Jump to content

What's wrong with the Air Force?


Catbox

Recommended Posts

3 hours ago, ClearedHot said:

Further proof of how broken the Air Force is... http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/960240/general-officer-announcement

Try to destroy people based on a text....have it overturned and STILL make GO. 

Baba Rand continues to disappoint. 

Nominated, but not confirmed:

 

https://www.jqpublicblog.com/congressmen-call-senate-reject-hastings-nomination/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Baba Rand's underling are truly setting him up for failure. Haven't quite figured out if it's a GSC culture issue, an O-5+ officer careerism issue, or both.

I'm going both, although a ton of the GSC problem is O-5 careerism bs.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not smart in Rand's issues.

I'm sure there are many, but on a recent out-the-door-to-deployment speech, his message was roughly: "Don't f this up, my reputation depends on it."

How did you get 4 stars? Oh, wait, apparently that CYA mentality is how.

A far cry from a Patton ("You don't win by dying for your country, you do it by making the other poor bastard die for his" stuff) or Eisenhower ("I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle" stuff) in the leadership category.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, SurelySerious said:

I'm sure there are many, but on a recent out-the-door-to-deployment speech, his message was roughly: "Don't f this up, my reputation depends on it."

How did you get 4 stars? Oh, wait, apparently that CYA mentality is how.

A far cry from a Patton ("You don't win by dying for your country, you do it by making the other poor bastard die for his" stuff) or Eisenhower ("I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle" stuff) in the leadership category.

I saw him speak a number of times. Not once did he impress me as someone who actually gave a shit about anyone. I remember him yelling at my SOS class to "join the freaking club" because it supports MWR activities. 

That's the kind of commander he was. Instead of figuring out why no one was joining the officer's club, he just gave orders for people to join it..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, SurelySerious said:

I'm sure there are many, but on a recent out-the-door-to-deployment speech, his message was roughly: "Don't f this up, my reputation depends on it."

How did you get 4 stars? Oh, wait, apparently that CYA mentality is how.

A far cry from a Patton ("You don't win by dying for your country, you do it by making the other poor bastard die for his" stuff) or Eisenhower ("I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle" stuff) in the leadership category.

He told a group of B-1 guys that we didn't know how to do long-range strike after a decade of "burning holes in the sky" (CAS).  He had apparently forgotten that when B-1s were part of ACC, we participated in Odyssey Dawn because Global Strike assets were unable or too costly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

His speech to my SOS class was god awful, he probably single handedly validated most of the CGO's decision in the room to leave this failing force ASAP.

Someone asked the question about a pilot shortage and his response in a nutshell : "there is no pilot shortage, stop your whining."

Noted General sir.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

His speech to my SOS class was god awful, he probably single handedly validated most of the CGO's decision in the room to leave this failing force ASAP.
Someone asked the question about a pilot shortage and his response in a nutshell : "there is no pilot shortage, stop your whining."
Noted General sir.

Hilarious. He came to my base right before he left AETC and begged us senior Captains to give the Air Force a second chance.


Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I knew him well and bought into his BS when he was a Colonel. 

He gave some great speeches when he was the Commandant of the Weapons School and acted as if he genuinely cared, turns out it was nothing but empty words.  Get out...as soon as you can...seriously, run for the door while you still have an option, it is only going to get worse.

  • Upvote 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Come on, this is the trust tree. We ready know that leadership doesn't read this board. 


I bet some do and when they see something they don't like the just ignore it... unless they are the prior Laughlin wing king to which he will hunt you down and destroy your career for drug use. (Too soon?)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As this is a thread on what is wrong with the AF, I offer a movie on that theme, basically about a GO trying to cover up his crime, using his power and influence and the culture of officers that sometimes fight it and others that enable it.

Sole Survivor from 1970.  Found on Youtube - worth 1+30 of your time if sitting SOF, faking work, etc...

 

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Two gems tonight from the Air Force Magazine Daily Report...

Air Force Exceeds Recruiting, Retention Goal
—BRIAN EVERSTINE
The number of Active Duty airmen currently in service has exceeded the Air Force's goal for Fiscal 2017, thanks to an increased effort on recruitment and retention. There are about 317,800 airmen in uniform, up from 309,000 a year ago—that's 800 more than its stated goal of 317,000, said Lt. Gen. Gina Grosso, the service's deputy chief of staff for manpower. Speaking at an AFA-sponsored, Air Force event Wednesday in Arlington, Va., Grosso said many inside the Defense Department, and in the Air Force itself, didn't think it could grow its ranks that quickly. But fast work inside Air Education and Training Command enabled the service to exceed its goals, Grosso said. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James has placed a high focus on building the ranks, which she said dropped too low because of budget constraints. James told reporters earlier this year she was considering enacting a little-known law that enabled her to bolster the service's end strength by up to two percent—or as many as 6,340 airmen—above congressional mandates. 

