SECRETARY FOR THE AIR FORCE

[Royalistflyer]

So President Trump has nominated Heather Wilson as Secretary for the Air Force. This is apparently the first time a former serving Air Force officer has held the position. Wilson graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1982. She served as an Air Force officer in Europe during the Cold War and on the National Security Council Staff under President George H.W. Bush. Her husband is a retired Air Force colonel, her father and grandfather were pilots and she holds a private instrument rated licence.

[Tankertrashnav]

Can she type?

(acknowledgements to Jim Hacker!)

[ORAC]

Highly impressive resume to say the least. They may mock Trump as an individual, but as a CEO he knows how to pick his staff.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heather_Wilson#Pre-congressional_career

[Chugalug2]

TTN:-
Can she type?

Just listened to a recording of Hancock's Half-Hour, on BBC Radio 4, in which he requires his new secretary, Griselda Pugh (played by Hattie Jacques), to perform some task or other.

"I can't, I haven't finished the filing yet".

Well you can finish that later!

"No I can't, I've only done two fingers!".

[AnglianAV8R]

Bet she can't reverse park

[Airbubba]

Not only is she a Zoomie, like Bill Clinton, Walter Isaacson and Kris Kristofferson, she is a Rhodes Scholar. :ok:

[riff_raff]

Heather Wilson seems like a very bright woman. I also agree that President Trump seems to be very good at selecting candidates for his administration positions. And it is important to remember that the US military is ultimately under command of civilian leaders. However, Heather Wilson had a fairly short Air Force career that did not include much flying.

[ExAscoteer]

Bet she can't reverse park

The 1950's just 'phoned. They'd like their sexist back.

[Brian 48nav]

SWMBO is so good at reverse parking that neither I nor our 2 sons ( including the ace single seat fighter now test pilot man ) like demonstrating our skills when she's a passenger!

[NutLoose]

Reverse parking is simple, I reverse parked a mates caravan at warp speed too, he couldn't believe it, 30 odd years of pushing aircraft in reverse soon sharpens that little skill up. :)

Heather Wilson seems like a very bright woman.

Well what is she doing on Trumps staff?

[Bob Wyer]

Same as we did on the V force when Wilson and cronies were nominally in charge!! Did what we were trained for.

[Wander00]

Slight drift - car park on a steep slope in Honiton, SWMBO parking the Discovery with 5 year old in the back. Waits for another driver to vacate space with awkward reversing manoeuvre, then drives forward into it. Small voice from the back -"If you had gone in backwards you would not have the trouble getting out she has just had". Just for once SWMBO is speechless.

[Two's in]

I also agree that President Trump seems to be very good at selecting candidates for his administration positions.

Let's not confuse activity with achievement. Just like any check ride, you can't be graded until you've performed.

[Airbubba]

I know Brits aren't big on titles but the position is Secretary of the Air Force.

Her predecessor is also female, by the way.

In 1997 President Clinton attempted to place another Air Force Academy graduate, Daryl Jones, in the job. However, discrepancies surfaced in his flying record and his former squadron commander and several of his former 'Mako' squadron mates flew to DC to testify against his nomination on Capitol Hill.

Jones joined the F-16 Air National Guard unit at Homestead AFB in the wake of the 1988 FAA test cheating scandal. However, his law practice and political career were on the rise and he perhaps didn't devote enough attention to maintaining his flying skills.

He apparently scraped the tail on an F-16 twice in the same day. After several other safety issues his squadron commander allowed him to ground himself, a fact that did not appear in his application for Senate confirmation.

The Florida state legislator in line to become the next secretary of the Air Force was compelled to stop flying fighter jets in 1991 as a reservist after his commander expressed concern that he was compromising safety.

Daryl L. Jones reluctantly agreed to stay out of the cockpit and take a support job rather than face a formal move to ground him, according to accounts by him and his former superiors. His uneven performance in the air stirred complaints at the time among some squadron members, and a series of mishaps finally prompted warnings from his commander that he was becoming a risk to himself and others.

Senior White House and Defense Department officials who had signed off on Jones's expected nomination as secretary said they had been unaware of the episode until asked about it by a reporter. Officer evaluation reports about Jones from the period contain no mention of his deteriorating flying performance in 1991 or the decision by his commander to confront him, according to a government official with access to the confidential records.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1997/10/02/air-force-candidate-was-asked-to-quit-flying/a365941c-a274-4db8-8e7b-3c469c8b2ed7/?utm_term=.df20efd340de

[Tankertrashnav]

I know Brits aren't big on titles but the position is Secretary of the Air Force.

Ok, so while we are at it - Mrs May is our prime minister. She is not "Prime Minister May" (or even worse "Premier May").

Two nations divided ... etc ;)

[Genstabler]

And her first name is Theresa, not Teresa.

[Airbubba]

Like most folks in America, I didn't know who the Prime Minister was until recently, much less what to call her.

President Trump just referred to her as Prime Minister May in his press conference while thanking her for her warm support. What should he have called her, Mrs. May? :confused:

I remember flying into RAF Valley in the late 1970's with a Navy plane. The RAF pilots chided us because we let women be Naval Aviators even though their PM or whatever she is called was a woman.

