U.S.S. MIDWAY DOCENT PAGE

2009-07-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

ABOVE IS AN IMAGE OF A GENUINELY USELESS BEING WHO SKATED THROUGH LIFE MANAGING TO DODGE REAL WORK. HE ALSO MANAGED TO STEP TO THE FRONT OF EVERY LINE IN TIME TO BE INCLUDED IN THE COMPANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY DID THE WORK HE CLAIMED TO HAVE DONE. (Pretending to be an officers and squandering hours on a decommissioned aircraft carrier is not the same as doing work on the decommissioned aircraft carrier.) (Maybe he needed a reason to get away from his wife.)

In this photo, he may be dreaming of the time he got his wife trained as a docent and then flown on a US NAVY aircraft to an offshore aircraft carrier for an overnight stay at TAXPAYER EXPENSE. It was a great adventure for her and may have been a good way to justify his time away from home, but................

His wife was a waste of a docent training slot.

She never served for one minute as a docent, but she got a "perk" that NO genuine, hardworking docent ever got.......and this loafer arranged that insult to REAL Docents.

He was never an officer, but he wanted people to think that he "could have been an officer". If he "could have been", why wasn't he? He left the Navy to become a school teacher.

"PEOPLE WHO CAN - DO"

"PEOPLE WHO CAN'T - TEACH"

A "wannabe" with an attitude shaped by years of of being dismissed as "irrelevant" by students when he was a teacher, he thought he had found a place on U.S.S. Midway where he could finally be "important".

He thought he had finally "made the grade". He probably still thinks he is a senior officer but knows that he is not, and never was, and never will be - an officer.

His hours and energies aboard Midway were dedicated to trying magnify his "importance". He waged personal, vindictive wars against Docents who had better ideas than his and made the mistake of speaking up. He fired Docents who had better ideas, and then claimed the ideas as his own.

HE FIRED DOCENTS WHO HAD DIED.

HE SIMPLY DID NOT CARE ENOUGH ABOUT DOCENTS TO ASK ABOUT THEM WHEN THEIR PROLONGED ABSENCE FROM DOCENT SERVICE WAS BROUGHT TO HIS ATTENTION.

HE THREATENED TO FIRE OTHER DOCENTS WHO WERE UNABLE TO STAND WATCHES BECAUSE THEY HAD DIED OR WERE HOSPITALIZED.

HE SUSPENDED OR THREATENED DOCENTS WHOSE WIVES WERE SICK AND NEEDED EXTRA CARE.

HE SUSPENDED OR THREATENED TO FIRE DOCENTS WHOSE WIVES HAD DIED.

HE DIDN'T CARE ENOUGH ABOUT DOCENTS TO ASK IF THERE WERE PROBLEMS OR SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES IN THEIR LIVES THAT PREVENTED THEM FROM VOLUNTEERING.

HE SIMPLY ELIMINATED THEM.

HE FIRED DOCENTS WHO HAD SERVED AS AVIATORS WHO HAD VOLUNTEERED TO GIVE FIRST-HAND ACCOUNTS OF FLYING OFF A CARRIER AND LANDING ON A CARRIER.

IN WRITTEN MEMOS TO ALL DOCENTS POSTED ON A PREVIOUS INTERNET SCHEDULING SITE, HE PUBLICLY BELITTLED AND BERATED THOSE FORMER AVIATORS AS "GLORY BOYS" AND "HOT SHOTS" AND SAID THAT THEY WERE TO SERVE BELOW DECKS IN AREAS IN WHICH THEY HAD NO DUTY EXPERIENCE.

THEN..........

IN AN ACT OF SELF CONTRADICTION, HE ACTIVELY SOUGHT MEN WHO HAD WORKED IN THE GALLEY SO THEY COULD PROVIDE FIRST-HAND ACCOUNTS OF SERVING CHOW.

HE ALSO SOUGHT MEN WHO HAD SERVED IN THE ENGINE ROOMS, PRI-FLY, AND THE FO'C'SL SO THEY COULD IMPART INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR AREAS OF SERVICE.

HE NEVER UNDERSTOOD THAT MIDWAY DOCENTS GIVE THEIR TIME FREELY AND ARE HAPPY TO DO SO. HE BELIEVED THAT MIDWAY DOCENTS WERE ENLISTED MEN WHO WERE THERE TO SERVE HIM AND HIS EGO.

