I wonder about the canadian military.

[danmand]

Here we have a guy, who is the pilot for the prime minister and the Queen, and who is promoted to command Camp Mirage and later the largest airbase in Canada.

No psychological evaluation? No personality vetting? For crissake, private industry does not promote someone to executive without serious reviews.

 

[sabu69]

I believe he hid his secret life well, so not sure a psych evaluation would have worked. He was obviously good at his job.... professionally speaking of course

 

[TeasePlease]

I don't wonder at all. And I find the question terribly ironic.

Most of us could look in the mirror and see the answer in ourselves. How many of us lead secret lives? Compartmentalization, my friend.

 

[Keebler Elf]

Yeah, like these types of people don't exist in every walk of life? Fuck, preachers are out there fucking guys in the ass while at the same time lamenting the evil sins of homosexuality.

This type of shit is a lot more common than people realize (or will admit).

 

[danmand]

Yeah, like these types of people don't exist in every walk of life? Fuck, preachers are out there fucking guys in the ass while at the same time lamenting the evil sins of homosexuality.

This type of shit is a lot more common than people realize (or will admit).

Yeah, it is, but commercial pilots are put through psychological evaluations. I would have thought that the pilot for the Canadian prime minister and the Queen also would be. Maybe Russel Williams stole some underware from the Queen?

 

[train]

For crissake, private industry does not promote someone to executive without serious reviews.

Really? What kind of "big brother" Danish company do you work for ?

Some multinationals might give you a psych test if they are hiring from outside for a very senior or demanding position. If you work your way up I'd be very surprised if you got tested with promotion.

 

[zz000ter]

Why would you wonder about the entire military just because of one man?

Please remember that the personal characteristics required for success in the military are quite different than those required for example as a marketing analyst or charity organization volunteer. For the officer class, sometimes being a bit of a sociopath actually helps you in your career.

Having anti-social / sociopathic tendencies also does not automatically lead to being murderer. While most people might think you are an A-Hole - you get your job done and you get promoted.

 

[danmand]

For the officer class, sometimes being a bit of a sociopath actually helps you in your career.

Is that official policy?

I would have thought that a pilot assigned to fly the prime minister and the queen around would be vetted quite substantially. I know that airline pilots are evaluated regularly.

 

[blackrock13]

Is that official policy?

I would have thought that a pilot assigned to fly the prime minister and the queen around would be vetted quite substantially. I know that airline pilots are evaluated regularly.

I'm still trying to figure out where you get the idea that the military doesn't test, vet, weed out and review their staff, especially the top levels; forget Defense HQ.

There are reviews right from the first week in Gagetown. FFS, DM1 It's like an earlier post that felt that the ? Canadian military would be tainted and look down upon bythe rest of the world because of this one abhoration.

DM, do you throw this shite out just to see what kind of reaction it gets, or do you really believe it? Am I not correct in saying that's a text definition of a troll? There are other terms that come to mind but I'm in a good mood this morning.

 

[mystiqueladies.com]

The Canadian military can barely afford fuel for their motorized equipment, pretty sure they can't afford to hire the best psychiatrists/psychologists graduating from universities. This deviance may have come to the forefront of his personality in the last 5 - 10 years, well after he would have been assessed for service and based on his early track record, why would anyone think he was less than what he appeared? Some of us start out liking blonds in lingerie and 10 years down the road a brunette in daisy dukes gets our motors cranking, his shift was obviously more extreme. Either way, it's a sad story for the victims & families of this twisted POS.

 

[danmand]

I'm still trying to figure out where you get the idea that the military doesn't test, vet, weed out and review their staff, especially the top levels; forget Defense HQ.

There are reviews right from the first week in Gagetown. FFS, DM1 It's like an earlier post that felt that the ? Canadian military would be tainted and look down upon bythe rest of the world because of this one abhoration.

That is not what I intended to say with the post. What I intended to say (and what I actually said) is that I would have expected someone rising through the ranks in this particular path i.e piloting dignitaries and heads of states, would have been more carefully vetted psychologically.

I do not chose to believe what another poster insinuated, that the military tolerates sociopaths in its offcer corp.

...................I'm in a good mood this morning.

I knew it was going to happen sooner or later.

 

[zz000ter]

The Canadian military can barely afford fuel for their motorized equipment, pretty sure they can't afford to hire the best psychiatrists/psychologists graduating from universities.

MystiqueLdies.com - maybe you should talk about things that you know rather than things that you just have opinions on.
Just out of curiosity, do you carry out psych evals on YOUR staff? Do you really know who you have working for you?

