9 officers to be Punished for Ft Hood Shooting

[Barbi Q]

Not to offend those who have proudly served in the Army, whom I greatly respect, this case may point out a significant difference between its traditions and those of the naval services. In the latter the captain goes down with the ship. The commanding officer is held responsible for everything which happens on his ship, regardless of his personal involvement, and it flows uphill, not often downhill. The commanding officer, while not necessarily having committed an offense under the Code, is more often than not held responsible for not exercising appropriate leadership.

I have read that the most senior officer reprimanded in this case was a major. In the naval services one would expect to see the unit commander, regardless of rank, to "go down with his ship." I am not suggesting that the base commander had any personal shortfall here, but that often wouldn't matter in a naval service.

Elmo

In this case, it looks like the commanding officer and the commander in chief have decreed the buck stops somewhere else.

[b322da]

Not to offend those who have proudly served in the Army, whom I greatly respect, this case may point out a significant difference between its traditions and those of the naval services. In the latter the captain goes down with the ship. The commanding officer is held responsible for everything which happens on his ship, regardless of his personal involvement, and it flows uphill, not often downhill. The commanding officer, while not necessarily having committed an offense under the Code, is more often than not held responsible for not exercising appropriate leadership.

I have read that the most senior officer reprimanded in this case was a major. In the naval services one would expect to see the unit commander, regardless of rank, to "go down with his ship." I am not suggesting that the base commander had any personal shortfall here, but that often wouldn't matter in a naval service.

Elmo

I couldn't help but recall my earlier post re: the Fort Hood shooting when I saw this article this morning:

http://www.globegazette.com/news/nation ... 7fd39.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I guess the captain goes up with the ship -- and gets a fourth star.

Elmo