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Retiree on school board demands rank be used

waggy

No Lifer
http://www.navytimes.com/news/...ptain_lawsuit_012609w/

A retired Reserve captain is threatening to sue her local California school board if the board?s members do not address her by her military title.

Retired Reserve Capt. Noreen Considine, 64, was elected to the Jurupa Unified School Board near Riverside, Calif., in November. She claims her political foes are deliberately disrespecting her by not using her rank when discussing school business.

?It?s a way to diminish me. If they take away my title ? the one I ran on and the one I?m entitled to ? then they have a better shot at demonizing me,? Considine said in an interview.

At a Jan. 20 meeting, Considine told the school board they were harming her reputation, violating her civil rights and may be liable under California state laws.

?None should doubt my resolve in this matter,? Considine told the crowd, according to the minutes of the meeting.

?Those who think they can act contrary to the law with impunity ? proceed at your own peril,? she said.

Considine, a medical services officer who retired in 2004, said in an interview Jan. 23 that she hopes her disagreement with the board members does not end up in court.

?I am giving them a chance to stop this nonsense,? she said.

Jurupa Unified School District Superintendent Elliot Dushon said Considine said his district is facing a massive budget crisis that may force them to layoff up to 200 teachers in the next 18 months. He said the board members have discussed Considine?s title at several recent meetings and he?d prefer they address more student-oriented matters.

?There are bigger issues we have to deal with, frankly,? Duschon said in an interview. ?This would be the type of lawsuit that would take a lot of time and a lot or resources and a lot of energy that I think would be best spent dealing with the budget.?

Lt. Cmdr John Daniels, a Navy spokesman, said the Navy encourages retirees to use their titles in public, but no law requires civilians to address active or retired military service members by their ranks.



wow looks like people elected the wrong person. She is willing to waste the boards time/resources on a lawsuit over nothing. She sues she will lose and the community will be out thousands of dollars.

what a waste.
 
Lawsuit should be immediately thrown out by any half-sane judge as frivolous AND Noreen should be kangaroo court-martial keelhauled (achieving alliteration gives me a secret woody each and every time) in a urine soaked kiddie pool immediately before the entire community signs her recall position.
 
The lawsuit threat is silly but her fellow board members should extend her the courtesy of addressing her by the title she earned. It is no different than calling a Phd in Education Doctor.
 
Originally posted by: Linflas
The lawsuit threat is silly but her fellow board members should extend her the courtesy of addressing her by the title she earned. It is no different than calling a Phd in Education Doctor.

Titles are rarely mandatory. Except in the military or when dictated by employment they're a sign of respect. This insano sounds like she hasn't earned that respect.
 
Originally posted by: Anubis
Originally posted by: PHiuR
a dumbass should not be allowed on a school board.

we better ban all schoolboards then

I don't have a problem with that. Look what is happening to DC now that the school board has lost its power and someone with Exp has been put in charge. It was a elected school board that banned evolution, and so forth.

Problem is the school board should not be a politically board, but it is. Then you get in fighting like this and can?t fire them as they are elected.
 
Is it lawsuit worthy? No. Does she have a gripe? Absolutely. Someone who earned a rank and stayed in long enough to retire deserves to be addressed by that title if they deverve.

For those who are uninformed, a military title typically takes the place of a salutation. IE, instead of Mr. Kirk, your mail could come addressed to Capt. Kirk.
 
Originally posted by: TerryMathews
Is it lawsuit worthy? No. Does she have a gripe? Absolutely. Someone who earned a rank and stayed in long enough to retire deserves to be addressed by that title if they deverve.

For those who are uninformed, a military title typically takes the place of a salutation. IE, instead of Mr. Kirk, your mail could come addressed to Capt. Kirk.

Sure she can complain but who the hell cares what her view is when it's so backwards.

I would prefer the city returns the favor and makes her pay the court costs and some for the time she wasted.
 
