Did I Miss Something?

[ColonelJack]

Another change-at-or-near-the-top ... and nothing said here?

What happened to Col. Levitch in SER?  All o' a sudden, he be gone.

Whassup?

Jack

[ddelaney103]

"Col. Levitch in SER?"

There never was a Col Levitch in SER...now move along, citizen...

[LtCol White]

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain...."

[Al Sayre]

Wierd, I got an email from him 2 days ago...

[flyguy06]

Ok guys, clue me in. Are you serious. I am in the SER. What do you mean he is gone? I just saw and spoke to him two weeks ago when I accidentally ran into him at the National Board in Atlanta. Somebody give me the 411

[flyguy06]

Ok, i just looked at our region website. This must have happened very recently, The newsletter they have posted doesnt reflect a change.

The more I look at it and think about it, all these changes within a year really does not look good at all

[mikeylikey]

Lets say it together!  STACKING THE DECK

[JohnKachenmeister]

Stacking the deck with who?  Levich and Pineda are Compadres .

I knew nothing of this change, and neither did my Group CC.

[JohnKachenmeister]

How do you shut off the italics?

[flyguy06]

Stacking the deck with who?  Levich and Pineda are Compadres .

I knew nothing of this change, and neither did my Group CC.

Well, its not in your reagion wouldnt expect you to know about until its put out natiaonally Me onthe other hand, the is my direct chain of command

[capchiro]

It would appear that the new SER CC is Col. James Rushing.  Bio available on line and he appears to be okay, but, why are these things done in the dark without any announcments.  Do the powers that be not realize we have the magical CAPTALK and we will not be denied the truth, or at least something resembling the truth, or something like a rumor, or something??  By our combined effort, we have to power to..Is that the black helicopter I see out my back window??  What the h..

[stillamarine]

Stacking the deck with who?  Levich and Pineda are Compadres .

I knew nothing of this change, and neither did my Group CC.

Well, its not in your reagion wouldnt expect you to know about until its put out natiaonally Me onthe other hand, the is my direct chain of command

Gee seeing as Kach is in FL, I didn't know FL escaped from the SER

[JohnKachenmeister]

Stacking the deck with who?  Levich and Pineda are Compadres .

I knew nothing of this change, and neither did my Group CC.

Well, its not in your reagion wouldnt expect you to know about until its put out natiaonally Me onthe other hand, the is my direct chain of command

Florida is not in the Southeast Region?  Man!  There HAVE been some changes!

[JC004]

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain...."

ROFLMAO...     

Worry not, ladies and gentlemen, the NHQ RSS feed will spring something forth, and so will News of the Force!   

[flyguy06]

Stacking the deck with who?  Levich and Pineda are Compadres .

I knew nothing of this change, and neither did my Group CC.

Well, its not in your reagion wouldnt expect you to know about until its put out natiaonally Me onthe other hand, the is my direct chain of command

Florida is not in the Southeast Region?  Man!  There HAVE been some changes!

I didnt know you were in FL. How would Iknow that?

[ELTHunter]

It would appear that the new SER CC is Col. James Rushing.  Bio available on line and he appears to be okay, but, why are these things done in the dark without any announcments.  Do the powers that be not realize we have the magical CAPTALK and we will not be denied the truth, or at least something resembling the truth, or something like a rumor, or something??  By our combined effort, we have to power to..Is that the black helicopter I see out my back window??  What the h..

Although I wouldn't say that it was formally announced, I received an e-mail from our Group Commander yesterday at 1953.  It has been rumored since Rushing was appointed to SER Vice CC that he would be promoted to CC some time in the not to distant future.  The shocker is that Levich isn't being bumped up to NHQ some where.

[DeputyDog]

Stacking the deck with who?  Levich and Pineda are Compadres .

I knew nothing of this change, and neither did my Group CC.

Well, its not in your reagion wouldnt expect you to know about until its put out natiaonally Me onthe other hand, the is my direct chain of command

Florida is not in the Southeast Region?  Man!  There HAVE been some changes!

I didnt know you were in FL. How would Iknow that?

From reading his many posts.

[JC004]

It would appear that the new SER CC is Col. James Rushing.  Bio available on line and he appears to be okay, but, why are these things done in the dark without any announcments.  Do the powers that be not realize we have the magical CAPTALK and we will not be denied the truth, or at least something resembling the truth, or something like a rumor, or something??  By our combined effort, we have to power to..Is that the black helicopter I see out my back window??  What the h..

