Bergman
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Posts posted by Bergman
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Now THIS is what's right with the Air Force. Finally. This guy gets it.
Home > News > Commentaries > DisplayBring on the Revitalization
By Lt Col David Knight, 21st Security Forces Squadron / Published July 18, 2017
1 of 1DOWNLOAD HI-RES / PHOTO DETAILSPETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. - Lt. Col. David Knight, 21st Security Forces Squadron commander, took command of the 21st SFS on May 31, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Anthony Nelson Jr)
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- A few weeks ago, I took command of the 21st Security Forces Squadron. It is an incredible honor to lead such an extraordinary group of people. Prior to my arrival at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, I served as the Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein’s legislative advisor in Washington, D.C. In that position, I was able to personally witness the development of his three focus areas, one of which is revitalizing squadrons.
For over 15 years, the major focus on America’s armed forces has been on countering violent extremism. That necessity has resulted in considerable trades across many Air Force portfolios, especially our manpower accounts. Many tasks that were once completed by Airmen have been relegated to self-help links or checklists, however, security and law enforcement are two functions that are not easily automated. As a result, Security Forces – the Air Force’s largest enlisted career field – has had to bear an incredible deployment tempo, manpower shortages and long working hours. Goldfein’s focus on revitalizing squadrons could not come at a better time for my Defenders.
I recently sat down with one of my flight chiefs, let’s call her “Kelly.” Kelly’s day begins at 2:45 a.m. Her husband and four kids are still asleep, so she quietly showers and gets dressed. At 3:30 a.m., she leaves her home on U.S. Air Force Academy and commutes to Peterson AFB. She arrives at 4:15 a.m. and begins her pre-posting tasks while the rest of her flight begins arming up for duty. At 5 a.m., the flight is formed-up for guardmount; a formal roll-call where announcements are given and the day’s events are briefed.
Guardmount breaks at 5:30 a.m., and the Airmen are driven out to their posts – their home for the next 12 hours…no medical appointments, no personal errands, etc. – all the things I, and many of us, take for granted every day. There will be no easing into the day either because in the next three hours, over 13,000 vehicles will traverse through Peterson AFB’s gates. With three gates and 17 base augmentees to manage, Kelly scrambles between each gate to ensure traffic flows as smoothly as possible.
The day presses on following the morning rush, and after 12 long hours, her relief arrives. She conducts a changeover and finishes up the day’s paperwork. By 6:15 p.m., her 14-hour day is complete and she races home. She arrives around 7 p.m., just in time to give her little ones a bath and read them a story. That single hour is all she will have with her kids today. At 8 p.m., she tucks them into bed, reheats her dinner, and crashes – sometimes too tired to take off her uniform. She is exhausted in the truest sense of the word. And in six hours, she has to do it all over again.
As she walked me through her day, it broke my heart. As leaders, we try to promote balance – striving for symmetry with work, family, spiritual and personal needs. While we all understand there are going to be days when the job comes first, 14-hour days have become normal operations for the unit over the past three years. This leaves my Airmen with very little time for family, pursuing education, volunteering, working out or personal time to just relax.
Needless to say, my number one priority is finding ways to provide balance for my Airmen. Until the manpower gains from Goldfein’s revitalization are realized, I have to take a hard look where we can gain some efficiencies. We recently reduced the hours at the North and East Gates to free up our manpower. While not a popular decision, we found the manpower required to keep those gates open into the evening was not worth the costs.
I appreciate and sympathize with the fact it is inconvenient to have to drive around to the West Gate after a commissary run or when returning to housing from an off-base trip, but I hope you will focus on the bigger picture. I want Kelly to see her kids today, and someday soon I’d like to hold my first commander’s call without having to call my Airmen in on their day off.
With this in mind, I thank you for your compassion and support for those who work very long hours to keep us all safe.-
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2 hours ago, di1630 said:
I read these airline lifestyle comments and I wonder how bad retention would be if Delta took out an ad in AF Times showing a pilot sitting at his pool with a Porsche in the driveway.
I'm amazed retention is as good as it is personally.Haha! This is 100% accurate for me actually, although I did buy the Porsche very used. You forgot the part about "...and only working 13-14 days a month."
