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zrooster99

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Posts posted by zrooster99

    Latest JQP post. AF digging deeper for bodies for deployment.

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    There is a reason why COCOMs don't care who fills TCN billets but they do care who is working close to them. I know, I filled one of those billets for 5 months. I had the paperwork all done to remove the AFSC requirement and my boss changed his mind last minute. His argument for keeping it 11/12X - credibility when dealing with host nation. Any dude who has ever looked at a flight plan could have done my job on the spot - and any services dude could have done it with 4 hours training. The boss (a loggie BTW) agreed but didn't want to drop the rated requirement.

    As soon as all these AFSC-specific BS deployment billets (which absolutely do not require the specific skills of that AFSC) drop the AFSC requirement, your viewpoint will have some merit. Until then, the prosecution rests.

    My viewpoint has merit because I have surperior experience. Furthermore, having been both a rated and non-rated officer, I have superior perspective. I don't dispute that COCOMs insist on having a rated officer in billits that don't require a rated officer. I take umbrage with your assertion that a rated officer is an inherently superior resource. That is an ignorant and short sighted opinion to hold.

    AF Religion Guidelines

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Helo,

    My first post was intended to highlight 3 points:

    1. Religion thrives on ignorance. Places with less education and access to information are more religious. This is observable in the US and throughout the world.

    The survey results show religion on the decline in America. Many people are asking why. The results show, very predictably to me, that religion is least prevalent in states with high educat, and most in states with low education.

    As long as we continue to invest in education, make scientific discoveries (and educate the public about them) and make information easier to obtain (generally through the internet), the decline will continue. That's my main point. As additional information, since I had it available, I added that....

    2. The constant assertion that religion is some sort of force for good in society is not supported by the data. It was never my claim that religion CAUSED crime (at least not in our country/society. It certainly does in many others), just that it doesn't PREVENT crime. If religion was actually effective at promoting love, respect and non violence, it would stand to reason that the most pious states shouldn't be the most crime-ridden. But alas, they are. The same applies to religion's claims about benefits to collective prosperity, morality, health and well being.

    3. There are studies showing the most and least prosperous countries in the world. The most prosperous answered that RELIGION was overwhelmingly not an important part of their daily life. The least prosperous answered that it was. You're free to interpret that data however you like..... obviously there are lots of variables at play. My interpretation is that religion (any religion) isn't required for prosperity, and that there's a high likelihood that it in fact hinders it. TT acused me of conflating various other world religions with Christianity in the south, but I'm pretty sure he's the one that did that.

    I know, I know! Opiate of the masses, right? Of course, you're going to stamp it out in a generation, so no worries. Islam, too? Buddhism? I bet you do. Shouldn't be any problem... Or, is it just Christianity in the western world that you're after? At least I know when I've met my intellectual superior. You, of course, have remained completely immune from any sort of indoctrination.

    Drone Pilots: We Don’t Get No Respect

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Logistics debateAble? Ok I'm not one to throw stones but fuck that shit dude. If you don't know the numbers look them up. bandwidth, maint, 50+ percent crash rate. The cadre of dudes task with control and retrieval.

    If manned assets fell out of the sky and required so much shit and were so vulnerable and only were slightly better in very certain situations the Air Force would be part of the army again so fast your head would spin

    Yeah, I just deployed with a manned ISR asset a shit load of times over the last 5 years of my career and have a strong background in aircraft MX and support...what do I know. I'm pro manned ISR, but you could make the argument either way. Some manned assets use a lot of bandwidth too...

    That's not necessarily true for some platforms, they can have a pretty damn small footprint compared to unmanned.

    Depends on how many orbits you need and how close to the objective you are and what kind of legs your manned asset has. If you're going to provide the "unblinking eye" it takes some extra crews to fly the schedule and possibly an additional tail to cover down in case of MX issues.

    BL, it depends...