 

 

Is Uniformity Needed for All in Uniform?
—BRIAN EVERSTINE
The Air Force is thinking outside of the box and is considering relaxing its fitness standards for some career fields or changing its tattoo policy in an effort to broaden its recruiting pool. Lt. Gen. Gina Grosso, the service's deputy chief of staff for manpower, said USAF needs to "think deliberately about how we value uniformity." Standards across the entire force "scares a lot of people," she said during an AFA-sponsored, Air Force event Wednesday in Arlington, Va. "Do I care what a cyber warrior weighs?" Grosso asked, adding if someone who works on cyber networks needs to focus as much on their mile and a half time. Similarly, does the Air Force need to enforce standards related to tattoos the same way now? "Do I care that someone has a flower on their arm?" Grosso said. Still, the service must make sure it doesn't stray too far from the requirements it has had for decades. "We're certainly going to need some people who are brawny, and we're also going to need some people for their intellect as well," she said.

 

Hello early 2000s?

 

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Duck said:

Two gems tonight from the Air Force Magazine Daily Report...

Air Force Exceeds Recruiting, Retention Goal
—BRIAN EVERSTINE
The number of Active Duty airmen currently in service has exceeded the Air Force's goal for Fiscal 2017, thanks to an increased effort on recruitment and retention. There are about 317,800 airmen in uniform, up from 309,000 a year ago—that's 800 more than its stated goal of 317,000, said Lt. Gen. Gina Grosso, the service's deputy chief of staff for manpower. Speaking at an AFA-sponsored, Air Force event Wednesday in Arlington, Va., Grosso said many inside the Defense Department, and in the Air Force itself, didn't think it could grow its ranks that quickly. But fast work inside Air Education and Training Command enabled the service to exceed its goals, Grosso said. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James has placed a high focus on building the ranks, which she said dropped too low because of budget constraints. James told reporters earlier this year she was considering enacting a little-known law that enabled her to bolster the service's end strength by up to two percent—or as many as 6,340 airmen—above congressional mandates. 

 

 

Is Uniformity Needed for All in Uniform?
—BRIAN EVERSTINE
The Air Force is thinking outside of the box and is considering relaxing its fitness standards for some career fields or changing its tattoo policy in an effort to broaden its recruiting pool. Lt. Gen. Gina Grosso, the service's deputy chief of staff for manpower, said USAF needs to "think deliberately about how we value uniformity." Standards across the entire force "scares a lot of people," she said during an AFA-sponsored, Air Force event Wednesday in Arlington, Va. "Do I care what a cyber warrior weighs?" Grosso asked, adding if someone who works on cyber networks needs to focus as much on their mile and a half time. Similarly, does the Air Force need to enforce standards related to tattoos the same way now? "Do I care that someone has a flower on their arm?" Grosso said. Still, the service must make sure it doesn't stray too far from the requirements it has had for decades. "We're certainly going to need some people who are brawny, and we're also going to need some people for their intellect as well," she said.

 

Hello early 2000s?

 

I read the second article as "well, we struck out with the hottest chick in school, but we still need to have fun after prom so... we'll settle for an average-looking chick from another school"

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've heard this argument numerous times, especially in regard to Cyber.  I work with some incredibly smart airmen who can all pass the PT test. I do not want to give up our standards to get a couple fat hackers on the team.  That is what contractors are for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It only makes sense. The stricter PT standards all came upon as a force management tool during a period of high retention. Now that retention sucks, regardless of what the other article says, it's time to relax the standards... give me a freaking break...


Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Duck said:

It only makes sense. The stricter PT standards all came upon as a force management tool during a period of high retention. Now that retention sucks, regardless of what the other article says, it's time to relax the standards... give me a freaking break...

This is part of it, but here's the other part that people are missing:  Relaxing obejctive standards (i.e. weight, PT standards, etc) gives AF management more subjective say on who gets retained, who gets separated, who does and does not get promoted, etc.    The AF has publicly admitted that one of their main goals is increasing diversity in certain jobs and ranks...well, having to navigate through objective standards can get in the way, especially when the pool of these diversified members is much smaller.  

