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That is why I think our organization is in danger. We say we are short of pilots for the mission we are being asked to do...Big Blue solution: reduce pilot manpower requirements so the numbers look better even though the missions we are asked to do don't get reduced. We say we are short on experience...Big Blue solution: change the rules that define "experience." At the same time, we force out our real experience in Sr NCOs and FGOs by reducing HYT and not offering continuation to passed over officers (I understand fiscal constraints). We take our young officers and rush them through development, making them focus more on PME and AADs and less on their primary jobs where they actually get experience and become competent. Where does that leave us? With a lot of very smart (at least on paper) academics with no real tactical competence who now have to lead manage the next group of young airmen into our next war. That scares me. I remember a time when we upgraded people to IP or made them Flt CCs because they were good at what they did and were ready for it. Now we do it because we are trying to fill quotas and get people the jobs they need before their "first look." We are getting negative feedback from the FTUs about the quality of candidates we are sending. Maybe it is just my unit...or is anyone else noticing these trends? Sure, I'm speaking in GENERAL terms...we have very bright officers out there making sh*t happen, but I'm starting to see more and more of our young LTs/Capts who are just worried about checking the square than they are on actually being the best at their primary job. And now on top of rushing our younger force through professional development with odd jobs outside the squadron where they don't fly enough, the AF wants to reduce flying hours and change the definition of "experience" too? Is that the answer? We lower the standards? Is that the reason SATISFACTORY on an ORI is the new "norm?" That scares me more...

False. *Standing by for negative replies*

If I was forced to go, I'd probably first get drunk and then proceed to over-sarcasticly cheer for all of their songs. Perhaps shout my request for Free Bird every 6-9 minutes.

A very good friend of mine knew many of these guys. This is what he posted on his web site recently as a final fairwell to his friends. Rob Reeves was my point man, he was an absolute stud. I remember on a training mission in Florida we were swimming for about 12-hours and Robs flotation in his ruck sack busted and his ruck sank. We were in about 100ft of water and about 8-hours into it I finally noticed he was struggling. The situation was not fun and we were getting very cold. I asked Rob if he wanted me to take his Ruck since I was a strong swimmer and he simply looked at me and smiled and said “No I need the practice”. That was Rob he was compassionate and at the flip of a light switch he was an animal. He kept me safe on the streets of Mosul more times than I can count and kept me calm when I had to deal with some less than motivated people. Rob was true southern gentleman. Rob had over 3000 people come to his funeral. Jonas Kelsall and Rob were high school best freinds, Jonas was an Officer and Rob was enlisted so the humor and jokes were in full force at all times. On the same training mission as the one above we finally got to our extract point 5-hours overdue. The weather was less than desireable. Jonas was waiting for us on the boats, the boat team wanted to leave and come back later to get us but Jonas wouldnt have it. He stayed in place for hours in the rain and wind and waves. The whole crew was seasick but Jonas refused to leave us out there for the night. When we got onboard Jonas could see were were smoked, most of us couldnt get on the boats by ourselves because our legs wouldnt work anymore so he hauled us and our gear aboard. As I was sitting there very unhappy Jonas handed me a beer. He just said “I thought you could use this”. It was one of the best beers of my life. Chris Campbell and I met each other in 1997, Chris was an awesome dude and never lost his temper at anything. One time we were in Baghdad preparing to go out for raid and Chris got white out in his goggles and crashed his vehicle into a chain link fence. He looked at all of us smiled and said “my bad”. That was Chris, calm, unflappable. That same night since Chris’s vehicle was out of commission he was moved to the gunner of another vehicle. We got into some heat and during the middle of the chaos Chris looked down at me kicked me in the shoulder and said in the calmest voice “excuse me Taco would you mind handing me another box of ammo”. I screamed back handed him the ammo and he said in the calmest voice “thank you”. My heartrate was 210 his was about 50. Heath Robinson was the most private person I ever met. Heath never spoke about anything personal. Heath was the epitamy of professional, he was a physical beast, a world class shooter and a complete warrior. Heath was a born leader and the only person I ever tried to emulate. Heath was small but he was very scary. He had the most intense look in his eyes when he was working and his work ethic was legendary. Heath was a man of few words and his actions spoke volumes. Heath refused to lose at anything, he never boasted but when it was time to compete he would push himself so hard and drive himself to complete exhaustion. I do not remember Heath ever losing any run or swim in the whole time I knew him. Even when he was hurt he still refused to lose. As soon as he finished he would turn around and run back to the end of the pack and run with whoever was last. He didnt say anything he just ran side by side with them. Heath was a great teammate and a great person. Jon Tumlimson was one of the best guys I ever met. I was an instructor when JT started his carrer and I remember how stoic he was during Hell Week. He was the rock of his boat crew. After he graduated I had the pleasure of teaching JT about Breaching and advanced diving operations. He was a great student and a great person. JT was always happy and always down to earth. Matt Mason his wife Jessica and Leilani were close freinds. Leilani helped them find there first home. The budget of an E-5 Seal in the 90′s was less than desireable. Leilani showed them so many houses and they were always so appreciative. Matt loved his wife and would not settle for a house that was not the best he could afford. Matt’s family was all that mattered, he hated to leave Jessica but he had the disease of a warrior. He hated to leave but he hated to be away from work. Matt made Chief in 7-years which shows how much his teammates respected him. Matt’s three sons will never know the trusted and professional warrior I knew but they will never doubt how much there father loved them.

