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« Justice This better be goodTotally geeky BSG spoiler below the fold, combined with some potentially trenchant observations on human nature as it applies to the ineluctable frailties of those flying high performance tactical aircraft. Maybe. Don’t read on if you’re the type to get the vapors when an otherwise responsible adult draws Life Lessons from a science fiction serial. Or don’t want to know what happened on Sunday’s episode because you haven’t gotten around to it yet.
So, I just caught up with this weekend’s TiVo of Battlestar Galactica, and am a bit off-put to discover that Kara Thrace buys it in dramatic fashion at the end of a nervous breakdown. The script writers have a job ahead of them explaining how she pulls through, because this viewer? He’s ready to accept the fact that maybe Starbuck is a cylon. Without knowing it. But he won’t buy her being a mort. We’re just not ready for that. But you know, the episode brought up some uncomfortable memories – especially the bit where the CAG has to decide whether or not to ground an exceptional aviator who’s clearly operating outside the normal limits. The “failing aviator” syndrome is one that all of us have been trained to recognize – it’s the guy who’s average, or maybe not even average but doesn’t want to believe it. His identity is tied up with being the best, but his ego is writing checks his talent can’t cash. In an effort to prove to others – and himself – that he’s actually as good as he thinks he is, he routinely exposes himself to ever more hazardous regimes of flight until eventually his talent runs out. He augers in to the manifest surprise of his leadership, but to the knowing exchange of glances among his peers, who all of them saw it coming but none of whom, out of some misplaced sense of loyalty, felt it appropriate to say something before the worst happened. This failure to act leaves the rest of us to explain to some grieving wife, girlfriend or mother why this “had to happen,” all the while knowing that it didn’t. This is why the Navy instituted quarterly “human factors councils” – a deeply counter-cultural convocation of adult leadership, junior officer representation and flight surgeon facilitation designed to talk about each aviator in a squadron and the things going on in his private life – things that “people are talking about” but about which nothing has been officially “said.” The thing is, Kara Thrace doesn’t fit the profile of the standard “failing aviator.” She actually is the number one Viper jock in the fleet, especially since Kat took the long walk to the clearing at the end of the path. Her problem is not that she’s not able to live up to the image of invulnerability in the air, it’s that she’s fundamentally damaged goods and trying to compensate for it. Comes a time when she tries to take herself off the schedule, where she realizes that she’s a vulnerability. The Airwing Commander refuses to relieve her of flying duties – he cares about her personally, and knows that being the sh!t hot Viper jock is the only thing holding her together. In real life it doesn’t work that way. In real life, the person who’s falling apart on the inside holds on to the only kind of order that still exists in the chaos that they’ve made for themselves. I knew a guy once – good friend of mine – who was one of the best pilots I’d ever known, a real natural. He was, unfortunately, somewhat incautious in his personal attachments, with a marked tendency towards loving rather more well than he did wisely. The specifics are tedious, but suffice it to say that his personal life was… complicated. Eventually a particularly dramatic crisis presented itself and he spiraled into a dark place into which those who knew him well and cared for him had a hard time reaching. Kept flying though, and for the most part, he kept flying brilliantly. He was absolutely fearless. Unfortunately, he wasn’t fearless because he was extraordinarily brave, or especially well-prepared. He was fearless because he no longer really cared what happened to him, he no longer cared whether he lived or died. Or at least, he thought he didn’t. It is a frightening thing for those who still hold tightly to the time remaining to them in a dangerous business to be led by a man whose soul has been hollowed out, who has that fey and crazy light dancing in the back of his eyes. But one day my friend was flying on a 1v0 – out there all by himself goofing around, trying to push out against the envelope of personal experience, trying to find a place in the performance curve that no one else had been because no one else had dared to. He pushed up against the envelope’s edge and then pushed right on through, losing control of the aircraft in a dramatic fashion. Now, the Hornet is a forgiving mistress and will tolerate mistakes rather well. But she’ll snarl at those who deliberately provoke her, put postage paid to them and spit on their graves. Our man had his hands full saving the jet from crashing into the sea, even as he refused to consider ejecting and saving his own life – it meant more to him not to be known for having junked a jet than it meant to him to live. He saved the jet at the last, but realized even as he was doing so that there was something true about him that he had not believed could be: He was frightened. He didn’t want to lose the aircraft, but neither did he want to die. This was a surprising, but welcome revelation. Last I heard he was still doing well. But the lesson stuck with me: We’re not all the people we appear to be. March 5th, 2007 | Category: Flying
38 comments to This better be good |
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How do you do that?
“This is why the Navy instituted quarterly ?
The guide said he was preparing Starbuck to experience what is between life and death, so the way is made for her to survive. I hope BSG doesn’t go from being the best SF on television to a magical fantasy. It’s the plausibility that keeps the granluarity gripping. A 1930s style Flash Gordon serial with unbelievable saves would make the whole thing pointless.