    Drone Pilots: We Don’t Get No Respect

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Absolutely not, in my experience the MC-12 (and U-28) develop targets better by nature of the crew complement in the aircraft. Trying to translate that level of rapid communication in the RPA has been frustrating to say the least. Finishing isn't for discussion here, but having to bring in another aircraft isn't ideal for shortening the kill chain, but can definitely work just fine if something is on target with you. However, full spectrum target development/POL can be hard in 4 hour vuls and takes a lot of manpower/hardware compared to a 20 hr Pred mission. Not to mention manned might not be an option if there is a long transit required or in a place we don't have manned access period. My point was lower loiter times, burn concerns, logistics footprint and target access are likely negatives for an ISR/Light Attack blend (not all applicable to MC-12/U-28). Therefore, its hard to find a place for it in the inventory outside of AvFID (since we aren't giving a country RPAs) and, for a lack of a better term, IW/COIN CAS (which ACC has chosen not to bring the best solutions to the table, and AFSOC is sticking with gunships, not small planes).

    Think you shacked it for the most part...loiter and willingness/ability to get lower (below clouds) have proven advantageous many times... Also when you add superior ball capes in some cases, the RPA may be the superior asset in some cases. CRM, TTP, WX penetration/avoidance, and the ability to look out the window and get the big picture stacks in favor of the manned asset. Won't discuss finish. I think logistics is debatable, but we can call that a push...

    Drone Pilots: We Don’t Get No Respect

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Its not always about money. Persistence, reach-back, burn concern, and being places we don't want pilots are significant factors in platform selection as well. I'm obviously talking about ISR (what the Combatant Commanders are screaming for), not CAS. I understand the benefits of keep it simple stupid, and that the wide range of mission sets and acronyms that have been developed for them is doctrinally confusing. Gen Welsh harped on this in 2012:

    Trying to bring back the focus to core mission sets is great, especially from a PR standpoint and running with the narrative "only the Air Force can do what it does." However, keeping platforms in their own bubble of "designated" capabilities is not how we progress and the Predator wouldn't have a hellfire if we did. Mission sets blend as the kill chain shortens. Sure, the Bronco would be great and I'd rather fly it than be in a GCS, but it won't develop targets as well as the MQ-1/9. And if we want to finish those targets quickly, better to ensure the one that Finds/Fixes can also kill it. I think the Bronco would have a great roll in FID and COIN CAS, but ACC has decided it doesn't want a large stake in those mission sets and AFSOC has its own gray tail priorities. Plus, in AvFID, the country needs to buy their own planes to keep procurement fast and not have to deal with the foreign sales mess. That leaves CAS in a low threat, yet high CDE environment; for which ACC won't buy for exclusively or recognize is what "CAS" will be in the near future. In the name of simplicity the doctrine is holding us back, instead we really need some common sense.

    Wait, are you saying a manned ISR asset can't find/fix/finish/exploit/provide POL/develop targets as well as an unmanned? I would beg to differ, if that is the case. I'm not disputing that the RPAs have their advantages...it basically comes down what capes you're looking for, but I've personally seen many scenarios where-in manned assets provided better target development.

    • Upvote 1

    What's wrong with the Air Force?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    In Mx I would prefer an 2Lt would defer to the crusty Pro Super when making Mx decisions when it came to the jet , experience beats youth. But that was in the USAF I was in since most guys like me spent our entire career on the flightline and were considered not well rounded. I hear that doesn't happen anymore.

    To be clear, when I was that young 2Lt, I did listen to the crusty old pro super/flight chief etc... That is why I did well as an MX O. LISTEN to your people, RESPECT your people, DO NOT PANDER to your people. THAT is my point.

    Ugh. Makes me want to puke.

    I guess this one of my soapboxes... When a LtCol does that, he is, in effect, abdicating his responsibility. Should he listen to his Chief? Absofuckinglutely!! But if it's HIS decision to make. He needs to be a fucking man, a fucking officer and a motherfucking leader and fucking OWN it! Then again, I did get passed over for O-5...

    • Upvote 1

    What's wrong with the Air Force?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    As a retired MSgt who got out when I saw my Sq infested with E-8's and E-9's who never did their time in the desert this hits very close to home. Cut and Paste from a JQP blog. I always wondered about myself if I was part of the problem when I decided to bail out when I had my fill of these block fillers.

    I’m a Master Sergeant.

