Sounds about 180 out from my experience in that shithole. But glad to hear things are much improved for you. Seriously. Although I'm jaded to the point that I'm not sure things will change AF-wide for the better. But I'm willing to suspend disbelief, and check out your work. Keep it up.

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I had an experience similar to ranter's. I met some good folks, had a good flt cc, learned a thing or two and graduated with my flight ranked fifth from the bottom.

Edit: why do I need a minor in script editing to make posts

4 hours ago, Lord Ratner said:

I'm no stranger to Air Force programs. If you think I'm getting DG, you should have a chat with my Flt/CC here. And since my promotion board to O-4 will be completed before I finish SOS, it wouldn't do much anyways...

 

I attended the long course a few years back. I thought the course was too long, but I enjoyed socializing with my flight and reconnecting with old friends.  I didn't think the formal course material was that great, but the classroom discussions usually made up for it.  As far as the think tank, the one during my tenure seemed to be a waste of time.  The participants from my class said the staff had already drafted a solution and used the students to research and develop support for it.

Best of luck. Hopefully your positive energy will help effect positive change.  When you get back, make sure you share your thoughts on the course with your peers.

think tank huh? 

Ive heard that the current president of AU is a different breed. Example: https://www.thestrategybridge.com/the-bridge/2016/7/10/monday-musings-lt-gen-steven-kwast

What do you want your legacy to be?

I would like to know that during a time of profound and often unrecognized change, I did my part to nurture and protect leaders who could overcome the tyranny of today’s inbox to build the right military for the future. I hope my legacy will honor the three groups who impacted me so significantly. I hope the tribesmen of my youth can see their wisdom and humility at work in my life; I hope my Kennedy school colleagues find that our enduring relationships have been like “iron sharpening iron” for one another; and I hope that I too have been a curator-leader, taking smart risks, setting conditions, removing obstacles, and allowing those around me to flourish. 

I had a great time at SOS. Only 3 pilots in my flight but we had 3 think tankers too. Re-reading my post I realize I came off as passive aggressive towards Ratner, definitely not my intention. When I went through CZ was in charge and I saw him take the Think Tank work and present it to the AETC Commander as his own. I was already pretty jaded on senior management but that was the tipping point.

I remember when the SOC Commander showed up first day with the wrong uniform, made up an awkward story explaining the screw up.  Tried to redeem himself at the next all call and proceeded to insult the SNCOs in attendance with his apology...later on, tried to work an European family vacation permissive TDY in the middle of SOS instead of attending one of the key events.  Dude got picked up O-7 later on.  Reminds me of a certain regional manager at the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mufflin.

Thank god I had a flight with good peeps, had a good time and it reflected in the final squadron standing. 

 

Edited August 8, 20169 yr by panchbarnes

9 hours ago, panchbarnes said:

I remember when the SOC Commander showed up first day with the wrong uniform, made up an awkward story explaining the screw up.  Tried to redeem himself at the next all call and proceeded to insult the SNCOs in attendance with his apology...later on, tried to work an European family vacation permissive TDY in the middle of SOS instead of attending one of the key events.  Dude got picked up O-7 later on.  Reminds me of a certain regional manager at the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mufflin.

Thank god I had a flight with good peeps, had a good time and it reflected in the final squadron standing. 

 

 

Yeap, that was entertaining. Gave the flight suit haters in my group a lot of ammo too.

I remember when the SOC Commander showed up first day with the wrong uniform, made up an awkward story explaining the screw up.  Tried to redeem himself at the next all call and proceeded to insult the SNCOs in attendance with his apology...later on, tried to work an European family vacation permissive TDY in the middle of SOS instead of attending one of the key events.  Dude got picked up O-7 later on.  Reminds me of a certain regional manager at the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mufflin.

Thank god I had a flight with good peeps, had a good time and it reflected in the final squadron standing. 

:beer:

 

Goodfellow?

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I'm reading about an USMC General telling the troops to turn off the cell phones and get off the grid. Later on they talk about the Navy turning off the GPS and doing celestial navigation.My question is when was the last time the USAF navigator put a sextant through the port to shoot stars? If we ever get into a WW3 type shooting war one would think our GPS satellites would be a priority target as much as an aircraft carrier . https://breakingdefense.com/2016/08/turn-off-that-iphone-commandant-tells-marines/

Cel nav isn't a worthwhile skill IMO as it's been made obsolete by laser ring gyro INS.  Fielded INS in USAF aircraft have low enough drift rates that learning cel nav isn't necessary especially if you have a decent radar to update the INS with a fix.