...The shocker is that Levich isn't being bumped up to NHQ some where.

Do we know this for sure?

[ELTHunter]

It would appear that the new SER CC is Col. James Rushing.  Bio available on line and he appears to be okay, but, why are these things done in the dark without any announcments.  Do the powers that be not realize we have the magical CAPTALK and we will not be denied the truth, or at least something resembling the truth, or something like a rumor, or something??  By our combined effort, we have to power to..Is that the black helicopter I see out my back window??  What the h..

...The shocker is that Levich isn't being bumped up to NHQ some where.

Do we know this for sure?

The e-mail I received said Levich stepped down due to "huge increased work load in his civilian job", which implies he doesn't have the time, but I suppose things could change.

[flyguy06]

From what I read, he got a heavy workload in his civilian job and had to step down. No drama. Nothing to see hear folks.

[lordmonar]

Why does every change in personnel have to be part of some great conspiracy or cover up.

I mean a lot of people in CAP have 2nd Jobs that.....let's all take a deep breath here....sometimes take precedence over our CAP careers.

Seeing as how this is sometimes a very personal decision...I don't see why everyone and his brother needs to be in the loop during the decision making process. 

This is not like a Presidential Campaign where you announce you may be thinking about the possibility of forming a focus group.....before you commit yourself to actually considering forming a group to see if you may run.

Some jobs may promote you out of the blue and bam!  You no longer have the extra 40 hours a week it takes to be a regional commander.

[SarDragon]

Stacking the deck with who?  Levich and Pineda are Compadres .

I knew nothing of this change, and neither did my Group CC.

Well, its not in your reagion wouldnt expect you to know about until its put out natiaonally Me onthe other hand, the is my direct chain of command

Florida is not in the Southeast Region?  Man!  There HAVE been some changes!

I didnt know you were in FL. How would Iknow that?

Well, two ways. It's in his profile, and he has made mention of his location in many posts. RTFM. 

[Ladyhawk]

For what it's worth, News of the Force has a different explanation for Col Levitch's resignation - "Testgate."  See the following link for more details:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewsoftheForce/message/5106

The specific topic is about halfway down the page.

[capchiro]

In response to lordmanor, not every decision has to be a conspiracy theory, but as long as CAP does not have the decency to announce to anyone involved in a change in their chain of command (of the person being removed and/or stepping down), it would appear that there is a conspiracy or something going on that all are not privy to.  The chain of command is to be highly visible and any change of command should not require a "secret" change, but one with announcements to all in the chain, above and below.  This is just common courtesy and shows respect for those above and below the individual.  After all, stepping down for business or personal reasons is not a decision usually made overnight or with such great urgency that proper protocol can't be followed.

[sparks]

The reason every high level change is scrutinized closely is due to TP's habit of removing commanders to further his own agenda. On occasion a resignation is just that and nothing else. It can be hard to tell them appart. Recall that "Rex" originally resigned CAP because of his sick parents. Eventually it was discovered that there was more to his resignation than sick parents. Ergo the skepticism, also it's more entertaining to kibitz.

[BillB]

With Bellsouth combining with ATT, Col Levitch's work load has increased with the transition is ongoing. While there may be other reeasons for the resignation, basically his time to devote to CAP has decreased. I think that while the decision was arrived at rather quickly, it was not part of any behind the back conspiracy, but a valid problem of time managament.
Col Levitch had already made the decision not to run for National Vice Commander a few weeks ago. So it was the time managament problem that brought about the resignation.

[Sgt. Savage]

I would think that, like in most cases, that a change of command would be handled in a more formal manner. Even when "work load" increases, you can hang for a couple of weeks until you can conduct a formal change of command. This is much more like a force out than a change of command.

That having been said, this IS the CAP. Weird crap happens here all the time.

[RiverAux]

In response to lordmanor, not every decision has to be a conspiracy theory, but as long as CAP does not have the decency to announce to anyone involved in a change in their chain of command (of the person being removed and/or stepping down), it would appear that there is a conspiracy or something going on that all are not privy to.  The chain of command is to be highly visible and any change of command should not require a "secret" change, but one with announcements to all in the chain, above and below.  This is just common courtesy and shows respect for those above and below the individual.  After all, stepping down for business or personal reasons is not a decision usually made overnight or with such great urgency that proper protocol can't be followed.

