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Isn't it a sad commentary that the highest ranking officer in the Air Force says, "Guys, don't waste your time with a Master's," and we say collectively, "Nice try, but no thanks. We don't trust you. We're not going to change a thing." I fear it's a bridge too far to fix the underlying issues.

This is something else that is wrong with the Air Force. The fact that all comm was renamed "cyber" and that most "cyber" Airmen have no idea what is actually happening in the cyber ops world. Cyber ops (offensive and defensive network warfare) should be an ops AFSC (17D) and called cyber, because it is an actual domain that is contested and can be used kinetically i.e. "supported." This AFSC should be filled with smart people. Base comm and all of the other comm functions that have zero to do with cyber ops should be a support AFSC (33S) and called comm i.e. "supporting." This AFSC can be stocked with anybody. They also need to move Cyber Command out of AFSPC and make it its own MAJCOM. It is far too important to be a NAF in a MAJCOM that operates in a completely separate domain.

The problem is that we only talk about **individual** integrity when we say "Integrity First." However, **institutional** integrity is more than just the sum of individual integrities. It's institutional integrity that we lack because we don't treat it as it's own objective. Gen Welsh means what he says, and the next CSAF may well mean what he says if he decides to change it back. Neither would be violating their personal integrity, but the next CSAF would be violating the Air Force's institutional integrity. If we're going to build institutional integrity, commanders and staffs (read AFPC) need to realize that sometimes they're going to need to help other people keep their promises, even when it means doing something they might not have otherwise done. That can be a new commander keeping the word of the previous one, a senior commander standing by the decisions of a subordinate commander, or simply throttling back on change for changes sake. We need to make that an articulated goal if we're going to stop making liars out of honest leaders and build more faith in Big Blue.

Standby...There may or may have not have been a very similar recommendation on your AFSC gripe from the comm/cyber community that may or may not have been signed off by CSAF at most recent Corona. zb edit for edit's sake

You just defined the American military instrument of power since the Vietnam War. Tough talk, air strikes, carrier strike groups and no boots on the ground - the Persian Gulf War and Iraq/Afghanistan excepted. In short, a form of air policing (https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/169/36386.html) - except we don't take it to the extreme required for it to be effective. This presidents rhetoric about America receding and the rest of the world stepping up to fill the gap and create lasting peace is terribly flawed and historically uninformed - talk about rose colored glasses. The world will NOT be more peaceful, but we cannot (peace costs $) continue to be the worlds police... Remember the red lines in Syria - these guys currently slaughtering thousands in the march to Baghdad were fighting Asad in Syria a year ago... Maybe the president was right to wait instead of aid and abet Islamist thugs just because Asad is a bad guy. The president is not all at fault. The morons on the right who are screaming for action and blaming the president (a political move to appear strong) are not doing anything to help Americas standing. Everyone needs to eat some fiber and read a fucking history book. Iraq as we know it is going to fall, likely to be separated into three areas between Shiites, Sunis and Kurds. Like much of the rest of the shitholes we've fought in, theses people are not willing to work together, have no national identity and rely on tribal and religious enclaves for safety and leadership. The fact that Americans can't identify the major players or the implications of actions/inaction doesn't make it our situation any easier. I'd start reading up on the rise of regionalism.... the unification of Germany, the Franco-Prussian War, and the lead up to WW1... Regional powers coalescing and coming into conflict on their peripheries... All signs are pointing in a similar direction re: the Middle East / Russia / China. And there is very little we can do about it. Chuck

Gravedigger, No tintype, but I did find a papyrus list!! :)

STFU Nav.

Isn't nav school pretty much just 20 dudes in the back of an airplane alternating between sleeping, scarfing on cheetos, and LARPing?

People whose aircraft have tactics to fight other people trying to kill them may have more to study than loading an FMS and reading magazines.