People in the military get assessed on JOB PERFORMANCE. The culture is quite different from what you are used to. There is a psych eval when you sign up but once you are in that is all. Officers are not supposed to be "friendly". The best officers are cold and efficient. That is why I said that sometimes having some anti-social traits can actually help your career in the military.

How touchy feely do you want your officers to be when they have to lead men and women into battle knowing that some will not come back alive? Civilians just do not understand that.

Sorry - being ex-Air Force gets me a bit sensitive about this.

 

[blackrock13]

The Canadian military can barely afford fuel for their motorized equipment, pretty sure they can't afford to hire the best psychiatrists/psychologists graduating from universities. This deviance may have come to the forefront of his personality in the last 5 - 10 years, well after he would have been assessed for service and based on his early track record, why would anyone think he was less than what he appeared? Some of us start out liking blonds in lingerie and 10 years down the road a brunette in daisy dukes gets our motors cranking, his shift was obviously more extreme. Either way, it's a sad story for the victims & families of this twisted POS.

I agree with most of your post except for the first part. The psychiatrists on staff, or used by the military, are the best in their field as it applies to a military environment. You don't have to be top in your class to be the best in your field. Not many jobs out there will give you full pension after 20 years and then you look elsewhere to work and rack up another pension.

 

[mystiqueladies.com]

There is a psych eval when you sign up but once you are in that is all.

Pretty sure that's what I said "well after he would have been assessed for service". Not looking to pick a fight and my opinion is my opinion and isn't that what this section is for, discussing and offering opinions?

 

[capncrunch]

Psychopaths are extremely good at putting up a "normal" front. Even the best and brightest can get fooled. My guess is that there aren't so many in the military because of the way the command structure works, but large organizations are riddled with psychopaths. Simple reason: Psychopathic behaviour is encouraged. See Snakes In Suits.

 

[blackrock13]

That is not what I intended to say with the post. What I intended to say (and what I actually said) is that I would have expected someone rising through the ranks in this particular path i.e piloting dignitaries and heads of states, would have been more carefully vetted psychologically.

I do not chose to believe what another poster insinuated, that the military tolerates sociopaths in its officer corp.

I knew it was going to happen sooner or later.

My connecting with the other post was an attempt to show how silly some observations can be. The Queens pilot would have been there based on his performance record, as one poster noted and he's not expected to be given a Roshak every time he's considered for an assignment.

My Grandfather didn't get a psyche evaluation when he was assigned as one of the engineers on for the royal train trip across Canada in 1939. He simply drank the right cigarettes, drank the right whisky and didn't get caught f**king things up. If you remember war was on the horizon and nazis were everywhere.

Are sociopaths being accepted in the military? It takes a certain type of person to volunteer to put your self in harms way. There are some assignments in the military where antisocial tendencies might work. A sniper or LRRP member might benefit from it. Remember, one persons weed is another persons rose.

 

[landscaper]

People are evaluated in teh military far more than they are in civilian life , being able to legally end somebodies life tends to make your superiors take a little closer notice of people, a 22 year old tank commander has had more evaluations than almost any 30 year career manéwoman in civilian life. The nature of the job demands it.

The nature of the job also makes catching something like williams very dificult after he reaches field grade rank Major LCOL , he is the one doing the evaluations, his evaluations are done by somebody who while they may be technically in command may not be in the same hemisphere. The nature of the military also causes problems for a subordinate to call attention to this sort of thing. Subordinates do not monitor their superiors and anybody tring to would be noticed almost imediately.

Any previous bad actions were not caught or he never would have made Col and a base commander, those positions are fought over and any black marks would have stopped his career in its tracks.

 

[Cassini]

I believe he hid his secret life well, so not sure a psych evaluation would have worked. He was obviously good at his job.... professionally speaking of course

Psych evaluations would be unlikely to find some like Colonel Williams. The biggest "give away" in his military career file is that he has no obvious weaknesses. It is unlikely that someone in his position has no character weaknesses, so it implies that the military did not know what the weaknesses were.

The fundamental problem with using Psych Evaluations for fitness for employment is that the tests are easily gamed. The best liars score the best. The best liars are sociopaths, and usually represent very bad hires. The "honest employee" tests, and the MMPI test have been repeatedly discredited as employee testing tools, because the tests can be easily gamed by an intelligent person.

In particular, the psychological community routinely recommends that the MMPI test should only be used for diagnostic purposes, and not for employee screening purposes. A sociopath can easily game the test, and is often successful at gaming trained interviewers in a "one on one" setting.

Myself, I believe the best indicator of character flaws is efforts to know people and know their weaknesses. Knowing a person as part of a community frequently gives the best warning about problems happening and about to occur.