A U.S. Coast Guard pilot who was assigned to transport Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was fired and later reinstated after a personal blanket was not transferred between aircraft during a trip. The incident, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, occurred after a maintenance issue required a change of planes. Noem’s blanket was not moved to the replacement aircraft, people familiar with the matter told the newspaper. The pilot was told to take a commercial flight home following the mission, the report said.
The personnel action was reversed, though, when it was determined that no other pilot was immediately available to operate the aircraft for the return flight. A DHS spokeswoman did not address the specific episode but said Kristi Noem has made personnel decisions intended “to deliver excellence.”
Reporting from the Daily Mail cited the same sequence of events and noted the pilot’s reinstatement occurred before the return leg due to operational needs.
These flights were operated by the U.S. Coast Guard under DHS authority. The Coast Guard provides aviation support for departmental travel and missions. Officials have said such flights are used for a mix of administrative and operational purposes.
The department did not provide additional details on the flight, crew assignment procedures or any policy changes following the incident.
Off with his head! I’ll bet he’s glad he isn’t a puppy…
If it was a personal item, the owner is responsible. Public servants need to learn to take care of themselves like the rest of us. Sounds like an entitled government employee.
Too bad the pilot agreed to be reinstated, sparing Cruella deserved consequences
Maybe there was some Corey DNA on it that she didn’t want discovered if her blankie fell into the wrong hands.
Bet the blanket was made of 101 dalmatian skins.
Imagine being a 54 year old adult, needing your bankie…
Pilot should have told them ‘guess you’re flying commercial with me.’ No way I’d have flown after that.
Probably was a very senior pilot that had his years for retirement.
I would think about submitting my papers for retirement.
Sounds like the Coast Guard was told somebody’s “butt” had to go.
It’s called a care on item for a reason, she carried a personal item on and she should have carried it off. The pilot is not her personal assistant.
I suspect that Noem is the one who realized she had forgotten her blanket and asked someone if they could get it for her. Next, some REMF bureaucrat blamed the pilot because the bureaucrat was responsible for the flight and had to shift blame to someone. The solution is to have all government personnel fly commercial in coach or drive themselves. We waste enough money on fraud that we don’t need to spend any on transportation for non-essential travel.
As a former USCG officer and pilot, find this disgusting.
It was her little boy toy…
‘Corey Lewandowski fired a Coast Guard pilot for leaving Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s blanket on a plane — but was forced to rehire them upon realizing there was nobody else to fly the party home, according to a stunning new report.
Lewandowski, an unpaid special government employee who unofficially acts as chief of staff for Noem — with whom he’s had a years-long affair — has overseen a reign of terror over department workers since President Trump took office last year.’
This story doesn’t make sense as you can’t fire a commissioned officer in the Coast Guard. Someone could pull them off the flight, but you can’t just fire them. Sounds like media hype to me. I never saw anything like that in my 24 yrs as an Army aviator.
What on earth is going on over there? That is ridiculous
First sending him/her off and then reversing that decision made that pilot operating a flight a safety risk not of his/her own making.
Now let’s talk about the fact that the plane is a $70M 737 that Ms. Noem ordered to be purchased, and that Ms. Noem and Mr. Lewandowski have been treating as their personal aircraft. And that it has a bedroom in the back.
The abuse of public resources and entitled behavior are disgusting, but not surprising considering those involved.
A true weakling pilot.
There is no bottom to the vanity and depravity of these arrogant, racist, privileged, pedophile-protecting plutocrats. As bad as progressives would have been, they would not have unethically undermined democracy. Trump and MAGA must GO.
Why am I not surprised?
Steve s. Rolling is damn right
When the Conservative Voters get sick enough of this Clown Show to demand change from Right Wing Pols, then and only then will crap like this stop, and not one second before. The “Pilot Gate Episode” is just one teeny tiny bit of the wholesale stupidity going on.
At least, they rectified their mistake…
I’d love to hear the rest of this story. It usually gets told incorrectly!
