What's wrong with the Air Force?

[HuggyU2]

7 hours ago, Prosuper said:

Do elephant walks count as sorties now?

Your timing with this comment is more prescient than you know. 

[Chuck17]

On 12/15/2023 at 11:06 AM, ClearedHot said:

Scuttlebutt only at this point but I've heard ACC, AMC and GSC all go away and a new MAJCOM called "Combat Forces will be formed encompassing everything from Fighters, Bombers, Tankers, and Air Mobility in one giant dysfunctional command.  Sounds like a giant flashback to the Composite Wings under good ole Merrill. 

The way of the future.

Dont be shocked when AFSOC somehow gets nutrolled into this sacred cow slaughter... LOTS of folks will be running for the exits.

OBTW, they've also realized that the USAF isn't only made up of "service-retained" assets, so the wunderkind working on this one still have a big question mark on some of those platforms and communities. 

It's a mess but the good thing is the homework is due in January, so Im sure it'll be fully baked by then (s). Im sure it'll be fine.

Chuck

[DirkDiggler]

2 hours ago, Chuck17 said:

The way of the future.

Dont be shocked when AFSOC somehow gets nutrolled into this sacred cow slaughter... LOTS of folks will be running for the exits.

OBTW, they've also realized that the USAF isn't only made up of "service-retained" assets, so the wunderkind working on this one still have a big question mark on some of those platforms and communities. 

It's a mess but the good thing is the homework is due in January, so Im sure it'll be fully baked by then (s). Im sure it'll be fine.

Chuck

Honest question, what's the so what behind this?  What efficiencies or improvements do the powers that be expect to gain as part of this initiative?  Are there actual logical thought processes behind what they're trying to accomplish or this change for the sake of change (and promotions).  

[brabus]

The staff? Logical? HA!

[HeyEng]

19 hours ago, Prosuper said:

Old airframes!?, KC-135 and B-52 guys going surely you jest. Do elephant walks count as sorties now?

And I think “Old” for a tanker or bomber is different than “Old” for a fighter. The AF has reluctantly come around to my way of thinking and will purchase some F-15EX.

I always thought that Big Blue should have taken advantage of the continuing product and design improvements that Boeing and Lockheed have done on the F-15 and F-16 lines and sold overseas and have been replacing older airframes in their block groups.

[Biff_T]

16 hours ago, brabus said:

After this last week in Vegas, I think my ODO rolled from 99,000 back to 0…for the 69th time. I’m never drinking again…for at least a week…maybe.

Lol.

 

4 hours ago, Chuck17 said:

The way of the future.

Dont be shocked when AFSOC somehow gets nutrolled into this sacred cow slaughter... LOTS of folks will be running for the exits.

OBTW, they've also realized that the USAF isn't only made up of "service-retained" assets, so the wunderkind working on this one still have a big question mark on some of those platforms and communities. 

It's a mess but the good thing is the homework is due in January, so Im sure it'll be fully baked by then (s). Im sure it'll be fine.

Chuck

Maybe they can mix it up and make non combatants sq/cc s, something like LRS or Finance dudes leading flying squadrons.  Lets get 🤪.   

34 minutes ago, HeyEng said:

And I think “Old” for a tanker or bomber is different than “Old” for a fighter. The AF has reluctantly come around to my way of thinking and will purchase some F-15EX.

Old aircraft can still be used effectively. 

I flew a few Hueys that flew missions in Nam.  One still had sheet metal repairs from bullet holes....from Nam.  No shit.  

The Huey flew like a champion!   

It's the P-51 of helicopters.  All hands on.  No automation at all.  I have landed that thing in some gnarly places.   

Edited December 17, 2023 by Biff_T
Afterthought

[Prosuper]

22 hours ago, HuggyU2 said:

Your timing with this comment is more prescient than you know. 

I had to look up the word prescient. 

[dream big]

On 12/15/2023 at 8:44 PM, disgruntledemployee said:

One ring to rule them all, bwha ha ha ha ha ha ha....

