Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Since when is a LTJG in the CGR a "commissioned senior reserve officer"?
Posted by Peter A. Stinson

Sometimes people just don't understand.

Sanne Specht writing in southern Oregon's Mail Tribune tells us Ex-officer faces trial on charges involving teenager ... accused of threatening a runaway with a Taser:

The case of a former Medford police officer accused of threatening a wayward teenager with a stun gun is scheduled to go before a Jackson County jury Wednesday.

[He] faces charges of first-degree official misconduct and menacing, stemming from allegations he threatened to shoot a juvenile runaway in the eye with a Taser last spring.

She then goes to say that this former police officer is also

a commissioned senior reserve officer with the U.S. Coast Guard. He worked on patrols off Cuba between May 2004 and January 2005.

I'm thinking senior officer... hmm...

Turns out, after a little digging, he's a Lieutenant Junior Grade; that makes him a telephone lieutenant, at best.

For Sanne Specht, and all the other non-naval service folks, here's a little information for you. Ensigns, lieutenants (be they junior grade or full), and lieutenant commanders are considered junior officers in the Coast Guard and the Navy. Senior officers are, by definition, commanders, captains, and flag officers.

We might describe this individual as a "commissioned reserve officer" or a "commissioned junior officer" or a "junior officer" or... well, you get the idea. But, he's years away from being a senior officer.

And, what gets my goat even more is that I know when this first hit the news last year, I commented on the paper's website about this distinction. Lots of good that did, for sure.

Please note the photograph with this post, like many of the photographs posted here at AN UNOFFICIAL COAST GUARD BLOG, is merely illustrative in nature. The picture is of a random LTJG, again, used here merely to demonstrate what a junior officer in the maritime services might look like.

Posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2008
   

Labels: by Peter Stinson, rants

4 comments:

At Tuesday, April 22, 2008 7:45:00 PM EDT Anonymous said...

As a telephone commander - and not a senior officer. I agree completely.

 

At Tuesday, April 22, 2008 8:10:00 PM EDT Surface Force said...

Interesting. Although the photo of him is in a USN uniform. Possibly he is a former Naval Officer who transfered to the CGR?

 

At Tuesday, April 22, 2008 8:17:00 PM EDT Peter A. Stinson said...

The photograph is a random LTJG, not the officer involved in the story. Just using it as an example of what a JG might look like... young, usually, and certainly not "senior."

 

At Tuesday, April 22, 2008 9:30:00 PM EDT Thomas Jackson said...

That's me, where in the hell did you get that? Are you trying to out me?

Just kidding ... I'm better looking than that.

 

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