Here We Go Again

| June 11, 2019

Some people just do not know how to behave.

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2019/06/10/two-star-fired-from-running-top-secret-program-office-under-multiple-ig-investigations/

Toxic environment. Calls senior leaders (all ranks, it appears) idiots. Calls up other services peeps and screams at them: “But another source with knowledge of the office, who asked not to be identified, said Dunlop fostered a toxic work environment. Dunlop would call senior leaders from the services “idiots,” he said, and would directly call people from the Army and Air Force and scream at them on the phone.” – Article. Read the whole thing. It’s not something new with her.

Leadership? I don’t think so. Just a screaming bitch on wheels who should have been smacked down long before this. This is not something new with women in the military in general. I ran into women like this who acquired a little rank and let it go to their heads. “Snarling bitches” is a polite term for it.

Now this numbskull has been removed from a very high-end career position after 21 – er, 31 years because she can’t even hold a meeting without losing her temper.  It appears she frequently loses her temper over nothing. Very bad habit to acquire.

There are plenty of people of both sexes who act like this, in all walks of life, in or out of the military. In the civilian work force, they hire but can’t keep good employees, In the military, everyone they run into despises them.

I’m sure this obnoxious termagant will be asked to retire. Then she’ll try to find a job in the civilian government work world and piss off more people than the clackers on an abacus. Maybe no one will miss her when she’s gone.

Category: "Teh Stoopid", "The Floggings Will Continue Until Morale Improves", Air Force

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Claw

has been removed after 21 years should read as 31 years./smile

But, Hey, what was that other story I read about yesterday. Oh, Yeah, Navy Rear Admiral (Naval War College President) relieved of duty for having a margarita machine in his office and inviting people to naked twister parties.

Oh, Well. #goarmybeatnavyandairforce

Hondo

Now, Claw: there’s no mention of the Admiral’s Twister games being naked ones. But he also apparently offered “free hugs” – and may have mismanaged his organization’s budget as well.

https://news.usni.org/2019/06/10/naval-war-college-president-harley-reassigned-pending-investigation

https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2019/06/07/a-navy-admiral-under-investigation-for-free-hugs-twister-games-and-a-margarita-machine-in-his-office/

Let’s play Twister
Let’s play Risk
Yeah yeah yeah yeah

Mason

Now, now. Hugging, sniffing people’s hair, kissing them on the back of the head, and just generally being a creeper is all due to “cultural differences.”

At least if you’re Joe Biden.

https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1122916302232985600

Jeff LPH 3, 63-66

When you wake up at Dawn Dunlop, Doesn’t it bother you about how you treated your subordinate peeps. Maybe you can leave the service and go into the tire business.

RGR 4-78

I guess they got tired of Dunlop treading on them.

UpNorth

I see what you did there, RGR.

RGR 4-78

🙂

Hondo

I’ve owned a couple of sets of Dunlops on my car. The second set started out OK and performed well, but as they aged got so damn noisy that eventually it became intolerable. I had to replace them early.

Seems kinda like what happened here, actually. (smile)

RGR 4-78

After reading a recap of Dunlop’s career, she had it going on, now, she is just another retread. 🙂

The Stranger

Oh man, the weather report says partly punny…🤣

A Proud Infidel®™

If you treat your hired help like crap in the private sector you’ll have one hell of a time dealing with turnover and I’ve seen it myself in places I worked in the past, not a bright idea when the economy is good!

Jus Bill

And then there’s that whole “wrongful discharge” mess to got into in the Industry setting. A couple of those in a row any you’re history with a reputation. Word gets out and you spend your retirement doing crossword puzzles.

5th/77th FA

‘Pears like she has done stepped on her, what was the term, “Clenis?”

Was all of her accomplishments and semi rapid rise in rank due to her abilities or to the gender promotion mentality? Went back and re-read the article. Looks like she may have had 31 years in, graduated from the Wing Wiper College in ’88. The article wasn’t clear if this “toxic feminism” was through out her career, or a recent problem. Hormone imbalance? Hey it happens. Have personally observed the “riding of the dragon.” YMMV

Y’all correct me if I’m wrong, but seems as if this will be a career ending reassignment. Maybe she felt that having a female Sec of AF gave her a free pass to be a bitch.

J.R. Johnson

Could also be that she just needs to unload on someone, and is not managing her mental state like her physical state. Not necessarily depression, but related to it. Many times, people in that level of position don’t have anyone they can really talk to, so when they get frustrated with someone, especially a higher up, they have to hold it in. By not having someone to vent with, she ends up releasing it on those undeserving.
Sounds like she needs a few good sessions with a support group or therapist!

A Proud Infidel®™

It seems to me that her calling others “idiots” might be a projection of her own mental insecurities and her not being held accountable to what she said in past times only exacerbated her foul behavior, just my $.02 worth!

Mason

I agree with J.R. Johnson. I think she’s got some issues she hasn’t worked through. While I’m sure she benefited from being a woman as she rose the ranks, so certainly isn’t a poor performer or stupid.

Her record is really quite good. If she’d been this much of a bitch to work for/with she wouldn’t have gotten past O-6. Certainly wouldn’t have been posted to politically sensitive assignments.

https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/473225/major-general-dawn-m-dunlop/

“1990 Distinguished Graduate, Undergraduate Pilot Training
1991 Distinguished Graduate, Pilot Instructor Training
1994 Distinguished Graduate, Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals
1998 Distinguished Graduate and Top Graduate, U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School
2002 Distinguished Graduate, Air Command and Staff College
2006 Brigadier General Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager International Aeronautical Achievements Award”

I’m thinking we might have a great example of the Peter Principle in action. She’s obviously got skills in the cockpit, but when it comes to managing multi-billion dollar black programs?

I am surprised she doesn’t have any GWOT deployments under her belt. Would seem that any officer trying to make flag rank would seek at least one of those out in the last 18 years.

26Limabeans

Give some people a badge and they think they are Dick Tracy.

Hondo

More generally, give some people a bit of authority and they think they’re God and thus unaccountable – then begin abusing their authority.

It’s not unique to police and military. It happens often in bureaucracies everywhere.

A Proud Infidel®™

I’ve seen that myself, give some people just THE LEAST bit of authority and they will apply it to THE widest latitude possible, just look at some of the shit that TSA pukes pull in airports these days!

timactual

I also noticed from your link that she had only one assignment to an operational squadron, as a Captain. All the rest of her assignments were staff and test unit assignments.

Eden

One of the failings, IMHO, of the Air Force system is that officers have almost NO opportunity to be in command of anything (other than possibly a single aircraft) until they are at least majors. By then, it’s almost too late to teach them anything about command or correct any misapprehensions, deficiencies, etc. Then they are thrown into a do-or-die, zero-defect situation in which their first mistake, no matter how minor, is usually their last, just before they are relieved for “lack of confidence”. As a result, they become yes-men to their superiors, two-faced terrors to their subordinates, constantly in fear for their careers. The best and brightest leaders bail for the civilian world as soon as their first tour (now 8 years, I believe) is over. The ones that make it to O6 are the Dawn Dunlops and Holly Grafs and their male counterparts.

The Stranger

I agree, having served in both the Air Force and the Army. I had more authority as a low-rolling 2LT than most Air Force officers up to Major. When I was on the blue side, my Squadron Commander was a Lieutenant Colonel who was in command of a unit equivalent to about a Platoon and a half!

USMC Steve

Heh, heh, heh. You said “cockpit”.

NHSparky

Google, “Holly Graf” and keep all sharp and/or heavy objects out of reach.

She’s still the gold standard of cast iron bitch.

SSG Kane

Meh. She doesn’t sound so bad.

She’s no Katy Wilder…that bitch had it all going on.

Eden

Yeah. I think you need to read the firs-hand descriptions of those who served under her. The final straw was her literally choking one of her JOs, in public, on the bridge.

USMC Steve

If she actually did that, the JO should have beaten her half to death. And it would have been justified.

Hondo

Might have happened if she’d been male. But men who are raised properly are quite hesitant to strike a woman, even when provoked.

I’ve read that about 25% of domestic violence is female-on-male – even though as a group males are far larger, stronger, and more aggressive than females. I’d guess that reluctance is at least part of the reason why.

MustangCryppie

A shipmate of mine was on Churchill with her.

He LOVED the Navy. No one more gung ho.

A tour with Graf changed that. He was broken by the shit she dished out.

Eden

What a wild goose chase you sent me on! From Dunlop to Graf to the U.S.S. Vance to “Caine Mutiny”. . .

HMCS(FMF) ret

Holly Graf = Psycho Bitch from HELL! She’d make Captain Queeg shit his pants…

Cameron Kingsley

I first learned about her on TV Tropes (I can’t remember the page however I do know it was on one of the military leader trope pages where her name was mentioned under the “Real Life” tab and I do believe it did mention the two incidents where she put her ship in danger because of her reckless attitude and dangerous temperament and the fact that she routinely bullied and abused the sailors under her command, both male and female) and I was just thinking about her when I read this article. I couldn’t remember her name though until you mentioned it.

OAE CPO USN Ret

Sweet baby jeebus. If Captain Graf had an evil auntie.

NHSparky

Funny thing is, had she not grounded and risked collision TWICE, she’d probably be wearing stars today.

OAE CPO USN Ret

I was in Yokosuka during her reign of terror there. I didn’t have any personal dealings with her, but other guys in my shop did. Fortunately the command I was at also had a female Captain, so when Graf would start her shit we’d shunt it over to our CO who would take none of Graf’s shit.

MustangCryppie

Oh yeah. That would definitely be a skipper to skipper interaction. NO ONE would talk to my Sailors like that. No one

Eden

Was that CAPT Kathleen McGrath?

Jay

To be a fly on the wall during THOSE interactions.

Veritas Omnia Vincit

In the civilian world this attitude can kill small businesses. In areas where you are operating as lean as possible to maintain profitability one toxic manager can destroy a department’s productivity and consistent quality. Larger corporations get away with this to a degree largely because they folks doing the actual production are often insulated from the behavior while middle managers bear the brunt of the bullshit.

Small companies live and die by their leadership, what prevents a great many small companies from becoming large companies is that general lack of ability to be fair and impartial without temper in the senior management core.

Toxic owners lose money, often in areas they don’t see because employees aren’t stupid. Anything that the toxic ownership/leadership reacts to negatively will be hidden, often so well hidden that the ownership/leadership is unaware of just how much waste or lost production is taking place. Especially in those business where large amounts of raw materials are consumed as a precursor to production start on full run product.

The biggest mistake managers make is thinking they are somehow better people than their subordinates, they might be better at the job but that’s not quite the same. Learning that your position doesn’t exist to make you look good and that it in fact exists for you to make your team look good by leading them into increased productivity and employment stability is one of the hardest things for first line supervisors who become higher level managers to grasp. Those that learn that lesson become great senior managers, those who don’t end up like this fool out the door eventually.

MI Ranger

Sort of like Ranger School in the Army. You can get by with being a middle of the road follower and a good leader, and even a good follower and a middle of the road leader (with help from your buddies). If you are not a good follower, no one is going to follow you when you lead!
I had my divine moment in the Mountain phase, realizing that what I needed to tell everyone as a leader, was just what I wanted to know as a follower! They had me up for honor grad, until I reminded them this was my second time through the mountains.

rgr769

People who are not good followers, often turn out to be very poor leaders. They usually have no empathy for the people that must carry out their frequently stupid orders.

Mick

From the linked article above:

‘[…]

Dunlop is a groundbreaking Air Force fighter pilot. She has more than 3,500 flight hours flying the F-15, F-16, F-22 and other aircraft, and is currently the highest-ranking female fighter pilot in the Air Force.

She graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1988. She was the top graduate in her class at Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California in 1997. She was the first woman to become a fighter test pilot, fly an F-22, and command a test wing when she took over the 412th Test Wing.

[…].’

Not much more needs to be said in order to explain what has been going on here.

‘Groundbreaking’; ‘highest ranking’; ‘first’ this; ‘first’ that; blah; blah; blah.

As long as the military keeps on conferring overt/implied special entitled status to individuals such as this by lauding them as ‘groundbreaking’, the ‘first’, etc., in my opinion we will continue to see this kind of selfish, unacceptable entitled behavior from most of them.

Comm Center Rat

A zipper suited sun goddess who flew too close to the sun and her wings melted.

ChipNASA

OK Ex-PH2,

I’m adding this to the The Hemisphere of Insults®™

” pisses off more people than the clackers on an abacus..”

I. Love. It.

Holdfast

No time in Combat? At all.
Am I reading this wrong?

The countries been at war for 18 years and counting….
And they can’t find someone else to promote to Major General?

Dunlap has had a coddled career- someone has been looking out for her.

Mike W.

Protected the Kurds after the First Gulf War I think…..that’s her COMBAT time I’m sure ! !
From her official AF bio:
” Her combat time is as an F-15E pilot during Operation Provide Comfort. “

rgr769

Ooh, so that means her combat time was, well, non-combat, flying around in Iraqi airspace clear of any enemy aircraft. She never saw or heard a shot fired by a belligerent. But hey, she likely got “combat” pay for that non-combat flying.

LCpl Rhodes

Screaming at subordinates and having inappropriate relationships while being married can get you fired from the Air Force? Shit, those things helped Trump get elected. Maybe he can pardon those two Air Force generals.