What problem are they trying to fix? We don’t have enough MAJCOMs IMHO, C2 and big ISR should be in its own MAJCOM. Get rid of NAFs and Groups instead. 

[08Dawg]

7 hours ago, dream big said:

What problem are they trying to fix? We don’t have enough MAJCOMs IMHO, C2 and big ISR should be in its own MAJCOM. Get rid of NAFs and Groups instead. 

Wait, I got it!  Rated retention!  If we don't have so many staffs, we don't have to man them, and all those non-command track O-4 and O-5 IPs can go back to flying the line!!  

[ClearedHot]

Big brother coming to USAFA, they are actually hiring an outside contractor to monitor the Facebook account of cadets.  Interested parties may view the solicitation here and bid accordingly.

[Swizzle]

41 minutes ago, ClearedHot said:

Big brother coming to USAFA, they are actually hiring an outside contractor to monitor the Facebook account of cadets.  Interested parties may view the solicitation here and bid accordingly.

"There was no single incident on any social media site which prompted us to seek outside assistance, but rather the toxic tendencies..."

 

[raimius]

2 hours ago, ClearedHot said:

Big brother coming to USAFA, they are actually hiring an outside contractor to monitor the Facebook account of cadets.  Interested parties may view the solicitation here and bid accordingly.

Sounds suspect on 1st Amendment grounds...

[Biff_T]

3 hours ago, ClearedHot said:

Big brother coming to USAFA, they are actually hiring an outside contractor to monitor the Facebook account of cadets.  Interested parties may view the solicitation here and bid accordingly.

I'd like to get that job and do it remotley from somewhere nasty.  Like Songtan? @brabus

I'd prefer somewhere more towards Thailand, the PI, Spain, Germany or Ireland (Fuck Enlgland).  

STAFF MEETING:

GEN Buttlove: "Biff, how are the zoomies doing on the internet?"

Biff: "What?.. .I mean. Great  Sir"

 

[LookieRookie]

Oh look USAFA being shit, who would’ve thought. (As a grad)

[BFM this]

10 hours ago, ClearedHot said:

Big brother coming to USAFA, they are actually hiring an outside contractor to monitor the Facebook account of cadets.  Interested parties may view the solicitation here and bid accordingly.

So someone at USAFA thinks anyone under 30 is still on FB?

[HossHarris]

It’s Jodel. 
 

you wouldn’t understand. 

[FourFans]

So they monitor these guys as cadets...and then keep that access after they graduate...

[brabus]

As long as the cadets just have a bunch of minority trannies and pedophilia (sorry, I mean minor-attracted) shit on their page, maybe a 69 colors/shapes flag, and perhaps a shared link to Biff’s website selling unicorn fart-powered dildos, it’ll be smooth sailing and not a leadership eyebrow will be raised. Unless they’re a white male, then they’re fucked no matter what they do. So, who’s up for USAFA!?

[di1630]

Why does the USAFA even exist anymore? It’s an expensive way to make an officer and I can’t see any notable difference in quality between the rotc/ots/academy grads.


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[brabus]

For a very good reason! Because that’s the way we’ve always done it. The end. 

[jrizzell]

Why does the USAFA even exist anymore? It’s an expensive way to make an officer and I can’t see any notable difference in quality between the rotc/ots/academy grads.


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How else are you going to create socially awkward officers, with an overwhelming sense of superiority, who wear huge rings and tell Academy stories for the first 10 years of their careers


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[SurelySerious]

How else are you going to create socially awkward officers, with an overwhelming sense of superiority, who wear huge rings and tell Academy stories for the first 10 years of their careers


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Just increase the flow from Texas A&M, problem solved.

[CaptainMorgan]

Just increase the flow from Texas A&M, problem solved.

As long as we don’t increase the flow from the Citadel.


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[Zero]

Ahhh USAFA... like Big Blue, never passes up an opportunity by throwing money at problems in the attempt to get someone else to clean their house...  

What the Academy never seems to comprehend, or maybe even just acknowledge, is that a major contributing factor to many of their "problems" is that the place is full of cadets. (Yes, Edward Longshanks 'Braveheart' reference for the other grey-beards in attendance). Cadets are going to make mistakes-- a population demographic of 17-23 year olds, under intense pressure daily (debatable-- it was FAR tougher back in the day!), with limited and regulated pressure-relief options, suddenly given the anonymity of social media and intense social issues streaming around them-- some are going to make bad choices. 

If you read the referenced articles that came out of VMI back in 2020 (there are free ones that can be found other than the Washington Post's paywall), you can see the genesis of this issue-- apparently it's not relegated to the East Coast, but USAFA believes they have a problem. 

So, what would this silverback recommend? 

Lean into it. Get ahead of it. Build a center specifically to address these types of things-- call it the Character and Leadership Center. Build an old-school sundial to mark the location.  Wait, they already did that? 

Seriously though-- I'd direct AOCs to get on the app and OBSERVE. DO NOT INTERACT! Look for the leadership lessons and get to the root causes of the statements rather than taking a comment purely at face value. Publish the quotes internal to your organizations and get your cadets talking about them. It has to be a conversation-- cadets will tune out a lecture. They're experts at it. All college students are. 

Like the Dodo of old, the cartoons we published were generally attacking an issue that we had at the time. E-Dodo, in some ways, made things worse by removing the oversight of the official publication.  There were times that we pushed the limit just for the purposes of pushing the limit-- the kid in the back of the classroom  who yells "F#CK" just because he knows he'll get a laugh and the punishment will be worth it. But does it contribute anything meaningful? 

But we also dealt with serious issues through humor and wit. Our idea was that if you could laugh at something, you could address it and move on. Unfortunately, the expletives for laughs ruined some of that credibility. Not all-- not every artist went down that same rabbit hole. 

Like the best instructors know-- look at what the student asked, then look at what they DIDN'T ask in that question. Same with statements made via this social media outlet-- look past the words and look at the issues that they're really commenting on. They're tough issues-- EXACTLY the kind of thing I want officer candidates working through in an ACADEMIC environment.  

Realize that some are going to take it too far-- it's a given with that age group. Expect it-- lean into it. Get ahead of it and show them where the off-ramps are before they run themselves too far in the heat of the moment. Some will no matter what you do.  The ones that exhibit TRUE toxicity can be shown the door before they end up on the COMMANDERS ARE DROPPING LIKE FLIES thread. 

It's hard-- leadership is hard. 

Contracting out a solution will seem easy-- it's specific, measurable, and will seem attainable as printed on OPBs that get people promoted and off to their next assignment while the true problem still festers. Cadets will go deeper underground once the contractors show up on the threads. They'll spoof and move on. And contracting out leadership will only make the problem worse. 

But Zero, isn't your idea what they're trying to get at? Provide the examples so the Character and Leadership Center / AOCs can do their job?  Maybe. But why use a middle-man then? And the worst part of the contract is the direction to de-anonymize the users. That's going to push them further underground and make your problem a maneuvering target. 

They're YOUR cadets. 

And guess what? This solution works for ROTC. It works even if there ISN'T an actual problem! It gets our future officers talking about what's going on around them. Too many instructors think that such discussions are a third-rail that carries the potential as career-ending suicide. Maybe. Maybe not if you do it right. Doing nothing or ignoring it is FAR worse in the long run. 

Lead them. Teach them. Cut the ones who don't make the grade. Remember that they're kids, and their vectors need to be adjusted. Mine sure did. I'm thankful for the mentors I had at the joint and every assignment afterwards who took the time to keep the engine running, but in a constant and consistent state of adjusting that thrust. 

[Biff_T]

On 12/27/2023 at 4:39 PM, brabus said:

...Biff’s website selling unicorn fart-powered dildos, it’ll...

I pissed and shit myself reading this!  Thats a LOL brother...for real

We're having our next sale on New Years day!   Don't miss out on the Big Henry buy two for one deal.  We also call that the "General" special..