Like-minded
25th Jan 2008, 03:54
Just sharing a puff of a thought, that came to me at 30K AGL. How do my fellow pilot officers here ensure that the maintainence and armament types are motivated and highly specialist in their jobs, yet ultimately respectful and deferential to aviation professionals?
Now I don't want the example of the Chicoms, whose pilots still march in two rows to their jets like proper little party wind-up automatons. In UK, I know that many pilot officers like to be jolly and pally with their crew chiefs and their grubby gangs, perhaps because they don't want to stare at a broken off ejection handle in their hand after the engines have fallen off in mid-flight, but you must consider an alternative that is hundreds of years old - the example of the Guards officers.
The Guards OCs live tradition and their honor is tradition. They never ever let the seniors overstep their authority and despite their callow youth still command quivering obedience in the ranks. Their mental livery is what I would like to see in cockpits everywhere. This is what we pilots, leaders and warfighters, must cultivate - instant sharpish follow-through and snappy salutes like they mean it. And no adulterated beverages.
Remember, no matter how many chimney-sweep, mass-produced babies of theirs you hold and how many dog-eared family snaps you are handed with a cheeky grin, no matter how eager they appear and how helpful and wisdom-filled they seem, they are not part of your world, they are of a different level, literally and professionally. Smile and keep your thoughts private. Treat every kindness as a wound on your perfected state, also.
Here are the research in support of above I have amassed on motivation of the less achieving types in life from modern psychology, I'd know you appreciate it:
1. General Robert E. Lee, one of the greatest military leaders of all time, was equally firm when it came to discipline. He wanted his soldiers to understand that, in addition to efficiency, discipline guaranteed a soldier’s safety; that if his forces did not prepare themselves for war when they had a chance, they would pay dearly.
Often the feeling is, "We are a technical force; technicians do not need the same state of disciplined readiness as combat soldiers." This feeling perhaps fosters a false assumption that Air Force members will not be expected to fight during wartime; instead, we will maintain a support role (i.e., aircraft maintenance, supply, personnel, etc.). The questions then become "Is it necessary for Air Force people to maintain a high state of readiness? Is it really necessary to be disciplined for war?"
http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1981/may-jun/mcbride.htm
2. Few professions are as dependent on discipline as the military. An army is best seen as a collection of individuals who must set aside their personal interests, concerns, and fears to pursue the purpose of the group collectively. The marshalling of individual wills and talents into a single entity enables an army to face daunting challenges and great adversity and therefore to achieve objectives unattainable except through concerted effort. The instrument by which this is accomplished is discipline.
http://www.dnd.ca/somalia/vol0/v0s12e.htm
3. In an experiment that made him a household name, the Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov a century ago got dogs used to hearing a bell every time they were fed. The dogs soon started drooling whenever they heard the bell.
Now, scientists are trying to get cockroaches to follow the same trailblazing path as “Pavlov’s Dog,” the words still commonly used in reference to Pavlov’s work (though he really used more than one dog).
http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/060204_pavlovfrm.htm
+++
Don't thank me, thank my mentors who recognized the unique talents in me - to fly and intentionally combust all enemies of my democracy. We pilots must stick together (bomber types and transport self-loaders not so much).
Now I don't want the example of the Chicoms, whose pilots still march in two rows to their jets like proper little party wind-up automatons. In UK, I know that many pilot officers like to be jolly and pally with their crew chiefs and their grubby gangs, perhaps because they don't want to stare at a broken off ejection handle in their hand after the engines have fallen off in mid-flight, but you must consider an alternative that is hundreds of years old - the example of the Guards officers.
The Guards OCs live tradition and their honor is tradition. They never ever let the seniors overstep their authority and despite their callow youth still command quivering obedience in the ranks. Their mental livery is what I would like to see in cockpits everywhere. This is what we pilots, leaders and warfighters, must cultivate - instant sharpish follow-through and snappy salutes like they mean it. And no adulterated beverages.
Remember, no matter how many chimney-sweep, mass-produced babies of theirs you hold and how many dog-eared family snaps you are handed with a cheeky grin, no matter how eager they appear and how helpful and wisdom-filled they seem, they are not part of your world, they are of a different level, literally and professionally. Smile and keep your thoughts private. Treat every kindness as a wound on your perfected state, also.
Here are the research in support of above I have amassed on motivation of the less achieving types in life from modern psychology, I'd know you appreciate it:
1. General Robert E. Lee, one of the greatest military leaders of all time, was equally firm when it came to discipline. He wanted his soldiers to understand that, in addition to efficiency, discipline guaranteed a soldier’s safety; that if his forces did not prepare themselves for war when they had a chance, they would pay dearly.
Often the feeling is, "We are a technical force; technicians do not need the same state of disciplined readiness as combat soldiers." This feeling perhaps fosters a false assumption that Air Force members will not be expected to fight during wartime; instead, we will maintain a support role (i.e., aircraft maintenance, supply, personnel, etc.). The questions then become "Is it necessary for Air Force people to maintain a high state of readiness? Is it really necessary to be disciplined for war?"
http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1981/may-jun/mcbride.htm
2. Few professions are as dependent on discipline as the military. An army is best seen as a collection of individuals who must set aside their personal interests, concerns, and fears to pursue the purpose of the group collectively. The marshalling of individual wills and talents into a single entity enables an army to face daunting challenges and great adversity and therefore to achieve objectives unattainable except through concerted effort. The instrument by which this is accomplished is discipline.
http://www.dnd.ca/somalia/vol0/v0s12e.htm
3. In an experiment that made him a household name, the Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov a century ago got dogs used to hearing a bell every time they were fed. The dogs soon started drooling whenever they heard the bell.
Now, scientists are trying to get cockroaches to follow the same trailblazing path as “Pavlov’s Dog,” the words still commonly used in reference to Pavlov’s work (though he really used more than one dog).
http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/060204_pavlovfrm.htm
+++
Don't thank me, thank my mentors who recognized the unique talents in me - to fly and intentionally combust all enemies of my democracy. We pilots must stick together (bomber types and transport self-loaders not so much).