Time to Get Serious: Holly Graf Was Not the Victim of Sexism

Okay, folks, I admit I've been pretty sarcastic about the Holly Graf debacle. That's because sarcasm is the default tone for situations so outrageous, so egregious, so downright over the top, that the only thing you can do is turn on the snark.

However... things have taken an even stranger turn. It's time to adopt a serious tone. Time magazine has published an article asking if Holly Graf - whose abusive behavior has been legend within the Navy for many long years - is the victim of sexism.

The scores of people who have emailed me and commented on this blog assure me the opposite it true. Perhaps Graf is the beneficiary of reverse sexism, wherein her disturbing behavior was ignored and enabled because her superiors were afraid to challenge an approved female; but she was not the victim of sexism.

I am the first to spot and call out the sexists amongst us. But I stand for fairness - not set-asides, legs-up, or special standards. My correspondents appreciate this. Male and female alike, they have thanked me and MilitaryCorruption.com for staying on this case and calling it like it is.

Wrote one woman:

"If not for the MilitaryCorruption.com site and you, Holly Graf's crimes would have been swept under the rug, and she would have been promoted to the highest possible level of troublemaking."

And, to continue my commitment to fairness, I must give primary credit to the folks at MilitaryCorruption.com. They did yeoman's work, with plenty of original reporting on this story. I assure you all: We got it right. Holly Graf had to go.

Dear Fellow Milbloggers, Politicos, and Supporters of Israel...

... anyone else get those creepy Hezbollah emails today? I had four, in Hebrew and Arabic, with English translations that were mangled, but not so much that I couldn't read the intent.

"We name the sinister regime to delete the map." Eliminate Israel? Not on my watch.

Notice to IDF and Homeland Security: Just tell me where to forward.

Twitter Notice, And a Nod to My Dad's Old Unit From Korea

I'm not the chirpiest of Twitter-paters, but for those of you who want yet one more way to stay in touch.... Follow me on Twitter at @SKatzKeating. My icon is the unit patch for my Dad's old unit, the 40th Infantry Division of the California National Guard. The 40th ID did great things in Korea. One of their first good deeds was to relieve the much beleagured 24th ID on the front lines. And they have one of the coolest patches in the Army.

Stuck on the Couch, Musing on Barbecue Sauce, and Linking to Prayerful Posts

Here I am still stuck on the couch, wondering if barbecue sauce is the cure for post-cardiac misery; so naturally I meandered over to Concrete Bob's virtual hangout, United Conservatives of Virginia. There I found this post from Cargo Squid, and I just had to put up a link. A Rifleman's Prayer and other quotes from A Geek With a .45 really hit the spot. Honestly; what's not to like about a prayer that asks "to die an old, old man in my own bed, preferably of sexual overexertion."

Home From ICU: No Longer Ignoring Heart Attack; Riffing on Holly Graf

I am finally home from my involuntary adventure. This included a few shameful but drug-induced episodes of pulling out my leads and other annoying monitors; more indignities than I care to describe; and a cross-county ambulance ride with some wisecracking EMTs who whisked me from the quaint and comforting Potomac to the monolithic and terrorizing Fairfax Hospital, home of the heart surgery observation dome. The folks there threaded a camera up through my leg and into my heart, where they surely saw where I have etched the names of the people I love.

The good news: no damage to my heart. The frustrating news: the angiogram creates, in essence, a wound to the femoral artery. If the wound gets reopened, I'm in a heap of trouble. So now I am on so many restrictions I feel like I'm back in the ICU. But today I could stand up under my own power, and even boiled a kettle for tea. Soon I shall have the energy to post the rest of my heart attack tutorial.

Thank you, everyone, for your continued encouragement and good wishes. They mean a lot. As Bette Midler said, "You gotta have frieeeeends...."

Meanwhile, don't forget to check out the latest on disgraced Navy Capt. Holly Graf. My pals over at MilitaryCorruption.com did some great original reporting, and prompted Big Media to pick up on the story we've been blogging since January. And today I was quoted on AOL News!

Live From the ICU: How to Ignore a Heart Attack

Within the next week or so, I plan to post a tutorial for women on how to recognize the signs and symptoms of cardiac arrest. For now, though, from my temporary post inside the ICU, I offer this lesson on...

