This pretty much sums up my (to this point) 19+ years of active duty in the USAF:

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered altitude and spotted a man below. She descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The man consulted his GPS and replied, "You're are in a hot air balloon approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2346 feet above sea level. You are 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude."

"You must be enlisted," said the balloonist.

"I am," replied the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help so far."

The man responded, "You must be an officer."

"I am", replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?"

"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You are lost due to your own incompetence and negligence but you want to blame someone else. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."

TennVol,

Your post is the best description of my last 2 years in the AF that I have ever seen!!

The first 18 were spent with the finest folks on the planet.

The officers I saw who thrived were the ones who tapped into the knowledge & experience of their NCOs when making decisions.

Then there was the Lt who came up with a not-so-bright idea that we tried to help with some advice ("It will work better if you change this and this.").  He crossed his arms and said, "Just do it my way."  

I said, "OK, Sir, and you can have all the credit, too."

Ah, the military.  Where every one is promoted to the level of their incompetence.

Having been both, I can say I have seen my fair share of those who didn't know where they were or what they were doing there.

CHAOS: the

Colonel
Has
Another
Outstanding
Suggestion