I'd say this is the third 'period of insanity' I've seen in my time in.
The first was in the late 80s. I was sitting in FTD class at Barksdale with a lot of other guys who just showed up from tech school. The instructor comes in, looks at all of us, and asks, "who wants to get out?" Three guys raised their hands, all had just reported from 6-9 month schools, and were out of Big Blue within a month. Guess what? The rest of us had to do Rivet Workforce CDCs and pick up their slack. The 'Peace Dividend' was probably not the first example of AF 'slam-slam' personnel management, but it was the first one I was personally involved in.
The second was the late 90s 'crud' that bit a lot of us. Endless OPC/ONW/OSW deployments, shrinking dollars, pilots flocking to the airlines, etc. In Polifka, a FAIP asks the SECAF how much longer they would have to work six-day weeks because of shortages of personnel, and the guy on stage goes on a rant on how tough it was to run his private law practice. We booed him off the stage (love that 'academic' setting), and were bitched out for disrespecting him (with a wink from the instructors). Leadership just didn't seem to 'get it'. Of course, Groundhog Day ended in '01.
The third started a few years back when the 'Support our Troops' magnetic decals on cars started to fade, and the country began to get 'war fatigue'. The military got it, too, as we began to forget about the mission and came up with ways to keep the troops on their toes - reflective belts in combat zones, uniform changes every five minutes and copying the other services' bad ideas, and otherwise nagging queep that has made us all bitter as hell. Big Blue has been demonstrating to a nauseating degree on how style reigns over content.
Terminal in November - good luck to all of you that have to work your way out of this one. I'll tell you now, this one is the worst by far, and it will take years to crawl out of it.
Short list:
1. There are Bronze Stars and there are Bronze Stars. Hey SNCOs and O6s/GOs...some of us know the difference.
2. Green Days...who the fuck are you kidding about 'saving energy'?
3. PT gear...enough said.
4. PT until you drop...permanent injuries are not worth it guys, even the 10% disability I'll get from a bum foot.
5. Ducking responsibility and making rank - sure, it's common on the outside, but I once thought we were different. My mistake.