[ShotOne]

I'm with you, Airbubba, what's wrong with Prime Minister May? (as a form of address, that is) ...It's (HM) Queen Elizabeth, President Trump, Corporal Jones. The tone was very clearly respectful (remember Yo Blair?) and I'm not sure even grammatically incorrect.

[Vortex_Generator]

It's a position, not a title. She is The Right Honourable Theresa May MP, and is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

[MPN11]

Anyway, back on topic ... Heather Wilson did 7 years in the military, and rose to the dizzying rank of captain . She was never a pilot ... she chose an academic career [no criticism implied] and did good work as a deskie before taking the post-USAF academic route.

I would suggest that her subsequent qualifications and experience are [U]massively more significant than her peripheral 7 years as a junior officer.

[BEagle]

I reverse parked a mates caravan

Did he wish you "kushti bok" for that?

[Tankertrashnav]

What should he have called her, Mrs. May?

Yes. His protocol advisers should have briefed him on this (not that I supposed she minded in the least).

I know that US presidents are hot on protocol. I remember Bush junior snapping "Who do you think you are talking to?" at some hapless reporter at a press conference when he accidentally called him "sir" instead of "Mr President".

[Airbubba]

Ok, so while we are at it - Mrs May is our prime minister. She is not "Prime Minister May" (or even worse "Premier May").

What should he have called her, Mrs. May? :confused:

Yes. His protocol advisers should have briefed him on this (not that I supposed she minded in the least).

Izzat so? Not sure I follow your reasoning.

Here's a photo caption from today on the BBC website that calls her Prime Minister Theresa May:

Prime Minister Theresa May will meet with US President Donald Trump just a week after he started the top job.

Prime Minister Theresa May to meet US President Donald Trump - CBBC Newsround (http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/38767802)

I know that US presidents are hot on protocol. I remember Bush junior snapping "Who do you think you are talking to?" at some hapless reporter at a press conference when he accidentally called him "sir" instead of "Mr President".

Can you come up with a cite for that? Should he have asked 'Whom...'?

An incident with similarities occurred in 2009 when Senator Barbara Boxer interrupted Brigadier General Michael Walsh when he addressed her as ma'am in Congressional testimony.

Airline pilot Jim Hill wrote Senator Boxer a somewhat partisan letter in response:

Jim Hill's Letter to Barbara Boxer : snopes.com (http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/boxer.asp)

Anyway, here in America we know we can always count on the UK for your continued support and we really appreciate it. :ok:

I am surprised that Ms. Wilson, if confirmed, will be the first former Air Force officer to become Secretary. Similarly, I didn't realize until recently that there has only been one Chief of Naval Operations who didn't go to Annapolis. Sadly, in his case, it didn't end well. :sad:

Her husband is a retired Air Force colonel, her father and grandfather were pilots and she holds a private instrument rated licence.

In fact, according to the article linked below, her grandfather, George Gordon "Scotty" Wilson, flew in the Royal Flying Corps in World War I. That can't hurt relations between the RAF and the USAF. :D

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heather_Wilson

[ShotOne]

"She is the Rt Honourable etc etc...". Oh dear. No wonder the Americans think we're all up ourselves! What about Emperor Nero, Prince Harry, Mayor Quimby, Chief Wiggums....? Hair splittery aside, in general usage President Trump was spot on.

What's far more significant for this forum is her speech about limiting foreign military adventures to areas which pose a real threat to our own or allies interests, and that this appears to have met with strong agreement by the President.

[Tankertrashnav]

Can you come up with a cite for that? Should he have asked 'Whom...'?

No, only that I saw it on TV - can't prove it but I know it happened. Who or whom - not the point, just the fact that Dubya seemed offended by the apparent, but obviously unintended slight.

You can find all the references in print you like, but I have never heard a British broadcaster refer to or address the PM as "Prime Minister May (or Cameron, Brown, Blair, Major, Thatcher etc etc ). " Prime Minister" or "Mrs May (etc)" would be the norm.

(What is JB for, but for arguing the toss over entirely unimportant trivia? ;))

[riff_raff]

If my memory serves, the only two Commanders In Chief of the US military with any experience piloting military aircraft were President G.H.W. Bush and President G.W. Bush.

[Royalistflyer]

I always appreciated the fact that President G. H. W. Bush had been a combat pilot with 58 combat missions - therefore as President he wasn't ordering people to do something he hadn't been prepared to do himself - he appreciated what the risks and responsibilities were.

[Basil]

The PM is also First Lord of the Treasury.
Whilst 'Prime Minister May' is incorrect, I'd guess that "Good morning Prime Minister." would be OK.

Re Captain Wilson, I spent eight years in the RAF and, when I retired and became an airline first officer, no-one ever asked for my advice ;)

[Basil]

I remember Bush junior snapping "Who do you think you are talking to?" at some hapless reporter at a press conference when he accidentally called him "sir" instead of "Mr President".
Rats! There I was thinking that, when in doubt, sir or ma'am would get me out of trouble. :O

[Basil]

Airline pilot Jim Hill wrote Senator Boxer a somewhat partisan letter in response:
Bally heck! As we'd say where I come from: 'He didn't miss her and hit the wall!'