Next CSAF?

[ClearedHot]

19 hours ago, BONE WSO said:

I was an AF Legislative Fellow in the Senate and saw the process up close. Our office received a list of military promotion nominees ahead of time. If there was somebody on the list that we didn't think should be promoted, we could call the SASC and they would remove that name from the list. This allowed the main list to move forward for unanimous consent vote, without that person on it. Obviously this would be rare, but it did happen to one O-6 when I was there. 

Only the very top nominees would have any attention paid to them. The highest level nominees (4 stars, JCS members, Asst Secretaries, etc...) would make their rounds to our office to meet with the Senator and others on the SASC to "kiss the ring." Below them nobody really gets reviewed, unless there was a specific person on the list that was highlighted negatively. 

And I agree with Stoker. My Senator worked everyday from about 0600-2300 and also brought a giant book of "homework" with him every night, memo's to review and approve. He frequently had 30 appointments a day. Unlike the extreme bloat in the DoD, our office was small with very few staff.  There is no time or manpower to review nominees one by one, except the people at the very top of the DoD. 

I've worked in the same circle several times.  Having 50,000 positions that require Senate confirmation is ludicrous and obviously part of the problem.  Judges represent many of the vacancies and that needs to be addressed because of the impact it has on our judicial system (particularly with regard to immigration cases). 

The Air Force nominate 20-25 Colonels to become Generals each year...the other services have about the same number.  The Senate has a DUTY to review those nominations and 100 a year is not asking too much.  There should be a a heavy review when making O-7 and another look for O-9 and above.

[HeloDude]

23 hours ago, BONE WSO said:

And I agree with Stoker. My Senator worked everyday from about 0600-2300 and also brought a giant book of "homework" with him every night, memo's to review and approve. He frequently had 30 appointm

Those poor Senators…no time to do literally anything else but work to fight for the common man in the country and their specific states.  It’s a shame to think they didn’t even have any time to meet with lobbyists, go to special events where they’re wined/dined, attend fundraising events for themselves or others, on and on.  It’s amazing with how hard they all work that they can’t pass a budget on time, control spending, and make things better for the country. 

[Standby]

I’m honestly surprised they have time to do anything productive for the country at all. I figured they were all too busy finding ways to stuff many, many dollars into their wallets. 

[Lord Ratner]

25 minutes ago, Standby said:

I’m honestly surprised they have time to do anything productive for the country at all. I figured they were all too busy finding ways to stuff many, many dollars into their wallets. 

Doesn't actually take much effort in Washington.

[dream big]

On 11/4/2023 at 3:44 PM, HeloDude said:

Those poor Senators…no time to do literally anything else but work to fight for the common man in the country and their specific states.  It’s a shame to think they didn’t even have any time to meet with lobbyists, go to special events where they’re wined/dined, attend fundraising events for themselves or others, on and on.  It’s amazing with how hard they all work that they can’t pass a budget on time, control spending, and make things better for the country. 

Exactly, zero sympathy, cry me a fucking river! Maybe more time doing legislative work instead of grandstanding for whatever dumb hot social media issue. Both parties are guilty. 
 

Back to the intent of the founding father’s intent - working in congress should truly be an “additional duty” and act of service along side your normal career. No more toxic career politicians like Diane Fiensteine.  

[Danger41]

My limited interaction with elected officials has been very positive. They also were people that you wouldn’t know were senators if they were standing in line with you at the grocery store. The grandstanding types looking for a sound byte are chides and suffer the same problems as IG influencers, etc.

[BONE WSO]

On 11/4/2023 at 9:44 AM, HeloDude said:

Those poor Senators…no time to do literally anything else but work to fight for the common man in the country and their specific states.  It’s a shame to think they didn’t even have any time to meet with lobbyists, go to special events where they’re wined/dined, attend fundraising events for themselves or others, on and on.  It’s amazing with how hard they all work that they can’t pass a budget on time, control spending, and make things better for the country. 

My Senator (Sen Mike Rounds) actually did a ton that you would never hear about. He is a genuinely great person. I know it is popular to hate Congress but he made a real difference for the military and for constituents, including regular Airmen that were getting screwed over by DoD. 

