Leaderboard

Chang is Butters... BUTTERS IS CHANG!!

State quals. Otherwise STFU.

So is mine. Answer up or go away.

I love the irony of the situation Big Blue finds itself in. For a decade, rated retention was an afterthought; airlines weren't hiring, the economy went south and they enjoyed ~2 years where no pilots could get out. During that timeframe queep mounted as CSS troops were cut and flying hours were slashed. At the tail end of it all they reward the military with pathetic 1.X% raises and lower BAH. Their attempt to recapitalize the fleet (JSF shitshow) is falling squarely on the shoulders of AD troops. Almost as if on cue, the economy finds its footing, airlines start hiring like gangbusters and every ANG/Res unit is looking for good people. There is actual movement on bonuses for technicians and the AGRs will likely partake in whatever boost their AD counterparts get. AD has competition both from airlines and a RC that may have decent bonuses to offer. Sorry, Big Blue - timing is everything.

Dude, are you just a shitty algorithm hosted on AFPC's computer network? Talk like a f-ing person. We (pilots/navs/E flyers, etc.) are not curious, foreign creatures "enamored with flying" that populate your spreadsheets. There are real god damn human beings out there risking their lives to protect our country. Treating people like cogs in a vast faceless machine is a big part of the problem, and you exemplify it perfectly the way you address everyone here on the boards. "We may have to eliminate some of the extraneous additional duties at flying squadrons or authorize more civilians to help. So be it." SO BE IT?? You make it sound like a bad thing...this is one of the many solutions that would alleviate actual pain points for your front-line operators. Stop loss being used means you all f-ed up at your job so badly that you have to basically go to the nuclear option. Congratulations. Edit to add: lol... -1 reputation point from General Chang. I'll take it.

A lot of you us sound like my wife in that every problem is the end of the world. I apply the same game plan of nodding and saying "okay" to most of these gripes. There are some serious problems in the AF, but to not even join based on queep is ridiculous. And you don't get excited flying a jet with USAF on the side? Wtf excites you? Maybe CAF/MAF life is just totally sucky, but in AFSOC you won't get anywhere if you aren't a mission hacker--regardless of PowerPoint skills. 2Niner, do what you want, but if you join don't show up jaded and crusty like a lot of these guys. Your career will be miserable if you do. Instead, snapshot your lowest moment in a cubicle and compare it to your lowest moment as a pilot, and they won't compare. When I get down about work, I think back to when I was roofing houses and my mood drastically improves. And the coup de grace about military flying is that I don't keep in touch with roofing buddies, but I'm still close friends with my UPT class. That camaraderie is rare and makes it worth it.

This is true as well, I see fewer of these but literally for most the grass is greener on the other side and it doesn't matter what the other side it.

I'll even take it a step further in an effort to totally blow the Changs of the AF's minds (sts). A lot of guys I know aren't even talking about airlines when they get out. I know many dudes who just want out regardless of what they do, own a business, office job, etc. Kinda screws with your guys plan to just blame it on the airlines huh???

Many on here are not washed-up pessimists including myself, we are the line flyers and Instructors in the squadrons hacking the mission. I and many others don't need anyone on here to tell me the current state of the AF. The numbers and daily office conversations say it all, and I can see it with my own two eyes. Few people I know are sticking around, several have turned down school. Colleagues with several years on their ADSCs are positioning themselves to leave for the airlines with knocking out their ATPS or considering which assignment will best set them up to for a palace chase and airline gig. The daily conversations in the office becomes more and more about the airlines as more dudes that punched get hired. I have the luck of working in an awesome squadron under phenomenal leaders but that doesn't change the over arching fact that the AF is in a leadership death spiral that even a young captain like me can recognize.

If all forms of review are flawed, what do you suggest?

All good points,12 years ago I might as well been in diapers... Guard/Reserve does sound like the way to go, but I don't have nearly the resume to apply. I was one of those 0 flight hour selects ( I have flown since selection). I applied because I was looking for something exciting/rewarding to do with my life rather than sitting at this cubicle in my office job like I do now. I suppose I was lured into applying for the AF based on claims that you guys enjoyed a higher QOL relative to other service branches, golf course on every base, going straight from sortie to bar etc. etc. Its been great getting a reality check from you guys. But who really knows where the AF is headed in 10 years, the current trend is downward, but I'd think things would have to start improving at some point. But enough of the woe-is-me sob story from a pilot select. I know a lot of people want to be pilots but never get to for one reason or another. I obviously still have some thinking to do, and I'll be keeping an eye on this thread from the shadows.

