[War] US: Rank Hath Its Privileges

[pentaj2 at Scranton.edu]

"Rank Hath Its Privileges"
21 August 2006
President John Williams
USA
==============
<Washington>

It was a beautiful late summer day in Washington. The President, 
however, was not enjoying it too much.

After a working lunch, his next appointment was with the Secretary of 
the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations. There were a horde of 
issues, but Williams had one he was going to surprise them with.

Admiral Mullens and Secretary Winter were conducted in at this point. 
After the usual pleasantries, Williams pulled out a beige folder.

"Gentlemen, before we begin with the technical and budgetary issues, 
there's something I would like to deal with," he began.

"Mr. Secretary, I've...noticed the media coverage of the case of 
Commander Kirk Lippold, former CO of USS Cole. I've seen Admiral 
Clark's, essentially, clearing him of fault for the bombing. I've also 
noted that he was selected by the O-6 promotion board. Granted, there 
were issues with his promotion in the Senate, but he was in-zone and, 
so far as the board was concerned, fit for promotion.

"May I ask, then, why you saw fit to remove him from the promotion 
list?" Williams asked.

Winter and Mullens both looked surprised. Usually, POTUS did not 
inquire into personnel actions like that.

"Mr. President, Commander Lippold failed to protect his command. The 
customs and traditions of the Naval Service are such that if something 
happens to a vessel, its CO bears full responsibility," Winter 
responded. With admirable aplomb, Williams noted, given he'd been 
ambushed.

"Mr. Secretary, I understand that. I also understand that Commander 
Lippold's promotion has been bouncing around since the 02 boards. It 
has, as I understand it, the support of everybody, from the board up 
to the Joint Chiefs. He was cleared by Admiral Clark; His leadership 
saved that ship.

"So what the hell is going on?" Williams asked.

"Senator Warner is opposed, sir."

Williams rolled his eyes. "Mr. Secretary, you showed admirable guts in 
replying to my ambush just there. Why do you not show the same balls 
in standing up to the Distinguished Gentleman from Virginia?"

"And sacrifice the service's objectives for one man?"

"Why did you not push the issue, Mr. Secretary? This is about more 
than Commander Lippold, this is about the apolitical nature of the 
officer corps."

"I must admit, I...had not viewed the issue in quite such stark terms, 
Mr. President."

"OK, fair enough; I do. Now...Let's step back. I examined everything 
from the boards. Admiral Mullens, the man is on your staff. How's his 
performance been since?"

"His OERs are exemplary, sir, and from what I've seen of his work, 
he's still an officer I would recommend for promotion, without 
reservations, sir." Mullens replied.

"Alright. Now...Mr. Winter: That promotion gets returned to the list. 
You *will* submit his name up the chain, however out-of-season it 
might be. Any promotion he recieves will be effective *immediately*. 
His career is recieving attention from this office.

"I will handle Mr. Warner. In future: The Senate's role in promotions 
is *strictly* to prevent nepotism, simony, et cetera in the process. 
The -Executive Branch- decides whether an officer is qualified, not 
the Senate. When any Senator tries to step beyond that, I ask you, on 
behalf of separation of powers, to go apeshit.

"In future: I do not care for a 'zero-defect' officer corps. We do 
that, we get great bureaucrats. We don't get leaders. Leaders are as 
human as those they lead." Wlliams noted.

"Yes, sir." Winter responded.

"Now then, let's move on..."
---
<Letter>
From
The Hon. John Williams
President of the United States of America

To
The Hon. John D. Warner
Senator from Virginia

Mr. Senator,

   I must respectfully protest your interference in the constitutional 
prerogative of the President in appointing and promoting military 
officers, specifically in the case of CDR Kirk Lippold. It is the 
concern of this office that such interference may serve to undermine 
the apolitical nature of the officer corps, thus damaging civil 
control of the military forces and the proper nature of civil-military 
relations.

   Respectfully,
   John Williams
   President
---
OOC source:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/21/cole.commander.ap/index.html
---
Actions:
1. Commander Kirk Lippold, USN, is to be restored to the promotion 
list to the grade of O-6 (Captain), effective immediately.
2. Letter to Senator Warner to be released to the media. POTUS really 
does take a dim view of anything that might be seen to undermine the 
apolitical nature of the officer corps.