How to Ignore a Heart Attack

1. Wake up in the middle of the night with debilitating chest pain.
2. Decide to roll over to see if the pain goes away.
3. Fail to roll over because you can't move.
4. Decide to dial 911.
5. Change your mind because it hurts too much to reach for the phone.
6. Decide to ask your daughter to dial 911.
7. Change your mind because you're too out of breath to tell your daughter something is wrong.
8. Decide to go back to sleep and see if the pain goes away.
9. Repeat for two more nights.
10. Get annoyed when Lynnis, K.J., and Lan threaten to kidnap you and drag you to the doctor.
11. Go to the E.R. so Lynnis, K.J., and Lan will stop bugging you.
12. Sit patiently while the nurse takes your blood.

At this point, the lesson on How to Ignore a Heart Attack ends. Because once the bloodwork comes back showing elevated heart enzymes, and the medical staff flies into lifesaving mode with nitroglycerin, morphine, baby aspirin, oxygen, etc., you no longer can ignore reality. And then you can bond even more with your BFF, Concrete Bob. Thanks, Bob, for the post and prayer request!

Holly Graf Goes Ballistic: Is Whale Sushi Feast to Follow?

The intrepid investigative team at MilitaryCorruption.com has dropped one heck of a bombshell. The wild-eyed Capt. Holly Graf, who proved you don't have to be an enemy combatant to inflict PTSD on American servicemembers, will not be forced to spend the rest of her career scrubbing toilets with a broken coffee cup. The Navy has assigned her to the ballistic missile defense program. Now, that's an appropriate place for a mouth-foaming, crew-abusing tyrant who shredded a whale and ran her own ship aground.

I can see the future news story now:

A highly placed Naval officer today was caught duct-taping a subordinate to a missile nose cone during tests of a new sea-based missile defense system. The victim was found with a woman's pink fuzzy slipper stuffed in his mouth. He had sustained a series of superficial wounds that appear to have been inflicted with a broken coffee cup. The officer who duct-taped the victim immediately was whisked via Marine One to the Pentagon, where she was given a promotion with double pay, and treated to a special feast of whale sushi. The ceremony was interrupted when the much feted officer, Captain (Admiral Select) Holly Graf smeared cake on the Chief of Naval Operation's face. The Secretary of Defense quickly sprang forward with a paper towel, and the festivities continued without incident...

Dear Navy: Don't say I didn't warn you.

About That Ft. McClellan Gas Chamber...The Medics Were On Standby

A reader writes:

What did they use in the gas chamber? They told us it was CS, but CS gives off a cloud. The gas in the chamber was invisible. - Former WAC

Good recall, Former WAC.

When the Womens Army Corps sent me into the gas chamber in 1976, the medics were stationed outside the building, primed for action. They asked everyone ahead of time: "Do you have a heart condition?" Afterwards, women stumbled out of the chamber coughing ferociously and sobbing in fear. The medics ignored them. The DIs told the WACs just to "walk it off" around the track, with instructions to swing their arms to help clear out their lungs.

What, then, were the medics looking for?

What type of gas was disbursed in the chamber?

Looking For Vets Who Filed a Disability Claim From Toxic Exposure at Ft. McClellan

Yes, this post is related to my recent hiatus. And yes, I am rather steamed right now.

A question for my readers: Have you filed a claim with the Veterans Administration because you were exposed to toxic substances while stationed at Ft. McClellan, Alabama? If so, I very much would like to hear from you. Leave a comment below, or email me at Skeating428@aol.com.

Even if you have not filed a claim but were stationed at Ft. Mac, I would like to hear your recollections of the gas chamber and bivouac.

Thank you all for your service.

Is This Any Way to Run a Government Agency? Your Tax Dollars Are Being Spent to Buy Weapons For the IRS to Use... While Collecting Taxes

As tax season approaches, here's a little tidbit to let you know how some of your tax dollars are being spent: On weapons for the IRS to use while enforcing the tax code!

This announcement recently went up on a government contract solicitation site:

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) intends to purchase sixty Remington Model 870 Police RAMAC #24587 12 gauge pump-action shotguns for the Criminal Investigation Division. The Remington parkerized shotguns, with fourteen inch barrel, modified choke, Wilson Combat Ghost Ring rear sight and XS4 Contour Bead front sight, Knoxx Reduced Recoil Adjustable Stock, and Speedfeed ribbed black forend, are designated as the only shotguns authorized for IRS duty based on compatibility with IRS existing shotgun inventory, certified armorer and combat training and protocol, maintenance, and parts

Yes, yes, we need to enforce the tax code and other laws. That's why we have a court system. But unless a government agency specifically is charged with protection and national defense, it should not have its own armed special forces unit. Otherwise, you fall into murky territory on rules of engagement, secrecy, and oh, yeah: Constitutional rights.

