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Anyone know of any short tour (365 day) locations, flying or otherwise besides Korea?

This was meant to inform. I had retirement orders before my promotion results were released. I did not bitch or complain, I looked at the system in place and decided it was time to retire. I was not aware of the O-6 assignment process until after my O-5 board, never bothered to read that part of the AFI since I never thought it would apply to me. I didn't threaten retirement if I didn't get the assignment I wanted. That seems disingenuous and if you need to play that card, maybe it's time to retire. I had no illusions of GO, I was bound for staff O-6 life (never an exec, never a commander, 3 flying deployments, no CAOC, and no short tour). Talked to all the staff O-6s around me, honestly they all seemed miserable and waiting for 3 yrs TIG to retire. None could give me a reason to stay beyond pension or the prestige of joining the “kiddie DV pool”. Most struggled to give an example of any positive impact or change they could make and were surprised how little influence they had beyond being a cheerleader for decision that was pushed on to them. This was a bleak outlook since I was hoping for more job satisfaction or sense of accomplishment, or baring all that more work/life balance. Based on my line number, it would be another 4.5-5 years to retire as an O-6. In the end I decided to not withdraw my retirement. Through all of this, there was zero communication from my chain of command or the Colonels group about my retirement or if I would consider continuing to serve. I did more to try to talk myself into staying than anyone else did, and I failed. All that said, if it wasn't for the rapid retirement for 7-day opt, I might have stayed to see the results of the gameplan, weighed my options and decided. Retirement process is fairly long and can be stressful even with 12-15 months, cramming that into less than 4 months seemed punitive. You seem understandably salty because I walked away from something you were actively pursuing.

Just looked at mine. In 8+ years of flying C-17s, the most I was gone was 220 (deployment with COVID quarantine on the front). One year was 188 (non-flying deployment). Two years around 150 (120 day deployment). One year at 110 (90 day deployment). The other three years were <90. Not an Airdropper, SOLL II, or PNAF and my friends that were flew less. The only guy I knew who had more than 280 took a CAOC tour then a EAS deployment to chase his short tour credit (his choice). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just looking for some advice here. Short background: did some time as a nav before reclassing to pilot in a different MWS, eventually non-vol'd to a non-fly deployment in my first post-UPT ops tour. This added about a year to my upgrade timeline. While deployed, managed to earn a top 3 AEG O-4 strat on an LOE. Returned to home station and was strat'd bottom 50% in the next OPB. Subjectively, I don't think I'm a POS. In garrison I bust my ass off. I am complete with ACSC and Masters will be done next spring. Weak points are zero awards and, due to becoming a pilot, being roughly 7 years behind my peer group in terms of my current MWS experience/crew position upgrades. I have one OPB left before my O-5 board, with an ADSC several years beyond that. Do I have any end game orthogonal pulls left to turn this thing around or do I embrace my lot in life and focus on being a solid pilot and a bro for whatever time I have left?

