not sure where this is coming from- she was one class behind her predecessor (is that the same guy who replaced her?) in F16 driving school- he was an MC-12 pilot previously, which, although cool, is a twin engine propellor aircraft similar to Army Guardrails and nothing like an F-16.
His ‘combat experience’ consists of reading Maxim and drinking Ripits while the airplane flew itself on autopilot in giant circles thousands of feet above the vaunted Taliban anti-aircraft umbrella.
Also, this ain’t the Thunderbirds. This is a captain level ‘command’, although from what I can see it was not what I would consider a true command. More like a high-viz detachment for dog and pony shows. The real scandal here is that we all pay for this thing to exist.
Captains can and should be fired for showing up late to work too many times. Her career will survive, and the world will get back to not knowing there is such a thing as the Viper Demo team at Shaw Air Force Base.
Comment edited for obscene content.
AW1
Must’ve been a doozy, whatever she did.
Aww… 🙁 you know something like that probably did happen these days. Just sayin’.
SO HOT … it is a shame!
Damn. All of that USAF PR down the drain. Mystery invites speculation and I have a notion based on O’Malley’s kind statement, but I’ll keep it to myself.
Maybe she buzzed the air traffic control tower while flying inverted.
Or buzzed while she was horizontal with the crew chief!
Negative Ghost Rider…the pattern is FULL!
When will the Government stop announcing the first of this or that when the appointment starts? How often have we seen the first of something flunk out, quit, or get fired? Or, how often have we seen extra time or training being given to the firsts so they don’t flunk out, quit, or get fired?
I say, from now on don’t announce someone as first of anything until the tour of duty, course, or assignment is successfully completed.
Now, now, now, Dennis, if we don’t FIRST announce it, how are we going to know who is FIRST in the Friday Weekend Open Thread? How will the lording over be accomplished without the successful completion of the assignment of announcing FIRST? And the tour of duty doesn’t end until the next Friday WOT announcement of FIRST. And now a reminder that the King of Battle, is still reigning FIRST during this week as a result of announcing FIRST during Friday past’s WOT. Thus it was said, and thus it was written.
Back to the thread. The Viper CPT story surely leaves us wanting to know more. Maybe one day we’ll find out. I have to agree with my fellow miscreant dickweeds, being relieved from command can never be a good thing. From squad level up thru/to an Army. I also have to agree on the level of PR seemingly wasted and the physical charms of the CPT. If she was doing some co-joined flying I would rather it had been with me. Wonder if she could cook too? That’s the ticket. Not only charm & beauty, but also the ability to cook, shovel snow, herd cats, root for the right ball team (rtr/godawgs), research good story threads, supply of books, you get the idea. Wonder where we could find such as that? Thoughts? Ideas? May have a few lionesses like that around here. Just saying.
There can be only one First, one whose name is spoken in hushed tone and whose magnificence and accomplishments are passed from generation to generation, until the end of time.
That, of course, is the First on Friday Weekend Open Thread. They shall reign supreme until formally relieved of command by their successor. There can be only one …
Please dear Lord, let it be another one…
I heard that!
But first you must say, “First!”
I believe I am the first to point out the saying “First!” is the first thing that must be done when attempting to be first on the Friday Weekend Open Thread.
Two weeks and out? Must have dorked the squeakhole really hard and fast to get canned so soon.
Her photo is nice… maybe she was a pyschobitchfromhell?
But, all of the above is fine and good, but the main question that has not been asked yet and the most important, would SARC hit that?
Well, his name stands for “I Don’t Care, Sexual Assault Response Coordinator,” so what do you think?
What’s that? It’s some Navy thing or other? Never mind.
“Sexual Assault Response Coordinator”
I’d never get through the first day of that training. I know my limits. 🙂
Do you really even have to ask? (smile)
I’d hit it…so hard she’d need her G-Suit.
Surprise
She stepped on her d%ck.
Pre-op joke.
Gee Whiz….
The Video is embedded in the article:
“Commander That Fired First Female USAF Demo Team Leader Made This Crass Video 15 Years Ago”:
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/26479/commander-that-fired-zoe-kotnik-from-f-16-demo-team-made-this-crass-video-15-years-ago
“The video features song, dance, lots of talcum powder, and a big male genitalia puppet.”
“Maybe O’Mally’s approach to announcing what has to have been heartbreaking news for Kotnik, regardless of the circumstances, stems from the fact that he helped mastermind and starred in the video below while serving as the Chief Weapons Instructor for the 35th Fighter Squadron, a unit based in South Korea. The video includes song, dance, repeated references to genitalia, a big penis and testicles puppet, and is based around discomfort of the male genitalia while flying on missions and a particular brand of talcum powder that is a solution to those issues…”
Sarcasm Alert:
Not exactly sure whether being in AFROTC at BYU during the Desert Storm period allows an individual to wear an NDSM, but the DS/DS eligibility period ended in November 1995 and COL O’Malley wasn’t commissioned a 2LT and entered active duty until August 1996.
This may call for a Hondo-esque type of explanation, but until then, my mileage is he is embellishing his awards by wearing a Bronze Service Star (denoting second award) on the NDSM./s
YMMV
Claw…
Check out his picture in this 2015 article.
