McPeak Toil

Reader David emails:

Wow, most people I read are linking to the McPeak story.

It’s really funny that Obama has somehow picked up Merrill McPeak as a ‘military’ advisor. I had the mis-fortune of serving my last few years as a commissioned officer in the McAir Force, as we called it. At least amongst the officers I served with, the opinion was pretty unanimous that McPeak was joke back then. It appears he’s not gotten any better. The most significant things I remember him doing were pushing regs that said male personnel couldn’t wear a v-neck t-shirt (The AF 1550 shirt at the time was pretty open at the neck, and t-shirt, or lack thereof was pretty obvious), and launching a large scale program to “update” the uniform. I stopped paying attention to
what he was doing around then.

I think that’s good advice today — except that picking on McPeak makes for some awfully fun blogging.

UPDATE: Larry J comments:

General McPeak’s most widely known contribution as Chief of Staff was to attempt to redesign the uniform. The result looked like a cross between a bus driver and an airline pilot. This was at a time when the military was being downsized by several hundred thousand people. He was and apparently remains a flaming idiot. That Obama chooses McPeak to be his military advisor says a lot (all bad) about his judgment.

ONE MORE COMMENT: I’m pretty sure Chris Byrne isn’t too fond of McPeak, either. If you’ll pardon the language, he writes:

Those of us who served in the Air Force while he was our chief of staff fondly referred to him as:

1. Merrill McPrick
2. Merril “The Doorman” McPrick
3. Merril “Headwaiter” McPrick
4. Merril Mc’FuckinPrick
5. Fucking Merrill McMotherFuckingPrick

I have nothing but respect for his honorable service in Viet Nam; but by ’94 He was a dishonorable, disingenuous, scrote sucking piece of shit, who sold out his service for political gain. I see nothing has changed.