Holly Graf Sighted on D.C. Metro? Seeking Confirmation on Allegedly Peaceful Ride

I've been on assignment for a national magazine the past few days; hence, the brief radio silence. Just got an interesting Graf report from one of my guys on the ground in D.C. I wanted to run it up the flagpole for confirmation.

According to my source, Recently Disgraced Navy Captain Holly Graf was sighted this week on the D.C. Metro's Blue Line. One of the stops on that line: The Pentagon.

Says the source: "She rode peacefully. Didn't choke anyone or scream at other passengers who got in her way."

Hmmm... makes me wonder if it were a doppleganger. Anyone else have info?

Terrorism Alert Levels, Aussie Style...

The good folks over at Blackfive have posted a hilarious take on the Aussie view of Terrorism Alert Levels . You'll have to check out B5 if you want to read the full catastrophe, but here are some highlights:

The Scots raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's get those Bastards." They don't have any other levels. This is why they have been used on the front line of the British Army for the last 300 years.

The French government has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide." The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, thereby paralyzing French military capabilities.

New Zealand has raised its security level from "baaa" to "BAAAA...."New Zealand only has one more level of escalation, which is, "I hope Australia will come and rescue us."

Australia , meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to "She'll be al'right, mate." Three more escalation levels remain: "Crikey!', "I think we'll need to cancel the barbie this weekend" and "The barbie is cancelled". So far no situation has ever warranted use of the final escalation level.

In Aftermath of Holly Graf: USNA Keeps Marcus Curry Despite Failed Drug Test

I love the Navy. I promise. And I love sailors. One of my all-time best friends was a swabbie. But in the aftermath of Operation Hollylujiah, I admit I've had my scope trained on the workings of Navy personnel decisions. So I couldn't help but notice yet more hijinks involving our seagoing officer corps. The latest involves Naval Academy football star Marcus Curry, who recently tested positive for illegal drugs after he smoked a cigar laced with hooch.

The USNA has a zero-tolerance policy on drug use. One bad urine test, and you're gone - unliess, of course, a powerful advocate really, really, really wants to keep you. In which case, the supe will swallow the story that you thought you were inhaling only tobacco when you took a deep draw off that stogie.

Naval Academy administrators wanted to expel Curry, who reportedly had three honor code violations before he failed the drug test. Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Jeffrey Fowler, though, decided to keep the young footballer.

Sources told Navy Times that a whole bunch of USNA midshipmen - inclujding other members of the vaunted football team - are “in an uproar” over the situation.

Seems reasonable. After all, a lowly Captain at a Naval Weapons Station just got the boot for offering an undercover cop $20 bucks for a sex act. Why should you keep a trainee who also breaks the law?

Looks as if we need a stand-down on how to play fair.

Mainstream Media Huffs the Asthma Meds While Reporting on Rifle Scopes, But Snores Unassisted Through Holly Graf Situation

And now for an up-close look at your friend and mine, the MSM...

Notice the way mainstream journos get worked-up to the point of breathlessness about certain types of mil-stories, but not others. For instance, the folks at ABC News must have hit the albuterol a half dozen times while unveiling the so-called "Jesus Bible Codes" rifle scopes scandal. In that pan-flash of an expose, ABC revealed that a private contractor had used Biblical citation numbers as part of the serial codes on rifle scopes. However... the MSM has utterly ignored the far more serious story about the command crisis that led to the FUBAR involving Navy Captain Holly Graf.

For a recap on the Graf situation, simply scroll below for the last few posts on this blog. Meanwhile, how about a nice tall mug of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!

Investigation Uncovers Truth Behind Operation Hollylujiah: The Graf Chronicles

The Holly Graf horror stories continue to flood the in-box. I admit that for a while, I was appalled and flummoxed. How could such an unqualified "leader" wind up in charge of a guided missile cruiser? Why wasn't she keel-hauled years ago, when she ran amok on the USS Churchill? I am pleased to announce I have found the likeliest answer. Before I reveal the result of my inquiry, though, I want to share the latest intel on l'affaire Holly.