I KNOW OF ONLY ONE DOCENT WHO WAS RIGHTFULLY DISMISSED BY THE DOCENT COUNCIL FOR PUBLIC MISCONDUCT, UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR, AND PUBLIC MISREPRESENTATIONS HE MADE AT PRIVATE PARTIES HELD ABOARD MIDWAY.

"ONLY STALIN HAS FIRED MORE VOLUNTEERS AND LOYAL WORKERS"

He never cared enough about people to find out why some Docents "disappeared".

He simply "fired" the dead and the disabled.

HE GAVE HIS WIFE A LANDING AND NIGHT ABOARD A CARRIER AT SEA IN SPITE OF HER NEVER HAVING SERVED AS A DOCENT. (Meanwhile, hundreds of docents have served thousands of volunteer time and have never gotten anything but a "form letter" if they were lucky, or berated and fired if he decided to steal their ideas.

He gave himself awards and personally claimed honors for the accomplishment of REAL docents. He made agreements he never intended to honor.

MIDWAY continues to be a resounding success because of the selfless work of hundreds of genuine volunteer docents who have never enjoyed the perks this person's wife enjoyed. An apology for his behavior should be given by San Diego Aircraft Museum / U.S.S. Midway to ALL past and present Docents.

2006-01-24T13:34:00.000-08:00

"An interested group of visitors learns how carrier planes are launched"

2006-01-24T09:06:00.000-08:00

"Despite the weather, these people want to know how
the Navy can land a jet travelling at 120 miles per hour
on a runway which is moving forward as well as up and down!"

2006-01-04T13:13:00.000-08:00

You can see the silhouettes of the sailors on the flight deck as they get a last look at home port for a few months.(Click on photos to enlarge them)

2006-01-04T13:12:00.000-08:00

Try to imagine yourself lining up to land on the ship's angle deck at 120 - 140 knots!

2006-01-04T13:11:00.001-08:00

USS Ronald Reagan at left is moving past USS Nimitz at right. USS Midway, a decomissioned aircraft carrier which is now a museum, can only bear silent witness and "remember" her glory days of putting out to sea.

2006-01-04T13:11:00.000-08:00

Moving past USS Nimitz, USS Reagan is about to make a slow turn to port to put her in the San Diego shipping channel.

2005-12-11T21:57:00.000-08:00

11 December, 2005 Midway to Christmas!

2005-12-11T21:54:00.000-08:00

Midway shines for Christmas, 2005!

2005-11-28T19:11:00.000-08:00

U.S.S. Peleliu comes into port, followed by Dawn Princess, and under the ever watchful eye of a chopper over head. (Stern of U.S.S. Nimitz is visible to the left)

2005-11-28T19:09:00.001-08:00

2005-11-28T19:09:00.000-08:00

Docents waiting to board ship

2005-11-28T19:03:00.001-08:00

Is he STILL flying??

2005-11-28T19:03:00.000-08:00

Jim was an aviator AND a surface Captain! (Note the Harrier's refueling probe)

2005-11-28T19:01:00.000-08:00

Waiting for the word

2005-11-28T19:00:00.001-08:00

Huge intakes on Harrier!

2005-11-28T19:00:00.000-08:00

Sidewinders........waiting for a target

2005-11-28T18:56:00.000-08:00

Navy security chases this little boat away from its apparent course which would have placed it between Peleliu and a passing Los Angeles class submarine

2005-11-28T18:53:00.001-08:00

"All hands - attention on the port side!"

2005-11-28T18:53:00.000-08:00

Los Angeles class sub enroute to Point Loma

2005-11-28T18:51:00.000-08:00

"It's a working Navy, and these tools look well-used!"

2005-11-28T18:50:00.000-08:00

"Skittles" walk the deck looking for FOD

2005-11-28T18:49:00.001-08:00

Looks like he wants to land!

2005-11-28T18:49:00.000-08:00

Big Chinook approaches the port side from aft

2005-11-28T18:44:00.000-08:00

CH 46 beginning to sidle over to Peleliu - Note the crew member leaning out of the forward hatch....he'll stay there until it lands!

2005-11-28T18:42:00.000-08:00

Whirling blades and a sparkling sea!

2005-11-28T18:41:00.001-08:00

Almost down...........

