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In reply to the discussion: Here Are the Enemies of America's Veterans.. :( It's not Eric Shinseki.. [View all]Shemp Howard
(889 posts)It is worth noting that Nimitz still paid a price for his actions, having been found guilty of "neglect of duty", as you mentioned. That was probably unfair, but as I noted previously, it really has to be.
When there is a major foul-up, someone in a command position must feel some pain. However, that is often not the case. In my profession (I am a public school teacher), I often see new (and poor) curriculum fail. When that happens, the teachers get the blame. Never the supervisors who picked the curriculum, and who were supposed to be monitoring the effectiveness of the curriculum. No, it's a teacher or two who gets reprimanded (or even fired). Luckily, that's never happened to me.
I'm sure every person has work stories similar to mine.
So yes, people in command positions need to feel some pain if and when something fails. It is the best way to keep them focused on the job.
And as an aside, I wish the GOP would stop crowing about all this. The VA scandal is deplorable, but much of it can be traced back to Bush II's disastrous decisions. Did Bush resign after no WMD's were found in Iraq? Nope.