Agree with pbar. I know FE's who've used the port to smoke out of, but other than the ANG (maybe reserve?) Herc guys that do Antarctica stuff I don't know that anyone would even know where to start with cel nav.

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Agree with pbar. I know FE's who've used the port to smoke out of, but other than the ANG (maybe reserve?) Herc guys that do Antarctica stuff I don't know that anyone would even know where to start with cel nav.

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I know a few guys on AD that still know how to shoot cel.

1 hour ago, Prosuper said:

I'm reading about an USMC General telling the troops to turn off the cell phones and get off the grid. Later on they talk about the Navy turning off the GPS and doing celestial navigation.My question is when was the last time the USAF navigator put a sextant through the port to shoot stars? If we ever get into a WW3 type shooting war one would think our GPS satellites would be a priority target as much as an aircraft carrier . https://breakingdefense.com/2016/08/turn-off-that-iphone-commandant-tells-marines/

The Navy has really taken on the CDO environment, the brought back Celestial Navigation classes back to the USNA this year. A lot of it was influenced by the book Ghost Fleet which is a pretty good read about a near future war with a Near Peer (China) and the US Mil's over-reliance on technology centralized C2.

I'm reading about an USMC General telling the troops to turn off the cell phones and get off the grid. Later on they talk about the Navy turning off the GPS and doing celestial navigation.My question is when was the last time the USAF navigator put a sextant through the port to shoot stars? If we ever get into a WW3 type shooting war one would think our GPS satellites would be a priority target as much as an aircraft carrier . https://breakingdefense.com/2016/08/turn-off-that-iphone-commandant-tells-marines/

Cel nav isn't a worthwhile skill IMO as it's been made obsolete by laser ring gyro INS.  Fielded INS in USAF aircraft have low enough drift rates that learning cel nav isn't necessary especially if you have a decent radar to update the INS with a fix.

Exactly, standard practice.

21 hours ago, Prosuper said:

I'm reading about an USMC General telling the troops to turn off the cell phones and get off the grid. Later on they talk about the Navy turning off the GPS and doing celestial navigation.My question is when was the last time the USAF navigator put a sextant through the port to shoot stars? If we ever get into a WW3 type shooting war one would think our GPS satellites would be a priority target as much as an aircraft carrier . https://breakingdefense.com/2016/08/turn-off-that-iphone-commandant-tells-marines/

I know of one, maybe two very crusty, very senior Lt Col Buff IRs that would even begin to know how to do this.  We as a community don't have the equipment or the knowledge.  That being said...Laser ring INUs have made this more or less obsolescent.  I don't need a GPS to be accurate. 

So things are looking up right?

 

https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/SECAF/160819_Fact_Sheet.pdf?ver=2016-08-19-123457-803

More of those need to just go away

Its a start. Hopefully once the changes are implemented and CSSs are right sized they'll do another review and eliminate more of this queep. Unfortunately in order for a lot of this stuff to go away AFIs will have to be waived/rewritten and that also takes manpower

So they will plus up the CSS?  

8 minutes ago, matmacwc said:

So they will plus up the CSS?  

Squadrons are going to have to retask a lot of Lts to meet eventual mandated CSS manning levels since there won't be an knowledge ops airman available. /cynical

Unfortunately in order for a lot of this stuff to go away AFIs will have to be waived/rewritten and that also takes manpower

That takes the staff doing their J-O-B.

1 hour ago, matmacwc said:

So they will plus up the CSS?  

 

1 hour ago, LookieRookie said:

Squadrons are going to have to retask a lot of Lts to meet eventual mandated CSS manning levels since there won't be an knowledge ops airman available. /cynical

Yes, they are going to plus up the CSS'.  3A's AFSC has been recreated to be exactly what it was before Skeltor destroyed the AFSC & Sq CSS.  So, basically it's going back to what it was when I joined in 1999. 

However, there are still a lot more programs now than then.   I'm particularly concerned with moving UDM to the CSS.

  I'm particularly concerned with moving UDM to the CSS.

Agreed, seems like the right direction overall but this one left me scratching my cranium.

I'm a former chief of mobility.  Putting the UDM role with the CSS is insane.  Units with a significant number of taskings need someone doing that job as their primary duty.  We ended up hiring a civilian and it made life much easier.

41 minutes ago, guineapigfury said:

I'm a former chief of mobility.  Putting the UDM role with the CSS is insane.  Units with a significant number of taskings need someone doing that job as their primary duty.  We ended up hiring a civilian and it made life much easier.

Fuck it...  Are you really telling me people aren't going to get out the door because there isn't someone spending their primary duty loading names into a 1970s system?  People will still be on the iron or the rotators on-time.  As for tracking MR stuff, that can easily be soaked up by the training shop.