2005-11-28T18:41:00.000-08:00

Looking aft to the stern gate while Jim examines a weld?

2005-11-28T18:35:00.000-08:00

Jim is on a mission of discovery down here in Peleliu's well deck!

2005-11-28T18:34:00.000-08:00

LCAC 29 sitting on a deflated bag inside the well deck

2005-11-28T18:33:00.000-08:00

Looks like a Docent went aft on the LCAC to inspect Peleliu's stern gate and the large fan nacelle

2005-11-28T18:31:00.000-08:00

Note the protective grill around these big blades!

2005-11-28T18:30:00.001-08:00

Harrier #1 takes off!

2005-11-28T18:30:00.000-08:00

Harrier #1 still straight off the center line

2005-11-28T18:28:00.001-08:00

Harrier #2 leaves the flight deck

2005-11-28T18:28:00.000-08:00

Harrier #2 will soon be overtaken from the port side by Harrier #1

2005-11-28T18:27:00.000-08:00

First look at LCAC "birth"

2005-11-28T18:25:00.000-08:00

LCAC 29 backs out of the well deck

2005-11-28T18:24:00.000-08:00

It must be pretty hard to hide one of these!

2005-11-28T18:22:00.000-08:00

Ship to ship missile launcher in foreground to the left

2005-11-28T18:21:00.000-08:00

Backing away from Peleliu's stern gate

2005-11-28T18:20:00.001-08:00

It looks ANGRY!

2005-11-28T18:20:00.000-08:00

Floating on a cloud of sea spray!

2005-11-28T18:19:00.000-08:00

LCAC 29 still turning slightly to starboard

2005-11-28T18:18:00.000-08:00

LCAC spray is all directed aft as it begins to speed away

2005-11-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

Bomb disposal chute or a place for fish?

2005-11-28T18:16:00.000-08:00

Docent looking aft as LCAC speeds off to Pendleton

2005-11-28T18:15:00.000-08:00

Hard turn to port after deploying LCAC

2005-11-28T18:14:00.000-08:00

Small arms deployed during ingress and egress

2005-11-28T18:12:00.001-08:00

This looks good anywhere!

2005-11-28T18:12:00.000-08:00

Hard turn to port to eyeball an encroaching civilian boat. Nice view of Point Loma in the background!

2005-11-28T18:10:00.000-08:00

This large civilian powerboat being watched closely by our "guard dog" helo

2005-11-28T18:08:00.000-08:00

Our helo watchdog!

2005-11-28T18:07:00.000-08:00

Point Loma

2005-11-28T18:05:00.000-08:00

You don't see this written on most sidewalks!

2005-11-28T18:04:00.000-08:00

Peleliu makes a triumphant entry into harbor!

2005-11-28T18:02:00.000-08:00

It always looks like the mast is going to hit the bridge

2005-11-28T18:01:00.000-08:00

The graceful arch of the Coronado Bridge

2005-11-28T17:58:00.000-08:00

Peleliu's being escorted by tugs fore and aft, a helicopter overhead, and a tugboat water show

2005-11-28T17:52:00.000-08:00

Take one in case of need to abandon ship!

2005-11-28T17:50:00.000-08:00

This little tug just ended the water show

2005-11-28T17:48:00.001-08:00

Looking aft on Peleliu's flight deck as we return to port

2005-11-28T17:48:00.000-08:00

Looks too pretty to be a thermonuclear event!

2005-11-21T09:38:00.000-08:00

Final look at the sun from Peleliu's flight deck

T.Wrightson Wins the Contest!!

2005-05-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

Tom Wrightson was the first to correctly identify the rotor blade of the CH-46 helicopter as the subject in the April Mystery Photo Contest. Tom wins the $35.00 gift certificate to the Fish Market restaurant on the Embarcadero next to Midway!!

Congratulations!!!!

Watch for a new Mystery Photo soon!

2005-05-17T21:31:00.000-07:00

"I'm gonna shoot your sorry self out of my sky next!" (Actually John was pointing in the direction of his A-7)

2005-05-17T21:30:00.000-07:00

"As soon as your wheels hit the deck, you shove the throttle forward!"

2005-05-17T21:28:00.000-07:00

He just told them that Nimitz was preparing to ram us!! The guest in the red hat is preparing to execute an emergency porch evacuation drill as the others look for the ramming approach of Nimitz!