    My job is not to be part of the fucking Top 3, or preen and lick my coat so that Colonels and CMSgts like me, or to carefully consider how to earn a “5”.

    My job is to take care of my airman, and motivate + inspire my Staff and Tech Sergeants to do the same.

    They aren’t as wise as me yet, because they haven’t seen as much, but if I do myjob I will expose them to situations where they will begin to acquire that wisdom.

    My job is to protect my people and let them truly understand what ‘taking owningship in an organization means’ while at the same time holding them accountable to the high standards I set, exemplify, and enforce.

    I shouldn’t have a perfect career history or life, because that gives me no clue how to talk to a junior enlisted who is having troubles. If I’ve never gotten in trouble, what the hell am I supposed to say to Airman Smith who is getting an Article 15 or a Letter of Reprimand?

    “Sorry man. You should have been more like me.”

    No. Fuck that.

    “Sorry man. I’ve been there. I did something stupid too. But I didn’t let it stop me. I picked myself up and dusted myself off.”

    That is the real danger of the one-mistake Air Force. We are robbing our organization of the most powerful force in human history: the ability to learn from our mistakes. Instead we staff it with a bunch of crumb lapping lap-dogs whose only concern is some stupid stratification or some worthless certification they are supposed to have because “someone told me I’m supposed to have it”.

    What about people? If you spend so much time buried up your own ass, you forget why you are here in the first place. Your purpose is not as an ego-masturbatory exercise, but as a leader of men and women and a manager of teams who’s goal is to foster an organization that doesn’t trudge along to a broken and sick drum, but hums along with a precision and fury that somehow exceeds the sum of its parts.

    These days we don’t even know how to create such an organization. We sometimes marvel at one when we see it, but more often than not it came about through dumb luck because we have forgotten how to be leaders. Inevitably, the next egotistical maniac will take the helm of such an organization and run. it. into. the. ground.

    Why do I know this?

    Because I have seen it. I have lived it. I have made my mistakes and learned from them, even when they weren’t my mistakes. I have reflected on years of a career spent trying to do the right thing, even when it cost me personally and professionally.

    You know why? Because I’m not just a fucking E-7.

    I’m a Senior NCO.

    And my job is bigger than just me now. People don’t work for me any longer. That’s not how this works.

    I work for them. They aren’t there to stroke my ego or provide me with career and EPR fodder. They aren’t there as punching bags to absorb my own shame, guilt, and frustrations. They aren’t there to do the one thousand menial tasks I invent because I am an uncreative prick.

    I am there for them, to shepard them towards better careers, to encourage them to pursue personal improvement, to inspire them to do outstanding jobs (even at great personal cost), and to slowly shape them into the SNCOs that I know they will one day be.

    Because that’s a family.That’s an organization.That’s taking care of each other.

    And that’s what the US Air Force was supposed to be, and is about. And if you’re not onboard, and you care more about your own EPR than the SrA who’s wife is leaving him, get the fuck out. If you care more about the next Top 3 Meeting than your SSgt who’s work productivity suddenly plummetted for no discernable reason, get the fuck out. If you care more about impressing the wing commander than what your Staff Sergeants and airmen are saying amongst themselves, get the fuck out.

    We don’t need you.

    We need SNCOs.

    That is excellent! I think you could substitute FGO for SNCO, and it would still apply for the most part (in MX, CGO would also apply). The one thing I would add from the crusty old retired Major who did time on both sides of the house, is it is not your job as an officer to kowtow to the enlisted force. It is not necessary to do so in order to show respect. In fact you are doing both the officer and enlisted force a disservice as it dilutes the authority of the officer force, confuses the officer/enlisted relationship and lines of authority and its patronizing to the enlisted members.

    My opinion, for what it's worth.

    AF Light Air Support Aircraft

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I'm actually gonna fly the 380HD tomorrow, interested to see what it offers and how it compares to the Raytheon/Wescam balls. What it really comes down to is focal length, 20" is the new 15" as far as the standard goes. The next gen ISR platform could change the game if done right but will require som forward thinking on the part of leadership.

    Cooter

    Hmmm... Makes sense...I've been gone 6 months...might as well have been a decade...

    Classic thread - Good puke stories

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    I suppose I can tell my story now...

