Althouse: "Members of the Tennessee Air National Guard have been removed from their posts after using a dinosaur puppet in a re-enlistment ceremony."

April 21, 2018

"Members of the Tennessee Air National Guard have been removed from their posts after using a dinosaur puppet in a re-enlistment ceremony."

54 comments:

rhhardin said...: Oaths can't penetrate sock puppets.; 4/21/18, 8:30 PM
rhhardin said...: It's what J.L.Austin called an infelicitous condition. The speech act doesn't work.

Just as if you're an actor acting a wedding, you don't wind up really married.; 4/21/18, 8:31 PM
traditionalguy said...: Nobody has a sense of humor anymore. The Tennessee Air National Guard can joke around all it wants. The first of the Tennessee Volunteer Units were commanded by none other than Old Hickory.; 4/21/18, 8:32 PM
Achilles said...: Ah the chair force...; 4/21/18, 8:33 PM
Hey Skipper said...: I took the oath of office several times, and gave it many more.

It's serious, and deserves being taken that way.; 4/21/18, 8:37 PM
Gospace said...: Haven't heard or seen a single one of my military friends and acquaintances approve of this. Oaths are serious business. They can be- and have been- taken in various odd places, but the oath itself is always done seriously as serious matters should be done.; 4/21/18, 8:38 PM
YoungHegelian said...: It would have been okay if it had been Barney giving it.; 4/21/18, 8:40 PM
rcocean said...: Air national guard = weekend warriors.

BTW, why did the military move to these horrible uniforms.

Everyone looks like they're wearing camouflaged pajamas.; 4/21/18, 8:43 PM
Pugsley the Pug said...: Master Sgt. Brown showed a basic lack of respect for the United States, the Constitution of the U.S., the U.S. military, and her position in the Air National Guard by taking the oath of office with a sock puppet on her hand mouthing the words as she repeated them. The same with the colonel who administered this oath for allowing this to happen. The military runs on discipline and respect - once that starts breaking down, the military loses its effectiveness in defending our country. The question is this: Was Sgt. Brown’s actions a bad choice on her part or a result of a lack of discipline fostered by 8 years of Obama administration policies of political correctness, social policies, and disdain for our military forced upon our military that are now becoming evident? If the latter, it will take longer than 8 years to rid the military of this rot.; 4/21/18, 8:52 PM
Achilles said...: Pugsley the Pug said...

The question is this: Was Sgt. Brown’s actions a bad choice on her part or a result of a lack of discipline fostered by 8 years of Obama administration policies of political correctness, social policies, and disdain for our military forced upon our military that are now becoming evident? If the latter, it will take longer than 8 years to rid the military of this rot.

This is a key point. Obama did massive damage to the flag levels in the armed forces.

The farther from combat people in the military get the more ridiculous things got. ANG is about as far from combat roles as you can get.; 4/21/18, 9:09 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: Time, place and manner for humor.

No need to be goofy at funerals.

No need to be goofy on jury duty

No need to be goofy while taking military oaths.

Most everything else? Have at it!; 4/21/18, 9:10 PM
mockturtle said...: Looks like Ritmo is back.; 4/21/18, 9:11 PM
southcentralpa said...: With all the hullabalu, I initially thought they must have used a Purple Monstrosity Who Must Not Be Named (rhymes with Blarney) puppet, in which case I would have whole-heartedly supported the TNG on the basis that it called into question their professional judgement. This? Jiminy Creepers, no sense of humour anyone? In the TNG's defense, shenanigans would've been more appropriate in a field re-enlistment. (In the Navy, many re-enlistments during long deployments were a species of dare to the CO (alright, I'll re-enlist if you do it on top of the stacks, etc...)); 4/21/18, 9:14 PM
gspencer said...: They the oath as seriously as Democrat Members of Congress and all officers of the Obama regime.; 4/21/18, 9:32 PM
FullMoon said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/21/18, 9:38 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: I was going to say, if I have ever called anyone else on this forum crazy, I was mistaken. This guy is crazy.; 4/21/18, 10:03 PM
FIDO said...: Stow the hate. I was an ANG member, and we took those oaths seriously too.

I am not surprised, but I am appalled they thought this was any kind of good idea.

Glad she was removed and hope they demote her or drum her out.

From the Notebooks of Lazarus Long:

The two highest achievements of the human mind are the twin concepts of “loyalty” and “duty.” Whenever these twin concepts fall into disrepute--get out of there fast. You may possibly save yourself, but it is too late to save that society. It is doomed.