Story comes from Elmer Bendiner’s 1980 memoir, The Fall of the Fortresses, based on some light research. Googling the aircraft led to a facebook post about recovering the tail gun that had a comment with the story below about the aircrafts ultimate end it would seem. The crew of an 8th Air Force B-17 has been recovered from a crash site in the Harwich Estuary. The wreckage of B17G Flying Fortress 43-37516 'Tondalayo' was recovered from the River Stour by the US Army CHLLI team, led by Major Todd Heussner, and assisted by Royal Navy clearance divers. The sole objective was to recover the remains of the aircraft's missing pilot and co- pilot, Lt Col Earle J. Aber & Lt Maurice J. Harper. Both men perished on the night of March 4th 1945, when their aircraft was shot down by British anti- aircraft defences .The tragedy unfolded around 9.15pm, when the Tondalayo , returning from a leaflet drop on Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht, was crossing inland over the east coast. At the same time two enemy aircraft, homeward bound after a sneak raid, were heading easterly at a lower altitude, which no doubt confused the defenders. At 12,000 feet, over Clacton-on-Sea, exploding shells set the aircraft alight in the area of the waist gun positions, severing control cables and injuring the Bombardier, Lt Connie Morton., who sustained injuries to his eyes and right leg. The aircraft rapidly descended to 8,000 feet, and was heading for an emergency landing at Woodbridge when the aircraft was hit again, crippling her further and this time injuring the tail gunner. It was at this point the 'bail out' order was given. All the crew abandoned the aircraft apart from Aber and Harper. Captain Stonerock (navigator) was the last crewman through the hatch at 5,000ft, and later reported that both Aber and Harper had their harnesses on, but not their chutes, so it can only be assumed that they had insufficient time or altitude to do so. This all matt black special operations aircraft was attached to the 406th Night Leaflet Squadron based at Cheddington, and was the personal aircraft of the unit's commander, Lt Col Aber, being retained by him when the squadron converted to Liberators. Aber was on his 51st mission when he was shot down. Lt Harper had flown Spitfires with the RCAF, before volunteering for a tour on 'Heavies.' Recovery work began on June 9th 2000, when a salvage barge was positioned on the crash site located on the low tide mark off Wrabness. First attempts at clearing the mud from the site using giant vacuum hoses were soon abandoned due to technical difficulties, primarily with pumps and filters becoming clogged by heavy clay in which the wreckage lay. The recovery continued with a large tracked excavator. The operator worked blindly as the site was only visible for short periods of time. A vast quantity of wreckage was eventually recovered using this method. Parts included one of the aircraft's Cyclone engines together with several super chargers, propeller blades and an undercarriage leg. It was established that the entire tail section and rear fuselage was compressed into little more than eight feet, all of which was painstakingly worked through and sorted until the remains of Lt Col Aber and Lt Harper were found in the area of the bomb bay. Work finally ceased on June 28th when it was thought that sufficient remains of both men had been found. DNA tests later carried out at the US Army Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii proved their identity. Both men now share a joint grave in Arlington National Cemetery, with Colonel Aber having an additional grave at Cambridge in the American Cemetery. Pilot Lt. Col E.J Aber Co-Pilot 2nd Lt M.J Harper Navigator Capt P.S Stonerock Bombardier 1st Lt C.R Morton Radio T/Sgt C.P Valley Top Turret T/Sgt M.Silber Ball Turret S/Sgt S.Dombrowski Tail gunner S/Sgt R.W Ramsey Waist Gun S/Sgt F.W Thomas Waist Gun S/Sgt J.A Trexler Waist Gun 2nd Lt R.W Billings

It'd be worth reaching out to AFPC to ask about your situation. There's also a policy letter at AFPC that isn't published that affects short tour vs long tour credit. I had pieced together enough overseas time TDY from conus to warrant both per the AFI, but AFPC only awards one or the other if your short tour is based on the 300 days/18 months. I had to ask to take the "lesser" award of short tour credit instead of the long tour credit the policy defaulted to.

AFI 36-2110 table 6.6 says you award short tour credit from going CONUS to OS for a period of 300 days within 18 months. I went from US OCONUS to a CENTCOM short tour location that I will be at for 12 months. I get short tour credit, right? I mean the reg says CONUS to OS, and technically I went OCONUS to OS? This isn't some severely messed up loophole I just found myself in where I don't get credit is it? LOL. If you ever want to gouge your eyes out reading an AFI this is the one. Also, my Short Tour is a PCS to a CZTE, unaccompanied. Do I get dwell time out of it? I honestly can't make enough sense of 36-2110 to know.

I will reach out Monday. I don't care if I get long tour credit. I will have 300+ days unaccompanied short tour within 18 months. Per the AFI because I didn't go from "CONUS" to "OS" I wanted to ensure I still get short tour credit. Also want to get Dwell time as now it looks to be bumped up to 1:2. That said because this short tour isn't a "deployment" (it's a PCS) I don't know if I get any dwell time. It's pretty unfair to be away from my family for a year in a CZTE country where everyone on a base gets deployment credit. That said I don't live on base, but would gladly if it meant I get 1:2 dwell time.