Shack on your retention and "not the same Air Force" comments.
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On 6/19/2017 at 1:06 PM, LookieRookie said:
Found this patch in a consignment shop. Any of you old hats around when this first was made?
I remember seeing a shitload of those at KRND in 95.
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On 6/22/2017 at 2:44 AM, di1630 said:
trying to bang the enlisted chicks is highly encouraged.
The Sport of Kings!
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3 hours ago, Inertia17 said:
Oh I can definitely see that, I just can't miss an opportunity to quote the Simpsons.
It is definitely concerning to hear all the stories of various screw jobs and to see how things are playing out as a young Lt right now. When a good portion of the IPs are planning to bail as soon as the ADSC is up, it doesn't exactly encourage you to press for 20. Particularly when being constantly reminded about the BRS.
Indeed, well played on the Simpsons quote!
I would say that younger guys are in a vastly different position than the guys nearing the end of their ADSC. Obviously if you aren't near your ADSC ending, you don't really have a choice so almost not worth worrying about a lot of the airline banter right now. Maybe keep an eye on getting as much time now so you're ready if/when you decide to leave. Hopefully the things we are bitching about today will get fixed in the near 3-5-7 year timeframe. That could provide you with a completely different USAF experience than many of us have had, and I sincerely hope that's the case. The problem is, I've been watching this ball of shit roll down hill for a long time now, and I honestly can't think of one single thing that has gotten measurably better during my career. That doesn't give me a lot of confidence for the future, but I remain hopeful.
24 minutes ago, Spartacus said:We spend over a decade getting shat on with absolutely no negotiating power and once you finally have a say in your life and a little freedom you give a HUGE concession to big blue by saying it's not about the money! Of course it's about the money. That's just not the biggest part of what it's about.
Could not agree more. The bonus needs to be $80,000-$100,000 per year just to bring compensation into the ballpark of what you can make in 2-3rd year at a major airline. THEN start talking about all the other crap...poor leadership, never ending deployments and TDY, BS 365s, etc. I do maintain that if the other BS was fixed, losing money by staying in the AF would be less of a factor. Right now it just adds insult to injury, "You're going to treat me like shit, take me for granted, send me away from my family AND PAY LESS?" Fucking RUN fellas.
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1 hour ago, Inertia17 said:
There's no justice like angry mob justice...
True! But there is usually a reason the mob is pissed in the first place.
Many of us have been on this board since we were Lts just looking to make it through flight school. Now, many years later, we have spent entire careers either getting screwed or seeing our buddies get screwed (sts) by the AF, all the while watching the warrior ethos and camaraderie depart the fix as well. After suffering through poor leadership who spent decades treating us poorly and taking us for granted, we finally have other options. They (the generals) didn't earn or appreciate our loyalty when they had the chance, so why give it to them now? Fucking RUN fellas.
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8 minutes ago, nsplayr said:
If they offered a technical track that enabled more flying and less BS that topped out at non-command O5, who would not take that?
Ha! They already have it...its called the ANG!
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So what's the story on the new yes-man who is going to be running things now that BG James is gone? I'm going to suffer through one last trip to the shithole this fall and then cruise into retirement (eventually).
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Rejoice! They've fixed the pilot shortage with this bonus offer! Or, the guys who were staying in anyway just got richer.
I think Goldfein's quote was pretty good, and the closest thing I've seen in a while to a GO actually valuing pilots.
“While history doesn't always repeat...it often rhymes,” he said. “Defending the homeland, owning the high ground and projecting power with our allies abroad takes skilled and professional pilots who make the incredibly hard look easy.Having said that...RUN! If someone has more than 2-3 years to go, I honestly can't imagine a scenario where I would pass up airline seniority and risk a 365 or multiple-179 gangbang in the 17-20 year of service window. Until actual performance proves otherwise, this is all eyewash bullshit.
QuoteWASHINGTON (AFNS) -- As part of its retention efforts, the Air Force released details on the fiscal year 2017 Aviation Bonus Program (AvB) June 5, 2017. This year’s program implements an increase in maximum bonus amounts authorized in the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act in addition to more flexibility in contract lengths.
