‘Misdirected Midshipman’
Petrino claims North is the product of a system that sends mixed signals as to how one should behave within that system. It seems to me that 18 years ago Petrino himself sent a mixed signal to the young midshipman, Ollie North.
At that time, Petrino was the brigade commander and as such personified the “highest standards and ideals of military leadership.” Nevertheless, he “said nothing” when he caught young Ollie trying to alter his medical records, even though there was “no question that this was wrong.”
I find a “disquieting parallel” of my own between Brigade Commander Petrino and Commander-in-Chief Ronald Reagan.
I suggest that Petrino should be included among those leaders who failed Ollie North, and “in so doing failed us all.”
SUZANNE A. CHAPMAN
Orange
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