Sorry if this has been covered but... I PCS for a short tour overseas unaccompanied soon. My wife will be living in the conus while I'm gone. I'm currently OCONUS but still in America. I would like my stuff to stay in storage for the full 1 year tour, as she will be living with family near my duty station once the short tour is over. Finance is saying I will make BAH so the government will not cover the cost of NTS (non temp storage) and I will have to pay that out of pocket for the year I'm overseas. When I asked TMO they said the gov will pay for non temp storage. She is listed as a dependent on my orders and will be allowed to move to a designated location. What doesn't make sense is if she wanted to move to state X while I was gone and then move to my next duty station after my short tour, the gov would be moving our goods twice. If the goods are kept in non temp storage, they will only have to move them once to my duty station after my short tour. Does anyone know the answer to this? Can you point me to a AFI or reg that covers this so I can go to finance and explain their regs to them if need be? Any help appreciated!

For anyone trying to decide between fixed vs rotary wing. I found a really good answer to some differences between helicopter and fixed winged pilots. What are personality differences between helicopter pilots and fixed wing pilots? "Fixed wing pilots are all friendly. Helicopter pilots are all moody. Fixed wing pilots are all confident. Helicopter pilots are all edgy, waiting for an accident. Fixed wing pilots are all happy because they enjoy big salaries and have stable jobs Helicopter pilots are all regretful because they can’t afford anything Fixed wing pilots like women with big floppy boobs Helicopter pilots like women with small boobs and hard asses. Fixed wing pilots always let the co-jo fly because they don’t like flying. Helicopter pilots never had a co-jo so when they get one they don’t want to give him the controls. Fixed wing pilots all fly big lumbering aircraft so they feel the need to drive new powerful Porsches and they drive them fast. Helicopter pilots all fly sporty responsive helicopters and have near death experiences almost daily so they drive old pickups and they drive them slowly. Fixed wing pilots go to the gym but just do curls with 5 pound weights to be seen in the gym. Helicopter pilots start out with 15 minute headstands and then deadlift 200 pounds 200 times at home where no one can see them. They are ashamed to be seen not lifting more. Fixed wing pilots like to retire at 52, because they are tired of the way the company treats them Helicopter pilots like to retire at 75, because their customers which have an aviation consultant are concerned that the pilot will have a heart attack in flight. For fixed wing pilots a long tour is a trip from LA to Melbourne with a three day lay over and return to LA. They complain about the jet lag. For helicopter pilots a long tour is being home 10 days in 15 months. They complain about too much time off. When a fixed wing pilot has a holiday, he and his wife will get a free flight to Fiji and stay in a free hotel and sit by the pool for two weeks, working on their tans, and drinking pina coladas from a coconut with pineapple chunks and a pink umbrella on the top. He scans the poolside for other pilots to swap stories with and as the day draws on some wife swapping may occur. Then refreshed, invigorated, and ready for work, he will return home. While a helicopter pilot's wife goes to her sister’s on vacation to read romance novels, the helicopter pilot feels the need to prove something to the world so he will train hard for a year for this day, working on endurance and breathing. He will fly to Lhasa and trek to Advanced Base Camp for Everest at 21,000′. Then exhausted, and ready for work, he will return home. A fixed wing pilot’s best friend is usually a black or golden Labrador Retriever. If his yard is big enough he may have two or three. A lab is a very intelligent animal and can be taught how to do very elaborate dance maneuvers, get a beer out of the fridge, close the fridge door, and give a high five on command. Due to the helicopter pilot’s vagabond, here today gone tomorrow lifestyle, his best friend can usually be found in any stripper bar. If the stripper bar is of sufficient size, he may have two or three friends there. The stripper may be able to teach the helicopter pilot some dance moves but they are usually not too elaborate and of short duration. More often than not it is the helicopter pilot that gets the beer out of the fridge for the stripper. Fixed wing pilots always seem to marry an NFL, NBA, or college cheerleader. These cheerleaders always seem to come from an old money, staunch, fanatical Christian family. The girl doesn’t want to get cut off from her inheritance so her and her father will try to convince the fixed wing pilot that due to the automation of modern airplanes, he no longer has any control over whether that aircraft will safely arrive at it’s destination or not. That decision is made by a higher deity. In addition, she will offer the fixed wing pilot any kind of sex he can dream up for the rest of his life if he’ll just go along withe their religious views, go to church with them every Sunday and sing, and say grace before every meal. From this day forward, the fixed wing pilot’s life is changed forever. Helicopter pilots have seen lots of cheerleaders on TV and on the Internet but have never actually met one. After a day of moving seventy 2000 pound loads on a 200′ long line, into a tiny hole in the Indonesian jungle at 5,000′ with 6–8 drillers running around below him, the helicopter pilot knows that the only thing that kept him and the drillers below him alive was his skill, his decision making, and the quality of the engineer that is looking after his machine at night. He knows that nobody in the sky determines his fate and dancers to the beat of his own drum. Invariably most helicopter pilots have met their wives in the Atheism section of the local bookshop. After a quick coffee at the nearest coffee shop and several question to confirm each other’s non-religious beliefs, they are quickly married. In the months to come they soon realize that their belief in Atheism is the only thing they have in common, including the use of sexual toys, wife swapping, and black labs. From this day forward, the helicopter pilot’s life changes forever. When a fixed wing pilot gets off a flight in Dubai he will buy a book in Duty Free about flying adventures in the Amazon, the Antarctic, Afghanistan, fire fighting, and Cambodia. He will nestle into his hotel room and enjoy reading the tales which reaffirm why he is a pilot. A helicopter pilot will spend 40 years flying in the most desolate places on Earth, then write a book about flying in the Amazon, Antarctica, Afghanistan, Cambodia, and fire fighting." - Dude on the internet Choose wisely lol