If every kind of review is flawed, what do you suggest? I like the idea of peer reviews and think people are mature enough to see through bullshit and rank people accordingly. Especially in an instance like this.

We understand, it's like being lost in the wilderness with two broken legs. We understand we probably will never get out, but the hope that over next hill is a town with the brewery and strip club are what keep us going. Don't kill my brewery and strip club dreams The current ops tempo does a pretty good job at "educating" the young guys. As said above, about 6 months on the line and that cherry "I'm here to help" attitude turns into the salty bitterness. Hence the minimal numbers of guys that are going to stay in 2 years when the commitments start coming up.

It's because he's a trolling ass clown.

I get that squadrons are undermanned, but you could stay at work till 8pm everyday and there would still be OPRs to review tomorrow. Unless you're part of some sweet union that hooks you up with overtime pay, do your overtime on your missions and let the queep get done when it gets done.

So, first of all I'm not going to bash Obama but I do think that his leadership, policies and direction given to the DOD have helped to create more suck for us. His appointees are the ones running the DOD and the AF. Think about it. Also, many say that the AF has become a social experiment. At least some of that has come from the White House. Concerning QOL. I remember driving to work early every morning as a Lt. I hated the early days but remember being so glad that I was in the AF and didn't go to the airlines like some of my friends. I also remember always thinking that I would do 20 and had no interest in ever going to the airlines. Now I have no desire to do 20 and am frantically combing over my airline apps. I've asked myself why things have changed. It's different for everyone but it really boils down to leadership, the queep and the broken promotion system for me. The AF has been a HUGE benefit for me. I wouldn't change a thing about my decision making. I would not change a thing if I could do it all over again, but I've realized that this isn't worth sticking around for. One of the biggest things that gets me is that I work 12-16 hour days while it seems like a lot of the rest of the base works 0730-1630. They also usually get to break away for lunch and are allotted time for PT. I don't get either. My days are ALWAYS crazy busy and when I have to deal with one of these 0730-1630 workers I ALWAYS get pissed off. It's usually because they will only do what I need Thursdays between 10 and 11. Or, I have to make an appointment to see them a week in advance. Or, THEY decide when they will do the training that I need and the next training that they are conducting is 3 weeks out and in the middle of the day so my squadron has to take me off the schedule for the day. I could go on, and I think we all could, but the thing that sends me through the roof is seeing their work ethic and working conditions. Their building and offices are usually new or newer. Meanwhile, I go back to a shit hole squadron and check the mouse traps to see if we caught the mice that have been running around. Meanwhile the shoe clerks are sitting in nice new leather office chairs and have book cases made of rich mahogany. While, I'm trying to get something done with this person they notice that I'm missing a signature or some other small thing and tell me that they can't do a thing for me until I go run around to get that done. This whole time they seem to be doing virtually nothing and sitting in their chair playing on their iPhone for most of the day. You all have seen this too, right? It's obvious that their work load is minimal compared to the aircrew out there and their offices completely close down for training, while we come in on the weekend to get that stuff done or do it after flying at 2000. Why in the hell can't we assign some of these people back into the flying squadrons to take some of the load off of aircrew? The whole manning in tight everywhere argument is a numbers game in my opinion. It's B.S. A lot of the rest of the AF needs to come spend a week in a flying squadron to see how long our days are and our workload and I think people will understand. It's clear to me that if leadership really cared about retaining the most highly trained members of the AF that have had millions of dollars invested into them then things would not be this way. Instead we worry about making the AF look and feel like a civilian office environment for the non-aircrew. I'm not advocating making everyone else's lives worse, but what I am saying is there are resources out there that could be used to take some of the load off of aircrew and make their quality of life better. But what do I know? Maybe it's right to let people walk away who have $10 million in training and 10 years of experience invested into them. Yeah, take care of the people who's tech school was 6 weeks long. That's how it should be...

