Where’s the Beef ?

You would think old, retired controllers (like myself) would just fade away wouldn’t you ? I mean really...don’t we have anything better to do ? The truth is -- No, we don’t. There’s all that important stuff about saving lives, God and Country -- but I have to tell you, sometimes it’s kind of fun.

Fun like this morning, when a retired buddy sent me a new FAA memo that might as well be entitled -- Mock Me, Please.

I’m not going bore you and quote the whole thing. If you didn’t work for the FAA it’s not that funny. Well...maybe one part is. The FAA is looking for the “leaders” of tomorrow -- the controllers that will become supes, operations managers and on up the line. It’s called “Program for Emerging Leaders.”

”The program is designed after the USDA Graduate School’s Executive Potential Program. “

Moo ! Check out today’s headline.

Nebraska firm recalls beef due to E. coli: USDA

I can see the connection now. Send people to management school when your “core business” is failing. I don’t even have to find a way to compare beef inspecting to air traffic controlling. I can just go with beef inspections and aircraft inspections. What the heck. It’s not like failure at any of the three can get anybody killed. Right ?

Please note, the memo doesn’t say the FAA will send you to the USDA program, it says their program is “ designed after” the USDA program. That is like going to New York City to buy a Louis Vuitton handbag -- on Canal Street instead of 3rd Avenue.

Let me pass along a question to FAA management from a concerned reader; “Do you idiots get drug tested ?”

Don Brown
August 12, 2008