Hello! Please feel free to move this if it’s not in the appropriate section. I’m currently an enlisted aviator that was selected for OTS/UPT in July (still waiting on dates). I’m interested in knowing what the average assignment length looks like for pilots, from what I can tell it’s 3-4 years. I assume it’s that way for most of the Air Force, but I have basically no experience with that since my shred can only go to 2 bases (I’ve been OCONUS for 4 years now, I know people that have done 9 year tours here or stayed at the CONUS base their entire career). I’m asking because my wife, who’s currently in the same career field as me but separating soon, wants to go to medical school; I’d like to remain at one base for like 6 years if it’s possible. Does it vary by airframe? If I ended up getting something like A-10s does my entire career involve me moving from DM to Moody to Nellis and back again? Is it possible to PCA to another unit on the same base instead of PCS? Maybe take a short tour and BOP back to the same base? Thanks for any insight.

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123252966 Looks like you'll need 300 days in an 18 mo period or 548 in 3 years. Lots of folks will already hit those numbers. Others, not so much.

Was your prior service in the Air Force? If so, did you complete a short tour? If both of those are true, it will count and you need to get it updated in your record. Like Waingro said, a paid voucher will work. There are other methods to get it counted as well, your MPF should be able to help. I was in this situation about 5 years ago. IIRC, if you completed a short tour before commissioning, it may not update your STRD, but it will get you credit for having completed a short tour, which will likely get you off of that non-vol short list. Take a look at AFI 36-2110 for info on short tour credit and STRD. ETA pertinent excerpt from AFI: (emphasis is mine) 3.5.2.2. For prior service personnel who have completed a prior OS short tour, the STRD is either the TAFMSD or date Airman completed the OS short tour, whichever is most recent. If the stop date of a prior service OS short tour is before the adjusted TAFMSD then the OS tour information may be input in the PDS under the OS tour history area for historical purposes, but this data will not adjust the STRD. However, it will it be credited to the short tour counter. The STRD will remain the same as the adjusted TAFMSD if more recent;

Apparently, yet again, "PC" related issues wrt a naming. Well, that was the over-the-hump moment, the firing I'm sure deals with a more at-large command climate ("Al Capone" twofer type of thing). Just another week in the island of misfit toys we collectively know as Team XL. I should have got short tour credit, or a campaign medal at least, for enduring 8 years of that place lol. Oh well. 😄 At least this time the shenanigans didn't occur in the presence of an O-8, but I'll digress on disturbing the corpses of the past....(not a great choice of words either, given the guilty party of that episode, committed suicide a couple months ago).