For example, I made a trip to Ellsworth when I was there and met with the Vice WG/CC. He told me that they were having issues with Tricare. There weren't enough providers in certain specialties and the providers they did have were taking months to get paid. This was negatively impacting families that had children that needed to see specialists. When I got back to DC, the Senator asked me how my trip was and I conveyed the Tricare problems. He was not happy. 

The next week we had the Admiral in charge of DHA in our office and the CEO of Healthnet, the Tricare provider in the region. He let both of them know it was unacceptable what was happening. They both promised to fix it and they did. Within a month, the Vice WG/CC called back and told us things were much better and the providers were paid immediately. Of course you would never hear about this. But this is the type of stuff we worked on day in and day out. I also worked on increasing the number of O-5 control grades for the ANG, and it passed into law in the 2019 NDAA. This opened up more billets for O-4s to get promoted to O-5. Again, you never hear about this but it has a real impact for military families. 

You see a lot more of the grandstanding and BS in the House. Many of the bills over there are simply PR stunts that would never pass. We did none of that. Other than deploying and dropping bombs, my year on the Hill was the best year I've had in the AF. There is so much ability to make an impact there compared to what you can do in the Pentagon. 

I'm not saying Congress as a whole is great and I'm not defending their ability to get anything done. But in my little corner of the Senate, we worked extremely hard with a small staff and made a huge impact. 

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by BONE WSO

[Danger41]

50 minutes ago, BONE WSO said:

My Senator (Sen Mike Rounds) actually did a ton that you would never hear about. He is a genuinely great person. I know it is popular to hate Congress but he made a real difference for the military and for constituents, including regular Airmen that were getting screwed over by DoD. 

For example, I made a trip to Ellsworth when I was there and met with the Vice WG/CC. He told me that they were having issues with Tricare. There weren't enough providers in certain specialties and the providers they did have were taking months to get paid. This was negatively impacting families that had children that needed to see specialists. When I got back to DC, the Senator asked me how my trip was and I conveyed the Tricare problems. He was not happy. 

The next week we had the Admiral in charge of DHA in our office and the CEO of Healthnet, the Tricare provider in the region. He let both of them know it was unacceptable what was happening. They both promised to fix it and they did. Within a month, the Vice WG/CC called back and told us things were much better and the providers were paid immediately. Of course you would never hear about this. But this is the type of stuff we worked on day in and day out. I also worked on increasing the number of O-5 control grades for the ANG, and it passed into law in the 2019 NDAA. This opened up more billets for O-4s to get promoted to O-5. Again, you never hear about this but it has a real impact for military families. 

You see a lot more of the grandstanding and BS in the House. Many of the bills over there are simply PR stunts that would never pass. We did none of that. Other than deploying and dropping bombs, my year on the Hill was the best year I've had in the AF. There is so much ability to make an impact there compared to what you can do in the Pentagon. 

I'm not saying Congress as a whole is great and I'm not defending their ability to get anything done. But in my little corner of the Senate, we worked extremely hard with a small staff and made a huge impact. 

 

Lol I was also primarily referring to Mike Rounds as my senator in my post. 

[GKinnear]

1 hour ago, BONE WSO said:

My Senator (Sen Mike Rounds)...

 

Sure, your example may be true...but you have to admit you may have a bit of a myopic view of the situation. 

If National Security was truly a priority, and there was the political will to get it done, none of the listed examples would stop them.

Again, why didn't the Senate Majority Leader bring a full floor vote for the USMC Vice Commandant, CSAF, & CNO when CQ was up for CJCS?  Was there a legal hurdle or a political one stopping them?

At least that's my opinion as a voter and taxpayer.

[GKinnear]

On 11/3/2023 at 11:20 AM, Stoker said:

It's a super common misconception that Congress is only working when it's in session - there's a lot more going on behind the scenes.

Apologies for the double post...missed your post earlier.

Same as my previous one...if there was the political will from the controlling party in the Senate, the senior uniformed military leaders would already be a confirmed.  There's no legal reason why the Senate can't discharge it's responsibilities to ensure our collective national security.