From my correspondents:

I served under Captain Graf on the Cowpens and it was immediately evident that she is utterly incompetent and a raging tyrant. I personally witnessed her throw a coffee cup, toss a headset across CIC, and even tell someone she would kill them.

* * *
Apparently Graf's wrath was not merely directed at those who got on her bad side. the officer that she choked was the biggest yes-man onboard the Cowpens.

* * *
I served under her command on the USS Winston S Churchill (DDG-81). I have personally witnessed her Bi-polar mood swings, violent outburst and malicious treatment to her crew. Sorry guys, it was not just towards other officers, she included the enlisted crew AND a British naval officer. Most of us Churchillians find ourselves reminiscing about her psychotic reign, Not only do we have the bond of commissioning, we also have her.

* * *
Items culled from a Top Ten list posted on my comments section:

#9. Grabbing a Royal Navy LT by the neck and dragging him to a bridge wing. Screaming at him "did you run my F-ing ship aground"

#8. Calling the XO the stupidest MFer she has ever seen.

#5. Throwing hand held radios at officers and crew.

#2. Fixing the deck log in Italy

#1. After a hurricane sortie, DESRON telling her, NO YOU ARE to return your ship to port immediately

There also are whispers of an incident involving a weapon being discharged on board the Churchill while Graf was in command. According to one source, crewmembers were injured, but Graf did not report the episode.

For more on Graf's behavioral issues, check the Military Corruption.com site, which has been on top of this one and has compiled a collection of tales guaranteed to shiver your timbers.

Okay, so why did Graf retain command when she should have been tied to a rope and given the grand old tour of her ship's barnacles?

There only can be one answer: military deception.

Yes, I believe Holly Graf was a decoy, designed to fool our enemies into thinking our military leaders have lost their marbles. Graf must have been spotted years ago while at the Naval Academy. Our clever Navy Intel folks must have made sure to give her plum assignments that would place her at the helm of our valued warships, where she would of course create havoc. Our ever-watchful enemies, naturally, would learn of her bizarre exploits. They would laugh at us and dismiss us out of hand. I can visualize the Chinese now, consulting their Sun Tzu and snickering at how foolish and weak we have become.

It was a brilliant move on our part. The entire deception presented an easy risk. Our commanders know that the bulk of our Navy - especially our enlisted personnel - are crackerjack through and through. Our sailors are so professional that they can function well in spite of being handicapped by a loony leader. Operation Hollylujiah was part of our grand tradition of fake armies, phony tanks and the like. And if the enemy underestimates you.... well, you know where this goes. Heh, heh...

If you don't believe me, just get a load of the Russians' faces during the Cowpens' visit to Vladivostok. "Svetlana, are you photographink idiotski Amerikanski?" And try - just try - to come up with a better explanation.

Holly Graf May Have Dissed the Aussies, But She Was Very Nice to the Russians

Captain Holly Graf extends warm greetings from the people of the United States while on port call in Vladivostok, Russia. Hey, wait a minute.... Where's her cover? Is she out of uniform?

Captain Holly Graf Put Crew on Lockdown After USS Cowpens Hit a Whale

Tales are trickling in about the volatile Captain Queequeg - oops, I mean, Graf - who recently walked the plank off the USS Cowpens. Okay, so she didn't literally step off the ship into the ocean; she was relieved of command because she mistreated the crew.

Writes one officer:

She is and always has been an incompetent boob. Fortunately, I am senior to her, so she was and is zero threat to me. I know people, good people who have served under her, and she is, by all accounts, also a supremely incompetent tyrant.

So... Graf appears to have been quite the stinker when dealing with human subordinates. But what about innocent marine life? Comments from yesterday's post raise the spectre of something dreadful involving a whale...

We hit a whale about 8 months ago off the coast of Japan.
***
i was on the fantail (the very back part) when we hit it. it made a really loud noise, and very soon after i saw the bloody mess right behind us. everyone was forced to go inside. nobody was allowed to take pictures. we couldnt send any emails whatsoever for a few hours.
***
If you were not on watch, you were asked to stay below. One lucky guy took pics on his cell phone. Gruesome, very very gruesome. You definately felt the thud when we stuck it. We were aksed not to talk about it. Someone needs to stand up for the whale!!
***
Navy policy is to notify the CNO any time a ship hits a whale and any time a dead whale is spotted.... There's no reason to cover it up but if you do, it says something about you.
***
The poor whale, no one gave voice to the whale. No one was allowed to speak of or photograph the poor mangled whale!!!

