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It seems leadership and money people confuse the concepts of size/line of effort and don’t understand the criticality of effort or the phases of conflict it exists in. It’s like the Gulf War I example, conventional fixed wing aviation was undoubtedly the first main line of effort on night 1 of the war. But without AFSOF, a handful of stealth aircraft and Army attack, that line of effort would have waiting indefinitely for that window to open. That doesn’t even mention what was being done by SOF to shape the battlefield for the air war started so all that ass could get to where it was needed. Those big metal shapes at specific Nav points didn’t emplace themselves, SOF did it. Everybody wants to go see the rock concert, but nobody wants to acknowledge the bus drivers and crew that get the band on stage. They may not be the one making the music, but it’s pretty damn important to the concert happening. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I think the better way to state this is SOCOM/AFSOC aren't the main show in the high end near peer fight. This whole "identity crisis" or whatever you want to call it that SOCOM and AFSOC are currently going through is kinda amusing to me. For the from '01 to '21 SOCOM was the show, budgets were huge, and the command grew quite a bit. It was also made very clear to me a as young guy, when asked what our mission was while we were simultaneously supporting OEF/OIF/GWOT, that the correct answer was "to do what the fuck we're told to do", and your job was to find a way to make it happen. I've heard the phrase "maintain relevance" thrown around quite a bit by senior guys in AFSOC this last year. What they really mean is they're worried our budgets will shrink because we're not leading the charge on night one into China/Russia. AFSOC's part in the high end near peer fight right of bang is limited for a multitude of reasons. IMO, AFSOC will be in a supporting role, which historically is where SOF usually existed prior to 2001. There's absolutely things we can contribute to that fight, the discussion of most of them exceed the classification of this forum. But the idea that we're going to be a main LOE is pretty silly with our current equipment. We have tons to contribute left of bang, and the C-VEO fight isn't going away anytime soon. There's also a ton of smart, motivated people working to find ways for AFSOC to support the high-end fight. I think AFSOC/SOCOM needs to calm down a bit with the "identity crisis" thing.

I think it’s more likely they don’t feel their efforts are public enough to ensure the next Star/assignment of choice over one of the other important people. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haha... if you ever went to M9 qual and watched the young SF Airmen shoot with you, you would know this is a pipe dream.

SOCOM, including AFSPECWAR, is playing an active and important part in EUCOM and PACOM, it just doesn’t look exactly the same as the last 20+ years in CENTCOM. It’s crazy I know about this as an outsider to AFSOC, but apparently leadership within AFSOC doesn’t know what their own people/immediate joint partners across SOCOM are doing today. How are they that clueless?

I hope they killed them all

Today is 1 August... On this date in 1955, Tony LeVier went for a taxi test on Groom Lake in a new Lockheed aircraft that had yet to be flown. However, the aircraft had different plans, and before he knew it, Tony was airborne in what was the unplanned 1st flight of the U-2. So today, the pressure-breathing, pressure-suited prima donnas celebrate 69 years above 69,000 feet. And tomorrow, over 25% of all living U-2 pilots on the planet will gather for an exceptional Homecoming to celebrate the solo flights of what could be the last class of U-2 trainees. Hail Dragons

I use this on the road: Timex Q It's cheap enough I don't care if it gets banged up or stolen. But looks nice enough from 20 feet away...and, added bonus, is useful with 3x time zones (home, zulu, and then spin the dial for local)

Similar story. Proposed June 3rd, married July 14th, moved to Lubbock July 21st, started UPT Aug 3rd. First kid born mid-May (middle of 38s). 3 more years of FAIPdom, another kid, followed by 17 years of Herks. 15 years after retiring, and we’re celebrating our 35th anniversary next month. YMMV, but don’t pass up “the one” Sent from my iPad using Baseops Network mobile app

My wife and I had been dating for about 1.5 years. As my UPT date approached, we weren't sure what to do. She was still in college. I was going to be in BOQ in Columbus. How was she going to visit and how often? I proposed on a Thursday evening. We went to the courthouse Friday morning and got married. Then we called our parents and I called CBM and said I needed a house on base. Arrived there a week later and got to work making some kids. That was 26 years ago. Now we have grandkids. I wanted to fly and I wanted a family. There is absolutely no reason why someone can't do both. Granted, you gotta choose wisely, but going home to a house after flying, having a dinner at a table every night, getting laid, and having someone to be with... I wouldn't do it any other way. That said, I sympathize with you. The quality of women available to men of your generation is absolute shit. good luck.