2005-05-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

John just called the old gray lady (Midway) a "boat" instead of a ship, invoking the aviator's privilege of being airworthy rather than seaworthy.

2005-05-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

David working on the flight deck

2005-05-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

"K" is ALWAYS in Engine Room #3 - I'd think that he must need a head break in a week or so!

2005-05-17T21:22:00.000-07:00

A happy Midway guest poses for a picture next to the forward F4. The flags (skivvies) read: "Honor the Legend"

2005-05-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

Bob explaining catapult launch operations

2005-05-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

CW and Reid - When two pirates are lurking in the same harbor, trouble is bound to break out!

2005-05-17T21:17:00.000-07:00

Teak deck and brass windlass cap on Star of India

2005-05-17T21:16:00.000-07:00

Sheets and rigging aboard Star of India

2005-05-17T21:15:00.000-07:00

Soviet era "Foxtrot" submarine moored in San Diego harbor, near the Midway, HMS Surprise, and the Star of India.

2005-05-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

On the gun deck of HMS Surprise. This weapon is aimed at USS Midway!

2005-05-16T11:47:00.000-07:00

2005-05-03T12:35:00.000-07:00

The flags from the top - Sierra, Delta, Alpha, Charlie, Mike = SDACM

2005-05-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

John's answering questions from the next group to go up to PriFly

2005-05-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

A group of visitors being assembled aft of the island..........

2005-05-03T12:26:00.000-07:00

A tour of Engine Room #3 is being assembled on the hangar deck.

2005-05-03T12:14:00.000-07:00

"This wide stairway you came down to get to Engine Room #3 used to be a narrow, steep ladder with no head clearance and only chains to hold onto........"

2005-05-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

K likes it down here because he tells the visitors that he
was known to all sailors as "The Pride of The Pacific"

2005-05-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

Steam valve status indicator

2005-05-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

Note the 3 brass steam valve wheels - The best question in this tour was "Why do 3 people steer the ship from way down here?"

2005-05-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

K explains the mechanics of propulsion in Engine Room #3.

2005-04-17T22:10:00.000-07:00

The first MIDWAY mystery photo contest has begun!

To be eligible, you must be a current volunteer serving aboard MIDWAY.

Others are encouraged to submit their guesses but the prize will only be awarded to active MIDWAY volunteers.

Please use the email link on this page....NOT the comments section, unless you want everyone to see your answer.

The winner will be announced on 17 May, 2005.

The prize is a $35.00 gift certificate from THE FISH MARKET - our "next door neighbor on the waterfront". The certificate expires on 30 June, 2005.

I have always recommended their Manhattan clam chowder to our guests who ask me for the name of the best nearby family restaurant that's not too expensive. It's also a wonderful place for them to see MIDWAY from a unique perspective!

Enjoy the contest.........enjoy THE FISH MARKET........and GOOD LUCK!

2005-04-10T09:58:00.000-07:00

"What is it?"

What part of the standard Naval inventory is this, and where is it?

2005-03-17T12:45:00.000-08:00

To enlarge a photo, click on it! With some browsers, you can enlarge the picture even more if you click on it again!

2005-03-17T11:59:00.000-08:00

Safety examines all containers and bags coming aboard.

2005-03-17T11:58:00.000-08:00

A group of local students begins their Midway adventure!

2005-03-17T11:56:00.000-08:00

These guests get good advice to visit the island first before the lines get too long!

2005-03-17T11:38:00.000-08:00

Docent explains Vulture's Row and briefs this group on what to expect when they enter the bridge.

2005-03-17T11:36:00.000-08:00

Tom explains his career as a Naval Aviator to guests who enjoyed Midway so much that they had come aboard for the second day!

2005-03-15T09:52:00.000-08:00

When these two are together, some new mischief is never far away!!

2005-03-15T09:49:00.000-08:00

Tom points aft. The 3 triangles on the deck below his hand are all that remains of a 50 caliber machine gun mount. Two Holland America cruise ships in port that day!!

2005-03-15T09:44:00.000-08:00

Tom and Dick outside PriFly (Where's Harry?)

2005-03-15T09:42:00.000-08:00

The man with the binoculars is an ex-Army officer who wished that the Army had something as remarkable as Midway to put on display!