Some correspondents have tried to present the incident with balance.

The hiting of the whale was not her fault we did not pick it up and the whale it self ran stright in to the side of us causing the ship to skip. She was sadden at the fact that we hit the whale and only kept us that were not on watch in the skin of the ship so that the problem could be fixed.
***
To be fair, by navy doctrine, she was ultimately responsible for the whale, but realistically, she had nothing to do with hitting it. There were more whales than you could count popping up on the sonar. its not like we tried to hit it, it was just a matter of probability, and unfortunate timing. However, as far as trying to cover it up, thats another story.

But the Navy officer - who knew Graf to be an "incompetent booby" - sends this:

I hit a whale while in command of a CG, and the only trouble I got in for it was sending pictures of it to my buddy, who was CINCPACFLT's EA without sending them to my boss first. "Trouble" in this case was a mild admonishment from the CSG COS. Of course we sent the Unit Sitrep out, we had done nothing wrong. Trying to cover something like this up is a sure sign of someone who is totally insecure in their position and more importantly, in their professional ability. Her biggest fear was being required to answer questions about the whale strike, which sounds funny if it was not so pathetic.

All of which still leaves me to wonder why, exactly, the crew was put on lockdown when the Cowpens hit the whale. And... how closely did this incident coincide with the ship's Mongolian BBQ party?

Whale-Plowing, Cup-Hurtling Capt Holly Graf Finally Fired After Choking Subordinate

Time for a pop quiz! True or false: In order to command a military unit, you must be a good leader. Middle school and younger students are exempt from taking the quiz in order to preserve their idealisim, but anyone aged 15 or older needs to know that once in a great while, an utterly incompetent officer rises to the top and proceeds to wreak havoc upon national security, international relations, and military careers.

Yes, I am talking about Navy Captain Holly Graf. A couple days ago Capt. Graf lost command of her ship, the USS COWPENS. The Navy officially says only that she was fired because of "cruelty," "conduct unbecoming an officer," and “temperament and demeanor vis-a-vis her subordinates."

Hmmmm. Apparently this is the same Captain Graf who reportedly mowed down a whale on the high seas, and who seriously offended an Australian official during a port call. Captain Graf also was known for her skills at coffee-cup-hurtling but not seamanship. A boat-load of people who say they served under or knew the Naval Academy graduate have posted an eye-popping stream of comments over at The Real Navy blog. One commenter says the Captain got the heave-ho after physically throttling a junior officer (i.e., wrapping her hands around his neck and squeezing - which, I am told, is an unpleasant experience for the throttlee).

Obviously, Graf had to go. The larger question, though, stems from assertions that Graf did not become an incompetent jerk overnight. She was like that all along. How, then, did she rise through the ranks? How did she merit command of a ship? If I had to guess, I'd say it was for the same reasons Maj. Nidal Hassan remained on duty as an Army psychiatrist when all indications were that he needed a psychiatrist. Apparently, the services are conditioned to "play fair," even when that means putting the mission, the force, and ultimately the nation at risk.

And now for the answer to the pop quiz. Sorry, folks, but this was a trick question. The absolute answer is, YES: In order to command a military unit, you must be a good leader. The trick part, though, is that the realities of leadership are not often based on absolute truth. They sometimes are based on contrived truth. For example, an incompetent officer can receive good fitness reports from superior officers who are either too cowed or too self-serving to give an honest report. So the functional answer is, NO: In order to command a military unit, you do not have to be a good leader.

I hate to be the bearer of such bad news. But there you have it. At least Holly Graf was fired before anyone was injured under her command. Go, Navy!

Highlighting the Israeli View on Ft. Hood Shootings

My good pal C.J. Grisham has raised an important point about the Ft. Hood shootings. Blogging at YouServed, C.J. looks at the Ft. Hood incident through Israeli eyes:

With the recent release of a preliminary report casting blame for the Fort Hood shooting, many Israelis want to know: why didn’t the soldiers attacked by a U.S. Army major-turned-terrorist return fire?

Of course, we all know why:

The answer–and this may astonish many Americans–is that the victims were unarmed. U.S. soldiers are not allowed to carry guns for personal protection, even on a 340-acre base quartering more than 50,000 troops.

As always. C.J. gives thoughtful commentary and exposition. It's well worth the click.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: Pat Robertson Declares Curse on Haiti

Would someone please stuff a sock in this man's mouth? I'd do it myself, but I haven't had my rabies shots...