From the 30,000’ view, tour lengths, “reflect the general desirability of each location and force protection and anti-terrorism considerations,” “full range of facilities both on and off the military installation,” and job (e.g. Defense Attaché Service and Security Cooperation Office, etc). Short tours are typically, “Remote and arduous locations with limited family support facilities or with economic conditions not supporting a quality of life reasonably comparable to U.S. standards,” or, “Locations lacking adequate family support facilities or with potential threat to the safety or security of families.” https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/131518p.pdf You can also see the specific factors they consider at the end of that DoD Instruction (population, geography, climate, housing, medical, groceries, banking, etc). As discovered by Ram, short tour credit is based on the above conditions, not on whether your family is with you or not. Some locations will still allow families. Any location with an unaccompanied tour of 15 months or less on the following list is considered a short tour location: https://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/Docs/perdiem/browse/Travel_Regulations/Appendices/appQ.pdf Everything else and all AF specific stuff is in the posts SurelySerious linked you to.

After doing the math, I SHOULD be good for sanctuary. If the board meets for APZ for me next year in March and results come out around July or August, and then I add 6 months to that, I will be within 2 years of retirement. All that said I've started grinding away on ACSC. Maybe the board's thoughts on APZ next year won't be so negative and the short tour I'm doing will be seen as valuable or at least enough so to warrant promotion. Thing is, this job is actually fairly busy so it's not like I just sit a desk all day, I actually gotta work a bit. I think I can finish ACSC in 6 months if I put in full weekends and some after work time. It is more to show the board that I'm not giving the AF the middle finger by ignoring ACSC even if they choose not to promote me.

So this is my IPZ look (March). I will get passed over for not having done PME (ACSC). I'm at 16.5 years TAFMS. So my second look I will likely get passed over unless I do ACSC between now and then. At that point I will have 17.5 years in. Any risk of getting the boot before 20? Haven't heard of that in a while but just wanna make sure I am not screwing myself. I am currently on a short tour collecting gate months with a partner nation, which I think counts as "Joint credit"...whatever that means. I was told it is supposed to look good. but I still think I'm 95% Not gonna make LtCol. Just wanna make sure I can get to 20.

Part of it was self inflicted. I didn't want to leave where I was living unless it was to commute to an IMA job (which all got bought up by the time I figured out what that was). Had I been open to moving which I wasn't due to my wife's job and me not wanting to leave, I probably could have done that as well. Point is hopefully this works out and hopefully I won't have to deploy again after a short tour I'm on, though it doesn't give me dwell time and technically I'm not protected. Wonder if they will offer me a 2 year bonus when this one is up to get to retirement? My guess is they won't. I think when I signed mine you could do single years at a time? Or maybe 3 years was the min I can't remember. Either way I'm planning on getting no bonus my last 2 years and I also think there's a 98% chance it won't go above the 2020 AVB.

Yeah, given how people in my prior community would dodge the IP stink like their life depended on it (mostly out of a desire to retain the ability get out of the MWS with AFPC, for duty station dearth reasons), I don't see how it would be in the staffing's interest to open a door and allow folks to legally opt out of an upgrade via ADSC declination. Much better to use them and lose them in situ for whatever balance of time they already have, especially given said management class is on the record stating that retention doesn't matter to them anyways. But, these bonehead careerists never look past their own command/staff tour, so it wouldn't surprise me if they bungled that too just like they bungled the FY21 short call.