The Golden Penguin (Because it looks and flies like a big expensive penguin.) by xcraftllc (Yes I titled my post. I've been writing a lot of essays for school recently. Big whoop, wanna fight about it?) Well, I'm probably earning I reputation for long posts, so I'll try to keep this one (relatively) short. I have no personal fighter experience (I fly Apaches at the moment), but have been following this program ever since I saw Battle of the X-Planes as a kid. I also watched the Comanche program fail miserably. I'm a military aviation enthusiast and am fascinated with fighters. Don't worry though, I'm not going to try to throw in a bunch of fighter jargon and such in a vein effort to sound like I know more than I actually do. So here's my take on it: Original mission of the JSF Program: To solve the problem of fewer fighters and less training due to increased costs from inefficient production methods and complex logistical support, by producing a fighter that uses economy of scale through parts commonality and a simple base design that can be made into different variants to suit the various user's needs. It would also have Supercruise as a standard feature and be operational by 2010. Basically, the JSF Program, as it was originally laid out, is a failure. Producing fewer numbers which will be flown less due to increased costs caused by lack of economy of scale and significant differences between models. It will also not have Supercruise and will likely not be operational until 2016 at the absolute earliest. HOWEVER... This is all we got. And frankly all our allies have if they want to get new planes. I know the Superhornet is a great design, and Europe and Russia have good stuff too, but we are already committed. The western world's R&D/Acquisitions programs are so backward that there is basically no way that we're going to come out with a realistic replacement any time soon. Not to mention the economic impact of cancelling it now would literally be more of a threat to our respective nations' security than anything else. The lasting problem with the F-35 won't be the program failure, many programs have rose out of their own ashes to end up being relatively successful. The problem is that the F-35 absolutely depends on it's technology. It isn't ever intended to have a backup plan if its technology doesn't win the fight. It can't dogfight, and it can't run. Although it's yet to be seen, I doubt it can take much damage and return to the fight quickly either. I don't think we should cancel it, but it certainly won't be getting us all the way through WWIII. We'll need a modern "Mustang" to get us through a war like that. Something relatively simple, reliable, mass-producible, adaptable, and versatile. Until then we need to stick together and learn to love this Golden Penguin. Understand its weaknesses and strengths for what they are and don't lose absolute faith just yet, or we won't be flying anything but drones (don't even get me started on the vulnerability of depending on UAVs). Trust me, if the Army could take the overweight-under-powered Delta model Apache and use it effectively in the mountains of Afghanistan, then the Air Force can find a way to make the F-35 useful. After all, it is kinda stealthy and does come with some really cool gadgets. Hey, the Air Force was even smart enough to put a gun in it this time, unlike the original F-4!

Look at the F-16A. It had a small radar and was a day only BFM monster. The AF added crap until it became kind of a pig. A LGPOS dude in Korea said his BLK 42 was thrust limited which I found hilarious. The F-35 is going to have to rely on stealth to save it because opponents can out turn, out climb, out accelerate, and out run it. What are the odds of all future engagements remaining BVR? Sounds like a time in the past when we thought guns were obsolete.

They have to protect their home turf. Posted from the NEW Baseops.net App!

If the ESD etc is so short on bodies, why not give admin rights to the 5 IAOs my squadron is required to have so they can install software, make org boxes, give access to shared folders, create/delete/unlock accounts, i.e 90% of the work that the ESD supposedly has (and the stuff that takes 2 minutes to actually do but 2 months to process the ticket).

I think the lack of trust in the institution is overwhelming. If I were Gen Welsh I'd be making unannounced popins at the various MLRs for various boards asking the MAJCOM, NAF and WG/CCs to show their work. The second he finds shit is going contrary to his instructions is when you let the heads roll. For loss of trust in leadership. Until that happens and until it is reinforced by his/her successor we are going to have this same problem. For crying out loud, the undersecretary of the Air Force has a bachelors only. So, l can virtually run this organization with only a BS/BA but in order to qualify to be an ADO I have to have a masters degree? Finally, there are some fields that need officers with masters degrees before Colonel. For once and for all, divide the LAF into line (operators) and restricted line (non operators) And possibly another category for space guys and other highly technical AFSCs that aren't already JAG or BSC/Med Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The only way this really gets fixed is to show the taxpayers how much money has been wasted on bullshit masters degrees over the years, and even then they may not care unless it involves a Kardashian's ass

Yes.

How do people not understand this concept? Lazy leaders are the ones that look for easy discriminators. It's either that, or they are unable to own up to the responsibility of having to look a subordinate in the eyes and tell them why he ranked them where he ranked them, using "well you didn't get XYZ done" as an easy cop-out so they don't have to shoulder the burden of telling someone they weren't ranked as high as they expected.

All is not lost. I have come to learn that "Home of the Fighter Pilot" has been replaced on the Nellis main gate sign. Kudos to whoever had the stones to put that back up there.

https://www.af.mil/forcemanagement.aspx The new matricies are posted there, publicly available. No need for a CAC.

I grow tired of this new age culture that says we can't call it a Christmas party, have to take cbts on tolerating homosexuality, and trust us to carry gbus/hellfires but not carry a personal firearm. Call me old school, but the Air Force is too pussified for it own good anymore.