Lord Ratner
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Posts posted by Lord Ratner
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Wanna help? I'm at sos now and we're doing the "think tank" on that very letter. Think tank sounds lame, I know, but they have at least given us free reign to design the process. I set up a Reddit page for people to add ideas and vote on others. The more we get, the better. You'll need a Reddit account, but if you're like me and have been bitching about this topic for years, this is a way to be heard. Anyone here who knows me knows I won't sugar coat the feedback for staff officer consumption, and we are presenting the info to at least two generals at the end of the month.
https://www.Reddit.com/r/SquadronFocus
Please at least go and vote on all the ideas in there. Thanks,
Seth
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Taking my ATP with Downtown next week. If anyone has any nuggets of info they wish they would have had prior to their check there please shoot me a PM.
From the discussions here I'm pretty to happy to check there.
*
Let us know how it goes. I'm scheduled for the beginning of September.
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Push promotions O 1-5 down to the wing commander level. Some will get it wrong, but at least those with the big picture can stop doing stupid things (patch wearers as execs) just to satisfy the great faceless promotion board.
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Oscar-worthy...
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JTR Intro:
a. When necessary, a Uniformed Service: (1) May supplement the JTR with administrative regulations (see pars. 1015 and 1020), but (2) May not prescribe allowances that differ in amount or type from those authorized by the JTR, unless specifically permitted.
They can be more restrictive but not deny/change reimbursement.
Exactly. They (CC) can order you to stay on base, and you can ignore them and follow the JTR on refusal of govt quarters. They have to pay you the prescribed amount, but your CC can also write you an LOR for article 92.
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Kind of like asking "can my family go to Florida while I'm TDY to MacDill?"
It's part of America. Though I'm a bit surprised that a passport is usually required for Americans.
Except that the last time you were TDY to MacDill, the Spanish still owned Florida.
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Think of how many permanent schedulers, planners, training managers, equipment custodians, building custodians, deployment managers, records managers, voting reps, security managers, resource advisors, purchase card holders, and DTS reviewers we could hire for 60k per year...
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We called them pigeons-you had to throw rocks to get them to fly.
Pigeons are the pilots you have to throw rocks at to get to fly. Penguins are the pilots that won't fly no matter what you do to them.
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I've been carrying two passports (tourist and official) for years now and have yet to have a problem other than remembering which one I used to enter the country...This can cause big problems if you wind up detained OR if a border agent happens to see multiple passports.Never take your blue passport when on official travel. Never take your official passport on personal travel.
I have the exact opposite experience. No border agent will be confused by someone with an official/diplomatic passport also having a tourist passport. You don't present them both, but having both has never caused a problem for me.This can cause big problems if you wind up detained OR if a border agent happens to see multiple passports.Never take your blue passport when on official travel. Never take your official passport on personal travel.
Now, there are cases of border agents being very interested in the visas contained within the other passport. If you are going to a country with such concerns, carrying only one is prudent. Not sure if they still do it, but you used to be able to get a second passport if your travel involved Israel and certain Middle Eastern countries, to keep the visas separate.
Exactly. Thinking about it a bit more, the real threat would be two civilian passports. The circumstances for having two are very rare, and I can see a border agent getting spun up. But one red and one blue? No issues.
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6 hours ago, ThreeHoler said:
This can cause big problems if you wind up detained OR if a border agent happens to see multiple passports.
Never take your blue passport when on official travel. Never take your official passport on personal travel.
I have the exact opposite experience. No border agent will be confused by someone with an official/diplomatic passport also having a tourist passport. You don't present them both, but having both has never caused a problem for me.
Now, there are cases of border agents being very interested in the visas contained within the other passport. If you are going to a country with such concerns, carrying only one is prudent. Not sure if they still do it, but you used to be able to get a second passport if your travel involved Israel and certain Middle Eastern countries, to keep the visas separate.
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Here's mine. I searched back a few years, but with the changes to the JTR and long-term per diem, hopefully someone has some recent experience.
I'm going OCONUS to CONUS, with a CONUS TDY-enroute. My DEROS is in May, and we are leaving the country on May 31. The class start date for the TDY enroute is 9 June.
(Mildenhall - Altus - Fairchild)
What the hell am I supposed to do with my wife? Does she get per diem and stay at Altus with me? She can't stay overseas While I'm at the TDY due to DEROS, right? Or is she just expected to go ahead to Fairchild without me? Unsurprisingly the FSS folks have been... ambiguous.
