Cornholio5

Saw this on JQ Public's page. Picture and associated comment sum up what is wrong with the Air Force. I also think the movie Idiocracy sums up the AF well. Big Blue is one giant self-licking ice cream cone.

And you, Sir, are a shining example of the reason why I am getting out. It definitely looks like I struck a nerve with you. Thanks for validating further, not that I really needed anymore validation, but I do appreciate it. From your wording, I can only assume you are either management or aspiring to be in management--I hope the kool aid tastes good. I too wish you the very best of luck in your career. May it be filled with multiple 365s, extraordinary PME experiences, never ending CBTs, a few stars, screwing over your people for personal gain, and endless queep piles. And no, that post was not about kids meals, it is about how management tends to waste endless amounts of time on trivial matters that can be handled at much lower levels-if at all... Sure sounds like it El Loco. Duder went full-personal on here...

Actually, they have to use the club. Many classes try to get a venue off-base but leadership and the club don't allow it. Kind of pathetic that there is a monopoly on this. Also, many classes have tried to buy kegs off-base with higher quality beer for cheaper than the horse-piss that the club offers, but they are not allowed to. This would be a non-issue if strippers were bused in to the club like how it was done in another Air Force far far away...

Ok, here's a doozie. A buddy of mine that is currently stationed at a UPT base told me about an issue concerning graduation meals that has caused quite a stir amongst leadership. Apparently the meals that are served for graduation banquets at the club are, to quote Rodney Dangerfield, "low-grade dog food." One of the IPs for the last graduation ordered a kids meal and said it was much better, so this time through, all the IPs ordered kids meals. Somehow, Wing leadership got a hold of this information and the SQ/CC called the FLT/CC in and rolled him up for it. All IPs then had to change their order and order adult meals. There was no age limit specified so how in the hell could leadership do this? You cannot tell someone what they can and cannot eat. I would go straight to MEO. So, this comes to show how ridiculous everything is getting in the AD. If I were any member of leadership, I would get pissed for someone even bringing this up with me. AD leadership loves to turn small minute issues into really big ones while the important issues are put by the wayside. Talk about a waste of time and priorities being way out of whack. Unbelievable. And leadership is wondering why everyone is leaving the Air Force as fast as rats jumping from a burning ship.

Only Big Blue could make a dream job suck. The problem is that this CAN be fixed. SQ "managers" need to become leaders and need to grab their sack and rid their units of unnecessary processes and/or jobs. USE your people to help in this reduction. I am sure that this reduction would be viewed favorably within the unit with the exception of a few glass-licking shoes who live and breathe meaningless crap. In my previous job, I got an email of a list of all the additional duties in the unit. Of a 100-person squadron, there were 330 additional duties... This alone says enough. Do we really need 8 SharePoint content managers, 10 SAPR reps, 5 unit vehicle monitors, 10 booster club reps, 20 unit training managers, etc., etc., etc. This list can go on and on and most units are like this. I see every day the sheer amount of time that is wasted on unnecessary work that is more often than not emphasized more than primary duties. Furthermore, regulation...too much of it. It's to the point where we add more regs than what we take away and it continues to get exponentially worse. Even the folks that are supposedly the experts at their jobs do not know EVERY SINGLE REGULATION in their job. So therefore, we as a force are breaking regs every day. There is a reason why my CC told me he is frustrated that the people he thought would be getting out aren't. THIS is why I am separating from the Air Force. Corporate and civilian America has queep BS, sure, but they also understand efficiency and work productivity. Oh yeah, no more worthless SAPR stand down days that do nothing more than make us want to ram our head through a wall as well. Talk about resiliency.

Any word on any '03 VSP approvals yet?

What a great day! Of the 10 or so of us 11Ms that applied in my squadron, only one was denied. From the looks of things, the 2005 year group fared out well. Congrats to everyone! 2005 11M 2.5 years UPT ADSC The only problem is that they let bucky60k out of his AD cage. Better watch out for that hombre!

