"Weasels aren't only on F-4's"
Since the loser leaders of the 43rd ECS SMU have now read the web site, my mission has been accomplished. I have removed the ugly details. The whole issue in a nutshell is that I was never given a fair shake from the first day I met Greg Daniels and it only got worse from there. I was an outsider, thrust into their little "Compass Call" family, and maybe they didn't like the fact that I had worked on Air Force One, or that I was the Crew Chief on Air Force II when George Bush was the VP. Or maybe it was a personality conflict between Greg and myself, and he used his position to attack me. How is it that I left the 43rd, where they thought I was worthless, and went to the 42nd where the Commander actually didn't want me to retire because I was doing a good job for them. I was an outsider that was welcomed into ABCCC by the SMU leadership. Once I was the Senior Maintenance representative on a deployment to Aviano AB, Italy for Operation Deny Flight. Yea, no Maintenance Officer was there, I was it. Sounds like I was as bad as Greg, Walt, and Ted thought I was. NOT!!!
Previous job success is an accurate predictor of future job success. In my whole career, my time in the 43rd ECS was my worst experience (not the people, just the leadership) and it just so happens that it's the only assignment where I supposedly wasn't worthy of a higher level indorsement. I'm not "GI Joe", but I didn't deserve to be treated like Greg treated me from the very first day we met. And I didn't deserve to be the subject of his "personal attack" on my career.
The 43rd ECS had some great people! They were the ones that actually did the work and made Rousch, Haussner, Daniels and Orr look good! It's a shame that such fine maintenance personnel had to be led by such petty people.
When I left, they gave me a nice picture that they all signed.
- Hell ends and Matt once again finds People with Integrity -
Needless to say, after Matt found out about this decision to kill his career, he sought to move to another squadron where he would at least be able to finish out his time with individuals that had integrity and weren't subject to petty political games. About this time, another C-130 Unit was moving to Davis-Monthan from Keesler AFB, Mississippi. The 7th ACCS was coming to town and needed some maintenance people to fill key positions. This is when Matt met 1Lt John Devane. John Devane asked why Matt wanted to move from the 43rd ECS, and Matt told him. Lt Devane must have believed what Matt was telling him because he offered Matt a job in the new squadron. Matt moved from the 43rd ECS to the 42nd Airborne Command and Control Squadron around July 1994. From the time he reported for duty, Matt knew he was among professional maintenance personnel and it was like a breath of fresh air!
Matt was assigned as the Sortie Support Flight Superintendent. While assigned to the 42nd ACCS, Matt had the honor of meeting SMSgt Leon Peterson. Leon was the acting Maintenance Superintendent and it was obvious that he knew how to treat people and unlike Greg Daniels, he was the right career field for the job and could actually do the job. Leon made Matt feel welcome from the first day. Sorry to say that CMSgt Leon Peterson isn't with us anymore. He was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident several years ago. Leon touched so many lives and so many people will miss him!
While assigned to the 42nd ACCS, Matt was sent TDY in support of Operation Deny Flight. He was sent to Aviano AB, Italy where he got to know Lt John Devane even more. John is another individual that had a great positive impact on Matt. On one of his rotations to Aviano AB, Italy, Matt was the senior ranking maintenance representative(ie: no Officer!). It was during this Tour that "Operation Deliberate Force" occured and Matt was right in the middle of it all. It was a tough job driving the Fiat Sports car from the downtown hotel to the maintenance facility to supervise the ABCCC contributions to the NATO mission, but someone had to do it. As a result of the constant rotation of deployment to Italy, home, and back to Italy, and the fact that Matts' most recent performance report was a kiss of death to his career, Matt decided to retire in May 1996. His squadron commander, Lt Col Schilling didn't want him to retire. Matt explained his reasons and that since he couldn't be a good influence anymore, he didn't want to be any influence. The list of good people that Matt left behind in the 42nd ACCS includes:
John Devane, Zebby Miles, Chris Ouellette, Tim Russell, Abe Lilly, Leon Peterson and many others.Matt was able to finish his career on a good note with a great bunch of people in the 42nd ACCS.
As pissed off as I am about how I was treated in the 43rd ECS, I must actually thank Greg Daniels, Walt Haussner, Ted Rousch, and James Orr for making me want to retire. If I hadn't retired, I wouldn't have met my wife and I wouldn't be as happy as I am now. So, maybe it was my Karma to meet these low lifes and close out that chapter in my life and move on to something new. Thanks guys! You still suck, but it turns out you did me a favor!
Maybe Karma really does affect things.