My thought on the matter is that you give up your military title and rank when leave the military. Do people still refer to Colin Powell as General Colin Powell?
 
Originally posted by: her209
My thought on the matter is that you give up your military title and rank when leave the military. Do people still refer to Colin Powell as General Colin Powell?

Military members certainly would, but I wouldn't expect anyone else to. Frankly it's generally easier to make rank in the reserves than on active duty anyway, and while achieving the rank of Captain (O-6) is impressive it's not like being an admiral/general. I think that if this woman brings suit based on this perecived sleight, she will be demonstrating a level of wackiness comparable to the lost-pants plaintiff.
 
Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
Originally posted by: her209
My thought on the matter is that you give up your military title and rank when leave the military. Do people still refer to Colin Powell as General Colin Powell?

Military members certainly would, but I wouldn't expect anyone else to. Frankly it's generally easier to make rank in the reserves than on active duty anyway, and while achieving the rank of Captain (O-6) is impressive it's not like being an admiral/general. I think that if this woman brings suit based on this perceived sleight, she will be demonstrating a level of wackiness comparable to the lost-pants plaintiff.

Yeah, I agree. She has other problems if she's just grasping at obscure laws to regain 'power'. Sure. They're supposed to call her Captain, but that's usually reserved for military hospitals and the VA when you're retired.

<wants to be promoted to confuse all the civilians when I retire>

Sergeant Major? Are you fuckin' kidding me?

No. And stand at the position of Parade Rest.

I guess it's like being a Professor.


 
Originally posted by: TerryMathews
Is it lawsuit worthy? No. Does she have a gripe? Absolutely. Someone who earned a rank and stayed in long enough to retire deserves to be addressed by that title if they deverve.

For those who are uninformed, a military title typically takes the place of a salutation. IE, instead of Mr. Kirk, your mail could come addressed to Capt. Kirk.

She's retired. I never went around calling retired officers or non-coms by their rank once they retired. She needs to get over it.

<snarky comment>She's a reserve medical services officer, she's not even a line officer (or regular navy) <end snarky comment>
 
Originally posted by: GarfieldtheCat
Originally posted by: TerryMathews
Is it lawsuit worthy? No. Does she have a gripe? Absolutely. Someone who earned a rank and stayed in long enough to retire deserves to be addressed by that title if they deverve.

For those who are uninformed, a military title typically takes the place of a salutation. IE, instead of Mr. Kirk, your mail could come addressed to Capt. Kirk.

She's retired. I never went around calling retired officers or non-coms by their rank once they retired. She needs to get over it.

<snarky comment>She's a reserve medical services officer, she's not even a line officer (or regular navy) <end snarky comment>

Dude, calm down! You're stopping all the nonsense!
 
She did work very hard and had to sacrifice a lot in her life to get to that rank in the military. I would not take that away from her. But if I was working with her and she asked to be addressed as captain I would have to decline. I wouldn't call her psycho stupid bitch either.
 
Sorry, but I've always thought honorifics are stupid, especially educational degrees (i.e. phds). So went to school. I'm happy for you and I'm sure you're happy for yourself. It doesn't mean I have to call you by a different name.

You use rank in the military because that is what the system is built on. Rank should never leave the military, IMHO.
 
This insano sounds like she hasn't earned that respect.

Thats whats wrong with most people. Most people think that respect is something that must be earned. That idea is dead wrong. Respect is something that is given not earned. If you cannot give respect then you do not deserve it.

I think that if she requests to be addressed as Captain she is entitled to be addressed that way. This country has a long tradition of doing that very thing for nearly all of it's existence. Military officers have always been addressed by their military rank if they so desired in civilian life. The fact that her colleagues refuse to follow this tradition is an obvious sign of disrespect. Should she Sue? Absolutely not. It is a tradition not the law. The only response is to address her colleagues with silly nonsensical titles until they realize just how silly they are being.
 
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