Technical Sergeant Geraldine Lovely Is an Idiot

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So there’s this video going around on Facebook from a United States Air Force Airman by the name of Tech Sgt. Geraldine Lovely who recently posted a video stating that her black female subordinates show her no respect and these women possess attitudes towards her.  At the time of this writing, a person named MAJ Chris Sukach for the Nellis Public Affairs (I’m assuming is some unit within the Air Force) states that Air Force leadership is investigating this incident with plans to take appropriate action.

I just want to add my 2 cents to this story real quick being that I can directly relate to this situation being that I’m a 13 year active duty US Army vet who was once the same rank of as this Tech Sgt., which is an E-6 (in the Army, E6’s are known as Staff Sergeants, SSG).  So I too can relate to the struggles of Tech Sgt. Lovely from the standpoint of dealing with subordinates who possessed attitudes and showed a lack of respect for my rank and authority.  But the difference between Tech Sgt. Lovely and myself is that I dealt with shit like this from soldiers of all racial backgrounds, male & female.  I had white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and every other flavor under the rainbow type of soldiers whom had some type of attitude.  I had male soldiers with attitudes, female soldiers with attitudes…hell, I myself was once a lower enlisted soldier with an attitude.  Quite honestly, that’s pretty much the way things go when you are lower enlisted.  You either walk around with some sort of attitude because you are lower ranking and you are constantly tasked with doing the shittiest and mundane type of jobs or senior NCOs (Non-Commissioned Officer) just presume you to be a lower ranking soldier with an attitude because that’s the culture of the military, for better or for worse.  Whether or not you actually had a legit attitude was another issue, but the presumption was always there and more than likely the presumption was purely based simply off of one’s rank and the job requirements that came with the rank.  Rarely did I ever encounter a soldier with a legit attitude for simply being in the military.

But I say all of this because, aside from the clear racial component of Tech Sgt. Lovely’s diatribe about her black female subordinates, one thing I learned from serving 13 years in the Army and spending 10 of those of years as an NCO is that a subordinate’s attitude is a direct reflection of his/her leadership.  Nine times out of ten, if a subordinate has a shitty attitude that’s becoming disrespectful towards leadership, then the real problem more than likely resides with the leadership broadcasting a shitty attitude towards the subordinates.  So Tech Sgt. Lovely can try to place blame on her black female soldiers, which I’m sure is causing her all kinds of issues with her career right now for making it a point to highlight the race of these women in an effort to uphold the traditional racist stereotype of black women having attitudes, but the real problem is…maybe Tech Sgt. Lovely is just one shitty NCO that her subordinates have long recognized and she’s simply not worthy of respect.

You see in the military, especially on the enlisted side of the house, there are too many lower enlisted personnel who become NCOs and then all of sudden they think they are the shit simply because they got promoted.  I dealt with people like this my entire career, and I’m sure some lower ranking soldier probably thought the same towards me a time or two so I’m not going to pretend like I’m immune from such criticism.  But the difference between an NCO who deserves to be respected versus those who don’t is purely based upon the actions of the NCO and his/her ability to confidently and competently lead the people they have been charged to lead.  If an NCO knows his/her job at his/her current level or beyond along with mastering the job on the level of his/her subordinates in addition to remaining open to learn new things from subordinates, peers and seniors, then it is fair to say this NCO will be effective at leadership while earning the proper respect that they are due from those they are charged with leading.  This stuff isn’t just applicable to the military world, this applies in the civilian world as well.  Without knowing any of the details pertaining to Tech. Sgt Lovely beyond her video and a few blog articles I came across discussing this, I’m going to make an assumption that it’s quite possible that Tech Sgt. Lovely was more than likely a shitty NCO who somehow was allowed to get promoted to the rank of E-6 who then got the big head because she was in a position of authority and thought that her rank and/or position automatically required her subordinates to respect her beyond just her rank and position.  If you listen in at about the 1:15 minute mark of the video she states…

“Every time I talk to them (black female subordinates), it’s like I’m just some fucking stupid ass girl that doesn’t even deserve to be talked to as a person.  So educate me.” — Tech Sgt. Lovely, Geraldine

Here’s your education Tech Sgt. Lovely, Geraldine…you are a “stupid ass girl” who was clearly knocked the fuck out asleep during the class discussing social media etiquette and professionalism that all members of the armed forces are required to take which states that military members can be subject to punishment due to their social media activities.  Being that you chose to upload this video with clearly racist overtones while in uniform with your face and last name clearly on display, I would assume your assessment about being a “stupid ass girl” is probably the most accurate conclusion you’ve ever come to in your entire life.  This personal assessment that you are just now discovering about yourself, I’m more than positive that your subordinates recognized this “stupid ass girl” hiding behind her E-6 rank as well because contrary to popular belief, young people entering the military are far from stupid.  I should know being that I was an Army instructor during my last 4 years in the military where I was in constant contact with these young people every single day.  Sure there were some idiots sprinkled in the mix who should have never made it past their local recruiting station, but those that did make it pass, well, sadly they will grow up in rank to become…well…you.  I have no idea what your MOS (military occupational specialty) is at this present moment, but I know that the Air Force likes to brag about being the smartest branch of the armed forces (that is highly debatable), so I’m going to assume that these black female airmen are not some idiots for possessing the ability to recognize how dumb their NCO must be.  I mean, this shit doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out and once a lower enlisted person realizes that their NCO is literally a complete fucking idiot, there’s no going back.  All respect for you as a person is gone and shall remain gone…and rightfully so.

As you can see I purposely tried to steer clear of the racist element concerning Tech Sgt. Lovely simply because we all know the usual assumptions and responses by now.  Maybe she’s racist, maybe she’s not.  I’m not going to persecute her for being a racist simply based off of this 90 second video.  However, she is one fucking idiot who somehow crept up the ranks to be put in a position of authority when it’s clear as day she’s a fucking idiot.  Since I’ve been honorably discharged from the military and chilling every night in my bed wrapped up safely in my DD214 blankie, I’m free to talk all the shit I want about the military openly without worrying about some higher ranking official jumping on my ass.  Tech Sgt. Lovely, Geraldine you’re not in my position and in this climate of people being fucked up (literally and figuratively) over anything that remotely resembles racism, it’s presently not looking too good for you to be rewarded your DD214 honorable discharge blankie like me.  I’m sure you know of all the stories surrounding people who get other than honorable, general or dishonorable discharges from the military, so there’s no need for me to expound upon that aspect.  But just know, you are looking like a prime candidate to be one of those people who can tell future servicemen what the other than honorable discharge life might be like if the Air Force decides to make an example out of you…which, in this day and age, they probably should.