Jim,
It ain’t a star chamber. If this were an Air Force program, it would all be colonels in the room. But like Lex said, in the room is usually the CO, a dept head or two, a flight doc, and a JO or two. JO’s are picked at random, department heads by availability. And oh by the way, every takes a turn stepping out so they can be discussed also.
It ain’t a place where grudges are played, it’s a place where we look out for each other.
BTW, I dealt with the cold war Air Force of which you spoke. Usually it consisted of waiting for you guys to finish your crew rest…
Nose
Not to change the subject, but I’ve a relative (very close) recently retired from a civilian airline. He remarked once that a lot of his fellow pilots are alcoholics, but he called them “functional alcoholics.” Sort of “Joe’s an alkie, but he can fly an airplane and he’s never drunk when he needs to fly.” The private side vs. The Job.
The only reason I mention this is if a pilot isn’t focused or is taking unnecessary risks he’s a danger and it should be brought to his attention. At what point in this process does The Job get separated from The Pilot, or is it all based upon job performance?
– Max
That’s a lot to take in for someone who is as introspective as myself.
Lex, that was a win-win situation for your friend. He won the life vs. death game, and he won back his soul at the same time. One hopes that when he parked the jet, he took time to appreciate his mortality, and be thankful to Someone for letting him still be alive.
And Lex, only you could get me to sit like I had glue to my behind at this hour of the morning, reading such a deep thought. You sir, are a hell of a wordsmith. I salute you.
But the lesson stuck with me: We?
So my question is this: If someone ha reached that level of, aside from a wake up call, how is it dealt with? I am neither Navy nor a pilot.
Those councils only came into vogue in the real late 80’s or 90’s up to now (Lex’s, maybe Nose’s aviation careers).
We didn’t have ‘em before then. All this “human” stuff only used to come out during FNAEB. Which is not always a good time to find out I’ll admit….
The metrics say we are safer since the olden days. Now I’m no genius but these boards may have something to do that fact. Can’t argue with success.
re- “It ain?
That’s where the Flight Surgeon comes in. The pilot can be medically grounded, till his personal stuff and his head is straightened out. As long as the doc is careful about how they write-it up, the grounded time will not hurt the pilot’s career.
I’m awful glad things worked out for your friend, Lex. Great “story”, as always.
Bob, you would be surprised. A good CO uses the HFC as just another tool. And I don’t completely agree with Marvin. We never used the flight Surgeon to ground a pilot as a result of an HFC. If the HFC is used properly, it alerts leadership to potential problems before they become real problems.
A CO doesn’t need a Flt. Surgeon’s help to give a pilot a break, and an aeromedical grounding chit is nothing but a recommendation to the CO. If a pilot needed to be taken off of the flight schedule for a few days, he was taken off for a few days, no paperwork needed, no one knew more than they need to. I even saw a CO send a guy on leave for a week (basket leave, it turned out!).
I never saw or heard of anyone talking about what was said in an HFC outside of an HFC.
It is a good program and I would guess like many things we do, it might not work in other military branches. Or the Air Force, for that matter.
N
I have no issues with drawing a parallel between a TV show and real life. I think that can be a great learning tool. This was, as usual, masterfully done and once again I learned something new about my aviation brethern.
I was very relieved at the end when your friend made it…some of these stories can be difficult to read in the office at lunch.
Nose sez: Or the Air Force, for that matter.
Ah. It’s such a humbling experience to visit Chez Lex and hear all this snark I
might not otherwisewould never be exposed to…Buck, You proably know this but its worth repeating…Nose is a charter member and resident class clown/sh*t stirrer of that incorrigibly snarky group of Brat-Pack Naval Aviators, led by lex himself, that post around here. Accordingly…they see it as their sword and sacred duty and take a gleefull pride in never ever missing an opportunity to take a cheap shot at the United States Air Force.The last line of comment # 13 above is their latest, albiet lame, example…suggest you buck-up and deal with it. Best
Shipmates,
Speaking of civilian airline pilots and Naval Aviators, etc,…. Many years back I started doin an unoffical survey, an experiment, if you will. My goal was to try and tell whether or not an airline pilot had first been a pilot in either the Navy or the Air Force. I used the landing as the sole criteria.
So, after 2 decades of this, I believe that, generally, the way the plane is landed is a pretty good indicator of whether or not the pilot was former Navy or Air Force.
If the approach was gentle, and the pilot hovered over the runway, barely letting the tires touch before settling onto the asphalt, slowing down gently and taking a distant turnoff to the taxiway, then odds were he was an Air Force pilot.
If the approach was steep, exhilerating, and rapid, followed by a slamming of the aircraft onto the tar within feet of crossing the numbers, with reversers set to full, brakes screaming for mercy, and the aircraft cycling back the throttles and taking the first turnoff, then odds were it was a Naval Aviaotr driving the bus.
