“All the pilots were terrified to fly with Kenny”

Ken really wasn’t, nor isn’t, a scary guy.  He had been at Youngstown, as best we could figure, forever.  He had been an A-37 guy and when the painful transition to C-130Bs had been thrust on them and most of the other fighter, and I use that term loosely, pilots had retired or transferred Ken had stayed on.  I think he was looking forward to flying an airplane that could outrun the super Tweet!

When I arrived in 1984, Ken was the chief of Stan/Eval and I think that was the job God put him on this earth to do.  For those that have held that position you know that you need to be not only objective, but you have to know the books better than everybody else and live by them.  Ken was the epitome of that guy.  Even when you weren’t getting an evaluation, Ken would be sitting in the other seat quietly reminding you what your airspeed should be, how a standard traffic pattern should look, what the books said about flying a circling approach.  He never yelled or even raised his tone, just the quiet voice of reason.  And most guys couldn’t stand it.  It used to be that we were taught to leave our egos in the squadron when walked out the door to fly and that we didn’t have time in a 250 knot, 300 AGL world to worry about feelings.  I don’t know if that construct is in step with our current society but I hope it is.

The problem is that most people have a problem separating constructive feedback from personal criticism.  We think we’ve evolved into a kindler, gentler Air Force/society, but we do ourselves and others no favors by not giving them the professional, and maybe personal, feedback that they need to make better decisions.  Contrary to pop culture and current political opinion, there is a lot more black and white than grey in the world.  By blurring the lines between what is acceptable and what is not we risk devolving into a narcissistic society where we all do what we feel like no matter the cost to others.  The right thing is the right thing whether you like it or not.

What really made Ken a great evaluator was that it was very clear to him the difference between procedure and technique.  He knew exactly what the book standards were and, although he held himself to higher ones, he would never bust anyone who stayed within them.  Personally, I liked to fly with him and when I upgraded to aircraft commander he gave me the most interesting checkride of my life.  The checkride started at Kelly AFB on a weekend cross country and when we got the engines started and were ready to taxi out, Ken said, “OK, I want you to taxi out to the runway, line up for takeoff and you can’t touch the nosewheel steering”.  The nose gear is the weak link in the C-130 landing gear system and there are lots of limitations on what you can and can’t do to keep from damaging it and he just wanted me to see that you can do everything you need to do without using it.  I’ve taught that to every new guy I’ve ever flown with.  Would he have busted me if I couldn’t do it?  Of course not, but it was a great way of passing on his decades of wisdom.

Don’t be afraid to correct.  Don’t forget to teach.  Never stop learning.  And for the thin skinned out there, grow a pair.