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where does health of the member come in to play then? Isn't that what we were told? The Air Force cares about you. They want you to be healthy and happy. Surely they didn't use the PT program as a lazy way to "fix" the end strength numbers...


Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Duck said:

Where does health of the member come in to play then? Isn't that what we were told? The Air Force cares about you. They want you to be healthy and happy. Surely they didn't use the PT program as a lazy way to "fix" the end strength numbers...


Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums

The Air Force does NOT care about you, they care about increased health care costs as it impacts the bottomline.

The way the seniors spew the core values is ohhh sooo Ironic given the lasted indicators.  Internal memos calling to relax standards at Fighter RTUs...relax PT standards...what next...drug standards.

The way we manage people is absolutely laughable.

 

  • Upvote 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dear AF Leaders and HR,

Thank you for letting us know how much you care by nonchalantly dismissing a workplace survey, in which many man-hours were spent to complete. 

We will now adopt your response whenever we get task saturated: "To be frank, that got lost in the shuffle. There's nothing controversial in it. It just got lost in all the things that we're doing."

Sincerely,

The Serfs

https://www.airforcetimes.com/articles/climate-survey-results-not-released

'When asked about the climate survey results after an Air Force Association breakfast Wednesday, Air Force personnel chief Lt. Gen. Gina Grosso said, "To be frank, that got lost in the shuffle. There's nothing controversial in it. It just got lost in all the things that we're doing."'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, ClearedHot said:

 Internal memos calling to relax standards at Fighter RTUs...relax PT standards...what next...drug standards.

"And Grosso suggested that the Air Force may eventually change some of its rules regarding HIV. Currently, anyone who is HIV-positive cannot be assessed into the Air Force, but with increasing advancements in treatment, Grosso said that could change in the future. "

https://www.airforcetimes.com/articles/officer-evaluation-overhaul

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dear AF Leaders and HR,
Thank you for letting us know how much you care by nonchalantly dismissing a workplace survey, in which many man-hours were spent to complete. 
We will now adopt your response whenever we get task saturated: "To be frank, that got lost in the shuffle. There's nothing controversial in it. It just got lost in all the things that we're doing."
Sincerely,
The Serfs
https://www.airforcetimes.com/articles/climate-survey-results-not-released
'When asked about the climate survey results after an Air Force Association breakfast Wednesday, Air Force personnel chief Lt. Gen. Gina Grosso said, "To be frank, that got lost in the shuffle. There's nothing controversial in it. It just got lost in all the things that we're doing."'

Holy Hell... what a crock of sheet. That's a lame excuse for a coverup.

"Well we just didn't get around to looking at it"
"There's nothing controversial in it... pinky promise"
"We think our peeps are just over surveyed..."

I know how me and all my bros answered it... honestly, with the unvarnished truth of our view of the Air Force and its senior leadership. I guess we hurt their feelings that no one wants to be in their stupid little club anymore.




Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network Forums
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

So on a somewhat separate note, I was curious if any of you have seen this yet? I have a bit of a personal interest in military history, tactics, strategy etc... and I thought I'd like to do a little reading up on the topic. I thought to myself, no need to reinvent the wheel, surely there is a shortlist of must reads that already exists on this topic to get me started. Then I remembered one of the CSAF AF wide emails that referenced a reading list. A short google search later and here it is. Thing is, I'm honestly not surprised, but it just put it in a new light. I text the link to my dad who served in the 70s and 80s. His response, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? ing pussies all of them!!!!" Couldn't have said it better myself. Reality hits you hard bro.

http://static.dma.mil/usaf/csafreadinglist/index.html

For anyone who doesn't take the time, a quick summary of some of the leading titles

How to Overcome our Biases? Walk Boldly Toward Them

Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders

How Great Leaders Inspire Action

  • Upvote 1
  • Downvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, Boilermaker said:

 Then I remembered one of the CSAF AF wide emails that referenced a reading list. A short google search later and here it is. 

http://static.dma.mil/usaf/csafreadinglist/index.html

For anyone who doesn't take the time, a quick summary of some of the leading titles

How to Overcome our Biases? Walk Boldly Toward Them

Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders

How Great Leaders Inspire Action

I don't disagree with your sentiment or that of your dad, but in the name of accuracy--- those aren't titles of the CSAF reading list.  Those are featured TED talks.  The books are Here.  And they're mostly pretty good.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...