FYSA, you can do 2 years with CSP at Osan and still update your short tour return date and short tour count. I didn’t believe it, but I just returned to the CONUS from a CSP tour at Osan, and vMPF updated my date. Might wanna check that out... Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

Can't speak to all the communities but a lot is luck and timing... And if you're able to make yourself eligible for the right opportunities. In the Viper, you'll be gone a lot for your ops assignment, either tdy or deployments. After that, family life will depend on your assignment and if you have short tour credit. I made it through 10 years in the Viper never being on a short tour, although I did spend 5 months at Kunsan. My last 2 assignments were great for the fam, Luke and Nellis. Life is the guard is great so whatever you pick, make sure it's an airframe that has options in the guard/res in areas you're happy to live. Flying raptors or fat Amy would be cool but have limited options outside AD. Don't plan on getting a TX into another jet, you have no idea what the landscape will look like in 10 years. I take the approach that if I HAVE to get 1 divorce in my life time, the USAF will definitely be the winner of that one. Take care of your family first. When it comes down to it, the big Air Force really doesn't care about you (although hopefully you'll have Commanders that do).

You gentlemen have a great deal of knowledge and I have a two part question. I'm about to PCS for a good job, then I plan to retire at that location. My functional told me I don't have to worry about a 365 since I have received credit for 3 short tours. People were telling me to do my ACSC, but I refused. If you are happy in life, shouldn't you walk away feeling like you are on top or is this a dumb premise I have surmised? I have a great friend who is doing well in his career on the support side. He went to Bagram for 2 months and I did a short tour flying there for 6 months. He received short tour credit for taking his family overseas. I did a short tour in Iraq and I also received credit for my enlisted time overseas. My discussions with him make me feel like he is full of the blue kool aid. He said, "If people could pick jobs again, they probably wouldn't be pilots." I wanted to tell him you sat your a$$ in the old Russian building at Bagram never to leave the wire as the flyers launched sorties to kill the bad guys, protect convoys, and prevent him from taking an incoming rocket up the ass. Are these the types of "leaders" who will be left running the Air Force?

Did a search and all that came up was MC-12 info. I'm looking for current and specific info on C-12's. The following are my questions: 1) What's the ops tempo like? 2) Are they all short tours? 3) Where are they located and where do I find current locations that are open? 4) What are the pros and cons with this gig? 5) Does this assignment make you eligible for a non-vol MC-12 tour? Mobility dude here looking for some "change". Considering C-12 as an option for next assignment or short tour. Thanks!

If only there was a function whereby you could query the website...http://www.flyingsquadron.com/forums/search/?q="Short tour"&updated_after=any&sortby=relevancy&search_and_or=or And THEN, a whole discussion solely based on the topic you desire to learn about. http://www.flyingsquadron.com/forums/topic/15974-short-tour-info/

