"When LeMay scared the hell out of his people, he made something out of them that I don't think was their true nature. He made them cringe and hide the truth. He made them say, "Yes, sir, yes, sir," becoming chronic liars protecting their own skins. Whom were these guys going to promote? Whom were they going to favor in their OER (Officer Effectiveness Report) system? It wouldn't be somebody better, or even someone similar to them. A man like that has to have somebody working for him that he can dominate, and he is inevitably going to pick a lesser individual. After about twenty years of this system the incest destroys the force. I had a bunch of really great friends in SAC, but a big group of guys were developed into people who were afraid to think for themselves. They damn near destroyed the air force in the process."
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Military leaders from the United StatesLegion of Honour recipientsSilver Star Medal recipientsAviators from the United StatesDistinguished Service Cross recipients
Original Language: English
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Sources
Robin Olds, Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds (2010), with Christina Olds and Ed Rasimus, p. 374
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Curtis_LeMay
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Curtis LeMay
Curtis LeMay (November 15, 1906 – October 3, 1990) was a general in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party candidate George Wallace in the 1968 presidential election. During World War II, he was known for planning and executing a massive bombing campaign against cities in Japan and a crippling minelaying campaign in Japan's internal waterways. After the war, he initiated the Berlin airlift, then reorganized the [[w:Strategic Air Command|S
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