CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports on the demotion of Naval Capt. Holly Graf for reported cruelty and maltreatment of her crew.
There must be more to this story than simply calling a person "blockhead." Never met a sailor that didn't curse or was offended by cursing. Wish I could read the full report.
Having spent 28 years in the military, what this really means is her crew hated her for being a POS. I have had leaders who cussed and spit out foul language and called subordinates all sorts of things all the time, but they where great leaders and I would follow them any where without question. With a great leader, if he called you a blockhead more than likely you where and you knew it. When you got a POS, they are just going to use the touchy feely rules to hopefully get rid of that individual. Not saying this was the case but more often than not, this is what happens. Good leaders in my opinion are folks who genuinely care about individuals. If a person was good natured and a great leader and you messed up, you should be called a blockhead among other things. All in all, my bet is she was a tyrant. It should be noted, if you cant handle being cussed at in the military I don't want you any where near me in a combat zone let alone a fox hole, you would fold like a cheap suite when things got rough.
So her response to multiple reports of inappropriate activity is to say that I black out and can't remember. Yes, her career is over. The problem is, is how did she get in that position in the first damn place?
I don't think much has changed. i think she got fired because of her public abuse of the junior officers & senior chiefs - that sends a signal tp the crew that its ok for anyone to disrespect them. when that happens, it makes them powerless to do their job. poisonous & counter productive
I can't comment on the how the US Navy does things but in the US Army when a commander is relived it us usually done quietly and worded with very neutral, almost bland language (a lot of reading between the line is needed). For an announcement to be this blunt CPT Graff conduct must have been truly terrible.
She may not have been able to remember what she did, but her crew remembered. In fact, when she was relieved of command, the crew loudly cheered on the fantail. That is no doubt that Capt. Graf was a crude, foul-mouthed harridan who did not belong in a position of great authority aboard a US Navy vessel and the service is much better off without her.
Also, she would shut down the internet altogether to keep the crew from emailing others about her crazy antics, she was more of a slave owner than a Naval captain!
She didn’t remember speaking to her crew in that fashion? Well that sounds like a straight out lie. Any US military officer or nco who is a liar like that definitely needs to be sent back to fort living room with a quickness.
A ship's commander isn't the kind of person who "doesn't remember".
There’s definitely more to this story than what’s being told.
There must be more to this story than simply calling a person "blockhead." Never met a sailor that didn't curse or was offended by cursing. Wish I could read the full report.
Give a person power and authority and you will see their true character!
Did she say anything about strawberries? Did she have steel ball bearings in her hand?
Having spent 28 years in the military, what this really means is her crew hated her for being a POS. I have had leaders who cussed and spit out foul language and called subordinates all sorts of things all the time, but they where great leaders and I would follow them any where without question. With a great leader, if he called you a blockhead more than likely you where and you knew it. When you got a POS, they are just going to use the touchy feely rules to hopefully get rid of that individual. Not saying this was the case but more often than not, this is what happens. Good leaders in my opinion are folks who genuinely care about individuals. If a person was good natured and a great leader and you messed up, you should be called a blockhead among other things. All in all, my bet is she was a tyrant. It should be noted, if you cant handle being cussed at in the military I don't want you any where near me in a combat zone let alone a fox hole, you would fold like a cheap suite when things got rough.
So her response to multiple reports of inappropriate activity is to say that I black out and can't remember. Yes, her career is over. The problem is, is how did she get in that position in the first damn place?
I don't think much has changed. i think she got fired because of her public abuse of the junior officers & senior chiefs - that sends a signal tp the crew that its ok for anyone to disrespect them. when that happens, it makes them powerless to do their job. poisonous & counter productive
As a former sailor my heart breaks for USN.
I can't comment on the how the US Navy does things but in the US Army when a commander is relived it us usually done quietly and worded with very neutral, almost bland language (a lot of reading between the line is needed). For an announcement to be this blunt CPT Graff conduct must have been truly terrible.
If a captain thinks 2 crew members are idiots, they have a problem. If 20 crew members think the captain is an idiot, he has a problem.
She had a history of this type of behavior, yet nothing was done before she took command of one of our most powerful ships.
She may not have been able to remember what she did, but her crew remembered. In fact, when she was relieved of command, the crew loudly cheered on the fantail. That is no doubt that Capt. Graf was a crude, foul-mouthed harridan who did not belong in a position of great authority aboard a US Navy vessel and the service is much better off without her.
Does her wife know she has been treating other people badly?
Also, she would shut down the internet altogether to keep the crew from emailing others about her crazy antics, she was more of a slave owner than a Naval captain!
To the sailors of the USS Cowpens: Good riddance to Horrible Holly!
My old ship, USS Waddell, had a drag race with USS Cushing while on WESTPAC, in the mid-1980s.
I have yet to have someone successfully explain to me how women in combat positions have improved our overall military readiness.
She didn’t remember speaking to her crew in that fashion? Well that sounds like a straight out lie. Any US military officer or nco who is a liar like that definitely needs to be sent back to fort living room with a quickness.
And 13 years later this is even more comical.