Our Dangerous Commander-in-Chief > “Butter Bar Syndrome.”

from bigpeace.com

I noticed early on [Obama’s] habit of calling people by their first name, even in formal speeches or events. General McChrystal was always “Stan.” Vice President Biden was “Joe,” and Senator McCain was “John” during the Healthcare Summit. On the surface, it’s not a big deal, but as a former military officer I’ve found it to be grating. It speaks disrespect. …

When I was on active duty in the Air Force, there was something we called “Butter Bar Syndrome.” Newly-minted Second Lieutenants, fresh from their service academies, ROTC programs, or other sources of commissioning, often hit the pavement hard in their first assignments. Eager to demonstrate leadership and to flex their new gold bar rank insignia, they would bark orders to seasoned E-8s and E-9s. Instead of calling them “Chief Jones,” or “Sergeant Smith,” they were called “Stan” or “John.” They would feign listening as these men or women of considerable experience made recommendations, only to take a course of action vastly different from anything they had just heard.

Butter Bar Syndrome resulted from insecurity. Calling a Chief Master Sergeant by his or her first name kept the Lieutenant elevated in status (in the LT’s mind). Ignoring the Chief’s advice showed he was decisive, apt to be recognized by higher command for his leadership acumen, or so the LT hoped. Most Lieutenants learned fairly quickly that all the chest puffing was unnecessary. Oftentimes it took a no-nonsense Chief giving the young officer some closed-door, fatherly counseling to get him on the right track.

Unfortunately, with our current Commander-in-Chief, there appear to be no Chief Master Sergeant types willing to grab him by the scruff of the neck and knock some sense into him. Barack Obama is too smart to know how little he knows. His insecurity around all those seasoned Generals and his arrogance mean he will continue to ignore the advice of people with an eternity of more experience than he has on any given issue. With military lives on the line around the globe, the stakes are too high to have this man in Command.

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