Forecast of Iowa Wing.

[mikeylikey]

Bottom line, I was a unit commander for 2.5 years in a previous CAP life.  This is every bit as involved.  If you want to find out, why don't you step up and help out?  Oh, I know.  It's much easier to stand back and accuse all of us of being yes-men.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go compliment the Commander on his golf swing (Nice shot, sir!).

I wish I could!  I am a member in a wing that has been run by the same group of friends for nearly 16 years, and all the Wing Staff are residents of one city, namely Philadelphia. 

As for stepping up, I have never heard of open calls for Vice Commander in a wing.  Do you interview for that?  Oh wait.....in most wings it is a political appointment. 

Now.......back to Iowa, have membership numbers declined or increased since the change there?

[lordmonar]

Sorry Dan,

As for Iowa...my guess is that they will continue to get the mission done.

[RogueLeader]

If i spoke in a way that was insulting, I do apologize.  I really do.  From what I have observed, Col Critelli has done a very good job as CoS and CV.  He has also done wonders with the State of Iowa.  He has earned my respect.  I just have a couple small issues  about a couple of things he has done.  Doesn't mean that they were bad, it just means I disagree.

[RogueLeader]

Sorry Dan,

As for Iowa...my guess is that they will continue to get the mission done.

In a very efficient and timely manner.

[CadetProgramGuy]

You know if there was this much hate and anger for the most qualified person selected to run the Iowa Wing, I wonder how much  of a mess would have been created if someone else (me) got the job instead?

In total support and defense of Col (select) Critelli.  He is Level 4 Complete, got his grade due to professional reasons (dual Law Degrees, US and Great Britian).

He did not get the job because is is/was a Good ol Boy, a TPB, or by sucking up to someone.  He got the job because is the best qualified for the job in the eyes of the Region Commander and the National Commander.

He is also the best qualified in the eyes of the Iowa Wing, IMHO.

[ZigZag911]

Can there be a stronger endorsement for the new IA WG CC than that given by another candidate for the post, as CadetProgramGuy has just done?

Ordinarily I am skeptical about commanders with brief CAP tenure; however, Col. Critelli does bring prior cadet service to the table; more than that, he brings a unique perspective -- he was perfectly willing to let someone else have the post!

Nick needed some convincing that, at this time, if the programs started in Iowa over the past several years were to take root and flourish, he was the person best qualified to command the wing.

I'm one of the people who engaged in the convincing process, contrary to my personal philosophy on the generally desirable qualifications for command.

I did this because, on the basis of more than 35 years in CAP, and numerous stints as commander and deputy commander at various levels (including wing encampments), it seemed like the right thing to do!

To return to my main point -- this gentleman is not drooling over eagles, is not looking forward to the perks of office (whatever such might be!)....rather, he is beginning his command by reaching out and inviting his wing's entire senior membership to apply for wing staff positions, including Vice Commander and Chief of Staff!

Something like this may well have happened begore, somewhere....but if it did, I sure didn't hear about it! Wing CCs usually arrive with their command team pre-selected.....frankly, if such a horrible fate ever befell me, I'd probably hand select my vice & CS!

How much more convincing do people need that Col. Critelli has no secret agenda, no burning ambitions for glory, and is prepared to live up to the principles he preaches??

[Dragoon]

I don't think you should be a Wing CC without  being a successful squadron CC.  You need to deeply understand how things go in the trenches.  Until you've been a Squadron CC, I don't think you can truly appreciate what goes on down there.  I know I didn't - and that was after having served all the way to Wing Chief of Staff.

I'm sure he's a great guy, but I'll bet he could have worked the programs as vice under a more seasoned Wing CC equally well.  Unless there's a serious lack of leadership talent in the wing, which is doubtful.

[ZigZag911]

You know, I've known strong squadron commanders and weak ones, fair ones and martinets, geniuses and people who did not have the good sense to com in out of the rain......same for wing & group commanders....some had been very successful squadron commanders, some had been adequate at best...frankly, the really good squadron commanders are usually not all that great at higher levels: tend to micromanage, miss 'the troops', want to re-create all their wing's units after the image of the good old home unit!

They have a myopia regarding the 'big picture'; sometimes they show favoritism to their former command.

These things don't occur in every instance....but while squadron command is a good preparation for higher command, it is not essential....and it needs to be mixed with staff experience at group,wing or region.

[lordmonar]

On the other hand....being the wing chief of staff is no slouch job either.

Sure you may not know the weeds of running a squadron but you certainly get a birds eye view of how a WING is run.

We also forget that being volunteers we sometimes bring a lot of outside experience to the fight.

Saying you should be a squadron staffer before you take on a squadron CC job and squadron CC before you are a group CC and a group CC before you take a swing at wing is okay on the face of it....assuming that you have zero outside leadership experience.