I'll add my two cents (and some more). Soooooo not everyone on this board agrees with Tony Carr's perspective on the USAF - see his editorial on the Thunderbird mishap from last June and (if you know ANYTHING), you'll know that that piece was designed to elicit an emotional response, did nothing to satisfy public curiosity about the event, shed no new light on the event, and was literally the journalistic equivalent of throwing $hit at a wall - in the name of smearing the AF (cause he thinks it's fun, IMO). After that post I was honestly not sure whether or not to take him seriously any more - and I don't. He was a previous safety guy who "had F-16 experience" but yet he wrote it as someone would who lacked a military flying background. His response to my analysis (http://disq.us/p/1ejpsoe) of his editorial was dismissive, and when presented with facts, he avoided the issue. I don't consider him value-added at this point - as I do this message board. I think he's a semi-talented, own-press-reading, bitter, (ret) Lt Col who has nothing better to do with his time than sport bitch on the internet. I think lots of people agree with that sentiment, and while he can sometimes come close the mark, I don't think (in general) he is that interesting any more. On that note, and to your question, I don't think the root cause of the USAF's current crisis has much to do with leadership in a traditional sense, but then again, I was never one who drank the AF koolaid that would have all its officers believe that leadership is the panacea to every and all problems. No, sometimes, people make poor decisions and it's not because they are poor leaders. And sometimes, it doesn't matter who's at the seat, there can be (and are) systemic issues in an organization which have far greater effects. Pinning it all on "toxic leadership" is what someone who is still pissed at a lot of previous superiors does when he is no longer subject to their rule. That said, if you choose to orient yourself in such a way, then I suppose that everything can be boiled down to poor leadership (not toxic), but I think there are more systemic issues as to why the USAF is in its current state, and when viewed in that light, will lead to more fruitful changes. 1. 179s: Look a troop in the eye, and tell them that the reason they're going down range for 179 days (vs 180 or more) has nothing to do with the USAF's policy of granting short-tour credit for deployments of longer length (sts). http://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/112915/air-force-normalizes-short-tour-credit-policy/. IMO, there is only one reason such a policy could exist, and it is to screw airmen out of a medal, deployment credit, make it easier for the personnel machine to send them downrange again sooner, or whatever. Justifications along the lines of "well, we will need to be able to deploy them again" do not hold water. All airmen who were getting short-tour credit for 180+ day deployments were playing by the same rules, and were all on the same "list". What shifting a policy did while we were in the middle of a war, was create two groups of people - those who had deployed for >181 and <365 who got credit, and those who did not - that is a ripple in the system, and though it may not have an immediately visible consequence, it certainly has an effect and was unfair to lots of people. So, that's one example of something wrong, which has nothing to do with anyone wearing < 4 stars on their shoulders. But toxic leadership? Maybe, but by only one person - not a culture of it. 2. RIFs/Force-shaping: During my time in the USAF, I "survived" two RRFs (I think, maybe, I can't remember at this point). One occurred shortly after I finished the B-Course. The U-S-A-F sent me, a fighter pilot, paperwork that suggested I may not be retained, literally immediately after I finished soaking up the better part of $5M in training costs/taxpayer money and with nearly 10 years of commitment remaining. IMO, this was done in the name of "social justice" - an example of a policy enacted to make everyone feel like they're on the same page and are all of equal value. Was I actually concerned I was going to be force-shaped? Nope. But this is an example of something that is wrong with the AF at a cultural level. Fixing this would go a long way toward re-orienting the AF in the correct direction, but (I get it) it would cause A LOT of teeth-gnashing with the REMFs, and that is a merge I highly doubt the AF wants to buy - because we MUST be socially just, we absolutely must be (sarcasm). 2a. In 2011, the USAF got rid of 157 Majors who should have been allowed to retire: http://dailycaller.com/2011/11/25/military-advocates-decry-illegal-early-terminations-of-157-air-force-majors/ http://nation.time.com/2012/01/03/air-force-firing-for-effect/ This occurred, and then (almost immediately), the USAF sought to be granted TERA (and was given it) in order to "slim down": http://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/467816/eligible-officers-enlisted-members-offered-early-retirement/ http://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/483997/af-opens-additional-tera-vsp-windows/ http://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/467713/af-announces-additional-force-management-programs-to-reduce-force-size/ https://federalnewsradio.com/retirement/2016/01/greg-rinckey-air-force-officers-demand-reinstatement/ Does that not cause one to scratch their head (who said head)? Look a troop in the eye and tell them this is not the apex of hypocrisy and short-sighted decision making. If you ask me, this is an instance of breaking faith with people. And before we cry uncle and say "well we're subject to civilian leadership decisions", I don't remember any stars falling on their swords over that one. GOs should have been resigning up and down the chain over that one. Again, like it or not, when people witness decisions like this, it affects their "matrix" and they then re-evaluate their criteria for staying in the AF for the long haul. What this sequence of decisions made clear was that a member's continued service was arbitrary, and subject to the flavor of the month. That is not going to be good enough for most people who are investing the most valuable years of their working lives towards a successful career, and I think this has had a direct and lasting affect on morale and retention. Again, this is an example of a policy decision that created two classes of people: those who served > 15 years and were not given a retirement, and those who were. 3. Shortly on the pilot bonus: the fact that it hasn't change in what, 20+ years, communicates a lot - if not directly, then indirectly. All the hand-wringing about increased amounts being just around the corner is a little pathetic, and is obviously being done from a reactionary perspective. This should have been addressed YEARS ago, because the Airline hiring wave is NOT a surprise. 