We called them pigeons-you had to throw rocks to get them to fly.

The term you're looking for here is "daywalker".

No way Chang is anyone other than an O-3/4 trolling the shit out of this board. His statements are so outlandish there's no way it's legit inside info. He does a pretty good job of using targeted statements that he knows will get everyone way spun up. Ignore him, he's just having a good time watching everyone freak out.

is my ADSC up yet?

Sure, Chang. You guys at A1 have only had about 15 years to figure this out. I'm sure if we just wait a little more, you'll get it right this time.

I'm willing to bet he is a jokester Captain somewhere absolutely laughing his ass off at the massive freak outs he can induce.

You are so full of shit. FHPs are NOT healthy, they're terrible. Our jets are broke, B-Course syllabi have been slashed multiple times with too much training kicked to a broken/underfunded CAF (not the FTU bros' fault, it's management's fault) and every year the new guy is less prepared for combat because he gets shafted on quality flying training. Us "old" guys can hang on because we have enough experience to fall back on; luckily when we were young everything hadn't completely imploded yet. I have seen entire squadrons who I would rate as below average - it's not the bros' fault, its the fact the squadron is full of young, inexperienced dudes who are trying their best, but big AF refuses to give them the tools required to succeed. WO's and the couple "real" IPs in the squadron slave to fight the uphill battle and get their guys ready, but even their 75 hr work weeks aren't enough because again, management has taken so much from them in terms of ability to provide adequate training. Those same squadrons are hemorrhaging experience at an astronomical rate for all the reasons mentioned elsewhere. Not an RPA guy, but I think it's fairly safe to say very few of them give a shit about leading the "community of the future." You managers might think that, but it's not true. Home more? Maybe they don't deploy to the extent that many of us do, but they're living in not very desirable locations, many doing a job they were involuntarily forced into, and from what I've read here, they do some fairly rough work schedules. RPAs provide a lot of capability in specific situations, but just because they do doesn't mean you have happy people operating them. These are statements of fact, not emotion. I cannot comprehend why you and other senior leadership refuse to see these simple facts and listen to your people who are the ones in the trenches. You don't like to think so, but the reality is your O-5 and below people out there in the CAF, MAF, AFSOC have much higher SA than you do on the day to day realities. That's not an insult, it's just how it is...some day I might be the old guy sitting somewhere, but if that day comes, I will rely on the guys below me to shoot me straight and provide recommendations...and I won't scoff them. That's a trait of good leadership I have seen growing up in this AF. You guys have a job to do which involves thinking on a strategic level. But it is extremely naive and a complete failure of leadership to ignore everything you get from the tactical level. Your flippant attitude towards anyone "below you" and how "we" could not possibly have any idea on what's good/bad in the AF because we don't have stars or whatever your metric for "credibility," is the primary reason we're all telling you to off and getting out. Many good dudes at the tactical level would stay and help solve the problems, but its clear senior leadership doesn't give a shit and will never listen to us, even when we're screaming the answer in your ear. You're right on one thing, there will most likely be a continuous supply of 20 yrs olds ready to sign anything to fly. But that makes this already hollow force just become worse and worse until some day we just hope we can keep up with the ability of Sudan's AF. Hyperbole a bit, but the point is valid.

And the current generation of senior leaders will sail off into retirement patting themselves on the back for having saved the Air Force. Then somewhere between 2028 and 2030, a bunch of people who liked flying in their twenties start to have an inkling that there is more to life than the Air Force. Suddenly they come to the stark realization of just how long their prison sentence really is. They'll come to absolutely despise the Air Force, and they'll have another decade with nothing to do but poison the waters. And they will. Or you can just fix the stupid things that piss people off. The current generation of leadership sails off into retirement rightly knowing that they left the Air Force a better place. Then somewhere between 2028 and 2030, a bunch of people who liked flying in their twenties are still in love with flying, leading and delivering an uninterrupted ass kicking to our nation's enemies. They see the last 10 years as an opportunity that's good for them, good for their families, and good for their nation. They'll come to love the Air Force and spend that second decade nurturing a whole other generation in how to run a fantastic organization. And they will. But you're right, Chang. Your way is better. Let's just do that.

