Someone transcribed the recording over on reddit.
Colonel:
I’ve won four phase 1/phase 2 exercises in my time here. This is the first time I’ve seen a failure happen. And I’ll be honest, when I woke up at 1 o’clock yesterday morning I checked Mattermost and I saw a slip for 1 o’clock today, thought “shit, the aircraft [inaudible].” At no point in my mind did I think I would walk in and find out that America’s [inaudible], the operational heartbeat of the command and control enterprise for the free world would show up and say “I can’t execute this mission.” Not once did that cross my mind. I can’t express to you the level of disappointment I have right now and the results tell me two things: either you didn’t take it serious, or I’m preparing [inaudible]. I hope it’s not the second one, but I think it probably is.
When the mission calls on us to deploy, a [inaudible] by the President, approved through the Secretary of Defense, passed through Joint Staff, handed to the [inaudible] Chief of Staff of the Air Force, coordinated with the Secretary of the Air Force, sent to COMACC, and then handed to our Wing Commander. Everybody in that chain has said “this is the right thing to do for the best of Ameri- of, of the country.” You guys have got to figure out when to flip the switch. And I don’t mean going to Doppler. We aren’t going to Doppler.
So I failed you, and I apologize for that. I failed to set the expectation so that you take this as serious as you do. I failed to set the expectation in the mindset of the leaders who are leading this ops group to make the decisions that need to be made, to understand there’s a different calculation when you’re flying a peacetime training sortie than when you’re preparing to go to war. I will lead you better. But we have a learned lesson.
This is a critical point for us. We are being questioned. Our egos as warriors is being questioned. And I can’t stand that thought. That I’m leading people that don’t know the difference in responding to a national call for help and flying a T-sortie out of Oklahoma. Is this a realistic better believe it is. Chief can tell you all kinds of stories from his background.
Chief:
I can’t ever remember a time it wasn’t real. You know [inaudible] I’ve been sitting here thinking, [inaudible]. I’ve never seen a whole crew before sit down. [Inaudible]. And the bad things about it guys, this isn’t even the worst type of exercise you can ever see. [Inaudible] in 48 hours flying [inaudible] and spending the whole week and a half down there in MOPP 4, in and off the airplane. [Inaudible] in 10 degree weather — which is nothing [inaudible].
Is the time frames different from what you’re used to seeing? Yeah. It is. 48 versus 72 hours it was mentioned to me that way. It shifts. We got it in a [inaudible]. Before you got that [inaudible]. It looked like it was good, for real? That’s all the [inaudible] we had. There’s room to… you can’t ORM out. You have to walk up to the boss and say “yeah, I’m not going.”
Did you go? Alright.
And at some point — I think that’s what-what’s going through the most [inaudible] at some point I was reading you had time Friday at the squadron yet here you are, not to let you companions, not to let the rest of your flight crew down. This is the fastest way you get out the door. You fail. We fail. So when you [inaudible] these things after years of flying experience I can tell you’ve I’ve been there, I’ve done that.
If you come in at 7 in the morning and hey, you’ve gotta be back at 7 at night, you go home… you go home and you find a way to get that little nap and whatever it is. You pack a bag, you’re good to go, whether it’s [inaudible] resting your eyes, conserving your energy, cause the next 48 hours are gonna be hell. But you find a way to get through it. Every time.
Colonel:
So I think we’ve learned a couple things. And I’ll tell you a couple things that I’ve picked up. One is to put the decision in the wrong person’s hand. We will change [cough in audience] if this is in support of a higher headquarters mission. This is not in your decision space. This is not in the [inaudible] decision space. I would barely leave it in the commander’s decision space. You’re gonna tell me you can’t execute that mission and I’m gonna understand you why?
Why you didn’t understand the difference, why you can’t go through, why you can’t set a plan to get to “yes”, why you can’t put up over the time you’re gonna be airborne opportunities to take a nap so you need to make sure you fly safe this [inaudible]. I need to know that you guys are gonna be ready to execute this.
I know by far you are the most prepared squadron I have seen this entire year I’ve been here [inaudible] phase 1/phase 2. I’ve never seen anybody more prepared than you guys. I applaud you for that. But I guess that why the [inaudible] is so big in my disappointment, because never did I thought I would walk in and hear “ops isn’t a go.” I could not process the words.
So I need you to get focused, you’re gonna need to execute the phase 1 and phase 2, you guys are not flying today. Go get your mind right, go get reset, go get-go get yourselves prepared for what you’re gonna face through the phase 2 [inaudible].
Officers stay back, everybody else you’re dismissed.