I was reading this and getting even more pissed and just got the VSP approval!!! 2005 11M Thank God....

Few good illustrations courtesy of John Q. Public:

Great first post and welcome Six! I keep telling everyone in my chain about how this and John Q. Public's blog have been the best sources of information in this debacle. It really pisses me off when leadership says they are "rusty" at force management issues. Aren't we supposed to be a service where we are supposed to fight or drop bombs anywhere in the world with a moments notice? How in the f**ck can force management be more complicated than that? Being able to serve and fly airplanes in the AF has been a lifelong dream, but like you, I just don't know anymore if this is a lifestyle or career choice I would recommend to others. Serving my country has been an honor, but seeing how inefficiently run and disorganized the service is run and "managed" makes me wonder what would happen if a civilian corporation was run this way. Yes, many will argue that we have a different mission as a security force, but I argue that the overall structure between us and our civilian counterparts should be the same. The layers of bureaucratic queep are unbelievable and are slowly killing our service like a cancer. Anyway, to make this post somewhat productive rather than a bitchy rant, have any '05ers heard ANYTHING yet? I heard a rumor that most would be approved, but take that with a grain of salt. Most of us are approaching a PCS and/or promotion board (until they delay it another year) and we would like to know our fate.

Dude! Awesome video. Well, the article may suck ass and I might want to commit suicide just for reading it, but here is a resiliency video that should be included in SAPR training that really lifts my spirits. "What would you do if you had a million dollars..." should be replaced with "What would you do if approved for VSP or PC..." though... http://youtu.be/A939QRRSNV4

Dreamkiller, I am in the same boat-2005 11M. I selected that "I have a retirement/separation application in the system" on my ADP since if I am denied VSP, I will attempt the PC route. I asked my functional if I can extend so I can try all separation opportunities and he told me to coordinate with my CC. When I approached my CC, he said that there is no operational need to extend me. I also put in the comments section that I have VSP in now and intend to do the PC route, but I am not sure how much AFPC looks at the comments, or the ADP, anyway. I am attempting to avoid PCS at all costs because I was hired into a reserve gig that is close to where I am stationed now. Keeping my fingers crossed. Should have just applied for PC to begin with... Also, my functional, who I used to fly with and trust, told me that even they are being kept in the dark as far as VSP status goes. We will see...

There is so much I could say about this...what an insult to our intelligence... http://www.af.mil/News/Commentaries/Display/tabid/271/Article/484818/i-love-inflation.aspx

Haha! Best line I have seen on here in a while! Went to a TIB concert that was mandatory a few years back--needed to redo suicide awareness training shortly thereafter.

When I was deployed my fellow stage manager and I had to flip on who would go to the group staff meetings because we actually wanted to go because the SF/CC would brief the OG/CC on all the security and disciplinary infractions on base-many of which were hilarious. This did not surprise me, but the vast majority of incidents every week were from SF. They were caught hooking up in dark C-17s, conexes, and disgustingly enough, in porta johns. Many also fell asleep in their cars while "protecting" the flight line. Here's to the guys who are supposed to protect the force!

I always heard that going commando and hanging your junk out was the best way to pick up chicks....damn...I just hope he had his AF PT shorts on as well. Those really impress the ladies! Well, I guess this will add one more slide to an already unbelievably long SAPR CBT.

Talk about a complete waste of time. Our wing has "approved" Friday patches and shirts too. There is even a local reg posted that gives the guidelines. The fact that someone spent the time writing this reg demonstrates how inefficient and misprioritized an organization we are and how we waste time on queep BS. I'll tell you what, though, having Friday shirts and patches back really increased my morale and desire to remain in the awesomeness that is active-duty! I am much more resilient now, too!!!

Well, to quote Dumb and Dumber, "more like one out of a million." So you're telling me there's a chance!!!!

