Comments | wcg: Career ending misjudgment

wcg

Career ending misjudgment

Nov 22, 2010 15:42

Navy tosses sub skipper in apparent fallout from training exam cheating
Charles Maher, the CO of the USS Memphis, an attack submarine, was removed and 10 members of his crew are being investigated for possibly cheating on training exams, Navy Times reports.

More at the link.

Comments 12

jhetley November 22 2010, 20:53:53 UTC

Oops.

I assume the photo heading that snippet was a *different* oops.

wcg November 22 2010, 20:55:37 UTC

Yes.

johnpalmer November 22 2010, 21:33:35 UTC

Dear lord... reading that article is kind of scary.

It *sounds* like people are taking this really difficult exam, and not able to pass it.

And that means either someone has decided that there's this frivolous gateway that must be passed - and that's entirely possible - or we've got a lot of folks on nuclear subs who don't have the correct background.

Now, I work in an environment where "because, hey, how could that go wrong?" is a bit of a joke. But this strikes me as a tad too serious for that kind of joking.

wcg November 22 2010, 22:34:13 UTC

There are a couple of submariners who read my journal. I'm hoping they'll weigh in with their opinions.

You're right, it's a pretty serious thing.

nightshade1972 November 22 2010, 22:48:50 UTC

Reminds me of the Christine Pelton brouhaha from maybe a decade or so ago. Ms. Pelton was a HS science teacher who warned every one of her students, on the first day of classes, that anyone caught cheating would get an automatic zero. Almost two-thirds of the seniors taking her class not only plagiarized the final exam, but did so uniformly. As promised, she gave them all zeroes. Since the final counted for something like two thirds of the final grade, you can imagine the results ( ... )

How important is truth in relation to safety? rymrytr November 23 2010, 01:15:16 UTC

As Humans, we have to make decisions ( ... )

Re: How important is truth in relation to safety? wcg November 23 2010, 02:51:06 UTC

Yes, it's not always an absolute, and there are some tests that are just "wickets" that must be hit for promotion. But integrity is the most important quality an officer can have, and sub officers literally hold the lives of their shipmates in their hands.

winterbadger November 23 2010, 20:34:19 UTC

Not a matter of cheating, but that does cause me to stop and wonder what happened to the CO of the RN sub that beached itself off Skye a while back. Surely a review board at the very least; hopefully (and not meaning to be harsh, but...) decision of unfit for command, unless there were some *very* extenuating circs.

winterbadger November 23 2010, 20:37:28 UTC

Not too hard to find the answer

Got off lucky, I'd have to say.

wcg November 23 2010, 20:41:06 UTC

My brother Sean told me about a time when he was serving aboard a US attack sub (left unnamed here out of consideration for the wide open nature of the net). They were coming out of port after a refit, had just submerged, and dragged the bottom of the boat on a sandbar. The engineering officer looked over at Sean and said, "I'm screwed." He was right. Every officer in the crew was relieved immediately.

winterbadger November 23 2010, 21:26:10 UTC

I can believe it. Attack subs have to be invisible in the ocean. They have to be able to navigate precisely and avoid obstacles, natural and manmade ( ... )

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