Posted 02 September 2011 - 05:29 PM
Not from the Deid, but from another deployed location. Even after all the other dumb shit I've seen over the years, I still had a hard time believing this one is real, but I've been assured that it is. The email is bad enough, but what's worse, this dipshit's commander is clearly OK with it. Enjoy.
ASAB Enlisted Corps,
Welcome to 5MT accountability one and all. Today marks the day that you are
required to know the Airman's Creed and Air Force Song as outlined in my
first 5MT to the Enlisted Corps. At no time did I alleviate ANYONE from this
requirement, so the demographic is clear. If you are an "E-something", this
applies to you. To some it applies even more, especially if you are a
supervisor. If in a supervisory role, you are also accountable TO and FOR
your people.
MANY PEOPLE ARE ASKING WHY I INITIATED THIS 5MT TO BEGIN WITH. Well.Before
we delve into the "whys," let's first revisit the "Who, What, Where, and
When" parts. Those were provided in BOTH the initial and follow-on emails
that I've attached. The "how" was left completely up to you.
- Who: Every Enlisted member assigned to the XXXAEW.
- What: Be able to RECITE from MEMORY the Airman's Creed and "sing"
the first verse of the AF song
- Where: In public forums during Wing events or when asked by
senior leadership.
- When: Primarily by 1 September 2011
- How: Based on your personal preference
- WHY: To forge LEADERSHIP and FOLLOWERSHIP capability and to drive
Enlisted uniformity during ### AEW ceremonies.
BACKGROUND:
- VECTOR 1 came directly from AF Leadership: As CMSAF Roy's
direction when he told all USAF Command Chiefs to."Champion the Airman's
Creed and ensure you and your Airmen are able to recite it". Period.
- VECTOR 2 came from me as a reiteration of CMSAF Roy's
direction. From both a Leadership and followership perspective.
- VECTOR 3 should have come from Your Supervisor: That vector
should have mirrored CMSAF Roy's as a matter of loyalty and in a manner of
professionalism.
- VECTOR 4 should have come from YOU
DISCUSSION: Everyone presented with the 5MT requirements had options in
CHOOSING their personal way ahead. Their choices will place them into a
category of compliance as listed below. Almost everyone should be able to
recognize which demographic they primarily align with. Here are the 6
categories:
1. Someone who just recently arrived here & hadn't had 50 days to meet
the 5MT requirements. You are still accountable, but you'll be granted more
time. Get on it & get there within 50 days from your DAS. You are NOT DONE
yet.
2. Someone who already knew both recitations, and were able to
deliver them from day 1. You were good to go from the initial vector. Good
on you. You are DONE. Would ask that you assist others who aren't quite
there yet.
3. Someone who didn't know either of them BUT accepted the
requirement and made it happen. If you took it upon yourself to learn them,
you are a leader by example. If you took the direction of your supervisor,
you are a competent follower. Regardless, you met the requirements and did
not fail. Good on you. You are DONE. Hopefully you help those around you.
4. Someone in a supervisory position who knew or learned it, led by
example, kept your Wingmen in sight, and pushed your subordinates toward
success. You embodied the ability to Fly, Fight, and WIN. You have proven
yourself as someone who wasn't prone to sit-back, give-up, and allow
failure. Good on you. You are DONE. Your people are probably thanking you
for pushing them to succeed.
5. Someone who TRIED their hardest but still couldn't get it memorized
in time. You may not fully be there yet, but since the words are in your
memory.chances are you'll be able to recite it in a crowd. In any event, I
(and other Wingmen) will recite along with you and together we'll all
succeed in this 5MT. Good on you for giving it your best shot. You are NOT
DONE, so KEEP TRYING until you get 100% of it.
6. Someone who dismissed the entire requirement and neither worked at
it personally..nor pushed their Airmen to success. You Faltered and Failed.
Period. If you're one who either complained about the 5MT, or openly refused
to comply.you're still on the hook. If you're a Supervisor who failed to
lead your Airmen to success.you're still on the hook. If you think this is
over, think again. You are NOT DONE, and that will become even clearer in
the future.
DELIVERABLES: The Commander and I have already been asking Enlisted Airmen
to recite the Airman's Creed in public. Yes folks, the Wing CC is also
on-board in this exercise. So my hope is that we encounter Airmen in
categories 1-5 when we're out and about. So far.it's been good. Two
excursions, 11 Airmen.11 successful deliveries.
