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Yet another pilot needed at Coca-Cola
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sonicyouth
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EdAtTheAirport
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GVFlyer
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Boss Cochran
Here you go.
[size=+1]Skipper quits Blue Angels
[/size][size=-1]By Ernest Blazar, Times staff writer
Vol. 45, Navy Times, 06-10-1996, pp 22.[/size] Citing his own flying troubles, Cochran resigns
The skipper of the Navy's elite Blue Angels flight demonstration team bluntly blamed himself for the team's troubles May 28 and resigned the coveted post.
Calling it the most difficult decision of his career, Cmdr. Donnie L. Cochran, 42, stepped down because of personal "training difficulties" that he said were threatening the safety of his team's performances.
"It is with deep, personal regret that I announce today my resignation from the world's greatest flight demonstration team," said Cochran in Pensacola, Fla., the Blue Angels' home.
"Facing training difficulties and not desiring to impair the future viability of the team or its performance, I voluntarily decided to step down."
Cochran had commanded the elite unit since November 1994, and the team had been troubled for some time. Last September, Cochran grounded the Blue Angels and canceled two exhibitions because of concerns about the safety of the team in general -- and its skipper, specifically.
What's next for Cochran isn't clear. He was selected for promotion to captain by the O-6 board that convened this spring and awaits reassignment.
What's next for the Blue Angels, however, is a heavy schedule of training flights. Cochran's replacement is an experienced former team member and skipper: Capt. Gregory C. Wooldridge, commanding officer of Lemoore Naval Air Station, Calif.
Wooldridge, 49, served as flight leader and commanding officer of the Blue Angels during its 1991-92 season and for five months again in 1993. Before that he commanded the Dam-busters of Attack Squadron 22 from August 1989 to November 1990.
He is senior for the job, but this is the Blue Angels' 50th anniversary year and the Navy wanted an experienced skipper in the job -- quickly. The team has canceled shows and the busy stammer season is approaching.
It will take time for him and the team to get used to each other. The skipper of this special squadron is also the lead prior in the team's high-speed acrobatic maneuvers, so his skill as a pilot is particularly important to his leadership -- more so than with most squadron jobs.
Early troubles
Cochran's move was hailed as courageous by former Blue Angels pilots.
"I am continuously amazed by his intestinal fortitude," said a former Blue Angels pilot." If I had to put up with the same kind of pressure he has, I would have cracked a long time ago."
Nevertheless, other fliers believe the two-week stand down in 1995 and Cochran's resignation last week indicate Cochran wasn't up to the job of leading the team. None agreed to say so on the record, however.
Former team members described Cochran as a solid but not outstanding pilot who was not of the caliber needed to excel in the extraordinary maneuvers for which the team is famous. During his 18-year Navy flying career, Cochran has amassed an impressive record. He has accumulated more than 4,630 flying hours and 888 carrier landings. He has done two tours with the Blue Angels -- first as a team member, from 1986- 89 --and more recently as skipper.
Before joining the team, Cochran flew F-14 Tomcats and commanded the Sundowners of Fighter Squadron 111.
Without disputing his successes, however, former Blue Angels team members suggested that race played too large a role in Cochran's selection for skipper.
Cochran was the first African-American pilot to fly with the Blue Angels during his first tour with the team from 1986-89, and when he returned as the team's skipper, he was the first to do that, too. The Navy, which has long been under pressure to boost the number of minorities in its officer corps and in key, high-visibility roles, used Cochran, these fliers assert.
Saying they support increased recruiting of minorities and have nothing against Cochran, they said they resent Navy leadership for relenting to political pressure and putting Cochran in a job for which he lacked the skills.
"There are certain jobs where you can't have political influence, where lives are at stake," said one former Blue Angels flier. "I think in this case the Navy blew it. Now we are paying the price and I thank God the cost didn't come in lives lost."
After Cochran's announcement, the Navy scrambled to find a replacement able to get the team in the air again with little delay.
While the next three shows in Chattanooga, Tenn., South Weymouth, Mass., and Oklahoma City, Okla., have been canceled, the Navy wants the team back in the air as soon as possible.
The team is supposed to celebrate its 50th anniversary at a Nov. 8- 9 air show in Pensacola this fall.
Immediate attention turned, then, to returning to command a recent, former Blue Angels skipper.
The most recent, however, was Cmdr. Bob Stumpf, who has been locked in a battle with the Navy and the Senate over his promotion to captain for more than a year. Stumpf faced legal proceedings while he led the Blue Angels for his conduct during Tailhook '91, before his tour with the team, and would have been an awkward choice to lead a team whose missions include recruiting and polishing the Navy's public image.
Stumpf, who led the team from November 1992 to November 1994 is currently attached to Commander Naval Fighter Wing-Atlantic and has been flying regularly.
Wooldridge, the Navy's choice for the job, last flew with the Blue Angels in 1993, while filling in for Stumpf. At the time, Stumpf was on temporary orders in Norfolk, where he was facing disciplinary hearings for his role at Tailhook. Stumpf was subsequently exonerated.
Wooldridge now commands Lemoore Naval Air Station, where a spokesman said he has retained his currency in the F/A-18 cockpit.
The only other experienced team skipper still in the fleet was Rear Adm. Patrick D. Moneymaker, whose flag rank made him ineligible for the job. Moneymaker is now head of command, control, computers and intelligence for Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
[font=Arial,Helvetica]Out of the Blue[/font]
Donnie Cochran is the first black man to fly with the Navy's Blue Angels flying team. Until May, when he resigned from the team, he was also the commander of the unit. There was apparently no pressure on him to step down, and he resigned with considerable dignity, citing concern about his own flying mistakes and the threat they could pose to safety. During a recent show at Virginia Beach, the team had to scuttle a maneuver because Mr. Cochran made an error. A spokesman for the Blue Angels explained that the commander made "what aviators refer to as head mistakes." The real question, which remains unasked, is why Mr. Cochran was put into this position. (Basil Talbott, Jolt for Blue Angels, Chicago Sun-Times, May 29, 1996.)
GV
~
EdAtTheAirport said:
Here you go.
[size=+1]Skipper quits Blue Angels
[/size][size=-1]By Ernest Blazar, Times staff writer
Vol. 45, Navy Times, 06-10-1996, pp 22.[/size] Citing his own flying troubles, Cochran resigns
The skipper of the Navy's elite Blue Angels flight demonstration team bluntly blamed himself for the team's troubles May 28 and resigned the coveted post.
Calling it the most difficult decision of his career, Cmdr. Donnie L. Cochran, 42, stepped down because of personal "training difficulties" that he said were threatening the safety of his team's performances.
"It is with deep, personal regret that I announce today my resignation from the world's greatest flight demonstration team," said Cochran in Pensacola, Fla., the Blue Angels' home.
"Facing training difficulties and not desiring to impair the future viability of the team or its performance, I voluntarily decided to step down."
Cochran had commanded the elite unit since November 1994, and the team had been troubled for some time. Last September, Cochran grounded the Blue Angels and canceled two exhibitions because of concerns about the safety of the team in general -- and its skipper, specifically.
What's next for Cochran isn't clear. He was selected for promotion to captain by the O-6 board that convened this spring and awaits reassignment.
What's next for the Blue Angels, however, is a heavy schedule of training flights. Cochran's replacement is an experienced former team member and skipper: Capt. Gregory C. Wooldridge, commanding officer of Lemoore Naval Air Station, Calif.
Wooldridge, 49, served as flight leader and commanding officer of the Blue Angels during its 1991-92 season and for five months again in 1993. Before that he commanded the Dam-busters of Attack Squadron 22 from August 1989 to November 1990.
He is senior for the job, but this is the Blue Angels' 50th anniversary year and the Navy wanted an experienced skipper in the job -- quickly. The team has canceled shows and the busy stammer season is approaching.
It will take time for him and the team to get used to each other. The skipper of this special squadron is also the lead prior in the team's high-speed acrobatic maneuvers, so his skill as a pilot is particularly important to his leadership -- more so than with most squadron jobs.
Early troubles
Cochran's move was hailed as courageous by former Blue Angels pilots.
"I am continuously amazed by his intestinal fortitude," said a former Blue Angels pilot." If I had to put up with the same kind of pressure he has, I would have cracked a long time ago."
Nevertheless, other fliers believe the two-week stand down in 1995 and Cochran's resignation last week indicate Cochran wasn't up to the job of leading the team. None agreed to say so on the record, however.
Former team members described Cochran as a solid but not outstanding pilot who was not of the caliber needed to excel in the extraordinary maneuvers for which the team is famous. During his 18-year Navy flying career, Cochran has amassed an impressive record. He has accumulated more than 4,630 flying hours and 888 carrier landings. He has done two tours with the Blue Angels -- first as a team member, from 1986- 89 --and more recently as skipper.
Before joining the team, Cochran flew F-14 Tomcats and commanded the Sundowners of Fighter Squadron 111.
Without disputing his successes, however, former Blue Angels team members suggested that race played too large a role in Cochran's selection for skipper.
Cochran was the first African-American pilot to fly with the Blue Angels during his first tour with the team from 1986-89, and when he returned as the team's skipper, he was the first to do that, too. The Navy, which has long been under pressure to boost the number of minorities in its officer corps and in key, high-visibility roles, used Cochran, these fliers assert.
Saying they support increased recruiting of minorities and have nothing against Cochran, they said they resent Navy leadership for relenting to political pressure and putting Cochran in a job for which he lacked the skills.
"There are certain jobs where you can't have political influence, where lives are at stake," said one former Blue Angels flier. "I think in this case the Navy blew it. Now we are paying the price and I thank God the cost didn't come in lives lost."
After Cochran's announcement, the Navy scrambled to find a replacement able to get the team in the air again with little delay.
While the next three shows in Chattanooga, Tenn., South Weymouth, Mass., and Oklahoma City, Okla., have been canceled, the Navy wants the team back in the air as soon as possible.