I see no problem with someone walking off the street and taking over a wing....assuming he is a good leader and manager and has a good staff to help educate him.

We see this sort of thing all the time in the corporate world....CEO's jumping from one industry sector to another...because it is about management skill not necessarily CAP skills at the Wing level.

We see the same thing in the military as well.  As a 22 year Comm Maintainer I have had lots of commanders who crossed over from some other skill set.  They go to the basic comm officer course (if that) and then get shoved in the job.  My officers know nothing about running a work center, fixing radios, ordering parts, writing EPRs or 95% of the things I do at my level.....but that is why I am there.

One of the best chief of maintenances I have ever worked for was an Intel Officer with a Mathmatic's degree.  But she had great leadership skills and a great maintenance staff that educated her on the important things and she left the details to the us guys in the weeds.

So....I got no problem with what they are doing in Iowa.

[RiverAux]

I'm not sure I would use corporate america as a good example.  I think you can easily find cases where somebody who was an outstanding leader in one field didn't know beans about another and failed miserably.

Follow that train of thought to its logical conclusion then the military should be bringing in civilians to lead its units, or at least allowing them to compete for these slots....after all if they're great leaders they should be able to lead a rifle company with a little remedial training....

[mikeylikey]

^ Right on.  Also, Military Officers are generalsits in nature.  They should not know every aspect of their subordinates jobs, they should have a general idea though. 

I once heard that the worst military Officer is still a better leader than those found in the corporate world.  When asked why, the response was that the training they receive gives them the ability to use the tools around them and fall back on the skills learned before they were Commissioned. 

I think that is why the fortune 500's are are always jumping at the chance to recruit Officers leaving the service. 

[ddelaney103]

I think the choice of Wing Commander seems to go hand in hand with the "IAWG plan."

IAWG/CC may not need sqdn experience because the sqdn isn't important.  Almost all of the "moving and shaking" is done at the wing.  The Commander attention isn't directed down in IAWG, but up and out.

Picking the guy who was the "political officer" makes a lot of sense since the IAWG runs on lots of state money and legislative support.  WTA's, with their free transit, lodging and food, can only be continued as long as the funding holds out.  Imagine if members were told "Oh, yeah...starting next month attending a WTA will cost you $75 out of pocket."  I suspect attendance would plummet.

Likewise, TAG and the State House expect something in return for all the free corn and legal top cover.  Keeping them happy (and generous) will be a full time job best suited to someone with friends in the system.

Just something to think about.

[lordmonar]

I'm not sure I would use corporate america as a good example.  I think you can easily find cases where somebody who was an outstanding leader in one field didn't know beans about another and failed miserably.

Follow that train of thought to its logical conclusion then the military should be bringing in civilians to lead its units, or at least allowing them to compete for these slots....after all if they're great leaders they should be able to lead a rifle company with a little remedial training....

Two things.....we (CAP) are not...I SAY AGAIN...NOT...the military.  I say that because the leadership dynamic between AD units and CAP units is vastly different.  Go see the little chat I had with the Command Chief for more details.

Second.....yes....any great leader should be able to lead a fifle company with a little remedial training and a good support staff.  Because leadership is leadership.

[SAR-EMT1]

Whereas I would give my eyeteeth to simply be in the Service.... 

[Short Field]

I once heard that the worst military Officer is still a better leader than those found in the corporate world. 

Must be an urban myth - I have worked for and have had work for me officers that were challenged to pour yellow liquid from a boot with the instructions printed on the heel.

[Short Field]

any great leader should be able to lead a fifle company with a little remedial training and a good support staff. 

We have been buying rifle platoon leaders off the street for a long time.  And Col Joshua Chamberlain did a pretty good job for no military training.

[PHall]

And Col Joshua Chamberlain did a pretty good job for no military training.

That was 140 years ago. The world has changed just a bit since then.

[Major Carrales]

And Col Joshua Chamberlain did a pretty good job for no military training.

That was 140 years ago. The world has changed just a bit since then.

Heroes are ordinary people who do extraordinary things when it was much easier, and safer, to do nothing.  Col Joshua Chamberlains, I pray, exist today.  For if they don't, our world deserves the strife it gets.

[Short Field]

Leaders motivate people to accomplish missions.  Great leaders motivate people to go beyond their limits in accomplishing the mission.  It is timeless.

[SAR-EMT1]

OFF TOPIC:

Just thought I'd point out that Chamberlain ended the War as a BG with a Brevet rank in the "vollunteers" of MG

He commanded the Union Troops at the Surrender and was the last Civil War Veteran to die of a result of Combat wounds: early 1900's from complications to the wound that got him his first star.