The program, combined with additional non-monetary initiatives, is part of a holistic approach to improve readiness and capacity by increasing retention of experienced aviators.
"We hope this new approach will make it easier for more Airmen to stay in the service," said Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson. "The country needs them."
This year Congress authorized the Air Force to increase the annual AvB cap from $25,000 per year to $35,000 per year and has mandated that bonus amounts be based on a business case analysis to determine greatest need and appropriate monetary amounts.
“Actual bonus levels were determined by considering current and projected manning, current and projected retention levels, replacement training costs, and replacement training time,” said Lt. Gen. Gina Grosso, the Air Force manpower, personnel and services deputy chief of staff, “These are the same factors used to determine bonus needs across the Air Force, such as selective re-enlistment bonuses and critical skills retention bonuses.”
Additionally, the fiscal 2017 AvB contract options include one-year, two-year, and five-year options for all eligible 11X aviators, with the amounts tiered by the most critical needs. Bomber, special ops, and mobility pilots have a nine-year contract option while fighter pilots have nine-year and 24 years of aviation service (13-year maximum) options. RPA pilots, along with combat systems operators from various flying communities, are eligible for five-year contracts at varying amounts, tiered by critical needs.
The Air Force’s strategy to mitigate the pilot shortage consists of non-monetary and monetary initiatives in three main areas: production of pilots, reducing demand/need for pilots in non-flying positions, and increasing pilot retention. Some of the non-monetary initiatives include reducing the demand signal for non-flying assignments, headquarters staff positions and developmental opportunities; creating flexible options for developmental assignments that will reduce involuntary separations and provide flexibility for Airmen and families; reductions in additional duties; addition of contracted administrative support in operational units and more hands-on consultation with base leadership when choosing who will fill various assignments.
The Air Force is also looking at additional monetary incentives for aviation, especially those targeted at mid-career aviators. The fiscal 2017 NDAA provided authorization to increase Aviation Incentive Pay, commonly known as monthly flight pay, which the service plans to increase this summer.
“One of my favorite quotes comes from Gen. Hap Arnold during the worst days of the daylight bombing campaign in Europe,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein. “He said ‘the problem with airpower is we make it look too easy.’”
“While history doesn't always repeat...it often rhymes,” he said. “Defending the homeland, owning the high ground and projecting power with our allies abroad takes skilled and professional pilots who make the incredibly hard look easy. I appreciate the support from Congress to offer our pilot force increased compensation for them and their families who serve beside them."
For complete eligibility requirements and application instructions, visit the myPers website at https://mypers.af.mil and enter "aviation bonus program" in the search window. -
I agree that eventually you will likely need to get your Sq/CC involved at a minimum, if not Congressman and/or IG.
It's been a while (thankfully) but I used to have pretty good luck on AD going to finance and pretty much standing on their desks saying over and over, "I am not moving until I talk to an officer in your chain of command. Or all of the officers in your chain of command." A couple of times I ended up talking to Lt's, then eventually on to a Captain (I was a Captain at the time) but more often than not, some E-7 or E-8 would come out of the woodwork and voila! my problem was solved almost immediately. YMMV.
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19 hours ago, 1111 said:
Thank for the feed back, I just don't believe these management types when they say things like #3. Are we really to believe that he is so insulated that he is clueless to the real AF.
I have little hope left in the same guys who created the problem are going to fix the problem.
But hey I sincerely look forward to their "28 point plan", everybody deserves a second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, fuuck it give them all the chances!
It's so weird...I remember what the Air Force was like and how people operated in the squadron say 10-12 years ago. Why is it that General officers can't seem to remember??? How do they lose touch that fast? It's not like they've been out of the AF for 50 years and suddenly come back in.
Agreed that there is little hope for fixing this, absent a wholesale firing or an actual dramatic shift in policy/actions at the SecAF or CSAF levels.
Having said that, give them their 28 chances. But I'd be damned sure not to let other chances/opportunities pass by while waiting for Big Blue to unfuck this. It'll take half a career. In that time a person could be half way up a seniority list somewhere...
