A female commander of mine (in the USAF) asked me how I saw my progression in the officer corps over the next few years. I told her that I wanted to transition to another career field in the USAF. She asked me why. I told her that I'd observed all I needed to see in my leadership, to include her, and that I concluded that I wanted no part of it. From the preferential treatment given to her "running club" buddies to the hiring of anybody with a vagina (despite their performance record including multiple academic failures, unethical leadership maneuvers, and outright criminality), I told her I could attribute every squadron failure over the previous 18 months to the mass hire of the worst qualified people in the field...all because they had shit on their noses. I then told her that I'd rather volunteer for a deployment in Afghanistan than serve in this squadron for one more second. She asked me if I was serious. I told her I'd already spoken with our group's deployment manager.
12 months later she ranked me 2nd from the bottom out of 13 people (below a serial drunk driver and a to-be-convicted pedophile) to be RIF'd (reduced in force...military speak for discontinuing my commission).
I refused to suck up to this awful person. You might wonder why I said all of this in a meeting designed to advance my career. Here's why: the squadron I was in trained brand new officers to operate a weapon system. We had a young male lieutenant come into the squadron and start training. He was shy and awkward. I'd guess he had Asperger's which is not something that naturally disqualifies him from anything. The women in the squadron labeled him "creepy". The dude just didn't pick up on social cues with anyone, not just women. The kid starting having trouble in the training (the academic sort). Instead of bending over backwards to help him like they did everyone else, they kicked him out AND tried to end his career by saying he had "behavioral" issues. Meanwhile, another lieutenant in the squadron gets busted for selling FUCKING CRACK to his own enlisted troops gets all of this same commander's support. Another lieutenant gets busted for sexual assault in Las Vegas while absent without leave and, again, has the commander's full support. This all happened 1-2 months prior to our conversation. Let's just say I'd fucking had it with Air Force leadership.
Nigh ten years later, I wish I could give the conversation another go. I'd be more truthful knowing what I know now.