Give me a break.  Seems to me that it was announced to everybody and put on the SER web page within a day or two of it happening.  That is pretty prompt in my book.  After all, 99.9% of the members of a Region have no interaction with the Region Commander and won't be left hanging if they have to wait a day or two to hear about the change.  Heck, when it comes down to it, I don't think the majority of senior members even know who their Region Commander is unless he happens to come from their own state.  Cadets probably do since they have to memorize the chain of command. 

[flyguy06]

Why does every change in personnel have to be part of some great conspiracy or cover up.

I mean a lot of people in CAP have 2nd Jobs that.....let's all take a deep breath here....sometimes take precedence over our CAP careers.

Seeing as how this is sometimes a very personal decision...I don't see why everyone and his brother needs to be in the loop during the decision making process. 

This is not like a Presidential Campaign where you announce you may be thinking about the possibility of forming a focus group.....before you commit yourself to actually considering forming a group to see if you may run.

Some jobs may promote you out of the blue and bam!  You no longer have the extra 40 hours a week it takes to be a regional commander.

I agree

[flyguy06]

Stacking the deck with who?  Levich and Pineda are Compadres .

I knew nothing of this change, and neither did my Group CC.

Well, its not in your reagion wouldnt expect you to know about until its put out natiaonally Me onthe other hand, the is my direct chain of command

Florida is not in the Southeast Region?  Man!  There HAVE been some changes!

I didnt know you were in FL. How would Iknow that?

Well, two ways. It's in his profile, and he has made mention of his location in many posts. RTFM. 

Ok, and I dont read everybody's profile on here. I come on read posts, maybe post myself and leave.

[flyguy06]

In response to lordmanor, not every decision has to be a conspiracy theory, but as long as CAP does not have the decency to announce to anyone involved in a change in their chain of command (of the person being removed and/or stepping down), it would appear that there is a conspiracy or something going on that all are not privy to.  The chain of command is to be highly visible and any change of command should not require a "secret" change, but one with announcements to all in the chain, above and below.  This is just common courtesy and shows respect for those above and below the individual.  After all, stepping down for business or personal reasons is not a decision usually made overnight or with such great urgency that proper protocol can't be followed.

I agree with that as well

[JC004]

I think that I've figured it out.  Pineda isn't stacking the deck or firing people who he doesn't like...

He is ACTUALLY punishing people by making them the commander of something.  I mean, who in their right mind wants to be a wing/region commander?  All that hassle...all the blame?

Found in eServices, BTW:

New SER Region CC
25 May 2007
COLONEL JAMES M. RUSHING has been appointed SOUTHEAST REGION COMMANDER, effective 23 May 2007.

New NM Wing CC
25 May 2007
LIEUTENANT COLONEL RICHARD F. HIMEBROOK has been appointed INTERIM COMMANDER OF THE NEW MEXICO WING, effective May 21, 2007.

[stillamarine]

Stacking the deck with who?  Levich and Pineda are Compadres .

I knew nothing of this change, and neither did my Group CC.

Well, its not in your reagion wouldnt expect you to know about until its put out natiaonally Me onthe other hand, the is my direct chain of command

Florida is not in the Southeast Region?  Man!  There HAVE been some changes!

I didnt know you were in FL. How would Iknow that?

Well, two ways. It's in his profile, and he has made mention of his location in many posts. RTFM. 

Ok, and I dont read everybody's profile on here. I come on read posts, maybe post myself and leave.

In that case....following the advice of my old Gunny, Never Assume.....because you can only accomplish one thing by that. 

If you did not know where he was from then why would you say he's not in your region?

[Sgt. Savage]

I think we may be illustrating another point here. It's about time for our leadership to start taking steps to stabilize the organization and promote confidence in decision making. If we were all satisfied that the entire organization was being run in a proper and open manner, we wouldn't be having this "conversation". Fact is, everyones a little uneasy these days.

JMHO

[JC004]

I think we may be illustrating another point here. It's about time for our leadership to start taking steps to stabilize the organization and promote confidence in decision making. If we were all satisfied that the entire organization was being run in a proper and open manner, we wouldn't be having this "conversation". Fact is, everyones a little uneasy these days.

JMHO

Yes.   