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On 4/29/2017 at 10:19 PM, Fuzz said:
I'm sure it varies by community but the guard and reserves from my experience provide an MWS qualified pilot sure but that doesn't usually mean a combat ready or capable pilot.
You're joking, right?!
You did caveat your comment so I'll give you that. Which community are you referring to, because in my limited experience the ARC bubbas are full-up and have 2-3 times more experience as well.
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On 4/20/2017 at 11:09 AM, TnkrToad said:
Data points: right now, there are 128 total Command Pilots/163 total pilots (the rest are Senior Pilots--how one gets to 21 yrs of service, without meeting the minimal requirements for Command Pilot rating is beyond me)
Perhaps they were Nav/EWOs for 6 years before going to pilot training.
Overall good analysis and appreciate the number crunching. The AF is screwed on so many levels, and they've done it to themselves.
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RUN!!!! Fucking RUN!!!! Don't give these ass clowns one extra month of your lives! They haven't earned the loyalty and effort of the caliber of people they "lead". Management is so out of touch that they think a bonus is the solution (which, even with the bonus, is a drop in the bucket compared to even second year airline pay, not to mention quality of life which is priceless). Until they start genuinely CARING ABOUT THE PEOPLE, I will advise anyone that will listen to GTFO immediately if not sooner.
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3 hours ago, TreeA10 said:
Not necessarily, if you have your bagged packed, uniform ready to go, and are sitting in the house, maybe no big deal. But if you have just drained the oil out of your car doing an oil change or are on the road knocking out miles running or cycling, you could be in a time crunch. A long drive on short call might limit your sphere of activities.
Indeed. I live about 3 hours away from the airport so when I had short call, I'd drive 1.5 hours closer, then double-dip some pay at Starbucks doing my quarterly CBT, or go cruise Best Buy or CarMax for a while. Sometimes go to the beach or do a short run (they never said you had to show up clean!) Thankfully I never got called for a true short call, usually just assigned flying at 0600 the next day...so I'd just drive to an airport hotel and hit the pool and/or bar until bed time. Rough life.
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Shit fuck satan death sex drugs rape
(name that tune)
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Update:
This one hits particularly close to home. Ron Panting did all of my PPL instruction back in 99, including soloing me and recommending me for my check ride. I also worked with him in OGV around that time. Good pilot and a really nice guy. I really hate this part of the business.
Godspeed, fellas.
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Footage from the chase plane:
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11 hours ago, Clark Griswold said:
You are right on his legit ops cred:
Is it sad that in my mind I read the "shot down over Syria" part of that link, combined with earlier comments that he had flown RPAs, and immediately thought to myself, "They shot down the Predator, I wonder how that feels...Did he go get a cup of coffee..?" Anyway I digress..
Let's hope he can start to right the ship because we're taking on water at an alarming rate and far too many are headed for the lifeboats.
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11 hours ago, Gazmo said:
I can tell you the times of the "Guard Bum" is gone. 9/11 really created what we know as bumming because the airlines weren't hiring. Most of the bums have gotten airline jobs and most don't have interest in coming in. [\quotDAL and make more on 2nd year FO pay while sitting on reserve.
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
I would disagree that the days of the guard bum are gone. With so many people going to the airlines, the bums who are left are getting more days than they can count. I've seen Captains turn down temp tech saying, "if you want me, I will work in this office for this specific person and you will give me 120 days AGR orders". Management says, "Okay" because they are so understaffed. The ARTs are all having heart attacks because they have to work for the first time in 10 years with so few guard bums around to do the shit jobs that havare typically been passed down.
As for sitting reserve with an airline...it depends on airframe, but most new hires right now won't sit reserve for more than 2-3 months.
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All things considered, I'd rather stay in the CC with my own room than double up in the Fiasco Dorms.
As a bonus, maybe the Cadillacs won't be as gross with fewer people using them. But more than likely, they'll close half of them, thus keeping the density the same.
21st SFS
Aviation Continuation Pay (ACP - The Bonus)
in General Discussion
Posted
Hope you had fun during that casual year! Because it looks like you blew about $10k a month doing it! hahaha. That's a shitload of hookers and blow. Or so I've heard.