Agree completely.
I hope the pilot let the Crew Chief have the blanket for a few minutes before giving it back. As an USAF SAC Crew Chief we would have made sure it was handled with care ..
Yes. It’s hers and Cory’s fault entirely
They’ve voted against all humanity and righteousness without any regards to signaling proper virtue to those who vote with proper respect for constitutional principles.
Is there any chance at all that maybe there is more to this story or should we just jump to the quickest MAGA hate chants asap ? I Remember when Avweb wasn’t a hate vehicle.
For those foaming at the fingers to respond don’t bother
Oh no… she lost her blankie… thank god that
Captain wasn’t a puppy!!
Is she able to visit a bathroom by herself?
Seems like a wonderful opportunity for “malicious compliance” in my opinion (as a former U.S. Army enlisted guy who joined the Army to get the college fund and had no intention of retiring from the military, I was a master at this).
As an officer flying around in a world where he never has to pay for his fuel or work on the airplane and probably has a pension on the line, this guy had more to lose than I would, so I get him making the flight after-the-fact, but so many opportunities to screw with her and the staff.
Assuming the guy has his pension in the bag already, a good “malicious compliance” story to put on his resume about why he was fired could open up a lot of doors in the private sector.
Oh…and this is coming from a guy who is a conservative and wants to see change in our government, but I have zero tolerance for narcissistic people who are cruel to those who support them getting their job done.
All you haters might garner more info before being “The Death Angel” of Righteousness. Was this blanket one like my mom had for Breast Cancer?…. Was this a blanket of gift that carried special meaning? True, She should have taken it herself. I’m sure her 4 brothers teased her about having different stuff in her room and different clothes. Who made the decision to fire the pilot? Was it her? Who made the decision to reinstate the pilot… Was it her? Like Ted Lasso… “BE CURIOUS.. NOT JUDGEMENTAL”….. Believe in the goodness of some people instead of what the Kool-aid you consume wants you to believe. You may just avoid a road-rage incident.
You can’t “fire” a Coast Guard pilot or anyone else in the military. I think this is a bullshit story meant to make Kristi look bad. Shame on you for printing this drivel.
Such a bullshit post. Not true at all and I amazed how gullible people are to actually believe this.
…good thing her little stuffed bear was safe…. she’s a ghoul…
Since when did the pilot’s job include “relocate blanket between fuel and flight controls? Last time i checked aviators fly not run lost and found .
Inferior people with superior titles running the train off the tracks on a daily basis.
you haters make me sick. First, the pilot is a service member and can not be fired directly. Second the pilot has a chain of command and Ms. Noem is not in it. Thirdly, it didn’t say she did anything. You haters are destroying this country because you listen the commies that are actively try to destroy America.
As a retired federal employee, I find her attitude, actions and behavior sickening.
I find this very hard to believe. As a senior military officer and a senior Federal Officer, you cannot just “fire” them. Yes, if a pilot in one of my squadrons did something stupid that called into question his/her ability to fly that aircraft, then they might be told to fly home commercially. This sounds like a made up story, simply designed to make a member of President Trump’s leadership team look bad. Too many checks and balances prevent the simple dismissal of a military or civilian officer.
Your kit, your responsibility! She doesn’t have a minion for that sort of things? And wtf – Corey isn’t in the USCG chain of command, neither is she. She’s po’d?! Fine, send the commandant a note and he will deal with his people.
As a pilot, after being canned on the first pass, I wouldn’t go anywhere near a cockpit let alone fly this beach & her entourage.
My squadron commander flew T-39s and he told me about his buddy getting fired by Pres Johnson for a hard landing. It happens, and with the arrogant Lyndon Johnson I wasn’t surprised.
So yes, they can fire someone, but the better term would be dismissed or reassigned.
made personnel decisions intended “to deliver excellence.”
The only way she could provide excellence is to resign immediately and go back to shooting puppies in South Dakota.
