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Nowz I Can Haz Debat8?
Sep. 25th, 2008 01:14 pmCongress reaches deal on bailout.
If one were in a charitable mood, one could assume McCain's sudden urge to visit Washington via New York City is a result of the "Khaki Magnet" effect. Now, to understand what that is, you need to understand that officers and senior enlisted people in the Navy wear khaki-colored uniforms, while enlisted wear blue denim work uniforms.
A "Khaki Magnet" is simply when a mechanical breakdown occurs on a ship, and all sorts of khaki-clad people who aren't supposed to be there arrive at the site of the machine in question. The problem is that the officers typically don't have the mechanical skills to fix the issue, not having physically worked on the gear. The senior enlisted people may have the skill set(s), but they are supposed to have trained the junior people to do the work, or at least know when to call for help. The result is that a bunch of senior people are standing around, getting in the way of and pissing off the people who are actually fixing the gear in question.
It is, in short, a failure of leadership. If the junior people actually need to be directed, then senior leadership has failed in the training mission. If not, then the senior people have failed to control themselves, which is again a failure of leadership. Especially since, as of Tuesday, McCain said that he hadn’t yet read the administration’s three-page bailout proposal.
If one were in a charitable mood, one could assume McCain's sudden urge to visit Washington via New York City is a result of the "Khaki Magnet" effect. Now, to understand what that is, you need to understand that officers and senior enlisted people in the Navy wear khaki-colored uniforms, while enlisted wear blue denim work uniforms.
A "Khaki Magnet" is simply when a mechanical breakdown occurs on a ship, and all sorts of khaki-clad people who aren't supposed to be there arrive at the site of the machine in question. The problem is that the officers typically don't have the mechanical skills to fix the issue, not having physically worked on the gear. The senior enlisted people may have the skill set(s), but they are supposed to have trained the junior people to do the work, or at least know when to call for help. The result is that a bunch of senior people are standing around, getting in the way of and pissing off the people who are actually fixing the gear in question.
It is, in short, a failure of leadership. If the junior people actually need to be directed, then senior leadership has failed in the training mission. If not, then the senior people have failed to control themselves, which is again a failure of leadership. Especially since, as of Tuesday, McCain said that he hadn’t yet read the administration’s three-page bailout proposal.