Fuck that. I'm all for everyone in the AF getting some financial education on how to reduce their spending, not redirecting money towards the enlisted folks so they can buy more shit.

No, to some people the US military has become a full-time extension of ROTC field training or basic training. To them, that's all it's about...haircuts, tucked shirts and reciting creeds. To the rest of us, the haircut/tucked shirts/creed thing was merely an exercise designed to instill certain thought patterns in people's minds and weed out those that can't hack it or adapt. It's a means to an end, not the end in itself. Apparently a lot of people haven't figured that out.

FIFY. Call me racist, but I'm pretty sure the same two Korean ladies work at every alterations shop in the DoD. There's the grumpy lady who works at the counter, speaks some English and handles all of the cash flow. And then there's the slightly more personable lady who works in the back, doing most of the actual alterations, who doesn't speak any English at all. This duo is as enduring as C-3PO/R2-D2, Abbott and Costello, Cheech and Chong, etc.

Bashing TIB NEVER gets old!

Secondary problem: He's a comm guy, aka a member of the second most worthless and under-performing career field I've ever seen (right behind Finance). Always a battle...thanks Comm.

Ahhh yes. The Human Weapon System - how could I forget that little gem. Choke yourself. His name and pic are already posted. Here is his bio from what I assume is his home base: MOASC (Mother of All Shoe Clerks)

What's wrong with the Air Force? The Air Force used to be this: And now the Air Force is this: Well Chief REMF you can take that "history/heritage" and do the following: 1) Roll it in a cone 2) Sit on it and spin 3) Recite Airman's Creed I fear the day when I am in combat, and right before I engage a target I get asked "Did you fill out the form properly? You are not allowed to engage the target because you didn't check the box properly."

If you're a fan of British humor like I am, you'll find this hilarious. From the BBC: Barney

Plenty of Os and NCOs out there living paycheck to paycheck, with houses/cars they can't afford, and multiple maxed out credit cards. www.daveramsey.com

That's funny. When I was a broke-ass A1C, financial planning classes were a mandatory part of FTAC. It wasn't all that long ago. The info/resources are out there, but whether or not people take advantage of them is another story.

For you my friend...it will get worse before it gets better. We are about to see "more with less" like we've never seen it before....

Amazing how the Jr enlisted, despite supposedly being paid poverty level wages, manage to have 2 cars, 2 cell phones, satellite TV, Internet, and all the other necessities. Maybe that's why both parents work. The BX isn't supplementing their low pay, it's subsidizing their stupid spending habits.

I think most officers don't understand the reality of the average elisted family. Most young familes in the Air Force have either both parents in the Air Force or one in the Air Force and another employed elsewhere. Since we have decided to pay our enlisted kids somewhere at or below the poverty level (hence the second working parent), providing some form of child care for working parents is mission required. The fact is that your bridge doesn't keep airplanes turning. Having an organization that supports young families does. Nobody is prying money out of your hands. Instead, we're taking the profits from the company store and applying it to the areas that would best improve the overall base quality of life. Could the store be better? Yes. Are the laws that govern military construction asinine? Absolutely. Is it wise that AAFES and DECA are legally seperated? Probably not. Is accessesable and affordable child care a mission requirement for a base? Definately.

After hearing some of our enlisted aircrew were getting harassed by a Chief, in the middle of eating, I've been having my crews eat together. We've seen said chief, but he hasn't come over to play while us O's are around. We anxiously await.....

Gotta love the useless comparisons..."an eighth of the time that powered flight has existed". Things that took less time than the F-35: The Beatles entire career as a band. The Apollo program from Kennedy's speech to Neil Armstrong. The combined timelines of WWI and WWII. Both Mars rovers were proposed, approved, developed, launched, and have been on Mars for over 3 years. The entire construction, from proposal to completion, of: The Golden Gate Bridge, the World Trade Center, the Empire State Building, the Suez Canal, and the Channel Tunnel. The Manhattan Project. Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia. Caesar's conquest of Gaul. The Wright brothers' first airplane, from conception to Kittyhawk.

Speaking of uniforms... FTA: "Take the mavericks in your service," he tells new officers, "the ones that wear rumpled uniforms and look like a bag of mud but whose ideas are so offsetting that they actually upset the people in the bureaucracy. One of your primary jobs is to take the risk and protect these people, because if they are not nurtured in your service, the enemy will bring their contrary ideas to you." --Gen James Mattis, USMC Linky

Except you aren't in combat sir, you are simply a REMF at OKAS. Those of us in combat will respectfully decline your offer to augment our warrior spirit with shameful frolicking.

My point is if you CHOOSE to have kids, don't expect me (or anyone else) to subsidize your financial choice. That's like saying we should add a basic allowance for a new car to the paycheck. The return on investment may be different, but having a kid is no less of a financial choice than buying a car, and the same considerations should apply, chief among them being "CAN I AFFORD TO MAKE THIS CHOICE?" Unfortunately people have this blinding desire to have a few kids, and then walk around hat in hand expecting everyone else to cover them.

I couldn't agree more. I hate when people try to use kids as leverage to try to pry money out of my wallet either directly or indirectly. If I liked kids, I would have some. Unfortunately, the only thing I like less than the prospect of my own kids is YOUR kids. How's about instead of pumping more money into the daycare, they roll up a few pennies and fix the bridge to the hunting area on base that has been washed out for several years, with no funds to fix it?