[HeloDude]

1 hour ago, BONE WSO said:

My Senator (Sen Mike Rounds) actually did a ton that you would never hear about. He is a genuinely great person. I know it is popular to hate Congress but he made a real difference for the military and for constituents, including regular Airmen that were getting screwed over by DoD.

Wait…it’s popular to be disgusted with an institution that has put us over $33T in debt?  I’m disgusted whether it’s popular or not popular.  As as for Rounds, just because I might share some philosophical opinions as him, doesn’t mean he’s also not part of the problem.  The 2019 NDAA was another massive spending bill, $21B over the previous year.  Yep, the majority of the GOP love massive deficit spending as well.

We have a big problem in DC, and I don’t think it’s gets much better when the people with an R next to their name are in charge vs the other party.  So that’s cool that you’re a fan of this stuff, but let’s not pretend these Senators are truly willing to fix the real problems we have.  You’re either a fan of much bigger government (yes, to include the DoD) or you’re not.

[HuggyU2]

46 minutes ago, HeloDude said:

... doesn’t mean he’s also not part of the problem.  

So every one of the 535 are not striving to improve things?  

And Bone WSO is "myopic" after having served as a Legislative Fellow?

[BashiChuni]

1 hour ago, Danger41 said:

Lol I was also primarily referring to Mike Rounds as my senator in my post. 

Cool so we have one 😂 

[HeloDude]

8 minutes ago, HuggyU2 said:

So every one of the 535 are not striving to improve things?  

And Bone WSO is "myopic" after having served as a Legislative Fellow?

When you’re voting for bad legislation, then you’re not striving to improve things.  And very, very few politicians often vote against their own parties on principe.  Rounds supported bad legislation, so yes, he is part of the problem.

And anyone who is bragging about how great politicians are…yeah, I question if they truly understand the big problem.  

[Danger41]

33 minutes ago, HeloDude said:

 

And anyone who is bragging about how great politicians are…yeah, I question if they truly understand the big problem.  

Or, I know this is crazy, not every single thing has to be some giant strategic indictment of the American system designed to make you miserable or cream in your Ron Paul boxers.
 

I just like the guy because I bitched to him (my rep) about the FAA and he handled it. Which was nice.

[HeloDude]

26 minutes ago, Danger41 said:

Or, I know this is crazy, not every single thing has to be some giant strategic indictment of the American system designed to make you miserable or cream in your Ron Paul boxers.
 

I just like the guy because I bitched to him (my rep) about the FAA and he handled it. Which was nice.

I honestly think that’s a good thing he helped one of his constituents (also it’s their job).

But if you think that the massive out of control spending is a problem, then you have to hold those who vote for this crap accountable.

[GKinnear]

18 hours ago, HuggyU2 said:

And Bone WSO is "myopic" after having served as a Legislative Fellow?

'Myopic' in that Bone WSO a) may have a bias from a close and personal working relationship with the aforementioned Senator, and b) his was a micro look at a singular member, not the macro level I was initially referring to.

As far as being a Legislative Fellow goes, I'm sure every selectee has a solid paper trail of sustained performance and is everything we've come to expect from years of military training.  As a future senior leader in the USAF, I seriously hope for nothing but the best for those cats...living with high expectations can be a bitch.

YMMV.

[Stoker]

On 11/5/2023 at 11:02 AM, dream big said:

Back to the intent of the founding father’s intent - working in congress should truly be an “additional duty” and act of service along side your normal career. No more toxic career politicians like Diane Fiensteine.  

Ah, gotcha, you want the lobbyists and interest groups to run things even more than they already do. Because I'm telling you, there are very few people who know how to write a serious piece of legislation and then get it passed, and almost all of them are employed on K Street.

Mr. Smith does not go to Washington and actually get anything done. Ever. Part time Joe the Plumber politicians do about as well in Washington as a Pop Warner all star would do in the NFL. 

And for what it's worth, the 1st United States Congress was in session for 18 months out of the two year term. Not exactly part time, especially considering weeks of travel to and from the districts. And that was managing a government that was far smaller and less complex.

[Danger41]

Very good points but I absolutely support term limits to prevent lifetime politicians.