4. Focus: This, to me, boils down to what the USAF should be focused on. IMO, it is high-time that "space" and "cyber" became their own separate service (or perhaps services). Much like the USAF growth out of the Army benefited both branches, I think another, modern version of that evolution needs to take place with those two realms so they can get the focus they need, and we can get ours. No, space is NOT a continuation of the "air domain", and neither is cyber. There, I said it. Sure, they abut, but so does the surface of the sea/Earth, with the sky, yet we have different branches dedicated to those domains. IMO the AF is in love with the idea of being a one-sized fits all solution to all problems (or maybe they're addicted to the money, IDK). That last point will lead me to #5. 4a. It was suggested on other message boards that more 11X presence is needed throughout the AF - from staffs, to the FSS. I fully agree with this sentiment, and would happily displace an FSS Maj or Lt Col (while remaining on flying status) and run that shop/unit. Would I be there everyday? Nope, but I wouldn't need to be. See, it's all about policy and setting an expectation. The USAF for far too long has been ceding ever more control to those who don't have to cross a wire. Why is this? Do we really need a finance-trained, specialized Maj/Lt Col to run the finance shop? Really? Does that person even know how to operate DTS or whatever else? And even if they do know how, do they? I highly suspect they fill more of figure-head roll; a leader of those units could easily come from an 11X background and provide actual, bonafied leadership. I would go so far as to say that in order to command anything, you should have to be a rated officer. Yes, this caps non-rated officers - tough shit. Go get wings. 5. This is likely an unpopular opinion on this board, but the biggest mistakes we have recently made (as a nation) have been the strategic errors of invading Iraq in 2003, the "how" of invading Afghanistan in 2001, and then the subsequent withdrawal from Iraq in whenever we actually did it. Bottom line on this one, is that the USAF leadership (at the time) should have thrown down a firm "no" when the Army demanded we play in the conflict for as long as we have, as should have the Navy. Drones and snake eaters? You bet. Multi-million dollar fighter jets, the full capes of the world's greatest AF burning holes in the sky, US Navy billion-dollar aircraft carriers? No way. We have WAY over-extended ourselves in these conflicts and have NOTHING to show for it. Well, except a military full of equipment that is falling apart at a time when we least need it. I fully grasp that we were sent to war by our civilian leadership, but not calling a goat by its name isn't solving the problem. No, AFPAK Hands will not succeed. Not because of lack of awesome people and their concerted and earnest efforts, but because the strategic context of its goal is illogical and nonsensical. No amount of Air University PHD-research-papering will make it so. The point of the military is to kill people and break their shit; not to nation-build before a war is won. Advising people who don't want what we want isn't the answer - if there's one thing I learned from my experiences, combined with the 'cross cultural competency' assigned by ACSC, it's that. The sooner our "leadership" - of whatever flavor and level - wake up and recognize this, the better. We have poured (and continue to pour) far too much in time, resources, blood, and money into an unwinnable situation. We need to get back to defining realistic, measurable goals, by which we can actually measure a 1 or 0, we can start counting those. I would much prefer to hear from our leadership that the new, stated goal in Afghanistan is to never allow a Taliban, or al Qaeda sponsored/sympathetic government to take root - and leave it at that. We're not interested in standing up a government there; we're not interested in building girls' schools there; we're not interested in teaching air advisers how to read the JP 3.09-3. We are interested in shooting Hellfires off of drones at anyone associated with the Taliban or al Qaeda for the next 1000 years - that's it. This section has run on way too long, but to sum up: our current strategy only exists because we misunderstand who and what type of people we are fighting. 6. HPO lists, etc. This category is all about creating "classes" of people. The military has always been a good 'ol boys club, and it always will be. Formalizing it in Excel spread sheets, and choosing people while they are Captains is what has created and perpetuated a perception that it literally doesn't matter what you do if you're not on that list. It is nothing more than playing favorites, and creates an environment that leads people to separate - now there's some "leadership". I ultimately believe that more transparency in the assignment and promotion system will go a long way to correcting a lot of the AF's current problems as well. I could, and might, write more, but until next time, if you haven't read this article, the author hits on some extremely relevant points: https://philipgmorrison.wordpress.com/2017/01/15/its-your-move-the-dilemma-of-incurred-commitment-in-the-modern-job-market/. - ViperMan