    BITD (pre-9/11) in the other service, I was part of a crew doing a CH-53E static display at a hotel, for a national-level veterans service organization's annual fundraiser weekend. We flew in Saturday morning and landed in the back parking lot of the hotel, folded it, towed it around to the front parking lot, and spread it back out for the static. In the afternoon we did the fold n' tow routine back to the back parking lot for secure parking overnight, cleaned up, and joined the party.

    There were nearly a dozen Medal of Honor recipients in town for this event, along with CMC, the USMC Silent Drill Platoon and the USMC Color Guard, and the booze was flowing like rainwater. The stories that I remember hearing in that hotel bar were incredible (hindsight note - when in the presence of this much history, don't push it up so hard that you can't remember some of the stories later. The regret that comes later, leaves a mark on the soul that's not easily removed...); the kind of stories you literally read about in military history books, being told by the very people who made that history. Myself and the other two enlisted aircrew swine have MoH recipients buying us drinks, businessmen in the same hotel for their own agendas getting caught up in the fun and buying us drinks, drinks showing up at tables with no clue how they got there. I don't think I have ever consumed that much alcohol, before or since.

    At some point in the evening after the official dog & pony show was completed, some Silent Drill Platoon asshat who keeps shoving his way into conversations he wasn't invited into, decides that a coin check is warranted at the table I was at with one of my crew, one of the artillery guys in town with their M198 static, a couple LAV guys with their LAV static, and Sergeant Major Jon Cavaiani. Half a dozen shitfaced jarheads slam coins on the table and make (in)appropriate jarhead noises... and then a Medal of Honor is placed on the table. Silence in our little corner of the bar. One of the former Marines who raises a ton of money locally for this organization and several others, and insists that everyone call him "Wags", looks over at us from his spot at the bar, sees the table, and yells over the rest of the bar's noise, "Jesus Christ, Jon! You carry that thing everywhere??" SGM Cavaiani laughs, yells back "You're damn right, Daddy Wags!", stands up, and yells for the bartender to pour another round for all of us.

    Eventually I remember that I need to crew the helicopter (conveniently parked in the hotel's back parking lot) that is doing a flyover at the golf outing the next day, and I need to extract myself from the festivities and get some sleep. I vaguely remember doing "the pinball" down several hallways, an elevator, and at least one stairwell before I make it to my room. Through some miracle, I have the presence of mind to clean myself up, put a clean flightsuit on, pack my stuff (including the trash bags from the room), and set a wake-up call before I pass out on the bed.

    Sunday morning comes and I am functional, but barely. The rest of the crew isn't much better except one pilot, who didn't do the afterparty with us and is bright and cheery, and will obviously be doing all the flying. We kick the tires and light the fires with a fair-sized audience of people who have come to see our departure, after questioning us the day before on exactly how we got a CH-53E in a hotel parking lot. Pulling the gear & aux tank pins with the exhausts blasting on me nearly set me off, but I managed to keep it together on the ground. We lift and blast a quick turn around the hotel property about 100' AGL, and at this point I realize that I'm not gonna make it. Before we fired up I had put one of the room trash bags in an empty .50cal can and seat-belted it to the troopseat next to me, and I put my improvised puke bucket to good use. As we press to the golf course 5min away for the flyover, I'm rapidly filling the bag/can with dinner, God only knows how much booze, and breakfast. As we're blasting over the golf course at 100'-ish AGL and who knows how many knots, I'm frantically tying off a full trash/puke bag and getting the other one ready to receive the next wave, which is already on the way. 1/2hr later we're approaching the home 'drome, the second bag is nearly full, and I've decided the 20mm can of tiedown chains will be the next receptacle if I continue puking. Descending short final I have one last round of retching, and finally feel semi-confident that I won't be spewing uncontrollably any longer. Walking in after securing and post-flighting the aircraft, one of the puke bags breaks within tossing distance of the dumpster, and douses my lower leg and boot.

    Rest in Peace, Daddy Wags. Rest in Peace, Sergeant Major Cavaiani.

    Great story! I too had the good fortune to meet CSM Cavaiani on a couple of occasions! Hell of a guy!

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