Leadership ability and vision are what matter when you get down to it.  Alas, silly uniform changes are more fun!

[ELTHunter]

Leadership ability and vision are what matter when you get down to it.  Alas, silly uniform changes are more fun!

Poor leaders/managers bypass the hard things because they are....well, hard.  Either that, or they don't know what to do about the hard things.  So they "manage" the little things like uniform changes because that's easy.

Leadership seems hard to find now days, at many levels.  Maybe CAP is a microcosm of our larger society.  Generally speaking, we have few leaders left.  Most political leaders look out for their own political ambitions.  Business leaders look out for their bonus's, etc.  Maybe CAP is no different.

[JC004]

Leadership ability and vision are what matter when you get down to it.  Alas, silly uniform changes are more fun!

Poor leaders/managers bypass the hard things because they are....well, hard.  Either that, or they don't know what to do about the hard things.  So they "manage" the little things like uniform changes because that's easy.

Leadership seems hard to find now days, at many levels.  Maybe CAP is a microcosm of our larger society.  Generally speaking, we have few leaders left.  Most political leaders look out for their own political ambitions.  Business leaders look out for their bonus's, etc.  Maybe CAP is no different.

How about instead of changing nametags, we change various leaders?   

Perhaps the word has lost some meaning...For instance, political commercials that often talk about leadership.  Do most of those people even know the first thing about it?  Probably not.

Strong leaders set a vision and change the culture of an organization.  That's what we need.  Perhaps we can send the black van to kidnap some of the remaining good leaders from various corporations.

[ZigZag911]

Sgt Savage has a valid point....we need stability, and a sense of security within CAP...last summer there was so much concern about extended terms for wing CCs....but it's a rare wing commander that serves a full four year term, let alone getting extra time tacked on (would that be for good behavior, or bad?!?)

[James Shaw]

Colonel Levitch resigned due to work. He works for (BellSouth) in the management level. The company was recently purchased by ATT. He is a state level manager wih alot of work to do during the transitions. He resigned because " He could not give CAP and Southeast Region 100%" so he felt it would be better to step down and let someone who could devote the time to it take over".

[JC004]

Colonel Levitch resigned due to work. He works for (BellSouth) in the management level. The company was recently purchased by ATT. He is a state level manager wih alot of work to do during the transitions. He resigned because " He could not give CAP and Southeast Region 100%" so he felt it would be better to step down and let someone who could devote the time to it take over".

I've always held that if you can't do your job for whatever reason, it's your obligation to resign.  However, hatching conspiracy theories is soooo much more fun.     Plus, NOTF needs material, right?     Here, let me hatch something...According to sources, Levitch resigned because it was discovered that he owned a big piece o' Vanguard.  It's all Pineda's fault because, well, I haven't come up with that part yet...

[Smokey]

I do agree we are sorely lacking in leadership.  We have no idea where the organization is headed because our leaders have not told us. We have no idea when we will get there nor how long it may take. At least Columbus had a plan.....he may have run into an obstacle (America) on his way to India....but his crew, sailing partners and even Queen Isabella knew where he was headed.

We will never know if we have reached our destination.

And right now the so called leadership (Wing & Region CC) are so scared they will be the next one on the chopping block, that they are paralyzed into inaction.

[Westernslope]

Doesn't Col Rushing become the 4th SER Commander in the last 2-3 years?

He is a good guy. I wish him well.

[BillB]

I know for a fact the Col Levitch does not own any Vanguard stock. He sold his Vanguard stock to some guy named Major John Kach something or another.

[JC004]

I know for a fact the Col Levitch does not own any Vanguard stock. He sold his Vanguard stock to some guy named Major John Kach sothing or another.

Kach?!  NOOOOOOO!  ::CRIES::

Well, we must seek the truth!  Onward!

[ZigZag911]

Colonel Levitch resigned due to work. He works for (BellSouth) in the management level. The company was recently purchased by ATT. He is a state level manager wih alot of work to do during the transitions. He resigned because " He could not give CAP and Southeast Region 100%" so he felt it would be better to step down and let someone who could devote the time to it take over".

This accounts for his moving on, and perhaps some of the other many high level command changes over the past several years.....but there have been instances where politics and personalities played a large role in these events....and the organization as a whole would benefit greatly from more continuity and stability.