We need to punish those who try to bring those concepts into disrepute...starting at the Academy.; 4/21/18, 10:12 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Spam removed, causing comments on it to refer to nothing.; 4/21/18, 10:14 PM
chickelit said...: Seriously not funny; 4/21/18, 10:22 PM
Trumpit said...: This sockpuppet salute reminds me of this famous picture from the Olympics in Mexico City in 1968: https:
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Olympics_Black_Power_salute

Tommy Smith became a P.E. teacher at Santa Monica College where my mother was a professor.

The inductees were making an anti-Trump statement of some sort. Maybe that Trump should be eaten by a dinosaur.; 4/21/18, 10:32 PM
Big Mike said...: Hard to say which is the biggest asshole here. The sergeant? The colonel who should have provided adult supervision but went along with the sergeant? Or their superiors who landed on them with a ton of bricks?; 4/21/18, 10:33 PM
PJ said...: It shouldn’t have happened, and it’s appalling that it apparently didn’t occur to anybody involved that there might be bad consequences. But the punishment? I know, I know, they’re exaxtly the sort of little people punishment was designed to be inflicted on. But still.; 4/21/18, 10:44 PM
Lucien said...: Guy administering the oath should just have said, "Very Funny. Now take off the puppet and swear your oath". Problem avoided.

Also, did they take a knee?; 4/21/18, 10:49 PM
Etienne said...: That Master Sergeant looks a little plump. Looks like their weight management program isn't working either.; 4/21/18, 11:15 PM
Trashhauler said...: Calling the Air National Guard "weekend warriors" has been a bit unfair for a number of years. Given the overall downsizing of the Active Duty component, ANG units have been rotating in and out of the war zones downrange with about the same regularity as active units. It's call "Total Force" and requires a state of readiness on the part of ANG units far in excess of that from the dim past back in the 1980s.; 4/21/18, 11:24 PM
Etienne said...: I read the sergeants reason for doing this. Evidently she wanted the video made for her kids who couldn't attend the ceremony.

I can see where her priorities were misplaced.; 4/21/18, 11:35 PM
mockturtle said...: Same kind of immature behavior we see in young teachers who think they're still teenagers and have sex with their students.; 4/22/18, 12:01 AM
eddie willers said...: I thought it was funny. But, Good Lord, I must be the only one. Never seen so many people riled up.; 4/22/18, 12:19 AM
Yancey Ward said...: They shouldn't have done it, but the punishment was disproportionate.; 4/22/18, 12:26 AM
wholelottasplainin said...: traditionalguy said...
Nobody has a sense of humor anymore. The Tennessee Air National Guard can joke around all it wants. The first of the Tennessee Volunteer Units were commanded by none other than Old Hickory.

****************

And Jackson (who participated in more than 100 duels over various perceived slights) was a real jokester, a deliverer of red-hot knee-slappers, wasn't he....; 4/22/18, 12:45 AM
exhelodrvr1 said...: Appropriate punishment; 4/22/18, 2:25 AM
Humperdink said...: Jay Elink said: "And Jackson (who participated in more than 100 duels over various perceived slights)....."

Having visited the Hermitage home and the Battle of New Orleans this past year, I became a big fan of Jackson. During that time, I came across the 100 duels "fact". Count me as skeptical. I mean the odds are a bit long.

Additionally, after about 10 or so victories, you would think the opposition would decline the invite.; 4/22/18, 5:48 AM
tim maguire said...: If they think the oath is a joke, what else do they think is a joke? Would you sleep soundly at night knowing this is the sort of person standing at the walls?; 4/22/18, 6:34 AM
tim maguire said...: Yancey, I agree that the punishment was disproportionate, but only because the colonel received the lightest sentence. He should have received the harshest. He set the tone, they followed.; 4/22/18, 6:39 AM
FIDO said...: Weight standards are less imposed on the women and the Guard tends to skate on the issue since they are volunteers.; 4/22/18, 7:27 AM
FIDO said...: Not disproportionate. They got off easy; 4/22/18, 7:27 AM
JPS said...: Inappropriate and not funny. And yes, the colonel should have had his right hand up as well.

But the punishment reminds me of a troubling broader trend in society: It's never enough anymore to just say, "I think you were wrong," or even, "Wow, you're an asshole." In military terms, it's not enough to chew their dumb asses out (and especially rip into the colonel for the tone set and for his failure to damn well know better), counsel them in writing, maybe order them all to do it again and do it right this time.

