Originally Posted by
Flap62
Sorry Lonewolf.
I really struggle to see what you are so vehemently defending.
I am not defending anything; I began by attacking the foolish statement (see the post by Just This Once) about an E-2C pilot not being qualified to be an IP in a T-45 (pure horsecrap), and followed up with attacking the assertions that the person was unqualified to fly the T-45. Also horsecrap. If the assessment was that this IP was flathatting, it's another tragic case of "the system learns, but individuals sometimes don't believe" that's killed people over the years.
Beyond that, this is sadly not the first time ever that an IP did something outside the box. (See my note about the tea and biscuits episode ). The midair I referred to (ad hoc formation, it's been almost 20 years since that one) IIRC did not, even though there were lives lost, lead to as many heads rolling as I would have expected.
If the command climate at the squadron, and in Trawing One, was indeed too loose then an episode like this was one of those things that was going to happen sooner or later. As stated, have been on the investigator/report writing side of that more than once.
As to firing training command CO's, and training wing commanders: it's a bit harder than you might think, but it happens now and again.