Any other warnings/advice based on past experiences with the OCONUS-TDY-CONUS PCS are appreciated.
Thanks
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35 minutes ago, Right Seat Driver said:
How solid is this data? Something similar happened a few years back in which a number of fighter Patches declined and punched for greener pastures.
Pretty solid, though not so much I'd bet my wings on it. Info is from someone in a very logical position to know it.
Not surprising these days. I've been hearing similar stories, though this is the first 100% decline rate I've heard of.
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On topic- I didn't take the bonus.
So what's your plan?
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1 minute ago, Guardian said:
So please, stop taking my argument out of context or attacking one little thing while missing the big picture. I am not emotional about this nor have I been. It is characteristic of those who can't form a logical argument or who have nothing left to provide on a topic to get emotional and start bringing up ill conceived thoughts like using the dead as an example how the tanker is harder to fly than other platforms in the inventory.
Also 2nd hardest to land in the inventory or your personal platforms flown? Qualify your position.
UAVs. Those are easier to fly, are often even lower in the UPT class distribution than AWACS and KC-135s to McConnell, and fit the rest of your criteria.
As for qualifying my position, I've been a T-6 FAIP, MC-12 MC, Tanker pilot, flown a couple civilian puddle jumper planes, and some seat time in the C-17, A-10, and KC-10 simulators flying patterns. I've also had my three carnival rides in the U-2, which would have gone much better had I done the interview after 500 hours in the -135.
So far you've been wrong about Shell 77, obnoxious in your fervor and posting rate, and unwilling to clearly state your flying history, so until those conditions change, I'll go back to lurking.
BREAK BREAK
I posted in the promotions thread, but it's relevant here. Allegedly, all six school selects at Lakenheath had declined school. Since school is a similar commitment as taking the bonus, this is another bad sign for retention, with the notable difference that these six are ostensibly the top six dudes according to the AF. If the promise of an easier path to O-6 isn't enough to keep them, I doubt an extra 10K will change the tide.
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1 hour ago, Guardian said:
Copy. Not harder than any other airplane and has normal problems that trained pilots are trained to deal with.
You strike me as either a troll or an idiot, but in any case, having flown a few different planes now, and a few more in their simulators, the tanker (135) is probably the second hardest to land in the AF. I haven't flown a fighter, but I have yet to meet anyone who has flown both fighters and stratotankers and thought the fighter harder to land.
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Interesting data point I heard. Apparently all 6 school selects at Lakenheath have declined. Rumor has it a council of the elders was called to figure out how this happened... They must not read BO.net
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Wait till you're a two-year captain and do the ACSC online masters program
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Anyone planning on using the 6-month deployment extension? I'm currently downrange and it looks like this might be my only option if places are booked solid through July. Anyone specifically asked any of the ATP outfits if there will be any issues using the extension?
I am. Not deployed, just stationed overseas. Others have done it. If your deployed there's even less uncertainty, but the regulation is fairly straight forward.
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I agree there is a tenuous connection to a threat to our country and its way of life...but, you of all people should know, there is a very real connection to the life of young Americans who are on the ground in very dangerous situations.
Bendy
I assume you're referring to my MC-12 time (were you there when I was? ). I loved what we did there. The direct support to the ground pounders, be it convoy overwatch or more direct support during hostilities, was amazingly rewarding. Way more of a "I'm part of the fight" feel than my time as a FAIP or tanker pilot.
But while the individual experience of the MC-12 was very rewarding, I can't say it did much for my (and others') opinion of the overall military effort.
I think (purely speculative) that's what we're seeing today. People still believe in the mission of their unit or the MWS, but not in what it is being used for. Maslow's higher needs can't be fulfilled this way, making it harder to have a high-functioning organization.
The U.S. chose to have an all volunteer force. That means it has to run it (in many ways) like other voluntary operations. Telling people their opinions and feelings are misguided (or selfish!) is a failure of empathy, and thus a failure of leadership.
Say what you will about the conflict between empathy and the "killing people and breaking their stuff" military badass mindset, it matters. Especially when fewer people think their integrity, service, excellence, and lives are being spent on worthwhile endeavors, the bond between leader and follower is even more critical.
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That's funny of you think O-5 qualifies as senior leadership. Sq cmd is a great spot for leaders, but that is the last time an O-5 has any real-ish power.
I'm using the term (senior officer, not senior leadership as you said) loosely. Sq command is the first level of meaningful organizational leadership.
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You've lost your way in serving your country and need to recage or separate
Perhaps it is the organization that has lost its way.