WAY AHEAD: I will periodically ask folks if they know it. If they say yes, I
may recite or sing along WITH them. I will ask how they gained their
success. I will ask if they were vector checked buy their immediate
Supervisor. The answers THEY GIVE will tell me who Led and Followed
appropriately. If they say they don't know it.there will be tougher
questions.
BOTTOM LINE: If you are an Enlisted Airman who fell into categories 1-5 -
No need to read on any further unless you really want to. Continue to move
forward and keep finding ways to meet requirements. If your Supervisor
pushed you toward success.thank them. If you Led and followed
appropriately.you hit the 5MT and will be able to execute from here on out.
ROCK BOTTOM LINE: Hopefully the Airman's Creed will become personal to you.
Hopefully you'll realize that EVERY activity you perform EVERY day provides
you an opportunity to Fly, Fight, and win. By realizing that "Fly" equates
to rising to face the challenge, "Fight" equates to expending energy to meet
the challenge, and "Win" equates to overcoming the challenge...it may make
some sense. Hope you Flew, Fought, and Won on this challenge.
Category 6 personnel.read on below my signature block. There's more.
V/R
Chief Xxxxxxxx
CMSgt X. Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx
Wing Command Chief Master Sergeant
### Air Expeditionary Wing (AFCENT)
CATEGORY 6
Just so there's no ambiguity here. If you blew off the requirement , you've
failed as a follower. If you're a supervisor who told your people that it
wasn't important, you have failed exponentially as both a leader and a
follower. By ignoring what your Senior Enlisted leadership directed you to
do, you purposefully missed the mark and took down a couple of our Core
Values with you . First, You didn't demand Excellence in ALL we do and
Secondly you put yourself ABOVE a tasking. two of the 3 core values
destroyed in one fell swoop.
Now.before anyone starts complaining about the difficulty of the Airman's
creed requirements; let me dissect the task into bits and pieces that are
easier to swallow. Hopefully this will clarify the failure a bit more.
NOTE: The first 5MT went out on 12 July, so the entire period of "training"
equates to 50 days. Nice round number, but roughly 7 weeks if you received
it on 12 July.
- Basic Trainees have 7 weeks of "training days" to learn the exact
same things CMSAF Roy asked of us. They do so without the Military
experiences that we have. So, the advantage should have been YOURS.
- Reading the entire Airman's Creed out loud takes less than 40
seconds, even if you momentarily pause between stanzas . That's less than
one minute from end to end.
- Chances are, by reading it out loud for 2 minutes a day you'd
have had it memorized in 20 days. 3 times in a row per day.20 days in a
row. If you did that, you'd be in category 5 at the very least.
- Even if using the entire 50 days, you would have expended 100
total minutes of effort. Less than two total hours of time stretched over
nearly 2 months.simply reading out loud. No sweat. No toil.simply reciting.
- There are 18 total lines in the Airman's Creed, so that equates
to learning 2 lines per week. Actually it's a bit less once you realize that
4 of the lines are exactly the same.
- If you broke it down by stanzas, there are four. So you'd have
had 12 . 5 days to learn each stanza
WHAT I HAVE HEARD: Some thought the 5MT was "stupid" so they QUIT on day one
and TOLD others to blow it off as well. Instead of shaping the environment
through followership and discipline they chose to ACCEPT or even DIRECT
failure. That is intolerable.
WAY AHEAD: Right now, I don't even know who fits into what demographic.But
I'm about to find out. I'll see who knows it or not. If they don't know it,
I'll ask how much time they put into "learning". I'll ask for their
immediate supervisor's name. I'll ask what their Supervisor did to ensure
their success. I'll ask if they were vector checked by their immediate
Supervisor. That should tell me enough to categorize those who failed.and
those who let them fail. Then they will BOTH make it right. It's called
accountability. In this game, everyone gets a trophy.
BOTTOM LINE: Never leave an Airman behind, Never Falter.and do not fail. If
you're off-track.return to the fight NOW. If you tell me you're
reengaging.I'm good with that.
V/R
Chief Xxxxxxxx
End email
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BQZip01, on 01 September 2011 - 10:05 PM, said:
