What's wrong with the Air Force?

[Clark Griswold]

3 hours ago, brickhistory said:

... Every single 3 or 4 star for the last, at least, 15 years who wasn't willing to fall on his/her sword and say "Enough!" bears responsibility. I am unaware of any such examples.

Congress writes the checks.  They need to be told to whom to write those checks.  "We got this" is not always the right answer, but giving such will cost a few corporate board memberships or media talking skull opportunities.

We, collectively, also bear some of the blame.  How many at the lower echelons were willing to publicly fall on our swords?  A few, but not enough to make the GOs get uncomfortable until the iceberg had already ripped the gash (sts) down the length of the ship.

Or was it just easier to bail and go airlines?  Or to whatever wasn't a dysfunctional Big Blue.

Good words.

The decline didn't happen overnight and not due to action / inaction of one but of many and over many years.

There's always that problem, do I stand and fight probably to die (metaphorically) or withdraw and live to fight another day?  Quit and make a statement with my feet or try to fix from the inside?  Principle or Rationalization?

No one answer is always right except "it depends" and is only is dependent on the individual having the moral character to ask themselves that question.

[BashiChuni]

4 hours ago, Clark Griswold said:

Good words.

The decline didn't happen overnight and not due to action / inaction of one but of many and over many years.

There's always that problem, do I stand and fight probably to die (metaphorically) or withdraw and live to fight another day?  Quit and make a statement with my feet or try to fix from the inside?  Principle or Rationalization?

No one answer is always right except "it depends" and is only is dependent on the individual having the moral character to ask themselves that question.

dare i say "pick your battles?"

[Clark Griswold]

dare i say "pick your battles?"

Ha
But yes ultimately it is that.

[matmacwc]

1 hour ago, BashiChuni said:

dare i say "pick your battles?"

Thats a keg, you should go to timeout.

[brickhistory]

1 hour ago, BashiChuni said:

dare i say "pick your battles?"

Which, apparently, meant never fighting by past leadership all along the line.

 

[FUSEPLUG]

Where’s Chang?  I’d love to hear his opinion on this...

Edited December 11, 2017 by FUSEPLUG
Did I really just say that?!

[Lord Ratner]

dare i say "pick your battles?"

STOP! If we say it two more times he will be summoned...

[Crackity Jones]

On 12/10/2017 at 12:07 PM, brickhistory said:

Nope.  Like promotes like.  So to get into the club, 99.69% of the time only those that are like me - think like me, act like me, respond like me - are going to get into the club.

I do not blame just CSAF.  Every single 3 or 4 star for the last, at least, 15 years who wasn't willing to fall on his/her sword and say "Enough!" bears responsibility. I am unaware of any such examples.

Congress writes the checks.  They need to be told to whom to write those checks.  "We got this" is not always the right answer, but giving such will cost a few corporate board memberships or media talking skull opportunities.

We, collectively, also bear some of the blame.  How many at the lower echelons were willing to publicly fall on our swords?  A few, but not enough to make the GOs get uncomfortable until the iceberg had already ripped the gash (sts) down the length of the ship.

Or was it just easier to bail and go airlines?  Or to whatever wasn't a dysfunctional Big Blue.

This isn't Milgram's Experiment. Everyone who doesn't speak up or is afraid of showing red on a slide guilty of collusion. We supposedly teach that the lowest Airman or Lt can call safety in the air, because that can get us killed. If we practiced what we preach in the air on the ground, and promoted accordingly, we'd fix most of our problems.

[08Dawg]

Here's one more papercut from my little corner of the AF...we got an email the other day that our squadron was required to offer up a body to be a green dot facilitator.  We're trying to keep up with our flying mission with our manning well below 100% (just like, I'm sure, everybody else) and now we're mandated to have someone take (more) time out of their schedule to go deal with the Green Dot bullshittery....UFB.  I kinda thought the point of the people that facilitate that program was that they actually had some buy-in or personal experience to share....now it's just another onerous ancillary duty and yet another straw crushing the air power camel. 

[brabus]

I hope your commander says no. And then the OG says no. And then the wg/cc crushes the balls of the ass hat who thought this made sense. Wait..that's the guard, or hopefully your leadership is part of the micro-minority that are actually leaders. 

[Guardian]

I hope your commander says no. And then the OG says no. And then the wg/cc crushes the balls of the ass hat who thought this made sense. Wait..that's the guard, or hopefully your leadership is part of the micro-minority that are actually leaders. 

I wish that were the guard

[Disco_Nav963]

10 hours ago, 08Dawg said:

Here's one more papercut from my little corner of the AF...we got an email the other day that our squadron was required to offer up a body to be a green dot facilitator.  We're trying to keep up with our flying mission with our manning well below 100% (just like, I'm sure, everybody else) and now we're mandated to have someone take (more) time out of their schedule to go deal with the Green Dot bullshittery....UFB.  I kinda thought the point of the people that facilitate that program was that they actually had some buy-in or personal experience to share....now it's just another onerous ancillary duty and yet another straw crushing the air power camel. 

You forgot to mention you're deployed hacking the mish right now as well... Worthy also of the "Leadership at the Deid" thread.

Edited December 26, 2017 by Disco_Nav963

[brabus]

3 hours ago, Guardian said:

I wish that were the guard

It is in my corner at least, that sucks it's not in yours. Sounds like a leadership shuffle is in order. 

[Homestar]

53 minutes ago, Disco_Nav963 said:

You forgot to mention you're deployed hacking the mish right now as well... Worthy also of the "Leadership at the Deid" thread.

Are you saying that deployed squadrons are running green dot programs down range?

Edited December 26, 2017 by Homestar

[SocialD]

3 hours ago, Guardian said:

I wish that were the guard

Ehh...I guess it depends upon your leadership.  I can assure you, you will never see a pilot being a green dot facilitator in our squadron.  We have a MSgt, ops admin chick for that.  She also does A LOT of DTS, orders generation, and many other things that make our lives easier.  Pretty much worth her weight in gold.    

Edited December 26, 2017 by SocialD

[Duck]

Ehh...I guess it depends upon your leadership.  I can assure you, you will never see a pilot being a green dot facilitator in our squadron.  We have a MSgt, ops admin chick for that.  She also does A LOT of DTS, orders generation, and many other things that make our lives easier.  Pretty much worth her weight in gold.    

So how heavy are we talking here... buck-fity?

[08Dawg]

10 hours ago, Disco_Nav963 said:

You forgot to mention you're deployed hacking the mish right now as well... Worthy also of the "Leadership at the Deid" thread.

This was home station.  There are other tales worthy of "Leadership at the Deid" that I will share upon my parole...

[17D_guy]

13 hours ago, SocialD said:

 We have a MSgt, ops admin chick for that.  She also does A LOT of DTS, orders generation, and many other things that make our lives easier.  Pretty much worth her weight in gold.    

Always funny to me that we'd have junior cyber Amn crap on our admin troops when the admin bros/chicks do that above.  Getting CSS' back, and admin troops actually knowledgeable about ops/ops support is one of the best things the service has done to fix Skeletor's nonsense.

[General Chang]

On December 11, 2017 at 4:13 PM, FUSEPLUG said:

Where’s Chang?  I’d love to hear his opinion on this...

Ok, I'l be your huckleberry.

Look, there's a ton of blame to go around. The good news: we have a current CSAF & SecAF who "get it."  The bad news: layers of leadership between the CSAF & the common man simply will not break out of their stovepiped thinking.  CSAF: "Stop doing stuff that doesn't make sense."  Wg/CCs: "Until regs change, keep doing the stupid stuff."  For instance, despite the mandate from CSAF that Majors are 100% for the next 3-4 years, Wings are still required to produce narrative-only PRFs for guys going to schools.  Why?  "Because that's what the regs say."  Just one example of many where leaders can't think for themselves...JUST SAY NO!

[Guardian]

Alright. Who brought General Chang back?

[tac airlifter]

The system has built yes men incapable of saying no.  If CSAF wants his free thinking approach embraced, he should fire commanders disobeying his orders.  Until he does so, his words are as cheap as his predecessors actions.

Incentivization is an obvious concept unfortunately lost on our over educated managerial class.

 

[Champ Kind]

10 minutes ago, tac airlifter said:

The system has built yes men incapable of saying no.  If CSAF wants his free thinking approach embraced, he should fire commanders disobeying his orders.  Until he does so, his words are as cheap as his predecessors actions.

Incentivization is an obvious concept unfortunately lost on our over educated managerial class.

 

How does he learn of subordinate commanders disobeying?  Constantly check in on them?  I doubt he has the bandwidth, and even if he did, I fear this would exasperate the micro-managing culture that's already rampant in the USAF. 

[ClearedHot]

1 hour ago, General Chang said:

Ok, I'l be your huckleberry.

Look, there's a ton of blame to go around. The good news: we have a current CSAF & SecAF who "get it."  The bad news: layers of leadership between the CSAF & the common man simply will not break out of their stovepiped thinking.  CSAF: "Stop doing stuff that doesn't make sense."  Wg/CCs: "Until regs change, keep doing the stupid stuff."  For instance, despite the mandate from CSAF that Majors are 100% for the next 3-4 years, Wings are still required to produce narrative-only PRFs for guys going to schools.  Why?  "Because that's what the regs say."  Just one example of many where leaders can't think for themselves...JUST SAY NO!

Shouldn't that tell the powers that be just how deep the organizational rot has gone?  When CSAF and SECAF pull all the WING/CC's in a room and say "Knock it off" and it continues, that is not "Stovepiped thinking", that is a completely broken organization.  USAF needs real LEADERSHIP...stand up in front of the room with a baseball bat and knock some sense into these pencil pushing duncewagons.  Fire the first couple that don't listen...get back to being WARRIORS.  I get it, we need a system to manage people, but when the system becomes more powerful than our ability to grow leaders and project combat power...something is seriously fucking wrong.

[tac airlifter]

42 minutes ago, Champ Kind said:

How does he learn of subordinate commanders disobeying?  Constantly check in on them?  I doubt he has the bandwidth, and even if he did, I fear this would exasperate the micro-managing culture that's already rampant in the USAF. 

Champ, bro....If CSAF doesn’t have the bandwidth to command, delegate.  And if we can’t start fixing broke shit by firing weaklings masquerading as warriors because we fear potential second order effects, we may as well give up now.  

[SocialD]

14 hours ago, Duck said:

So how heavy are we talking here... buck-fity?

No, and I can assure you we've all contemplated the consequences...