His NDSM is missing a star…
https://www.denveradvisoryboard.com/mays-meeting-topic-colonel-derek-maestro-omalley-f-35-drone-fighter-pilot/
😉
Well, see, when he put on the Full Bull Eagle, he started his embellishment, cause he’s sure wearing a BSS on the NDSM in your first linked story./s
Yep…he is suffering from the 1st SEAC Syndrome…😉
Still chuckling that in his photo from the 2015, he wears one NDSM, yet in his recent photo, he has two.
In less than 4 years, he went from one NDSM to two…
🙄
And 3rd SEAC Syndrome also. The 3rd SEAC didn’t come on active duty until 1982 and I’ve seen photos of him with two BSS’s on the NDSM./s
Monkey See – Monkey Do.
Still haven’t seen anything yet on whether a replacement will be named to be the new SEAC or whether the position will just be inactivated. I don’t believe an interim SEAC was ever named since the 3rd SEAC was suspended some months ago.
Perhaps DoD decided that position is no longer needed.
The 3rd SEA C was suspended in September.
Amazing how we survived all those years without a SEAC…😉
Well, maybe he had prior enlisted service that does not appear on his bio- I know as an Army officer my ORB and bio did not contain specifics of enlisted time- but my BASD and Pay Entry date didn’t match up.
That said, he was probably wrong, had no idea what the correct periods were, and no one ever corrected him. The NDSM is one of the most common yet least understood awards.
Stranger things have happened. My buddy was a Ranger in Just Cause, and of course had a scroll on his right shoulder. When he deployed with the regiment to DS/DS (yes, there were a few), his wife surprised him by having his new combat scroll sewn on- under the first one. He didn’t notice that first morning… big hit with the NCOs in the unit.
Reddevil:
Don’t think he was prior service.
This 2010 article has him being born in December 1973:
https://www.abqjournal.com/upfront/04224557upfront07-04-10.htm
Article does not mention him enlisting before getting his commission via ROTC in 1996.
The math on his birth year pans out to his commissioning year. Looks as if he graduate from High School in 1992, went straight to college, did 4 years in ROTC.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts…😊
I agree, just thought it was a possibility. The most likely thing is that he thought that each star represented a campaign or tour off duty and just threw it on there until someone caught it.
Agaian, the NDSM is misunderstood. When I was an LT, it was something you only saw the Vietnam vets wearing, and they were few and far between at the time- mostly E-8s and COLs and up.
I came back from DS and went on,leave to SAN Antonio almost immediately- I went to Ft Sam for something and had lunch in the O Club, where I saw all the OBC students, who hadn’t even earned their Army Service Ribbon, already wearing the NDSM.
I honestly didn’t know it had been authorized, and at that point they hadn’t even designed the SWASM yet, so here I was back from the war with no awards (we had the big CIB and awards ceremony when we all came back from block leave). It didn’t even occur to me at the time that I was authorized my combat patch.
Sorta pissed me off, and it was the beginning of my disdain for the awards system in general, especially as run by the Army. I speak as a guy who was treated well by that system- it is patently absurd and generally unfair. Valor awards are usually spot on, but service awards are given out by quota.
For a while, , every Army Basic Training grad walks away with a full row- ASR, GWOT-S, and NDSM. Kinds silly if you ask me.
Air Force has an “enlisted and dogs keep off the grass” attitude where hot shot zooomies are concerned, so he probably wasn’t.
Dunno if the ROTC Det at a college/university counts as SELRES or not. But if it does, yes, that would qualify him for the DS/DS NDSM. From 1990 forward, membership in good standing in the SELRES (TPU or IMA), with or without extended AD, qualifies one for the NDSM if service is within the designated NDSM period.
Further, ROTC “summer camp” might well qualify as a period of AD for NDSM purposes. That’s usually held between Jr and Sr years as I recall, so that would almost certainly have been within the DS/DS NDSM period.
SMP (Simultaneous Membership Program) is also a possibility.
Bottom line: without knowing more, I’d be reluctant to call the guy out. It’s at least possible that he may rate the DS/DS NDSM. Dunno.
AFROTC Officer Field Training (summer camp) does not count as a period of AD for cadets. If the award period was during the individuals time as a cadet, only the service academies qualify for the award.
AFROTC does not count, not even the Field Training counts as active duty time. (Did 3 years as an AFROTC instructor.)
actually the “Gold Bond” video was funny as hell. I was in Kunsan 2003-4 when this dumpster fire occurred. He was kind of an aloof tool though
Most likely.
Promoted and got great assignments due to affirmative action. But is so arrogant that she believes she really can walk on water.
Eventually, almost kills herself or other being in a position she should have never been in.
Gets canned when the incompetence can no longer be hidden.
The Navy got that data point- look up Kara Hultgreen. Long story short, she was a mediocre pilot at best, but so soon after the blood-letting of Tailhook, the instructor pilots were afraid to drop her. She got ponied along through the pipeline, and eventually wound up out of airspeed, altitude, and luck. Command failure all through the training pipeline resulted in her loss of life. Damn shame.
