Unfortunately, though, I HAVE heard officers make exactly those sort of comments. Maybe every recruit needs to spend a little time in dispatch, just to understand and appreciate what they have to deal with - and yes, every dispatcher should do ride-alongs as well. One of my favorite movies is called Ground Control - about an air traffic control center - where the pilots assume that all the ATC folks do is sit around, all the while things are going nuts in the ATC center. Until you have been there,