It is interesting to note, in this context, how infrequently a vice commander or chief of staff accedes to command....far more often it has been an individual with little or no command experience/

[JohnKachenmeister]

I know for a fact the Col Levitch does not own any Vanguard stock. He sold his Vanguard stock to some guy named Major John Kach something or another.

Don't even TRY this!

One, even I wouldn't own Vanguard stock, and two...

If Levitch had any, he'd give it away to the Hare Krishnas before he'd sell it to me.

I have nothing against Levitch, but for some reason he has nothing good to say about me.  Oh, well... life goes on.

[JC004]

Leadership ability and vision are what matter when you get down to it.  Alas, silly uniform changes are more fun!

Poor leaders/managers bypass the hard things because they are....well, hard.  Either that, or they don't know what to do about the hard things.  So they "manage" the little things like uniform changes because that's easy.

Leadership seems hard to find now days, at many levels.  Maybe CAP is a microcosm of our larger society.  Generally speaking, we have few leaders left.  Most political leaders look out for their own political ambitions.  Business leaders look out for their bonus's, etc.  Maybe CAP is no different.

On the subject of vision and all, I thought these SECAF Goal Cards were pretty interesting...

http://www.af.mil/specials/goals/goalcard.html

[mikeylikey]

Leadership ability and vision are what matter when you get down to it.  Alas, silly uniform changes are more fun!

Poor leaders/managers bypass the hard things because they are....well, hard.  Either that, or they don't know what to do about the hard things.  So they "manage" the little things like uniform changes because that's easy.

Leadership seems hard to find now days, at many levels.  Maybe CAP is a microcosm of our larger society.  Generally speaking, we have few leaders left.  Most political leaders look out for their own political ambitions.  Business leaders look out for their bonus's, etc.  Maybe CAP is no different.

On the subject of vision and all, I thought these SECAF Goal Cards were pretty interesting...

http://www.af.mil/specials/goals/goalcard.html

Ummmm........"Open, Transparent Business Practices; Clean Audit",  To bad CAP can't adopt that one.  I seriously doubt they could ever achieve that!

[ELTHunter]

Ummmm........"Open, Transparent Business Practices; Clean Audit",  To bad CAP can't adopt that one.  I seriously doubt they could ever achieve that!

Apparently, the "clean audit" goal is being embraced by CAP with the Wing Banker program.  Although I am not quite sure what a "clean audit" does for CAP.  Boy Scout units handle their own finances, and I don't see them changing that.

Other than being able to say that we have an unqualified audit, what does the WBP do for CAP?

[CAP Producer]

Ummmm........"Open, Transparent Business Practices; Clean Audit",  To bad CAP can't adopt that one.  I seriously doubt they could ever achieve that!

Apparently, the "clean audit" goal is being embraced by CAP with the Wing Banker program.  Although I am not quite sure what a "clean audit" does for CAP.  Boy Scout units handle their own finances, and I don't see them changing that.

Other than being able to say that we have an unqualified audit, what does the WBP do for CAP?

That's because Scouting untis are owned by the chartering organization (church, school etc...). CAP units are owned by CAP.

[ELTHunter]

Ummmm........"Open, Transparent Business Practices; Clean Audit",  To bad CAP can't adopt that one.  I seriously doubt they could ever achieve that!

Apparently, the "clean audit" goal is being embraced by CAP with the Wing Banker program.  Although I am not quite sure what a "clean audit" does for CAP.  Boy Scout units handle their own finances, and I don't see them changing that.

Other than being able to say that we have an unqualified audit, what does the WBP do for CAP?

That's because Scouting units are owned by the chartering organization (church, school etc...). CAP units are owned by CAP.

Either way, I don't see any money flowing back down to the local unit.  Instead of a local member handling the checking account at a local bank, a paid staffer is spending time (time they probably don't have in the first place) doing it and using a bank remote from the local unit.

This kinda drifted off topic......sorry.

[JC004]

Ummmm........"Open, Transparent Business Practices; Clean Audit",  To bad CAP can't adopt that one.  I seriously doubt they could ever achieve that!

Apparently, the "clean audit" goal is being embraced by CAP with the Wing Banker program.  Although I am not quite sure what a "clean audit" does for CAP.  Boy Scout units handle their own finances, and I don't see them changing that.

Other than being able to say that we have an unqualified audit, what does the WBP do for CAP?

What it does is put us in a position to seek funding of large funders who require that.