That is not gonna buff out...glad the crew is ok.

Listening to that bubblehead's commentary while watching the navy takeoff and land was painful.

Not sure we're f'd but certainly some communities have been ridden hard and put up wet, no sarcasm or smartass comments as this is about real people's lives, families, careers and their well being. My sympathy is for those who bear the weight of piss poor head in the sand stubborn as a mule thinking a-holes who refuse to change with the times. Years ago at my first assignment right after 9-11, everyone was deployed all the time and between trips to the desert at home station the squadron was a ghost town but the training got done, the local flights happened and you got ready for your next trip. That was evidence enough that most non-mission day to day bs was just that bs that shoe clerks imposed for the imagined purpose of leadership development. Along with that, I remember an OG all call where he explained how the days of the garrison AF were gone and we were now an expeditionary AF. He may have believed that but the big shoe clerks sure as hell didn't and still don't and that is why the AF is in free fall. We are a force needed to be expeditionary in nature - lean, mission focused, not beholden only to the previous way of accomplishing the mission, open to new ideas and responsibilities and above all honest about what we do, how we do it and if that is working. It amazes me the level of self-delusion, rationalization and denial that senior leadership exhibits when most of these guys started their careers as officers in the flying world that would or should never let that happen. If a sortie went like shit, that was not swept under the rug; if someone was not cutting it in their crew position they were pulled from it for the sake of the mission - when did these formative lessons of honesty above all, even when it was uncomfortable and the ability to recognize the need for change and character to act on it get forgotten? Rant - Complete (P,CP).

At least you are trying to use logic and reason in an intelligent discussion instead of dragging the dead out on parade. And yes hopefully no more Shell 77's happen but who in the tanker fleet could have stopped or recovered? It was a flawed stupid selfish embarrassing argument to use them and we need to change the subject to honor the dead not trample on them as I am sure they nor their families don't deserve this inconsiderate and inappropriate usage of their deaths. I hope one of the webmasters deletes this whole exchange. That would be the most appropriate thing to do. And if I insulted you then I truly apologize. Maybe I should have attacked it as you did. Which is to say there is a reason that people who finish last in pilot training largely get non volunteered to tankers. Because comparably they aren't as difficult to fly as other platforms. RPA's included. And not having any hours but having the required training shouldn't be a huge factor. Happens al the time in other more difficult and demanding airframes.

Two thumbs up for this selection. He will continue the great works started by Gen Welsh. Get excited; our future is in good hands, Airmen.

Very mature, Colonel. Now that you feel better about yourself, let's discuss facts. A1 misjudged the effects of the 9-yr bonus. I acknowledge that. From the personnel perspective, however, A1 has a specific playbook and specific rules to follow in these scenarios. The AF is desperately trying to get Congress to approve higher bonuses. If successful, this will help slightly with officers on-the-fence. Next, some stop-lossed officers may rebel, but most will do their duty and uphold the core values (all should...we are officers first, as you learned in your schools). We may have to eliminate some of the extraneous additional duties at flying squadrons or authorize more civilians to help. So be it. Finally, a 15- or 20-year ADSC for UPT will have limited effect on the morale of pilots currently in, and the AF will still not have difficulty finding people to sign-up to fly...the novelty of flying never diminishes amongst a population enamored with it. If AF recovers from the pilot shortage down-the-road, A1 can curtail ADSCs. That won't be anytime soon, however, as AF will need to send more current pilots permanently into RPAs for the foreseeable future to meet Army demand for orbits. Pilots- you can help create a positive environment in your squadrons as we move through these difficult times. Emphasize the positives...flying hour programs are healthy, and pilots moved into the RPA community have the opportunity to establish themselves as leaders in the "community of the future," which can be a huge opportunity to excel. Also, RPA operators are home more, per the spreadsheets. Please help your GO leadership, and we will get through this together. Stay positive. You will sleep better tonight.

If you were less of a douche, maybe more would consider switching to RPAs, possibly helping resolve the manning dilemma preventing you from getting back into a "real airplane". Or you could keep calling it a black hole from which there is no escape. That'll help.