I believe that the overwhelming majority of the people on this board and the AF believe what you said, that putting the mission first is also protecting your family. But that implies "the mission" involves a threat to our country and our way of life. The very existence of this conversation is evidence that some members doubt that connection.
Nowhere else in America do leaders blame groups of disenfranchised employees for their collective disgruntlement. It violates nearly every theory of organizational leadership, many of which the AF teaches.
AF leaders have the burden of their choices potentially leading to death, not an easy or remotely common consideration for a leader to accept. Unfortunately there is almost no accountability for the less dramatic organizational leadership decisions made everyday by senior officers (O-5 and above) who-- by the very nature of our promotions and assignments system-- have no experience in the position they are in.
Manning problems are never the peons' fault.
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Mostly anecdotal. VSP for one. Since then, the people I know who are not taking the bonus or opting out of their next assignment have been the ones with strats and school slots.What makes you think this, Ratner? I can't lay the same claim from my seat, but perspective is simply that...some go, but some stay...is that different than the way it's always been (some have just gone earlier lately, which isn't all a bad thing)?The guys and gals I know these days who are positive about taking the bonus and making it to retirement no matter what are (not all, but mostly) worker bees, at best.
Five years ago when I would tell someone the bonus was a raw deal, most would look at me like I was nuts. Now it's rare to talk to someone who is sure about taking it, while passers abound. This is supported by data, at least.
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I'm hoping there is some sarcasm in that statement...Good news if you want to stay in and get promoted.Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
Not really. If people have been voting with their feet under Welsh, it should continue or accelerate under less empathetic leadership. Those who wish to stay and make rank should have an easier time doing so, especially since those who leave these days seem disproportionately from the higher performers.
Quality of life may get worse, but there are plenty of people willing to endure anything for the faintest chance of being a colonel. Fewer people means better odds.
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That's not even the half of it. The guy will operate with blinders on with regard to ops tempo and personnel issues, taking the "you should just be happy to be here" approach. The shallowness of his advocation for Airmen will dwarf Nortie's.New core value: Appearance first?
In short: with the manning issues we are facing and will continue to face, there couldn't be a worse choice in terms of retention.
Good news if you want to stay in and get promoted.
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What's wrong with the Air Force?
in General Discussion
Posted
I'm no stranger to Air Force programs. If you think I'm getting DG, you should have a chat with my Flt/CC here. And since my promotion board to O-4 will be completed before I finish SOS, it wouldn't do much anyways.
I'm doing it because I raged long and hard for years about the title of this thread. Period. They scrapped the original think tank and targeted this one to the CSAF's letter, and I like most others here thought the letter was a spot-on representation of the things we've bitched about for years on BO.net.
I'm no fool. I had dreams of unicorns and magic carpet rides when the last CSAF got rid of Blues Mondays. I will not be similarly enraptured by mere letters from the new CSAF. But after being here for only a week and listening to the various levels of leadership at AU talk about the problems, I haven't found much to disagree with.
I spent all day yesterday in Destin with a beer in my hand soaking up some significant skin cancer fuel. Friday we ate crappy tacos and watched our classmates hit each other in the face with padded sticks, Thursday we went to trivia night at a bar, Wednesday we ate brats and watched a baseball game. Again, all with a beer in my hand. Classes have been almost entirely focused on leadership theory and application, which pilots often lack based on our limited CGO leadership opportunities. And the geeky "think tank" instructions were to use whatever means and methods we choose to gather unfiltered opinions from across the ranks and figure out how to begin solving (it's only four weeks, after all) the single greatest issue fueling bitch-fests in every flying squadron heritage room AF-wide.
Maybe I'm just the luckiest pilot ever to go through SOS, but I gotta say fellas, if this is the experience we've been raging against for so long, maybe we really have lost touch. I wouldn't have turned SOS down three times if I knew it was like this.
Anyways, /rant. Not attacking you, Duck, but I've been facing an existential crisis here because I was expecting to be the lone naysayer in an ocean of shoe-clerk Kool-Aid, and even when the SNCO Academy students came over to "cross-talk," we had a hard time finding topics to disagree over.
Maybe things are so bad that everyone at the squadron levels, officer and enlisted, are finally aligning against the same malignancy. Or maybe they gave me a Kool-Aid enema on day one and I don't remember it. Either way, I could use the help from the one forum that has done more to articulate the problems we face than any think tank or focus group Maxwell could ever assemble. And all you have to do is click some up and down arrows in a website.