The team is supposed to celebrate its 50th anniversary at a Nov. 8- 9 air show in Pensacola this fall.
Immediate attention turned, then, to returning to command a recent, former Blue Angels skipper.
The most recent, however, was Cmdr. Bob Stumpf, who has been locked in a battle with the Navy and the Senate over his promotion to captain for more than a year. Stumpf faced legal proceedings while he led the Blue Angels for his conduct during Tailhook '91, before his tour with the team, and would have been an awkward choice to lead a team whose missions include recruiting and polishing the Navy's public image.
Stumpf, who led the team from November 1992 to November 1994 is currently attached to Commander Naval Fighter Wing-Atlantic and has been flying regularly.
Wooldridge, the Navy's choice for the job, last flew with the Blue Angels in 1993, while filling in for Stumpf. At the time, Stumpf was on temporary orders in Norfolk, where he was facing disciplinary hearings for his role at Tailhook. Stumpf was subsequently exonerated.
Wooldridge now commands Lemoore Naval Air Station, where a spokesman said he has retained his currency in the F/A-18 cockpit.
The only other experienced team skipper still in the fleet was Rear Adm. Patrick D. Moneymaker, whose flag rank made him ineligible for the job. Moneymaker is now head of command, control, computers and intelligence for Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
[font=Arial,Helvetica]Out of the Blue[/font]
Donnie Cochran is the first black man to fly with the Navy's Blue Angels flying team. Until May, when he resigned from the team, he was also the commander of the unit. There was apparently no pressure on him to step down, and he resigned with considerable dignity, citing concern about his own flying mistakes and the threat they could pose to safety. During a recent show at Virginia Beach, the team had to scuttle a maneuver because Mr. Cochran made an error. A spokesman for the Blue Angels explained that the commander made "what aviators refer to as head mistakes." The real question, which remains unasked, is why Mr. Cochran was put into this position. (Basil Talbott, Jolt for Blue Angels, Chicago Sun-Times, May 29, 1996.)
GV
~
Last edited:
FlyingPieceOfSt
Wood You Fly This Plane?
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2005
- Posts
- 139
Me Love You Long Time?
Define "long time."
I see you have posted a comment after the Coke thread and just 2 months ago you were chit-chatting like a cabin-attendant on speed.
Glad to see you are back after your lonnnng sabbatical away from www.flightinfo.com !!
<smirking>
Flyguy6 said:
Define "long time."
I see you have posted a comment after the Coke thread and just 2 months ago you were chit-chatting like a cabin-attendant on speed.
Glad to see you are back after your lonnnng sabbatical away from www.flightinfo.com !!
<smirking>
Before my twp posts yesterday, my last post was Oct 1. That was three months ago. Thats a long time for me. Thanks for looking into that.
I was stunned by all the negative comments i read about Donnie Cochran. I find it truly hard to believe that this man was a Navy Pilot. Made it to the rank of Cdr and was a substandard pilot. Officers have to get evaluation reports ( thats what we call them in the army, not sure what ther Navy calls them) yearly. He must have done something right to get to the rank he had. Oh wait, I know. He got promoted because he is Black and the Navy wanted to promote minorities to boost enlistment right? It couldnt have been because he is a good officer and a good pilot. Blue ANgel pilots do nothing differant then any other fighter pilot. They do basic manuevers all pilots learn at flight school. So, basically I am saying I am not sure all the comments are warrented. And for the record. He is not the Chief Pilot at Coca-Cola. He does work in the flight department, but I forget his exact title.
I was stunned by all the negative comments i read about Donnie Cochran. I find it truly hard to believe that this man was a Navy Pilot. Made it to the rank of Cdr and was a substandard pilot. Officers have to get evaluation reports ( thats what we call them in the army, not sure what ther Navy calls them) yearly. He must have done something right to get to the rank he had. Oh wait, I know. He got promoted because he is Black and the Navy wanted to promote minorities to boost enlistment right? It couldnt have been because he is a good officer and a good pilot. Blue ANgel pilots do nothing differant then any other fighter pilot. They do basic manuevers all pilots learn at flight school. So, basically I am saying I am not sure all the comments are warrented. And for the record. He is not the Chief Pilot at Coca-Cola. He does work in the flight department, but I forget his exact title.
T2Pilot
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2006
- Posts
- 58
Flyguy6 said:
"Blue ANgel pilots do nothing differant then any other fighter pilot."?
I'm not a Navy guy but the Blue Angels are supposed to represent their best so they don't put "any fighter pilot" there. Perhaps he was put in that position to take advantage of his race but that doesn't mean he was "promoted because he is Black". Rank and position are two different things. I haven't met him but I'd say give the man a break. He recognized he wasn't up to the job and resigned. It sounds like he had the best interests of his team and service at heart. That is a sign of a leader. I know nothing about his time at Coke but but as far as his Navy time it appears to me he made some errors and took responsibility for them. I wouldn't be so quick to judge without having walked in his shoes.
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