Putting people, regardless on their genitalia, into a job they are not qualified and capable to perform, for political correctness reasons, always has bad consequences. This is especially true when that job involves potential errors that result in grievous injuries or death.
I just Googled that chick. Clinton era, what did you expect?
Liberals kill or fuck many many women and minorities, and they get away with it.
Post Tailhook- Clinton had nothing to do with it, except perhaps be envious of the shenanigans going on, and he wasn’t there. Those were ugly times, and every male in the Navy was given a general ass chewing, especially Navy fliers, in penance for the sins of the jet jock officers and their annual boys club in Las Vegas.
Tailhook Scandal
At the time I was an enlisted P-3 Aircrewman, had absolutely nothing to do with the Las Vegas debacle in particular or molesting female Sailors in general, yet the Chief of Naval Personnel saw fit to fly all the way to Sigonella to give us all a general ass chewing for nothing we had done.
The aftermath of Tailhook was bloody, careers crashed on the rocks for even a hint of impropriety; small wonder the IPs were so gun shy of marking down a female pilot for fear he’s be accused of sexism and be shit-canned. This is exactly what one does not want in a flight instruction program- can’t meet the standards, find another job.
Same thing here in 1st MarDiv. For couple of years after Tailhook, we had to sign documents that we weren’t at TH91, before the promotion boards. I happened to mention this to my battalion exec, when I was signing my yearly documents, that we were on the ground side of the Marine Corps. His response was typical……….sign the doc and go away.
Do you know something the rest of us don’t?
The Peter Principle cannot be denied.
If people were promoted and put into positions where they were only one level above their level of competence, we could likely live with that. But my experience with government entities, including the military, is that they are frequently promoted to jobs two or three levels above their level of competence.
It’s commonly seen at the E8 and E9 level in the Army. E grades used by design.
Or maybe you suck at life and that’s why you never got promoted.
Hitting the bud light just a bit early this week, aren’t ya son?
Having medical conditions serious enough they lead to an early medical retirement dramatically lessens one’s chances of making E8 or E9, Slow Joe. If I recall correctly, SFC D has indicated in comments elsehwere on the site that he’s in that category.
SFC D, please chime in if I’m out to lunch here.
That’s a good chunk of it Hondo. I also spent enough time holding a 1SG position that I knew it was not a good fit. I was good at it, but at that level, the thrill was gone and the bullshit too deep. Time to punch out, not a single regret.
Wasn’t early medical retirement, but still earlier than I wanted.
I understand that. At the 20 year point, I knew the fun was gone. I hadn’t gotten a command position and my future assignments would no longer be in operations. Rather than being a deputy base commander, I punched out. Still miss it; don’t regret it.
I came across two Viper Team videos from 2018.
The 4k non-stabilized version of this same video is in the comments on the youtube page of this one:
NSFW- ensure privacy or headphones. You have been warned.
My money’s on DUI
My guess is he hit on her, she said “N-O, No” but didn’t have time to report it before he booted her out.
Or else she got a DUI ticket off base. Or she made a sloppy landing that could have been a bad accident.
Dozens of reasons for so-called “loss of confidence”, so it’s best to let the next phase of info leakage take place.
There is no way to know what the real reason is. I was relieved once in the Viet of the Nam because the new brigade S-2 was unhappy with my attitude about attempting to use my LRRP company as his personal rifle company to perform line company missions that would get my men killed and wounded for no good reason. He and the brigade commander were recent replacements from the five sided puzzle palace working on getting their tickets punched with a combat assignment before the war was over.
Team Leader Rules: The squeaky wheel gets relieved.
But sometimes, ya just gotta squeak.
Rumor has it she may have had a few extra training sessions with a wingman.
Sounds like she needs more stick practice. I volunteer for tribute! 😂
I suspect that the young Viper captain was fired for behavior that was beyond the limits of anything that her boss could coach and to correct her on.
Back in my time, issues like unit readiness, morale, and poor leadership don’t get an officer relieved early in their command assignment. However, issues reflecting lack of judgment, loyalty, criminal behavior and (now) inappropriate behavior toward the opposite sex get a commander relieved of command within seconds.
From the looks of it, she’ll get her first look for 0-4 in about eighteen months. This won’t look good. Sounds like into the reserves and trolling the Friendly Skies for her. Just my .02.
I’m on the outside lookin’ in, but it appears that Col. Derek O’Malley is at least trying to let her recover gracefully and have a shot at another chance.
But that’s just me.
Yep, me, too.
It’s always possible that something followed her to this “command” which wasn’t important enough for everyone to know about it prior to her assuming her new “command” but significant enough that it needed to be resolved first. Who knows – not me.
And now we have this…
“Navy Confirms Mysterious Blue Angel Suspension”
https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2019/02/13/navy-confirms-mysterious-blue-angel-suspension/
I wonder where this young and now fired Captain falls on the “Loss of Confidence” trend line. Was she leaning toward the Captain “Horrible Holly” Graf -end or down at the Lt. Natalie “I ain’t talkin’ to that bitch on the bridge” Combs -end? Of course we’ll never find out.