Interesting report from the Amtrak OIG

[Anthony]

To return to the topic, isn't Amtrak's current Inspector General a temporary appointment for the longtime IG who left abruptly? If I recall correctly, the temp's previous experience was in the Human Relations Department. Predictably, the activities of the IG department then turn to the educational level of Amtrak management. Nevermind that Amtrak is receiving much larger pools of federal and state government funding than previously -- the IG will stay out of the critical railroad functions.

No, they brought Ted Alves in as IG last month. There was an interim person from HR for a little while, but they found a "permanent" replacement.

 

[Chatter163]

Once upon a time there were differences between B.S. and B.A. degrees. Nowadays the differences between the programs are less pronounced. For example, my master's degree is an M.S. from a state university, while the exact same program in a private university across town is an M.A.

There is a similar battle between Ph.D. and Ed.D. programs, where the level and nature of research can and do sometimes vary. Some of the faculty, generally those with Ph.D. degrees, claim that research insititutions of higher ed want primarily Ph.D. faculty, whereas Ed.D. degree holders will more likely end up being practitioners working in the field. Yet an examination of my faculty members at both the master's and doctoral levels shows an almost even split between Ph.D. and Ed.D. credentials.

 

[blueman271]

There are many senior enlisted personnel and even a good deal of limited duty officers (officers that were previously enlisted and received their commission without going to college) that are in charge of and responsible for ships and shore commands full of people. So there are other places where senior leadership isn't all college educated.

I have never heard the term "limited duty" officer before as it relates to the US military.

I can assure you that they exist, although blueman is incorrect in saying that they can have command at sea. I'm also 99% sure that one needs a college degree (I got out of the Navy 2 years ago so my memory is a little foggy).

Maybe "limited duty" is a navy term. Maybe a college degree is needed now. but definitely not during the Vietnam era. My OCS class was probably under 50% college grads. I also know one man who retired as a LTC that did not have a college degree, but then he was a Marine. It could also depend upon your MOS.

HokieNav is a 100% correct, limited duty officers cannot hold command at-sea, however they can and do hold shore commands. In the Navy there are two different types of officers, line and staff officers. Staff officers work in the fields of medicine, dental, supply, nursing and so on. Line officers can be broken down into two different categories, unrestricted and restricted. Unrestricted are the ones that ultimately hold command at sea, they graduated from the Naval Academy, a NRTOC school, OCS or one of the Navy's degree granting enlisted to officer programs (such as STA-21). A limited duty officer (LDO) is a restricted line officer, someone that other than a grave emergency resulting in the incapacitation of every senior man above him, will never hold a command at sea. LDO's are not required to posses a college degree, they are chosen every year by a board in much the same way that an E-6 is promoted to an E-7. If I remember correctly the requirements to become an LDO is that a Sailor must be and E-7 or above (or a selection board eligible E-6) and must have superior sustained perfomance.