It’s pretty well known that all the Navy fighter pilots are commissioned officers, and in the case of Michael “Scott” Speicher a Captain. But captain is a very high rank in the Navy; much higher than in the Army or Marines, and, IIRC, equivalent to a colonel in the land forces. That being the case, isn’t it somewhat risky in terms of the investment in training and experience, to send a captain out in a single-seat fighter? I would have thought that in the Navy, captains are in charge of entire units, and on small to middling sized ships the CO might be only a lieutenant commander. How is it with fighter pilots? Was Captain Speicher in command of several other aircraft that were on the mission?
You ought to read the article more fully - he was a LtCdr (A Major) when he was shot down, but they kept promoting him because he wasn’t officially dead (probably for PR reasons)
Captains in the USN are at pay grade O6, equivalent to Colonels in the other armed services. If you’re talking about line officers, then you’ve got commanding officers of capital ships, base commanders, XOs and Commander Air Groups of carriers. And promotion of MIA personnel serves a number of purposes: if the person is returned to service, their career can continue in line with their service time (or they can retire at an appropriate grade); as a measure of support for the MIA and their families and in recognition of the uncertainty of the MIA’s status.
A Navy’s captain’s Infantry counterpart would be commanding a brigade; plenty of brigade commanders lead from the front, exposing themselves to enemy fire and occasionally discharging their weapons themselves. I don’t see why a commander of an equivalent aviation unit should be any different - I don’t expect him to fly as often as his subordinates, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he made the occasional sortie, if only for morale purposes (and because fighter jocks have the biggest egos on the planet; try telling a pilot he’s too old to fly).
The promotions were scheduled promotions, not merely a PR stunt.
I think that some officer’s believe that they need to actually have some combat experience to be better leaders and planners. It helps to understand what your minions are going to have to deal with.
It kinda makes sense to me, anyway.
What is the point, other than the PR, of promoting someone who is dead or unknown to you?
This isn’t to say that if he were found alive he shouldn’t receive his promotions, but what’s the point in referring to the soldier (sorry, “Naval Aviator” - I tried to do that in my best Tom Cruise voice as I typed it) as a Captain if not for PR?
EDIT:
yes, that’s for PR purposes. which is my point.
Well, he was not known to be dead and there were more than a few who believed he was a POW, but that’s not the point.
Promotion of Naval Officers is done based on a schedule and subject to Congressional approval. The number of slots available for each rank are limited, so LtCdr Speicher would have to be promoted or encouraged to retire. He couldn’t simply be promoted retroactively if he were found alive.
Promoting MIA soldiers has been done for a long time - most conspicuously during the Vietnam War.
Without positive confirmation of KIA (Killed In Action) status, the soldier is still considered active. The activity may be in a POW status or a truly MIA status (those guys that evaded capture and showed up a few months later).
I wouldn’t consider any of it a “PR move”. If the military cannot confirm the death of a soldier, naval aviator or whoever, do they want to send the chaplain and the CO to the spouse’s house to say their loved one is dead? If the person is not confirmed dead, then he is still on active duty and assumed to be performing honorably, and thus is entitled to promotions.
Scott Speicher did NOT get shot down as an O-6. He was promoted to O-6 while in MIA status, much as Vietnam POWs were promoted during their captivity. As for promotions: they are limited by numbers, but the only time Congress reviews them is when you reach the O-7 level and above.
This is not “PR” …
You aren’t really entitled to a promotion. You’re eligible. You have to screen for it–a board sits down and reviews your record and recommends you or doesn’t recommend you. This is a relatively automatic process until you hit O-3 (LT). The transition from LT to LCDR leaves a few folks by the wayside nowadays (officer retention due to the war is still high); the transition from LCDR to CDR is even more competitive and leaves more folks by the wayside. If you fail to select for CDR as a LCDR twice, then you are eligible to be kicked out of the service–you have to go through what is called a continuation board (if you have less than 18 years service at that point). The board can give you the boot or recommend you for retention. Whereas in other services (AFAIK) O-4 means automatic “tenure” until 20, this is not the case in the Navy. I think automatic promotions for POW status is normal–they don’t have to worry about boards because it’s understood there is no actual body to fill the billet (job). The reason for the board is because there are too many bodies and not enough billets for that rank (due to the higher retention rate), so there has to be a RIF somewhere. The Navy may elect to implement early retirement, a volunteer separation deal, cut loose all or a portion of the active duty reservists, or increase the number of beheadings at the promotion boards.
As for the OP, a CAPT flying a single-seat fighter in a war is not unheard of, but it is rare. The Commanding Officer for a fighter squadron is going to be a CDR–one rank below a CAPT. For a CAPT to be in the seat, he’d pretty much have to be the Commanding Officer of the Wing (a group of squadrons)–basically telling one of the fighter squadron CO’s that on whatever strike mission is coming up, he’s going to be kicking one of the LT’s or LCDR’s out of the seat and flying himself. I’ve never heard of this happening, but I’m not a pointy-nose guy (I’m a prop guy, which is a whole different community), so there’s a lot about that community I don’t know.
The question might better have been put: “Is it typical for Navy captains to fly with combat units?” And given the responses, the answer is apparently “no, it’s not.”
IDK if the Army Air Forces’ experience in WW2 is even a whit relevant here, but after losing 2 of their key generals in the Pacific Theater (Clarence Tinker and Ken Walker), the AAF apparently discouraged its flag officers from going on bombing missions.
Having watched several aircraft carrier documentaries, I recall seeing that the carrier air group commander (CAG), with the rank of Captain, would have a plane with his name painted on it and fly sorties off the carrier.
Naval Aviators who fly desks (Squadron CO, XO, Group Staff Officers) do work it out to get stick time in order to stay current in their aircraft types even if they are not on the regular rotation. And I can certainly imagine a Captain (O-6) getting in on the glory of that first big air push into Iraq. The sky was filled with aircraft (many flew over my head that night). It was the biggest show in years.
Somewhat in line with that, when Air Force Captain (O-3) Scott O’Grady was being recovered after being shot down in Bosnia and eating bugs for six days, the Colonel (O-6) commanding the Marine Expeditionary Unit (which flew in an infantry detachment to provide security and snatch him up, along with various supporting combat aircraft) went along for the ride, even though that should have been handled by a competent Marine Corps Captain (O-3).
Right… I didn’t mean to give the promotion that all officer promotions are individually approved by Congress. Rather, that Congress approves the total number of slots at each level of the officer corps.
As for the claims that this is meaningless PR… can you imagine the squawking there would be if an MIA or POW was returned and told “sorry, you were passed over for promotion and booted out of the Navy in 1993.”
There is a world of difference between not giving an MIA soldier retroactive promotions when he is repatriated and not referring to an MIA soldier as if he exists and is receiving continual promitions in absentia.
I can’t tell whether you and I disagree over this or whether we’re just saying the same thing in a different way. Regardless, why belabor the point any more?
If a person is MIA do they still draw pay? I assume they do. If so then promotions mean their pay is higher so it helps their family more.