When a MAJCOM CC visited my base, the question was brought up about how we were not getting enough information about these Force Management programs. His answer was that is bullshit and that we were getting enough information. Unbelievable... I had a meeting the other day with my CC and asked him about if he had any news on VSP and he went to the politburo (AFPC) website and gave me information that I already knew. It sucks that even our commanders are being kept in the dark. Even though it royally sucks that we cannot even depend on our own employer for accurate information, having this site and T.C. broadcasting out the latest scoop has been extremely beneficial.

Any word yet on if '05 guys can still apply for the 2nd round starting on May 22nd? Had a friend today call TFSC and the guy there told her that "mid-May" actually is a range and means until May 31st. This made perfect sense to me. I have always taken a suspense as mid-May to mean the entire last two weeks of the month.... This crap is unbelievable. They were supposed to be approving VSPs in monthly batches back in March. The more they delay, the less time folks are going to have to get their personal and career affairs in order prior to 29 Sep. Having less than four months to get affairs in order is unacceptable. If this gets delayed further, folks should get their Congressmen involved. This ridiculousness, busted suspenses, and conflicting guidance HAS to stop. We are not just numbers, we are people and families, and this disorganization is effecting more than just the servicemembers themselves.

HAHAHA! Yeah, that would be great...for all o-clubs except DLF. Hell Rio does not exactly have hot local civilian chicks. On the binary scale, they are all 0. I am sure plenty of students would love to hit that, though, and have a permanent connection to this sh**hole. My 2 cents on this now. GREAT on General Welsh for doing this! This is definitely a step in the right direction. Only problem is that this is going to follow the typical bulls**t bureaucratic road that all policy changes do. By the time morale patch wear guidelines arrive at the group or squadron level it will be so restricted that it will not even be worth approving them again. Holy crap, I could only imagine what the E leadership will do. Leaders are just too worried about getting in trouble or what their superiors think of them. I just don't see this happening as planned.

...And we learn about it from BODN. Since this fiasco started, I knew I could trust this site for valuable and accurate information rather than depend on the ones who like to play "I have a secret". I am sick and tired of this constant mindf**k that senior leadership is playing with us on this--you are eligible, you aren't eligible, wait two more weeks, etc, etc, etc. 20 years is not worth the retirement, not one bit. A thread I read on here years ago had an awesome quote on it that sums up leadership well---"The best senior leaders the Air Force could have had are now flying for Delta and United."

Spot on PanchBarnes! Sooo, all of us cynical mid to upper-level captains had a CC call with the AETC/CC today. The majority of the question and answer session focused on the force management programs being implemented and we actually had a senior leader admit to the fact that they are "learning as they go" with this one. I would have expected an answer better than that, but then again, this is the Air Force personnel system. Well the question was brought up about us pilots applying for VSP or getting RIF'ed. He stated that we are too valuable of a commodity and that only a very small percentage of us will be let go even if we showed as eligible on the matrix. He even said that wing commanders should also be denying any VSP requests from pilots, and our wing commander was sitting right in front of him when he said that, so there goes our chances. My understanding is that the VSP application can still go up, but chances are reduced of getting out if the WG/CC denies it. My question is why in the heck do we have to be told this now? Big Blue loves to play we have a little secret. Why could this not be mentioned on myPers? Furthermore, if we are a commodity, why the heck even put us as eligible on the matrix? Has anyone else heard about pilots not having a good shot at the VSP? I guess it is good that we find this out now before we show our cards and get hosed over for the rest of our time in the AF. To tell you the honest to God truth, though, the best (and most accurate) information about this Charlie Foxtrot force management program has been found on these forums and not by our leadership. Keep the information rolling guys!

"They cover their own asses" Yep pretty much sums up the majority of leadership!

Has an AFSC-eligible list been released yet for VSP/RIF? I am away from a military network for a few weeks and would at least like to know what Big Blue has planned for all of us 11M-types. Could someone post the11X eligibles on here? I am sure more are in the same boat I am with network access.