No: We must ruin their careers. That's what we do now to anyone we'd never heard of who comes to our attention via the internet in a way that pisses us off. Standard penalty.; 4/22/18, 7:38 AM
AllenS said...: For those of you who think that the punishment was too harsh, would you accept dropping all of them a rank or two?; 4/22/18, 7:57 AM
Paco Wové said...: "It's never enough anymore to just say, "I think you were wrong," or even, "Wow, you're an asshole." ...
No: We must ruin their careers."

I first really noticed this when Brendan Eich got fired. The attitude that "of course we must drive our opponents from society" seemed troublingly common and well-accepted among those who supported that action, as well as its corollary "Of course, you would do this too given the chance."

No, I don't think I would.; 4/22/18, 8:00 AM
Paco Wové said...: In this particular case, the offense actually had something to do with the job at hand (unlike Eich & Mozilla) and as such I will defer to the judgment of those in the profession.; 4/22/18, 8:03 AM
FIDO said...: This is stopping a precedent. One needs to be harsh or some nimrod 22 year old Millenial will try it dressed like a tranny next on YouTube with sound effects and a laugh track.; 4/22/18, 8:16 AM
JPS said...: AllenS,

"For those of you who think that the punishment was too harsh, would you accept dropping all of them a rank or two?"

I would accept it. If it were my call, I would handle it with a set of ass-chewings, written counseling, and a vivid description of what would happen if they made me regret leaving it at that. That's assuming the dumbassery was an exception rather than the rule.; 4/22/18, 8:24 AM
Unknown said...: Written counseling or a letter of reprimand is just as career killing, but slower; 4/22/18, 10:01 AM
Anonymous said...: Come on, this is the National Guard for Christ's sake, essentially a local police reserve! Jesus Christ if you can't take a joke you don't belong in any branch of the service. Sure it's a little odd, but the woman is re-upping for continued duty and given her age I suspect she's been in the Guard for a long time and, most likely, is respected for her sense of humor even in the most difficult situations. What a bunch of tight asses.

Let's drum these volunteers out of the service while we coddle the likes of Manning and Bergdahl, both of whom should have been stood against a wall.; 4/22/18, 10:04 AM
Anonymous said...: @ Tim Maguire Yes I would sleep soundly for two reasons: that woman is never going to be in a front line rifle platoon and I'd like to know that someone who most likely be doing local policing in an emergency didn't think she was Rambo.; 4/22/18, 10:08 AM
mockturtle said...: What would Patton do?; 4/22/18, 11:18 AM
Etienne said...: Patton would have sent them to the front, and he would have decorated them if they moved the front a kilometer more into Germany.; 4/22/18, 11:48 AM
Etienne said...: The National Guard is not really a career. It's a part-time job. Most people join to get the benefits. They don't really want to be federalized, but they will play the game if so ordered.; 4/22/18, 11:52 AM
mikee said...: Colonel Kurtz smiles, and adds another chapter to his treatise on warfare.; 4/22/18, 12:17 PM
Gospace said...: Achilles said...
The farther from combat people in the military get the more ridiculous things got. ANG is about as far from combat roles as you can get.

You really don't want to say this to people in the Texas ANG and even moreso to the Alaskan ANG which frequently scrambles to intercept Russian planes. And General LeMay's answer to a question applies to their intercepts- "They aren't carrying rose petals."; 4/22/18, 12:23 PM
Jim at said...: It's serious, and deserves being taken that way.

Yes. Thank you.; 4/22/18, 1:56 PM
Jim at said...: Nobody has a sense of humor anymore.

Time and place, sir. And taking the oath isn't the time nor the place.; 4/22/18, 1:58 PM
Anonymous said...: I am always interested in what branch of the service those who condemn something like this with such relish actually served.; 4/22/18, 2:22 PM
Anonymous said...: @Gospace Since the Alaskan Air National Guard consists of a Refueling Unit (168th Wing), a unit whose primary mission is "airlift" (176th Wing) and the 213th Space Warning Squadron I'd be interested in what kind of aircraft they scrambled to intercept Russian planes. I do not believe that the Boeing Globemaster - their primary aircraft -is equipped with any weapons. The Texas ANG does have a fighter wing and has seen service recently in the ME.; 4/22/18, 2:37 PM