There would have been a surprising amount of turbulence on the return trip.
I think this is a good story — The pilot got the last laugh, the boss humiliated herself and everyone knows exactly what happened.
Happy with her performance and policies – but have little tolerance for elitists and prima donnas. If she was the one that did the firing, she needs to cut the crap and lose the attitude!
On a good day, I mean a really good day, Pres. Johnson was a turd.
What a waste of time. Apparently our community is full of gullible people. Get some treatment for your TDS condition my fellow pilots!
“All the best people”. You have to admit though, that hair and those lips – no wonder she got a job in this administration
So, her callsign is “Linus”?
What is actually stated—
A Coast Guard pilot was “fired”. I don’t believe Coast Guard personnel can be “fired” in the traditional sense so I question whether this is the actual truth. My guess is he was pulled off the next leg as a punishment for the screwup of leaving items behind.
A “blanket” was left behind. What we don’t know is if it was all her luggage, of which one item might’ve been something resembling a blanket. Who knows, might’ve been a gift for one of her grandkids.
The pilot was “reinstated”. Again, we have no idea who reinstated him. Could’ve been Kristi Noem herself after hearing about the excessive punishment.
My hunch, based on the lack of actual details, is this is a very distorted version of what actually happened and this article was written more for political purposes than anything to do with aviation.
Matt Ryan, if you’re going to write about something with political overtones (as evidenced by the political nature of most comments), why not go with hard facts instead of inuendo? I seem to recall this isn’t the first article you’ve written that appeared to be more political than aviation in nature.
I would have called in sick. Feeling great one minute, the next…..a mysterious fever, COVID, ::cough, cough::, dizzy, nausea, running to the bathroom every 2 minutes, and every joint aching. Hey, things happen that way sometimes. Let Karen find her way back home.
Ward….don’t you think you were a little hard on the Beaver!
The level of pettiness is unprecedented.
Imagine that, making a decision that screws with someone’s life, then changing their mind. Sound familiar? This administration is a full on clown show, from top to bottom and a lot of in between. Only goes to prove, not in the best interest of this country either. Putting blame on someone else besides ones self. If I had been that pilot, I’d have left them there and let them find another pilot to fly them home. Asinine at the least.
“REMF”. There’s a term I haven’t heard since Di-An (*82nd)
If it was an aviation accident, y’all would wait until a final report was in before voicing idiotic opinions. Probably more to the story than has been shared. As you’re saying goes, there’s two sides to a coin.
While I have no respect for the current regime, I do agree with others who have pointed out the various inconsistencies in this story. I despise Ms. Noem, but I’ll reserve judgment regarding this specific incident pending the possibility of more information becoming available. Meanwhile, to all you Coast Guard aviators: Thank you for your service.
Glad to read that a majority of the people that responded to this are still clear thinking individuals. In my opinion. Can’t wait for this administration to fall off the planet along with the puppy killer.
I feel bad for the blanket.
Why no mention of the co-pilot? (Does the military still call them that?) Might it have been his responsibility to transfer the personal items? Further, do we have any evidence that it was not the pilot’s commanding officer that decided on the firing, rather than Noem personally?
I’m glad she has found her niche–Lost and Found Czar. Finally something she is good at. So glad she has the common sense to discern the importance of spending millions to train a pilot and then “fire” him over a lost blanket. Way to go Kristi. My hero. You are the epitome of this Administration…Mindless Stupidity
Since the making of a AvWeb, many of us have not made comments to the articles. I find it heartening that many have decided to submit a reply.
I think Mac posted a good question. However, this administration continues to show just how inept they are and I like many cannot wait to see them go.
Tell the Coast guard too shove it. another spoilt idiot that expects to be pampered.
Amazing how much of our taxpayer money these political appointees spend on air travel…and the associated vacations. It would be astonishing to see what the total is, including the elected officials’ trips with planeloads of food, autos, and the like!