RE: Leadership and Management - is NOT about decision making or control, is it?

I LOVE war stories!  I have just needed to comment, all the Fighter Jocks I ever talked to, when they were being honest, said that it was the A6 drivers who were the "breed above", unless you were referring to altitude.  You have much more room for error at 30,000 feet than down on the deck, where attack craft play.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Alleman, Glen B. [mailto:[email protected]]
> Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2003 8:24 AM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: RE: [xpAdoption] Leadership and Management - is NOT about
> decision making or control, is it?
> 
> 
> Ron,
> 
> War stories follow...
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Ron 
> > Subject: Re: [xpAdoption] Leadership and Management - is NOT about
> > decision making or control, is it?
> > 
> [snip]
> > 
> > Good example. I see that there isn't much room for enabling in the
> usual
> > sense here. But is there any? For example ...
> > 
> > Do different flight leaders lead differently in any 
> significant ways? 
> 
> [>] Not in significant ways. Only at the micro level in terms 
> of flying
> technique, detailed paths once on target, and exit routes 
> which depended
> on local weather. The terrain was known, the hostile sites known for
> avoidance, etc. The mission was planned down to the minute prior to
> launch. The head ways over target were tight in 1970. In 1990 the same
> aircraft tail numbers off the same ship (CV-61 Ranger) held head ways
> that were a 1/3 the time (seconds) we had 2 decades before - the
> addition of software!! Also they only made one pass over the 
> target, it
> took 30 years to figure that out.
> 
> > Do flights ever split up to take different mission components? Do
> different
> > flight leaders let that happen differently or cause it to happen
> > differently?
> 
> [>] This is all pre-planned, usually 2 hours if briefing prior to
> flight. Wake on a typical day was 3:30 AM, for a 7:00 AM launch.
> Secondly once the flight goes "feet dry" (over land) an AWACS controls
> the group - usually 2 flights of 2 or 4 flights of 2. For the 
> Navy this
> was an EC-121 or E-2C, with regional radar, flying high and behind us.
> The mission could be re-purposed but this came from the CAG (Commander
> Air Group), to the Wing, then Squadron, then to the AWACS, then to
> flight leader, then to us. This happened rapidly. In the current
> technology this all comes over a digital link (JTIDS) - again nice CMM
> Level 5 software. But no matter what there almost no room for
> independent process in the A6 role.
> 
> There are other "seek and destroy" roles. The BARCAP (Combat 
> air patrol)
> who flew F-4's (a real air craft), they had patrol areas and engaged
> anything that came their way. They flew out front when we went north,
> the "cleared our path." That mission was much like you suggest above -
> find something new engage, and adapt to the changing 
> conditions, "lead"
> the group to a new and emerging mission.
> 
> We just hauled ordinance to the target dropped it and got back to the
> ship as fast as possible.
> 
> > What is the approach, for example, to "targets of opportunity"?
> 
> [>] In the North no. In I-Corp (1st Marine Division and 101st 
> AB ground
> support) there were "free fire zones" where targets of 
> opportunity could
> be found, but this was rare.
> 
> [>] The movie image of a free wheeling pilot is just that a 
> movie. Only
> the fighter jocks got to "play." All you ever prayer for in Naval
> aviation was that your air craft didn't have wind shield 
> wipers, so the
> A6 mission meet that test. The F-4 guys were breed well above me.
> 
> > Ron 
> 
> [>]Glen B. Alleman
> 
> 
> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor 
> ---------------------~-->
> Get 128 Bit SSL Encryption!
> http://us.click.yahoo.com/FpY02D/vN2EAA/xGHJAA/nhFolB/TM
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> -------~->
> 
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> [email protected]
> 
>  
> 
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to 
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ 
> 
> 
> 

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Get 128 Bit SSL Encryption!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/FpY02D/vN2EAA/xGHJAA/nhFolB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]

 

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/