It’s always fun to be one of the last off when disembarking. I like to look the Captain in the eye and mention.. “caught the three wire..
” just to see his reaction…. the look he shoots back will normally confirm or deny your suspicioans.
Respects,
Tim, that is awesome! I wonder if I’ll ever get up the nerve to try that…
The very best landing I ever experienced was a Delta flight carrying about 30 Delta pilots to a conference, and the guy in the hot seat was showing off to his buddies. I literally could not tell when the landing gear made contact, it was that smooth. He claimed over the intercom this was according to company specs, “fly 10′ over the runway and then lower the gear”. So I KNOW they don’t have to bounce us off the interior if they don’t want to!
SE-Lame? I’m still trying to stifle the laugher, you know being @ work and all.
It’s good to see the airdales aren’t all lone mavericks, only looking out for fame and glory. By the way you wrote this piece, speaking so highly of your fellow aviators, you’d almost pass for a submarine sailor. Heh.
Oh, and by the way, according to the spoilers, Starbuck is dead. She ain’t coming back.
Nose,
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if’n I was in charge of the thing….Me being a benevolent dictator and all.
When you said the Skipper used it as a tool, I had visions of da Inquisition! Just kidding.
Snake- No. You are the true Jedi psyops-generating, turd stirrer! Probably always were- even during your sleeping on da ground days you ol’devil!
fbl- I think dem airlines fly theyselves to a flared (USAF) landing! AOA to airline pilots is an organization. Nose- you da expert, tell us please?
B2
B2
Bob, I only use the magic if required. But 8 years of airline flying, I STILL haven’t figured out that flare thing.
Snake, you really should work on being nicer to others here!
N
Lex, once again, I find myself in awe. That was beyond excellent, and bore reading more than once. I will surely refer back to that in the future. Thanks, sincerely.
Lex – me, he just snarks. You, he stands in awe.
Farkin’ aviators.
8^ )
[...] Lex essay is a good one, and indicates one of the things fighter pilots do that submariners [...]
John D., he spends more time in your house. Familiarity breeds familiar…ness.
Thanks, SangerM!
I don’t know where this part of the story is going, but the whole show will be diminished if she is gone. I’ll take a Cylon Starbuck over no Starbuck at all.
I have a friend, a huge movie buff, who doesn’t care for BSG. His comment to me was, “It’s just a big soap opera.”
I thought about that and decided he was right. But it didn’t change my enjoyment of it. Right from the pilot episode, when only one antiquated carrier survives, this one catches some echoes of the real thing. The responses of the Admiral, the pilots, the Chief, all of it felt right. If you could believe they survived at all, you could believe that they would behave like they did.
What is this “BSG” of which you people write? Whatever, I’m sure Kimball Kinnison and E.E. Smith, Ph.D. would not approve of it. Sometimes I think that those television folks are on thionite, or something.
Yours, Tregonsee
B-2, A prescient satement re me # 22 above…well done young grass-hopper. Best
PS, Nose,… Buck obviously needed some bucking-up (pun intended)subsequent to his exposure to your fatuous remark about the USAF…I was only too happy to oblige…suggest we both work on being nicer to “others around here”.
Tim said (@17): So, after 2 decades of this, I believe that, generally, the way the plane is landed is a pretty good indicator of whether or not the pilot was former Navy or Air Force.
One time in the way-back, on a flight from Haneda to Chitose on All-Nippon Air, I thought I was in the grasp of an ex-kamikaze pilot, given the way the man (way too early for distaff pilots, especially in Nippon) threw the plane over on its side and literally dove for a hole in the clouds as we were approaching Chitose. I had never before or since experienced that sort of flying in a commercial aircraft (Air America excepted, but they weren’t really commercial). Startled the HELL out of me….
Thanks for the “encouragement,” Snake. I can handle Squid Snark, what with being father to one. He’d be considered a second-class Squid around here, though. Black-shoe and all that.
Buck,
“Squid-Snark” -priceless! Snake keeps giving us that “Mule Malarky”!
“Can’t we all just get along.” – Rodney K.
Hell no Rodney. LOL.
b2
B-2, A thought for your consideration..It’s super bad form to laugh at ones own painfully lame jokes. Best
And worse form to point that out??
Nose
You could always just shoot them off the cat…with no warning like. Good plan?
Sorry about that. #)*&@! spam filter playing the fool.
Lex,
Now my #35 looks like it came out of the random thought generator. You can delete it if’n you wish.
N
Lex, thanks for the post, I had to wait until last night to read it though, since the better half has been working a lot, and there are fireworks if I watch without her.
In case you haven’t heard this Katee Sackhoff muddys the waters even more with this interview: http://www.cortandfatboy.com/index.php?id=489
Randy K